10/03/2017

:00:09. > :00:09.Hello. It's Friday.

:00:10. > :00:18.A major shake-up of broadband services for thousands of customers

:00:19. > :00:21.as BT says it will legally separate from Openreach.

:00:22. > :00:24.We'll find out what the decision could mean for you.

:00:25. > :00:26.No vote on tax rises for self-employed workers

:00:27. > :00:33.Theresa May says the changes will reform the national

:00:34. > :00:39.insurance system and make it "fairer and simpler".

:00:40. > :00:44.People will be able to look at Government paper when we produce it

:00:45. > :00:48.and take a judgement in the round and of course, the Chancellor will

:00:49. > :00:49.be speaking as will his ministers to MPs, business people and others to

:00:50. > :00:54.listen to the concerns. Also this morning, design

:00:55. > :00:59.and technology, music, German - just some of the subjects being cut

:01:00. > :01:02.at GCSE and A-Level by headteachers who say they're being

:01:03. > :01:04.forced to scale back And are we living in

:01:05. > :01:08.a golden age of satire? We'll talk to writers and performers

:01:09. > :01:11.who say politics in 2017 is providing more material

:01:12. > :01:28.than they ever thought possible. What's that doing in here? That's a

:01:29. > :01:29.plate of mashed potato. We are lucky that Trump will provide most of the

:01:30. > :01:43.jokes for the foreseeable future. Hello and welcome to the programme.

:01:44. > :01:46.We're live until 11am. If you're a pupil or teacher

:01:47. > :01:49.in a school where subjects are being cut, do get

:01:50. > :01:51.in touch with us. Have you studied or taught

:01:52. > :01:53.one of the less popular Does it matter if the fewer people

:01:54. > :01:58.get to take it in the future? Do get in touch on all the stories

:01:59. > :02:03.we're talking about this morning - use #Victoria Live and if you text,

:02:04. > :02:05.you will be charged It's been announced that

:02:06. > :02:11.British Telecom and its Openreach service, which runs the UK's

:02:12. > :02:13.broadband infrastructure, Telecoms regulator, Ofcom, says

:02:14. > :02:20.Openreach will become a distinct company with its own staff,

:02:21. > :02:23.management and strategy. Ofcom had been pushing for the move

:02:24. > :02:26.following complaints about poor levels of service and had threatened

:02:27. > :02:28.to force BT to legally Rory Cellan-Jones is our

:02:29. > :02:45.technology correspondent. Good morning. So, tell us more about

:02:46. > :02:49.why it is happening then. Well, this has been a long running battle.

:02:50. > :02:52.Critics says that BT's Openreach division which is responsible for

:02:53. > :02:55.the broadband infrastructure across the UK, a vital bit of

:02:56. > :03:02.infrastructure for all of us has not been doing a good job. Rivals like

:03:03. > :03:06.Sky and TalkTalk say they depend on it and they can't rely on it and it

:03:07. > :03:10.is biassed towards BT rather than them when it is supposed to be

:03:11. > :03:16.impartial. That its engineers don't turn up on time and then customers

:03:17. > :03:20.have been complaining that the roll out of fibre broadband services has

:03:21. > :03:25.been too slow. So, Ofcom has been looking at this for a while. There

:03:26. > :03:30.was a nuclear option where BT were forced to sell it off completely. It

:03:31. > :03:33.would become a separate company. I think they concluded that would just

:03:34. > :03:36.take a long time. BT would have challenged it in the courts. It

:03:37. > :03:42.could have taken ten years to complete. So this is the sub-nuclear

:03:43. > :03:46.option in a way. So it is a separate division. It is supposed to be run

:03:47. > :03:49.separately and they are supposed to be arm's length from the rest of BT

:03:50. > :03:53.and that's supposed to end up with a better service. Why would it end up

:03:54. > :03:59.with a better service? Why does separating them make those things

:04:00. > :04:04.that have been going wrong right? Well, that's the $64,000 question.

:04:05. > :04:08.The theory is without having to look over their shoulder, there has been

:04:09. > :04:10.accusations which BT denied that money they earn in Openreach is

:04:11. > :04:15.spent on things like football rights. We have seen BT spend a

:04:16. > :04:19.fortune this week on renewing its Champions League football rights.

:04:20. > :04:25.This will make it clear that that can't happen. It should, it is built

:04:26. > :04:30.into the process now that they are impartial so that they don't supply

:04:31. > :04:34.better services to BT when it is talking about customers, to Sky or

:04:35. > :04:36.TalkTalk or to any of the other people who are going to use that

:04:37. > :04:42.service. The question then is where would that money go? It could, I

:04:43. > :04:45.guess, go in terms of cuts to costs to customers or customer

:04:46. > :04:49.improvements. Are they going to be forced to do one or the other? They

:04:50. > :04:52.are going to have the same amount of money. It's more about the strategy

:04:53. > :04:57.and more about the attitude and the culture of the company. There has

:04:58. > :05:01.been a feeling that it has got too much of the legacy culture of what

:05:02. > :05:04.was many years ago, of course, a state run monopoly. Some of those

:05:05. > :05:11.habits have stayed with it and it will be leaner, quicker and more

:05:12. > :05:15.focussed. It has got one job, rolling out broadband across Britain

:05:16. > :05:18.and providing Britain with the kind of telecoms infrastructure it needs.

:05:19. > :05:21.It will be responsible for that. It shouldn't be worrying about whether

:05:22. > :05:26.it is delivering enough profits to the BT Group. It shouldn't in theory

:05:27. > :05:29.have that on its plate too. OK, we will see happens, Rory thank you

:05:30. > :05:30.very much. Does that bother you? Get in touch if you have got any

:05:31. > :05:34.thoughts on that one. Annita McVeigh is in the BBC

:05:35. > :05:37.Newsroom with a summary Labour has accused the Government

:05:38. > :05:42.of being in "disarray" after the Prime Minister said

:05:43. > :05:44.controversial tax rises for self-employed workers would not

:05:45. > :05:47.be put into legislation Theresa May said the changes

:05:48. > :05:51.to national insurance, announced in the Budget,

:05:52. > :05:54.were necessary and fair but said the Chancellor would listen

:05:55. > :05:56.to concerns before MPs voted Our Political Correspondent Alex

:05:57. > :06:02.Forsyth reports from Westminster. Theresa May defended the plans

:06:03. > :06:03.to increase national insurance contributions

:06:04. > :06:07.for some self-employed workers. She said the measures would ensure

:06:08. > :06:10.the tax system was fair, narrowing the gap between what employed

:06:11. > :06:20.and self-employed people paid. The shift towards self-employment

:06:21. > :06:22.is eroding the tax base. It is making it harder

:06:23. > :06:24.to afford the public services on which ordinary

:06:25. > :06:27.working families depend. This goes some way

:06:28. > :06:30.towards fixing that. Despite being announced

:06:31. > :06:34.in this week's Budget, MPs will not vote on the changes

:06:35. > :06:37.until the autumn as separate Critics accused the Prime Minister

:06:38. > :06:41.of a deliberate delay so the Government could soften

:06:42. > :06:44.the proposals and stave off a potential rebellion

:06:45. > :06:45.from Tory backbenchers But Mrs May stood firm saying

:06:46. > :06:53.the tax rise was necessary in light of the country's changing workforce

:06:54. > :06:55.and the timing would allow MPs to consider

:06:56. > :07:00.the measures in the round. A paper detailing the full effect

:07:01. > :07:02.of the national insurance changes will be published in the summer

:07:03. > :07:25.followed by the results of a review Let's talk about this with Iann

:07:26. > :07:30.Watson, Labour sense an opportunity to go on the attack here. Is Labour

:07:31. > :07:35.getting much traction with this? Well, I think in the end this will

:07:36. > :07:38.come down to the attitudes of the Conservative backbenchers. Labour

:07:39. > :07:42.are slow off the mark in criticising this on Budget day, but since then

:07:43. > :07:45.the Shadow Chancellor, John McDonnell, has called for this to be

:07:46. > :07:48.withdrawn and the Liberal Democrats as well. And certainly, where I

:07:49. > :07:51.think Labour can make an impact is talking to some of the Conservative

:07:52. > :07:56.potential rebels on this to see what pressure can be put on the

:07:57. > :08:00.Chancellor. But I think the timing, as Alex was saying, is crucial

:08:01. > :08:04.because it allows Theresa May to do two things. Firstly, publish the

:08:05. > :08:08.review into working practises which is likely to give, if you like,

:08:09. > :08:14.self-employed people more value for money from their tax rise, they

:08:15. > :08:18.might be getting maternity or paternity rights. If that isn't

:08:19. > :08:22.enough to buy off some of these rebels on her own side then there

:08:23. > :08:25.is, of course, uniquely this year two Budgets so the Chancellor could

:08:26. > :08:28.do something there and I have been speaking to some people who are

:08:29. > :08:34.displeased about this on the Conservative benches and one of them

:08:35. > :08:38.said very pleased to see attempts to soften the blow by perhaps looking

:08:39. > :08:43.at these new rights and benefits that people could get, but

:08:44. > :08:47.ultimately what they wanted to see was a delay in implementing the

:08:48. > :08:50.measure. So telling people they wouldn't have to pay the extra by

:08:51. > :08:53.2019. Whether the Chancellor will be prepared to do that is another

:08:54. > :08:57.matter because the more concessions he makes, of course, the less money

:08:58. > :09:04.that comes to the Treasury. Iani, thank you very much.

:09:05. > :09:07.Schools in England are being forced to cut GCSE and A-Level courses

:09:08. > :09:10.in an effort to balance the books, according to a head teachers' union.

:09:11. > :09:12.The Association of School and College Leaders has warned

:09:13. > :09:15.budget pressures are driving up class sizes and causing them

:09:16. > :09:17.to cancel activities such as social clubs and school trips.

:09:18. > :09:21.Our Education Correspondent Gillian Hargreaves reports.

:09:22. > :09:24.Peter Woodman at the Weald School might be a head teacher

:09:25. > :09:26.but he still likes to work at the chalk face, partly

:09:27. > :09:29.because he enjoys it but partly because it saves money

:09:30. > :09:34.The only reason we can survive is we are carrying forward

:09:35. > :09:39.And if the Government stick to their pledges over

:09:40. > :09:41.the next five years, with the cash flow and budgets,

:09:42. > :09:44.we will be making cuts to something like 70,000 every year,

:09:45. > :09:49.Peter is one of dozens of heads in south-east England who wrote

:09:50. > :09:52.to parents yesterday informing them of the impact of cuts.

:09:53. > :09:56.In a poll of more than 1,000 members of the ASCL union almost three

:09:57. > :10:02.quarters said they had to make cuts to GCSE or vocational courses

:10:03. > :10:06.The most common subjects to have been removed

:10:07. > :10:08.were design and technology, performing arts, music and German.

:10:09. > :10:14.I think really important parts of education will be cut.

:10:15. > :10:16.Class sizes will increase and I think they are probably

:10:17. > :10:18.already at capacity, teachers' jobs will

:10:19. > :10:32.I think the worry is it just places more and more pressure

:10:33. > :10:35.on the teaching staff so actually it is them that are going to have

:10:36. > :10:38.to end up working longer, harder to make this work.

:10:39. > :10:40.On average, heads said that the largest class size was now

:10:41. > :10:43.33 pupils however the Government said official statistics showed

:10:44. > :10:46.the average secondary class size has fallen over the past decade to just

:10:47. > :10:49.20 pupils and that ?40 billion has been spent on schools this year.

:10:50. > :11:03.Later on in the show, we will be speaking to educators

:11:04. > :11:06.about the pressures being faced by schools.

:11:07. > :11:08.European leaders are continuing the second day

:11:09. > :11:10.of their summit in Brussels today, but without Theresa May.

:11:11. > :11:12.The British Prime Minister left last night.

:11:13. > :11:14.The meeting was her last summit ahead of the formal triggering

:11:15. > :11:20.Mrs May was keen to downplay the situation, insisting that

:11:21. > :11:23.Britain will continue to play a leading role in Europe

:11:24. > :11:24.and offering suggestions on other topics including

:11:25. > :11:28.Issues expected to be discussed today include the economy,

:11:29. > :11:36.It has emerged that some detainees held at an immigration removal

:11:37. > :11:38.centre near Gatwick Airport have been there for as long

:11:39. > :11:45.Prison inspectors found that children had also been

:11:46. > :11:48.detained at Brook House which holds almost 400 adult male

:11:49. > :11:50.asylum seekers, illegal immigrants and foreign national offenders.

:11:51. > :11:52.The Home Office says some people prolong detention by trying

:11:53. > :12:03.Seven people have been injured in an axe attack at the main railway

:12:04. > :12:08.station in the western German city of Duesseldorf, police say.

:12:09. > :12:11.The attack happened at about 9pm local time yesterday.

:12:12. > :12:16.A 36-year-old man from the former Yugoslavia,

:12:17. > :12:22.suffers from psychological problems, according to Duesseldorf police.

:12:23. > :12:24.Patients and doctors have called for "do not resuscitate" notices

:12:25. > :12:27.to be replaced with orders that offer a range of treatments.

:12:28. > :12:29.Currently, "do not resuscitate" orders instruct medical

:12:30. > :12:32.professionals not to use intensive and invasive treatments

:12:33. > :12:34.if a patient's heart stops beating or they stop breathing.

:12:35. > :12:37.A British Medical Journal article says a number of options should be

:12:38. > :12:55.Makers of Game of Thrones announced the show will return for its seventh

:12:56. > :13:00.season in July. Fans watched an online video to see a block of ice

:13:01. > :13:07.being melt to see the air date which will be 17th July in the UK. It is

:13:08. > :13:10.the latest the show has aired as filming was delayed due to a lack of

:13:11. > :13:13.wintry conditions! That's a summary of the latest BBC

:13:14. > :13:24.News - more at 9.30. Thank you. You're getting in touch

:13:25. > :13:28.on school subjects being dropped. Jonathan said, "I studied GCSE

:13:29. > :13:34.astronomy. I felt because it was not a key subject it was marginalised

:13:35. > :13:37.and I just learnt it was scrapped from next year." Another viewer

:13:38. > :13:41.says, "Attended son's year eight options evening last night. He will

:13:42. > :13:47.only be allowed to do nine GCSEs of which only two are his chosen ones.

:13:48. > :13:52.The rest are compulsory." Mike says, "If funding is not forthcoming many

:13:53. > :13:57.less popular subjects will be lost. I'm fed up hearing that fund is at

:13:58. > :14:03.its highest ever. I am a teacher of design and technology. Without this

:14:04. > :14:09.subject, no one would get confidence in DIY, we will not provide the

:14:10. > :14:15.spark and thrill of using tools and machinery, craftsmen, engineers and

:14:16. > :14:18.designers. DT can only run safely in smaller class sizes and therefore

:14:19. > :14:20.must be protected." Keep them coming in. We will be talking more about

:14:21. > :14:34.them soon. Now the sport with Hugh.

:14:35. > :14:38.British cycling admitted to failings in their world-class programme after

:14:39. > :14:43.a draft version of the independent report was leaked overnight. Let's

:14:44. > :14:47.find out more about what the report has said with Matt Lowton who has

:14:48. > :14:52.seen it and joins us on the phone this morning. Matt, first of all, it

:14:53. > :14:59.talks about a culture of fear at British cycling? Yeah, it does and

:15:00. > :15:08.we've been aware that that's the kind of tone that it was going to

:15:09. > :15:13.follow for sometime. It talks about a way that the world-class

:15:14. > :15:18.performance programme was run by Dave Brailsford and Shane Sutton. It

:15:19. > :15:23.will make for an interesting debate because as Dave Brailsford said

:15:24. > :15:31.recently he was medallists rather than sexist, I think, was the quote,

:15:32. > :15:37.and you know, it will open a debate about what constitutes hard coaching

:15:38. > :15:42.that delivers results and where that line is that a coach crosses in

:15:43. > :15:48.terms of the treatment of athletes, you know, it's a really interesting

:15:49. > :15:51.debate. You look at, you could look at a number of Premier League

:15:52. > :15:53.football managers and wonder if they, how they would fair under this

:15:54. > :16:01.scrutiny. It talks about Sir David Aylesford

:16:02. > :16:09.being untouchable and questioning the leadership wallet is of Steve

:16:10. > :16:13.Sutton -- Shane Sutton. This all started because of complaints made

:16:14. > :16:21.by Jess Varnish about and Sutton. This was the big thing form a full

:16:22. > :16:27.independent panel which has under this review which is yet to be

:16:28. > :16:31.published in its final version, it wasn't their remit to try and

:16:32. > :16:38.establish who was telling the truth between Jess Varnish and Shane

:16:39. > :16:46.Sutton, it was more the way that the internal enquiry into the Jess

:16:47. > :16:49.Varnish allegations were handled by British cycling. They appointed one

:16:50. > :16:54.of their board members to conduct the investigation. She came back

:16:55. > :17:00.with her findings and of the nine allegations, it appears that she

:17:01. > :17:07.found that more than one was upheld. In the end when they reported

:17:08. > :17:11.publicly the conclusions, they only upheld one of the allegations of the

:17:12. > :17:15.nine against Shane Sutton. What this report is saying is the British

:17:16. > :17:20.cycling board's handling of the situation was inept. They reversed

:17:21. > :17:25.some of the findings and they sanitised Alex Russell's report.

:17:26. > :17:29.Thank you very much for now. We should say that reduce cycling

:17:30. > :17:38.overnight said the world-class cycling programme focused without

:17:39. > :17:40.sufficient care to the athlete and environment.

:17:41. > :17:43.Thank you. A new warning from headteachers

:17:44. > :17:46.about the pressures on our They say schools are being

:17:47. > :17:49.forced to drop subjects, increase class sizes,

:17:50. > :17:51.and cut back on trips and after school clubs

:17:52. > :17:54.because of the funding crisis. The most common GCSE and A level

:17:55. > :17:57.subjects to be dropped was design and technology, said the Association

:17:58. > :18:00.of Teachers and Lecturers' poll That was followed by

:18:01. > :18:03.performing arts courses, music and languages,

:18:04. > :18:06.and art and design. The Government insists it's putting

:18:07. > :18:09.a record amount of funding into schools and in this week's

:18:10. > :18:12.budget unveiled new cash for existing schools and an expansion

:18:13. > :18:16.of the free schools programme. This morning, the Education

:18:17. > :18:18.Secretary Justine Greening will be addressing head teachers

:18:19. > :18:20.at their annual Lets get reaction to this,

:18:21. > :18:27.and talk to Carl Ward, the Chief Executive of an academy

:18:28. > :18:29.group in Stoke on Trent, and the Vice-President

:18:30. > :18:31.of the Association of School and College Leaders,

:18:32. > :18:34.Carol Herman, the head teacher at Shenfield High School in Essex

:18:35. > :18:37.and Jake Pinder, who is studying Furniture and Product Design

:18:38. > :18:48.at Nottingham Trent University. Thank you all very much for joining

:18:49. > :18:52.us. Karl, first of all, you are going to be on stage with Justine

:18:53. > :18:57.Greening at the conference today. What message do you want her to get?

:18:58. > :19:02.The funding crisis is real but I need to make a couple of points. The

:19:03. > :19:05.first point I would agree with the DFC is that there is far more money

:19:06. > :19:10.then there has ever been, that is because we have more students

:19:11. > :19:14.entering the system. Schools have been suffering with flat cash

:19:15. > :19:18.budgets for the last three years. They have been making real-time cuts

:19:19. > :19:24.because costs have increased. That is one of the biggest issues. Second

:19:25. > :19:27.one is with subjects being cut by schools, schools do not want to do

:19:28. > :19:31.that, but they are being forced into the back position because they have

:19:32. > :19:35.got to cut somewhere to decrease costs. The biggest issue there there

:19:36. > :19:39.is the problem with the accountability system. Many of their

:19:40. > :19:53.subjects we can talk about, music, DT and so on, are not... Any more.

:19:54. > :19:59.When schools have to make points. I also want to make clear the

:20:00. > :20:03.Secretary of State cares really deeply about this issue so we really

:20:04. > :20:08.need to get together to find a common solution for us all. Just

:20:09. > :20:12.spell out what is being cut and where? It is a survey by the

:20:13. > :20:20.Association of School and College Leaders. The reality is costs have

:20:21. > :20:27.increased. For example, in my main school, over the last year we have

:20:28. > :20:30.reduced hours laughing by ten staff, echoes the biggest area of costs for

:20:31. > :20:33.any school staffing and that is where you can make the biggest

:20:34. > :20:38.savings. Class sizes have increased from that active in certain areas.

:20:39. > :20:43.We are really looking at reducing as many costs as possible. For the last

:20:44. > :20:49.three years we have had to find ?350,000 from the current Budget to

:20:50. > :20:55.deal with increased costs. In the next three years I will have to find

:20:56. > :21:00.further ?150,000, in five years, that is ?500,000 out of the Budget.

:21:01. > :21:04.Every time teachers' pay increases and used money from the government

:21:05. > :21:09.to cover that. I don't any more. I have defined that from within the

:21:10. > :21:16.school Budget. Carol, you are a headteacher. Are you having to cut

:21:17. > :21:25.subjects? I am indeed. I am certainly considering it. The

:21:26. > :21:33.problem is even though we have a cat/ -- a flash cut Budget, we have

:21:34. > :21:38.to look at increased national insurance contributions, pensions

:21:39. > :21:42.contributions and a pension levy and so wonderful is top school like my

:21:43. > :21:48.own, Shenfield High School, obviously we focus on the core

:21:49. > :21:51.subjects. For many that is their ticket into further education,

:21:52. > :21:55.higher education and employment. But we are also known here for our

:21:56. > :21:59.excellent sport and performing arts. We have to look for a carefully. We

:22:00. > :22:03.will not cut those because it is absolutely essential to the nature

:22:04. > :22:06.of the school, but we are having to look very carefully at other

:22:07. > :22:12.subjects such as design technology. This is exacerbated by the fact that

:22:13. > :22:16.teaches don't want to train in the subjects any more, because the

:22:17. > :22:19.emphasis is far more on other subjects will stop its a real double

:22:20. > :22:26.bind. We may have to cut those slightly less popular subjects or

:22:27. > :22:29.ones with less kudos because of cost savings and actually, it is very

:22:30. > :22:36.difficult to recruit in those areas as well. It is a really tricky time

:22:37. > :22:41.for schools. Jake, you are doing a degree in furniture and product

:22:42. > :22:44.design and you studied design at GCSE and A-level, if you had not

:22:45. > :22:48.been able to study that what difference would it have made for

:22:49. > :22:53.you? It would have made it a lot more difficult to go to school. I am

:22:54. > :22:58.dyslexic and really struggle with English and maths and those core

:22:59. > :23:00.subjects. Because I had this outlet which was designed technology, it

:23:01. > :23:06.encouraged me to go to school altogether. So what do you think

:23:07. > :23:13.about the fact that it is being seen as expendable in the face of Budget

:23:14. > :23:17.difficulties? I think you will run the risk of isolating a lot of

:23:18. > :23:27.children that aren't maybe as academically minded, or pushing out

:23:28. > :23:31.people that are not good at subject, what are known as core subjects like

:23:32. > :23:35.maths and sciences. Sometimes, people need to be told they are good

:23:36. > :23:41.at something like a musician that cannot read or write or someone like

:23:42. > :23:46.me who was always good at drawing. That is all I enjoyed as well. It is

:23:47. > :23:52.difficult. Carol, as you are listening to Jake you are nodding.

:23:53. > :23:56.The Department Frederick and has put out a statement and it has said

:23:57. > :24:01.about that cash on schools is on record levels -- the Department for

:24:02. > :24:07.Education has put out a statement. Going on to look at practical ways

:24:08. > :24:10.of helping schools, they say we recognise that schools are facing

:24:11. > :24:19.cost pressures which is why will continue to use funding and look at

:24:20. > :24:24.best possible value. Are there other ways to make the money go further?

:24:25. > :24:29.We offer a good at getting the best value already and we have been doing

:24:30. > :24:32.that because we have had to. I think what is really frustrating is

:24:33. > :24:36.announcements such as the ones in the Budget where money is going into

:24:37. > :24:40.grammar schools and free schools, where actually existing schools are

:24:41. > :24:47.not being properly looked after. I would welcome conversations with

:24:48. > :24:51.Justine Greening and the Chancellor who is actually an ex-boy of

:24:52. > :24:56.Shenfield High School, pointing out what it is like on the ground. There

:24:57. > :25:00.is no evidence that grammar schools will support social mobility. We

:25:01. > :25:05.know only 3% of children in grammar schools are children on free school

:25:06. > :25:10.meals. It is not going to work necessarily. All the research is

:25:11. > :25:13.against it. Let's have a look at existing schools. We are absolutely

:25:14. > :25:17.committed to making sure we have a diverse, broad and balanced

:25:18. > :25:22.curriculum and that we are inclusive of all talents. If we have not got

:25:23. > :25:27.the right Budget settlements, we are forced because of our accountability

:25:28. > :25:31.is to look at being less diverse and less inclusive and that is a great

:25:32. > :25:34.site with. You said you wanted to talk to Justine Greening and Philip

:25:35. > :25:44.Hammond. We also would have liked to. We invited them onto the

:25:45. > :25:51.programme but they were unable to put anyone up for us. That is a

:25:52. > :25:59.great shame. The system as it stands is unfair and opaque and the changes

:26:00. > :26:03.mean half of England's schools will get a cash boost, how will that

:26:04. > :26:07.change the picture? I think it will change the pit your for those

:26:08. > :26:12.schools that get a cash boost. There are winners and losers in this is.

:26:13. > :26:17.There is going to be rebalancing overtime and it is important to know

:26:18. > :26:22.at the moment that the proposals out for the national funding formula are

:26:23. > :26:25.a proposal, we are in consultation period with that. That is why I

:26:26. > :26:30.think it is important that the government and education system need

:26:31. > :26:35.to work together to find a common area and common ground to move

:26:36. > :26:40.forwards. It is only working in corporation where we can use forward

:26:41. > :26:45.-- move forward most importantly to provide a fantastic education for

:26:46. > :26:49.students. I am a. I have two children. I have seen from the coal

:26:50. > :26:52.face, from eye on children who are at primary school at the moment, for

:26:53. > :26:56.example having to pay for after-school clubs. That should not

:26:57. > :26:59.be happening. If that primary school is in a position where they cannot

:27:00. > :27:02.provide after-school clubs because they have not got the money and

:27:03. > :27:07.parents have to provide that, then we have a pretty serious problem in

:27:08. > :27:11.the education system for funding. Martin has e-mailed and said I have

:27:12. > :27:17.been a teacher for six years and this doesn't is destroying the

:27:18. > :27:20.quality of education. I work in a rare community School and we worked

:27:21. > :27:24.incredibly hard. With the new cuts it will be impossible. Teachers are

:27:25. > :27:31.devastated to close down a level groups and often leave teaching

:27:32. > :27:34.altogether. If all we see is Budget cuts, it is released that. Chris is

:27:35. > :27:38.a performing arts teacher and he says please take education away from

:27:39. > :27:42.politicians. They know nothing about what is needed in schools. It is

:27:43. > :27:46.said to moralising to see idiotic decisions made without any thought

:27:47. > :27:48.consequences for the children and staff.

:27:49. > :27:54.It is actually heartbreaking. Do you think subjects like DT, German and

:27:55. > :27:58.music, subjects which are not necessarily that efficient for

:27:59. > :28:01.schools to teach because they do have fewer students, do you think

:28:02. > :28:09.they will disappear off the curriculum. I think there is a

:28:10. > :28:13.danger that they will. The issue is acute and they need to deal with

:28:14. > :28:17.things quickly. Because schools are coping but they will not down the

:28:18. > :28:22.line. The system will feed through like that and it will hurt

:28:23. > :28:25.everybody. I think it is a real shame that we are in a position that

:28:26. > :28:30.headteachers across the country in many schools are doing a fantastic

:28:31. > :28:32.job, under tough financial circumstances to keep these in

:28:33. > :28:36.place, and I think it is a real shame that they are having to make

:28:37. > :28:40.decisions to narrow the curriculum when they don't want to, and it is

:28:41. > :28:44.partly because of funding and partly because the accountability system

:28:45. > :28:49.now means you have got to make tough choices to do that. It is the wrong

:28:50. > :28:53.thing for children. Thank you all very much and do keep your comments

:28:54. > :29:04.coming in on that. They are always welcome. Still to come, it has

:29:05. > :29:08.emerged some detainees at a removal centre near Gatwick Airport have

:29:09. > :29:12.been there for 2.5 years. The Home Office as they do not want to detain

:29:13. > :29:15.people for longer than necessary. We will find out why they are being

:29:16. > :29:22.held for so long. And is it time to vacate the Houses

:29:23. > :29:26.of Parliament to carry out essential restoration? The old building has

:29:27. > :29:30.asbestos, leeks and electrical faults. Putting it right there will

:29:31. > :29:34.cost around ?4 billion. Let us know what you think about that. First of

:29:35. > :29:37.all, let's catch up with all of the news.

:29:38. > :29:40.Good morning. BT has bowed to pressure

:29:41. > :29:42.from telecoms regulator Ofcom to legally separate Openreach,

:29:43. > :29:44.which runs the UK's Ofcom says Openreach

:29:45. > :29:47.will become a distinct company with its own staff,

:29:48. > :29:49.management and strategy. It will also have to consult

:29:50. > :29:52.with customers such as Sky The regulator had been pushing

:29:53. > :29:55.for the move following complaints about poor levels of service and had

:29:56. > :29:58.threatened to force BT Labour has accused the Government

:29:59. > :30:08.of being in "disarray" after the Prime Minister said

:30:09. > :30:10.controversial tax rises for self-employed workers would not

:30:11. > :30:12.be put into legislation Theresa May said the changes

:30:13. > :30:15.to national insurance, announced in the budget,

:30:16. > :30:17.were necessary and fair but said the Chancellor would listen

:30:18. > :30:19.to concerns before MPs voted Schools in England are being forced

:30:20. > :30:25.to cut GCSE and A-Level courses in an effort to balance the books,

:30:26. > :30:28.according to a head teachers' union. The Association of School

:30:29. > :30:31.and College Leaders has warned budget pressures are driving up

:30:32. > :30:34.class sizes and causing them to cancel activities such as social

:30:35. > :30:38.clubs and school trips. Members of the organisation are due

:30:39. > :30:41.to raise their concerns with the Education Secretary,

:30:42. > :30:43.Justine Greening, when she addresses their annual conference

:30:44. > :30:53.in Birmingham today. European leaders are

:30:54. > :30:55.continuing the second day of their summit in Brussels today,

:30:56. > :30:57.but without Theresa May The meeting was the Prime Minister's

:30:58. > :31:01.last summit ahead of the formal Mrs May was keen to downplay

:31:02. > :31:05.the situation, insisting that Britain will continue to play

:31:06. > :31:07.a leading role in Europe and offering suggestions

:31:08. > :31:09.on other topics including Seven people have been injured

:31:10. > :31:16.in an axe attack at the main railway station in the German city

:31:17. > :31:20.of Duesseldorf, police say. The attack happened at about 9pm

:31:21. > :31:22.local time yesterday. A 36-year-old man from the former

:31:23. > :31:31.Yugoslavia, who suffers from psychological problems,

:31:32. > :31:34.according to Duesseldorf police. Protests are taking place in Seoul

:31:35. > :31:37.after South Korea's highest court upheld a decision to remove

:31:38. > :31:40.the country's president from office. Park Geun-hye was impeached over

:31:41. > :31:42.a corruption scandal, She will now lose her immunity

:31:43. > :31:47.against prosecution The decision was met

:31:48. > :31:50.by cheering in the streets from opponents of Ms Park,

:31:51. > :31:52.but her supporters Police say two people have died

:31:53. > :32:00.during protests outside the court. That's a summary of

:32:01. > :32:12.the latest BBC News. Thank you. Lots of you getting in

:32:13. > :32:15.touch on school subjects being cut. Brian says, "Cutting a subject like

:32:16. > :32:19.design and technology when the Government is announcing tech

:32:20. > :32:22.levels. Typical attitude of headteachers and other teachers

:32:23. > :32:29.thinking these subjects are irrelevant. I was a DT teacher for

:32:30. > :32:34.years before retiring. It is not woodwork which some teachers call it

:32:35. > :32:38.today." Vincent says, "There are not enough kids to take these courses so

:32:39. > :32:44.they are not cost effective. It makes common sense." Another teacher

:32:45. > :32:49.says, "I resigned from my post as the writing had been on the wall

:32:50. > :32:53.already. I was extremely happy or I am happy teaching at an

:32:54. > :32:57.international school in Brazil. No Ofsted, smaller class sizes and

:32:58. > :33:01.accommodation provided by the school and a culture that's healthy. Soon

:33:02. > :33:06.there will be a shortage of good teachers." So many of you getting in

:33:07. > :33:08.touch. Keep your comments coming in. We love to get them.

:33:09. > :33:12.Now the sport with Hugh. British Cycling have admitted

:33:13. > :33:15.to failings in their World Class Performance Programme after a draft

:33:16. > :33:17.version of the independent report into the sport's governing body

:33:18. > :33:19.was leaked overnight. It claims there is a "culture

:33:20. > :33:23.of fear" among staff at British cycling and that an internal

:33:24. > :33:24.British Cycling report following Jess Varnish's claims

:33:25. > :33:28.of sexism against former technical director Shane Sutton

:33:29. > :33:32.was "sanitised". Manchester United can claim they got

:33:33. > :33:36.a good result on a bad pitch. Henrikh Mkitaryan scored

:33:37. > :33:39.the away goal in a 1-1 draw at Rostov in the first leg

:33:40. > :33:41.of their Europa League England's cricketers,

:33:42. > :33:52.cruise in the Caribbean. Victory in the third one day

:33:53. > :33:56.international in Barbados secures It's emerged that some detainees

:33:57. > :34:07.at an immigration removal centre near Gatwick Airport have been held

:34:08. > :34:10.there for as long as Let's get more on this from our home

:34:11. > :34:21.affairs correspondent, Danny Shaw. Two-and-a-half years without charge?

:34:22. > :34:25.Yes. Because these are people who include foreign offenders, people

:34:26. > :34:28.who are asylum seekers who are waiting for their claims to be

:34:29. > :34:31.processed and people who are illegally in the country. It doesn't

:34:32. > :34:35.mean they have broken any law, but they have been detained at Brooke

:34:36. > :34:41.House immigration centre near Gatwick Airport. It holds 400 men

:34:42. > :34:46.and what we learn from this inspection report into Brooke House

:34:47. > :34:50.is that the average stay for detainees there has increased

:34:51. > :34:54.substantially. It is now a couple of months, two or three months the

:34:55. > :35:00.average stay and 23 people were held for over a year. Of whom four were

:35:01. > :35:05.held for longer than two years. And the longest stay was over

:35:06. > :35:09.two-and-a-half years. I've learned from this report, if you borough

:35:10. > :35:15.into the detail that two children were held at the centre mistakenly,

:35:16. > :35:19.they were categorised as adults by an immigration officer. They were

:35:20. > :35:23.held for two months. How old were they? We don't know their ages, but

:35:24. > :35:26.social services reassessed them and said they are children so they

:35:27. > :35:32.shouldn't have been held at a centre for adults. Why are people held for

:35:33. > :35:35.so long? Well, these decisions about whether someone is allowed to stay

:35:36. > :35:38.in the country or leave are difficult. They're tricky. They're

:35:39. > :35:42.not straightforward and once a decision has been made getting them

:35:43. > :35:46.to actually get on to a flight can be very difficult because they need

:35:47. > :35:50.documentation, sometimes the country to which they're going doesn't want

:35:51. > :35:53.to take themment flights have to be arranged and then the detainee

:35:54. > :35:56.themselves may have a number of different appeal processes that they

:35:57. > :36:00.are allowed to go through. So these are complex matters and they can

:36:01. > :36:04.take sometime. The Home Office is saying that some people are

:36:05. > :36:08.deliberately trying to frustrate the process and in doing so, they're

:36:09. > :36:12.prolonging their stay of detention. They are almost saying it is their

:36:13. > :36:16.own fault in some of the cases. Is there a finite period, I mean, the

:36:17. > :36:23.processes have to run out at some point. These four are still there,

:36:24. > :36:27.two-and-a-half years on, how much longer can they be there? They were

:36:28. > :36:32.documented as being there for that length of time. There is no time

:36:33. > :36:36.limit on how long someone can be held, but a review last year into

:36:37. > :36:41.immigration detention across the UK said, you know, that the use of it

:36:42. > :36:48.should be reduced because it is expensive. It costs ?34,000 per

:36:49. > :36:52.detainee per year and around half of those detained aren't removed.

:36:53. > :36:56.They're released back into the community and while you're detained

:36:57. > :37:00.in those conditions and Brooke House is akin to a prison in the way that

:37:01. > :37:03.it is set-up, why you're detained, you will see the welfare, the health

:37:04. > :37:05.of those people can deteriorate so there are concerns there.

:37:06. > :37:15.Thank you very much, Danny. A couple say they were ecstatic

:37:16. > :37:30.after having twins. Russia says it is doing

:37:31. > :37:32.everything in its power to organise a safe World Cup,

:37:33. > :37:35.without the violence that marred the European Championship

:37:36. > :37:37.in France last year. Russian hooligans were involved

:37:38. > :37:39.in street battles then, with England This week, Britain's top police

:37:40. > :37:43.official for football has been in Russia to check how safe

:37:44. > :37:45.it is for travelling fans. Sarah Rainsford reports

:37:46. > :38:02.from St Petersburg. In Marseille, English fans became

:38:03. > :38:07.one of the top targets for a new breed of Russian hooligan,

:38:08. > :38:10.more athletic, disciplined and organised than the English

:38:11. > :38:12.hooligans they once So this week Britain's top policeman

:38:13. > :38:17.for football was in Russia to compare notes on known

:38:18. > :38:19.troublemakers and to ensure security I think anyone watching that

:38:20. > :38:24.would have been absolutely appalled. What we need to do is build

:38:25. > :38:27.on the good working relationship and try to do everything to ensure

:38:28. > :38:30.that anyone coming to Russia Russia dismisses what happened

:38:31. > :38:35.in France as a one-off, and it insists that any talk

:38:36. > :38:38.of a hooligan problem It's clearly anxious,

:38:39. > :38:41.because of course the last thing Russia wants at the World Cup

:38:42. > :38:45.is embarrassingly empty stands. There has never been a single

:38:46. > :38:48.incident during major sporting events in Russia that proves

:38:49. > :38:50.that we can really We're not dangerous

:38:51. > :38:57.because hooligans in Russia, they worry about fighting

:38:58. > :39:00.because the police can cage them and we can go to prison and it

:39:01. > :39:17.will be big problems here. The human rights lawyer Amal Clooney

:39:18. > :39:20.has urged the UN to act against so-called Islamic State

:39:21. > :39:22.by backing a UK-led investigation Speaking at the UN, Mrs Clooney said

:39:23. > :39:27.IS had declared it will "destroy" the country's Yazidi ethnic group

:39:28. > :39:28.through murder, rape She told the UN she wanted to know

:39:29. > :39:35.why no action had been taken. Mass graves in Iraq lie

:39:36. > :39:42.unprotected and unexhumed. Witnesses are fleeing, and not one

:39:43. > :39:44.Isis militant has faced trial for international crimes anywhere

:39:45. > :39:51.in the world. So I am speaking to you,

:39:52. > :39:55.the Iraqi Government, and to you, UN Member States,

:39:56. > :39:58.when I ask, why? Why is it that nothing

:39:59. > :40:01.has been done? I wish to speak directly

:40:02. > :40:06.to Prime Minister Abadi. On behalf of all Isis' victims,

:40:07. > :40:12.I call on you to send the letter to the Security Council requesting

:40:13. > :40:17.an investigation into Isis' crimes. Getting the UN involved

:40:18. > :40:20.was initially Iraq's idea, and finally taking action to make

:40:21. > :40:23.this a reality would silence those who doubt your commitment to bring

:40:24. > :40:28.Daesh to justice. And finally to all of the UN

:40:29. > :40:32.Member States, if this road to accountability through

:40:33. > :40:34.the Security Council is blocked, you must take initiative to secure

:40:35. > :40:38.accountability in other ways available to you under

:40:39. > :40:47.the UN Charter. Don't let this be another Rwanda,

:40:48. > :40:49.where you regret doing Later Ms Clooney and Yazidi genocide

:40:50. > :41:02.survivor Nadia Murad explained why I think you have to ask the Iraqi

:41:03. > :41:11.government why the Iraqi government hasn't acted

:41:12. > :41:17.to create this investigation. Clearly they're not able to do it

:41:18. > :41:20.themselves on the ground, you know? There are a grand total of 32

:41:21. > :41:23.forensic pathologists in Iraq to try and deal with all of these crimes

:41:24. > :41:26.that have been committed. We know that they are not able

:41:27. > :41:28.to conduct investigations and prosecutions themselves

:41:29. > :41:30.because there have not been any prosecutions of Isis members

:41:31. > :41:32.for crimes of sexual violence, for crimes committed

:41:33. > :41:34.against the Yazidis, international So there is no reason

:41:35. > :41:41.for them not to act. They have themselves asked for UN

:41:42. > :41:43.assistance and, even today, you heard the Iraqi ambassador ask

:41:44. > :41:47.for UN assistance with the investigation, so we have

:41:48. > :41:50.to translate these public statements into an actual deed that will make

:41:51. > :41:53.this happen on the ground, and that's why I made a clear call

:41:54. > :41:56.at the end directly to the Prime Minister of Iraq to say

:41:57. > :42:00."Send a letter to the UN Security Council requesting this

:42:01. > :42:05.investigation and it will happen." It's not too much to ask,

:42:06. > :42:08.it's really not that difficult, it's in the interest not only

:42:09. > :42:11.of Yazidi victims but of all Iraqis, because all sects of Iraq has been

:42:12. > :42:15.victims of Isis's violence. There's no excuse

:42:16. > :42:38.for any further delay. Loads of you getting in touch.

:42:39. > :42:43.Louise says, "Why deny children of the subjects of their choice? We

:42:44. > :42:48.need all skills, not just academics. Teachers need to be seen as

:42:49. > :42:52.professionals and allowed to do their job without meddling about

:42:53. > :43:01.Government and Ofsted." Kathy says, "A payment was made about -- a

:43:02. > :43:05.comment was made about comment. We need funding for teachers to teach

:43:06. > :43:08.in the real-time of school to help the children to achieve the required

:43:09. > :43:16.level of maths and English." Keep your thoughts coming in.

:43:17. > :43:19.It's going to cost ?4 billion to fix the Houses of Parliament and stop

:43:20. > :43:22.this world-famous site slowly crumbling into the Thames.

:43:23. > :43:26.It is a huge amount of public money, but as these pictures show,

:43:27. > :43:34.the buildings are in a very poor state of repair.

:43:35. > :43:40.Is there any way of keeping the costs down?

:43:41. > :43:42.The influential Public Accounts Committee the most effective way

:43:43. > :43:45.of keeping costs down is by asking them all to leave the building

:43:46. > :43:47.for a whole six years, whilst works commence.

:43:48. > :43:50.But where should politicians go and should politicians think

:43:51. > :43:52.of going to a place other than the south of England

:43:53. > :43:57.Joining us now is the SNP's Philip Boswell who sits on the MPs'

:43:58. > :44:00.Public Accounts Committee and before becoming a politician was a surveyor

:44:01. > :44:03.The material that Parliament is made out of.

:44:04. > :44:05.And also Dr Faiza Shaheem, director of CLASS,

:44:06. > :44:07.the Centre for Labour and Social Studies.

:44:08. > :44:16.Thank you both for joining us. Philip, with your surveyor's hat on

:44:17. > :44:21.then, tell us why ?4 billion to fix what the issues are, what are the

:44:22. > :44:26.issues? Well, good morning Joanna. Well, first of all, it is a

:44:27. > :44:30.limestone which can be classified as sandstone, but the stone work is in

:44:31. > :44:34.poor repair, but particularly it's the services that cause a problem

:44:35. > :44:38.and water ingres. So there is lots of problems that have been storing

:44:39. > :44:41.up over the years and the decades in fact, although quite a lot of work

:44:42. > :44:46.has been done, there is a serious risk there could be a catastrophic

:44:47. > :44:51.failure, it could be electrical fire. It could be, it is something

:44:52. > :44:54.that the drains are regularly blocking up. It could be any number

:44:55. > :44:58.of things that cause an emergency situation whereby we would have no

:44:59. > :45:02.planned removal to another location which would cost even more. So it

:45:03. > :45:07.sounds like doing nothing is not an option? That's correct. How quickly

:45:08. > :45:12.would it need to be done? Well, there are a few options on the table

:45:13. > :45:16.at the moment and we need to understand that we're still at quite

:45:17. > :45:21.an early stage of development. The project is yet to find itself. We

:45:22. > :45:25.are looking at options or the project teams that will be put in

:45:26. > :45:29.place will be looking at various ogses, but you have to put better

:45:30. > :45:32.definition around that to understand what the true costs will be and to

:45:33. > :45:36.understand the works that will be carried out and of course, you have

:45:37. > :45:40.to select which option you prefer to go ahead with. So there is a lot of

:45:41. > :45:43.work still to be done. The ?4 billion isn't a quote to be signed

:45:44. > :45:47.off on, it is an estimate, but it is a mind blowing amount. I mean,

:45:48. > :45:52.obviously, it is a very special building. It's a big building. But

:45:53. > :46:01.how is ?4 billion the figure that's arrived at? Sp

:46:02. > :46:07.First we should be clear what the order of magnitude estimate is.

:46:08. > :46:13.There is very little definition about the exec nature of the works.

:46:14. > :46:18.The option, certainly, if you ask any quantity surveyor or project

:46:19. > :46:25.manager, they will automatically say that a full to count is the best

:46:26. > :46:29.option. There is a lot of work still to be carried out. We need

:46:30. > :46:34.disruptive surveys, dilapidation surveys. We need to get in to look

:46:35. > :46:43.at the amount of asbestos which is down there. The 36 rises which

:46:44. > :46:46.create a fire hazard. There is still a huge amount of work to be done

:46:47. > :46:49.before we can determine the optimum solution for this. ?4 billion is a

:46:50. > :46:57.lot of money but it is a world Heritage iconic building and it

:46:58. > :47:03.belongs to every citizen of the UK. So Faiza you look at this and see it

:47:04. > :47:07.as an option for MPs to move out of London for a while? Yes, when you

:47:08. > :47:13.look at the regional divides in this country and the inequalities which

:47:14. > :47:18.have been left gaping open for years, when you see the

:47:19. > :47:21.opportunities for politicians to be in Manchester or Birmingham,

:47:22. > :47:23.somewhere outside of London, at a time when people feel all editions

:47:24. > :47:26.are not speaking to them unless you live in London and the south-east,

:47:27. > :47:39.what an amazing opportunity this is at least in the interim to decamp.

:47:40. > :47:43.And what about the money? It is an important building and I understand

:47:44. > :47:48.that money has to be spent. We can think about how it has be done over

:47:49. > :47:52.time. I have not looked at the numbers in any detail. Maybe if we

:47:53. > :47:55.move Parliament out of London for some period of time maybe we can do

:47:56. > :48:00.the work slower, maybe that will make it cheaper? I do know. It is

:48:01. > :48:05.not a question of not investing in that building, it is a question of

:48:06. > :48:09.democracy and the opportunity to go back to some basic questions about

:48:10. > :48:13.why we have Parliament in London stock London has everything, a

:48:14. > :48:19.commercial centre, a financial centre, Eddisbury unusual to have

:48:20. > :48:23.all of in one place. -- it is very unusual to have all that in one

:48:24. > :48:28.place. Do you think there is an option to move out of London? It was

:48:29. > :48:32.an option and it is the consideration I would have some

:48:33. > :48:36.sympathy for. However, the Public Accounts Committee, we can look at

:48:37. > :48:40.the evidence that is but for us and since that option was removed prior

:48:41. > :48:46.to coming to public accounts, it is not an option we have been able to

:48:47. > :48:50.look at. So it is possible, it is not totally off the table? I believe

:48:51. > :48:54.it is an option which has been removed prior to any detailed cost

:48:55. > :49:00.estimates which have been carried out. It was initially mooted as a

:49:01. > :49:07.possibility but sadly it has been removed. There are other options.

:49:08. > :49:10.There are other sites. I asked several witnesses whether it was

:49:11. > :49:15.possible to partially decamp which is another edge and to make it

:49:16. > :49:18.cheaper or at least to keep some activity in the palace, but as I

:49:19. > :49:24.said earlier, no doubt the cheapest option and what we recommend is

:49:25. > :49:31.backing up that the joint committee found, that a full decamp would give

:49:32. > :49:35.us the best and most effective option. Thank you both.

:49:36. > :49:37.A couple have spoken of their joy after becoming parents to children

:49:38. > :49:40.conceived with the help of two lesbian surrogate mothers.

:49:41. > :49:42.Tracy and Pete Akoun suffered repeated miscarriages and fell

:49:43. > :49:44.victim to a con-woman as they battled to

:49:45. > :49:47.They then met Tricia Hunt and Kate Fruin-Smith,

:49:48. > :49:49.two lesbians who each have their own partners

:49:50. > :49:55.and children and live in different parts of the UK.

:49:56. > :49:58.The group came together, and Nyobi and Kenya who you can see

:49:59. > :50:00.here with Tracy and Pete, were born last summer

:50:01. > :50:19.Tracy is joining us on the line and Kate, one of these are but mothers

:50:20. > :50:27.is with us. Tracy, you had miscarriages and one failed

:50:28. > :50:31.surrogacy attempt. Before Kenya and Nyobi arrived, how were you feeling

:50:32. > :50:36.about the prospect of whether parenthood would happen to two? It

:50:37. > :50:46.is a dream which you think will never happen. It just seemed so far

:50:47. > :50:57.away for us. On top of the fact that our own personal losses, you feel it

:50:58. > :51:05.all slipping away. How did you find Tricia and Kate? I was actually

:51:06. > :51:09.brought into our closed group Hope by another surrogates who is

:51:10. > :51:15.obviously now a very good friend of ours and I got talking to Kate and

:51:16. > :51:23.Tricia as friends in the group that way. And then when things went wrong

:51:24. > :51:30.with our initial Farragut, they stepped in -- when things went wrong

:51:31. > :51:34.with our initial surrogates. Kate had got the all clear from her

:51:35. > :51:40.consultant to be a surrogate again and we got talking and that is when

:51:41. > :51:45.it happened. Were you intending to try for two babies at once ordered

:51:46. > :51:50.that just happened? ... Pete and I decided we wanted two. We took in

:51:51. > :51:55.consideration our age and the fact that Pete is a twin, he wanted his

:51:56. > :52:01.children close together. We just felt that is what we wanted for us

:52:02. > :52:06.as a family. Kate, you obviously were one of the surrogates mums, you

:52:07. > :52:15.had done it previously? Yes, my first surrogate baby is nearly three

:52:16. > :52:18.now. Why did you decide to do it? It is an amazing experience. The

:52:19. > :52:22.experience I have from my first written in C which was not a good

:52:23. > :52:26.pregnancy made me realise that the short-term pain was worth the

:52:27. > :52:33.long-term gain and being able to see those families develop was so worth

:52:34. > :52:37.the pregnancy. When I saw the heartache that Pete and Tracy went

:52:38. > :52:41.through, I knew that they were somebody I wanted to help. They

:52:42. > :52:46.deserved to have that happy ending after everything they went through

:52:47. > :52:50.and they were still positive and a happy and supportive couple towards

:52:51. > :52:54.other people. People find it very hard to get to grips with the

:52:55. > :53:00.thought of carrying a baby, delivering that baby and then

:53:01. > :53:05.handing it over. How was that? The babies are conceived with surrogacy.

:53:06. > :53:09.They are not conceived to be our children. Even before they are

:53:10. > :53:13.conceived we are very much in the mindset that we are carrying for

:53:14. > :53:19.somebody else. That baby was never intended to be part of my family or

:53:20. > :53:22.my make up. When I am going through pregnancy, the visualisation is

:53:23. > :53:29.Tracy and Pete and my family, not my family. When I was pregnant with

:53:30. > :53:36.mine I envisaged them growing up as you do as a parent. Ukip sure what

:53:37. > :53:43.they will be like. You have four -- you picture what they would be like.

:53:44. > :53:50.I have four and my wife's carried another. Tracy, you go into a

:53:51. > :53:53.vulnerable situation top did you feel possible that Kate or one of

:53:54. > :54:00.the other surrogates parents might have decided to keep the baby? No,

:54:01. > :54:09.never. Never in a million years. Kate actually said initially that we

:54:10. > :54:13.would not be paying any expenses up until we had our first scam to

:54:14. > :54:25.reassure us that there was an actual AD there. -- our first scan. -- to

:54:26. > :54:36.reassure us there was an actual baby there. And I think you were not

:54:37. > :54:41.together when you gave birth? She was too impatient. By the time

:54:42. > :54:46.Tracey and Pete arrived at the hospital she had already arrived.

:54:47. > :54:54.What is it like as one unusual but blended family? When they came into

:54:55. > :54:58.the room, the look on their faces was worth every minute. The whole

:54:59. > :55:02.journey was worth a look on their faces to see their daughter and to

:55:03. > :55:09.complete their family like that, if the something that nobody can ever

:55:10. > :55:18.describe. And Tracy? Kate will tell you, she will laugh now, she will

:55:19. > :55:21.know I am crying now. At that moment, there is nothing can

:55:22. > :55:29.describe it. It is indescribable. And then there is that point when

:55:30. > :55:38.Tracy you walk away with Kenya and Kate, you are left behind? I did not

:55:39. > :55:41.feel left behind. We keep in contact. As soon as they were in the

:55:42. > :55:46.car I was getting pictures of them on their first journey home. I

:55:47. > :55:50.always knew that is how they would be. They would go off. We have a

:55:51. > :55:54.family have planned our family holidays and things like that for

:55:55. > :55:58.afterwards. Kenya being in July meant we had all our summer holidays

:55:59. > :56:01.and I was raring to get back to being with my children and give them

:56:02. > :56:07.the quality time that they deserve as well. Tracy, how would you

:56:08. > :56:15.describe your family, how do you see this situation? It is perfect. It is

:56:16. > :56:19.absolutely perfect. The aim of doing this media is to promote surrogacy,

:56:20. > :56:28.to give people who have no hope another option that is acceptable

:56:29. > :56:33.and to promote the conference on Saturday which is run by an

:56:34. > :56:37.organisation to give people the information because there is nothing

:56:38. > :56:42.more devastating, as a wife particularly, it is the one thing

:56:43. > :56:47.you are supposed to do is create a family. And it can be hard. Lovely

:56:48. > :56:53.to talk to both. Good luck with everything.

:56:54. > :56:56.I just want to bring you some comments on subjects and schools

:56:57. > :57:02.being cut because of constraints on budgets. Lots and lots of you still

:57:03. > :57:06.getting in touch. Tim has e-mailed to say in further education colleges

:57:07. > :57:08.we have had 24% of cuts in funding over the last five years with

:57:09. > :57:14.redundancies every year. The Bulls have less contact time and teachers

:57:15. > :57:21.have doubled the amount of work -- pupils have less contact time. The

:57:22. > :57:26.funding in education is absolutely dire, regardless of what the

:57:27. > :57:31.government says. Stephen e-mails saying cutting funding for design

:57:32. > :57:35.technology is outrageous. This subject is wide my career and add me

:57:36. > :57:39.setting up a company which has generated millions for the UK

:57:40. > :57:43.economy. Another person says why do schools with this more numbers of

:57:44. > :57:50.children taking their subjects Alba may to with another -- why don't

:57:51. > :57:57.schools with small number will of pupils amalgamate with another will

:57:58. > :58:03.stop Sonia says tech levels are needed, yet deeply and art and

:58:04. > :58:08.design are being cut. And another e-mail says I work in a small rural

:58:09. > :58:12.primary school, always rated as good by Ofsted. Funding has been

:58:13. > :58:16.dwindling to such an extent that we have had to make all but one

:58:17. > :58:20.teaching assistant redundant and may lose a teacher as well. The

:58:21. > :58:26.government seems hell-bent on pushing through its own education

:58:27. > :58:29.agenda when many schools are struggling to make ends meet. I have

:58:30. > :58:32.seriously considered quitting because the stress has had an impact

:58:33. > :58:40.on my family life and health. Now let's join Nick Miller for

:58:41. > :58:42.whether at date. How are things? Do you remember the sunshine yesterday?

:58:43. > :58:57.It was glorious. Is that it? Look at that. You can just about see

:58:58. > :59:02.some of Portsmouth through that. The sun will come back eventually but

:59:03. > :59:08.for now it is a very different story. It is misty and murky for

:59:09. > :59:15.many of us got a lot of the murky and damp stuff is across the west of

:59:16. > :59:21.the UK. The further east you other have been some glimmers sunshine. We

:59:22. > :59:27.had a lovely sunrise in Hull, City of Culture and city of cracking

:59:28. > :59:32.sunrises. Not a huge amount of rain around but it is ample and drizzly

:59:33. > :59:37.across parts of Wales, western England and Northern Ireland. An

:59:38. > :59:40.area of rainfall moving north across Scotland. It is possible you may

:59:41. > :59:47.counter some of that patchy rain at times. Let's take a look at things

:59:48. > :59:51.in more detail this afternoon. You will notice the temperatures in

:59:52. > :59:56.double figures. Yesterday, in the best of the sunshine, 17.5 Celsius.

:59:57. > :00:01.We are not getting back today. I think there will be some towards the

:00:02. > :00:05.north-east of Wales, into Cheshire, North Cornwall, Devon and Somerset

:00:06. > :00:09.and maybe along the North Coast of Northern Ireland a few brighter

:00:10. > :00:13.burst into north-east Scotland. But in the Northern Isles there are

:00:14. > :00:16.outbreaks of rain. The winds an night as they will be tonight.

:00:17. > :00:20.Plenty of cloud tonight as well. Temperature is not going down too

:00:21. > :00:25.far. If you're going to the Six Nations Rugby in Cardiff you do not

:00:26. > :00:29.need too many layers of top again, the possibility of seeing some

:00:30. > :00:35.drizzle around times. You will get an area of rain moving through

:00:36. > :00:43.Northern Ireland and in Scotland. England and Wales mainly drive. A

:00:44. > :00:47.mild start to the weekend. But it is mainly cloudy start to the weekend.

:00:48. > :00:53.Things would improve though. They will improve for Scotland and

:00:54. > :00:56.Northern Ireland. It edges into northern England, North and West

:00:57. > :01:02.Wales and maybe the far south-west of England. Notice Scotland and

:01:03. > :01:05.Northern Ireland brightens up. Parts of East Anglia and south-east

:01:06. > :01:10.England also sees in sunny spells. As Ashley and south-east England

:01:11. > :01:15.with any sunshine, it is not out of the question you could get 18

:01:16. > :01:22.Celsius. Spring is very much in evidence. Sunday is a messy picture.

:01:23. > :01:28.There are spells of wet weather moving through. It will turn a

:01:29. > :01:31.little bit cooler from the West late in the weekend. Whatever you're

:01:32. > :01:36.doing, have great weekend. sp A decision on hiking taxes

:01:37. > :01:43.for the self-employed won't be voted Her party is calling

:01:44. > :01:50.it a partial U-turn. Do you take your babies

:01:51. > :01:52.in their pushchair during Well, experts are urging

:01:53. > :01:56.parents to cover prams to protect babies from exhaust

:01:57. > :02:07.fumes and high levels I do think about it quite a lot.

:02:08. > :02:09.There is not much we can do. We live in the centre of London so there is

:02:10. > :02:13.pollution everywhere. And are we living in

:02:14. > :02:15.a golden age of satire? There's been more and more interest

:02:16. > :02:19.in seeing the funny side of politics We'll talk to writers and performers

:02:20. > :02:22.who say politics in 2017 is providing more material

:02:23. > :02:34.than they ever thought possible. What is that picture doing in here?

:02:35. > :02:40.That's just a plate of mashed potatoes. We're lucky that Trump is

:02:41. > :02:44.going to provide the jokes for the foreseeable future!

:02:45. > :02:46.Annita McVeigh is in the BBC Newsroom with a summary

:02:47. > :02:51.BT has bowed to pressure from telecoms regulator Ofcom

:02:52. > :02:53.to legally separate Openreach which runs the UK's

:02:54. > :03:05.The regulator was pushing for the move following complaints about a

:03:06. > :03:16.poor level of performance. The decisions it takes in terms of

:03:17. > :03:21.investment have to work for the interests of the whole country. And

:03:22. > :03:24.we would expect to see from this, both better service, but also better

:03:25. > :03:28.broadband. Labour has accused the Government

:03:29. > :03:30.of being in "disarray" after the Prime Minister said

:03:31. > :03:32.controversial tax rises for self-employed workers would not

:03:33. > :03:34.be put into legislation Theresa May said the changes

:03:35. > :03:37.to national insurance, announced in the budget,

:03:38. > :03:39.were necessary and fair but said the Chancellor would listen

:03:40. > :03:41.to concerns before MPs voted European leaders are

:03:42. > :03:49.continuing the second day of their summit in Brussels today,

:03:50. > :03:52.but without Theresa May The meeting was the Prime Minister's

:03:53. > :03:56.last summit ahead of the formal Mrs May was keen to downplay

:03:57. > :04:01.the situation, insisting that Britain will continue to play

:04:02. > :04:04.a leading role in Europe and offering suggestions

:04:05. > :04:05.on other topics including Schools in England are being forced

:04:06. > :04:15.to cut GCSE and A-Level courses in an effort to balance the books,

:04:16. > :04:18.according to a head teachers' union. The Association of School

:04:19. > :04:20.and College Leaders has warned budget pressures are driving up

:04:21. > :04:22.class sizes and causing them to cancel activities such as social

:04:23. > :04:25.clubs and school trips. Carole Herman is a head teacher

:04:26. > :04:27.at a school in Essex. She told this programme the issue

:04:28. > :04:32.is extremely complicated. For many students that is their

:04:33. > :04:38.ticket into further education, We are also known here

:04:39. > :04:43.for our excellence in sport Now, we won't cut those

:04:44. > :04:51.because it is absolutely central to the nature of the school,

:04:52. > :04:53.but we're having to look very carefully at other subjects such

:04:54. > :04:58.as design technology. This is exacerbated, actually,

:04:59. > :05:00.by the fact that teachers actually don't want to train in these

:05:01. > :05:02.subjects any more because the emphasis is far more

:05:03. > :05:05.on the EBacc subjects. Protests are taking place in Seoul

:05:06. > :05:15.after South Korea's highest court upheld a decision to remove

:05:16. > :05:17.the country's president from office. Park Geun-hye was impeached over

:05:18. > :05:19.a corruption scandal, She will now lose her immunity

:05:20. > :05:25.against prosecution The decision was met

:05:26. > :05:30.by cheering in the streets from opponents of Ms Park,

:05:31. > :05:31.but her supporters Police say two people have died

:05:32. > :05:39.during protests outside the court. Makers of the hit fantasy TV show

:05:40. > :05:42.Game of Thrones have announced the show will return for its seventh

:05:43. > :05:44.season in July. Fans watched an online video

:05:45. > :05:47.for more than an hour to see a huge block of ice being melted to reveal

:05:48. > :05:50.the air date which will be It's the latest the award-winning

:05:51. > :05:54.series has ever aired as filming was delayed due to a lack

:05:55. > :06:02.of wintry conditions. That's a summary of

:06:03. > :06:17.the latest BBC News. Nigel says "We pushed hard for our

:06:18. > :06:25.son's school to keep design technology. He went on to motorsport

:06:26. > :06:29.engineering and is employed as lead quality engineer at Aston Martin. He

:06:30. > :06:34.would not have achieved his goal without doing design technology.

:06:35. > :06:40.More engineers are needed." This viewer says, "We are a design couple

:06:41. > :06:46.and are saddened that creativity is being stifled by Government cuts. We

:06:47. > :06:50.flourished when traditional core subjects were not our strength. This

:06:51. > :06:54.door to creativity opened up incredible opportunities and enabled

:06:55. > :06:55.us to travel the world with our careers." Thank you for those. Keep

:06:56. > :06:58.your comments coming in. Do get in touch with us

:06:59. > :07:01.throughout the morning - use #Victorialive and if you text,

:07:02. > :07:03.you will be charged A leaked report into British Cycling

:07:04. > :07:08.has levelled serious criticisms at the door

:07:09. > :07:13.of the sport's governing body which has admitted failings in its

:07:14. > :07:15.World Class Performance Programme. The draft version of the report

:07:16. > :07:22.by UK Sport appears to reveal these key findings - that there

:07:23. > :07:25.is a "culture of fear" among staff at British cycling,

:07:26. > :07:27.some of whom are "frightened Former Performance Director

:07:28. > :07:32.Sir Dave Brailsford was "untouchable" and took decisions

:07:33. > :07:37.about the multi-million pound budget himself and former

:07:38. > :07:39.Technical Director Shane Sutton was said to be unsuitable

:07:40. > :07:44.for a leadership role. The review alleges that

:07:45. > :07:48.British Cycling's own report into Jess Varnish's claims of sexism

:07:49. > :07:52.against Shane Sutton where this story began

:07:53. > :07:54.was "sanitised" after the grievance officer found Varnish's

:07:55. > :07:59.allegations were largely true but British Cycling chose to leave

:08:00. > :08:02.out his findings in their report. The review concludes those actions

:08:03. > :08:06.were "shocking and inexcusable". British Cycling have responded

:08:07. > :08:09.with a statement accepting that "leadership focused on medal

:08:10. > :08:16.delivery without sufficient care and attention to the staff

:08:17. > :08:20.and athlete culture." While they disagree with the factual

:08:21. > :08:28.accuracy of certain points, The body's board admits that there

:08:29. > :08:30.was not "adequate oversight" Leading to a failure to "address

:08:31. > :08:33.the early warning signs". Jose Mourinho said it was

:08:34. > :08:36."impossible to play any better" after his Manchester United side

:08:37. > :08:38.drew 1-1 at FC Rostov Mourinho wasn't impressed

:08:39. > :08:50.with the rough pitch. But Henrikh Mkhitaryan scored

:08:51. > :08:52.an away goal AND although Mourinho said that football life

:08:53. > :08:57.was "full of experiences" England goalkeeper Joe Hart

:08:58. > :09:02.doesn't think he'll play He was dropped by Pep Guardiola

:09:03. > :09:06.when he took over as manager at the start of the season and sent

:09:07. > :09:09.on loan to Torino in Italy. He bears no grudge

:09:10. > :09:13.against City though. I love that club and I always said

:09:14. > :09:16.as long as they wanted me, I would be there, but I was always cautious

:09:17. > :09:19.when I said that because I'm aware that other big clubs, stuff can

:09:20. > :09:22.change quickly and opinions and people in charge, not everyone is

:09:23. > :09:24.going to like you. Not everyone is going to want to play you and that's

:09:25. > :09:28.the business side of it. England one-day captain Eoin Morgan

:09:29. > :09:30.described Alex Hales' innings as "unbelievable",

:09:31. > :09:32.after he set them on their way to a 3-0 series

:09:33. > :09:34.victory over West Indies. Hales was back in the side

:09:35. > :09:37.after recovering from a broken hand and he scored a century in the third

:09:38. > :09:42.and final one-dayer in Barbados. Joe Root also made 100

:09:43. > :09:45.as England hit a record total The West Indies were bowled out well

:09:46. > :09:48.short of that target, Wales and Ireland launch

:09:49. > :09:53.the penultimate weekend Anything other than a victory

:09:54. > :09:57.for Ireland will end their bid They're second in the table,

:09:58. > :10:02.behind England, who take on Scotland And can claim the championship

:10:03. > :10:18.at Twickenham if Ireland don't win. Commentary on Radio 5 Live from the

:10:19. > :10:25.Principality Stadium. That's it for now.

:10:26. > :10:28.Labour has claimed the Government is in disarray after Theresa May

:10:29. > :10:30.said controversial Budget tax rises would not go before

:10:31. > :10:41.Let's go to Westminster and bring in Iani Watson. Is the Government

:10:42. > :10:46.getting cold feet in the face of a rebellion over this? I think

:10:47. > :10:49.certainly a touch of cold feet, certainly a shiver up the spine of

:10:50. > :10:53.the Government Joanna for the following reasons. There is a logic

:10:54. > :10:56.to increasing the contributions of self-employed people because they're

:10:57. > :11:00.getting benefits they didn't previously get such as the state

:11:01. > :11:04.pension, but the politics, I think, is far more dangerous than the

:11:05. > :11:08.economics because many Conservative MPs say, look, this is not what we

:11:09. > :11:11.said in our manifesto and secondly, we're hitting people that might be

:11:12. > :11:15.likely to vote for the Conservative Party. So effectively, the timing of

:11:16. > :11:18.this measure is crucial by delaying a Parliamentary vote until the

:11:19. > :11:22.autumn, that will be after the publication of a review into working

:11:23. > :11:26.practises which might actually offer self-employed people more rights and

:11:27. > :11:30.benefits. Rights to maternity and pa personity leave. So the Government

:11:31. > :11:36.could argue, look you're getting more value for money out of this

:11:37. > :11:40.national insurance increase. We get a second Budget. If the rebellion

:11:41. > :11:44.hasn't been quelled, then the Chancellor would have some

:11:45. > :11:46.flexibility to perhaps even potentially delay the

:11:47. > :11:51.implementation. I was speaking earlier to the Conservative MP Neil

:11:52. > :11:54.Carmichael, he chairs the Education Committee. He says there is lots of

:11:55. > :11:58.concern in his constituency about the changes. So I was asking him if

:11:59. > :12:01.it would be enough to offer self-employed people more rights or

:12:02. > :12:07.whether the Chancellor would have to go further and think again about how

:12:08. > :12:14.the whole reform is implemented? If we're expecting people to be sort of

:12:15. > :12:17.active in the economic system as entrepreneurs taking risks we've got

:12:18. > :12:21.to demonstrate that we are aware of that and willing to mitigate some of

:12:22. > :12:25.those risks. So that's an important point. The wider question about

:12:26. > :12:29.taxation, of course, is we have got to increase tax take in order to pay

:12:30. > :12:35.for the things that we might want to pay for. Education clearly being one

:12:36. > :12:38.of them and also the risks that we might confront on leaving the

:12:39. > :12:43.European Union. So it's important that we have a tax system which

:12:44. > :12:48.works fairly and efficiently in terms of getting the money in. Is it

:12:49. > :12:52.a package that says look, self-employed people could get value

:12:53. > :12:55.for money? They will get more of the rights that employed people would

:12:56. > :12:58.get that would satisfy people like you and your constituents or would

:12:59. > :13:02.you and some colleagues be holding out for a re-think on the

:13:03. > :13:07.implementation of the time scale on the tax rise itself? I think a

:13:08. > :13:11.re-think on the implementation is probably the most likely outcome.

:13:12. > :13:16.Because at the end of the day, you know, we are going to have to get

:13:17. > :13:23.some tax. So, I think, we've got to recognise that and be bold enough to

:13:24. > :13:26.stick with the overall direction of travel, but make sure it's more

:13:27. > :13:30.comfortable for those that are basically travelling.

:13:31. > :13:32.Here is the real problem for the Chancellor - if you're making that

:13:33. > :13:36.direction of travel more comfortable, you're going to raise

:13:37. > :13:38.less money for the Treasury. So it could be possible that Philip

:13:39. > :13:41.Hammond goes through all this political pain and doesn't make the

:13:42. > :13:48.Government significantly better off at the end of it. OK, thank you very

:13:49. > :13:52.much. Let's bring in Rachel Reeves, the Government says it is right to

:13:53. > :13:57.equalise the way people are treated in terms of taxation, how do you see

:13:58. > :14:03.it? Well, I'm all for cracking down on bogus self employment and

:14:04. > :14:07.avoiding people incorporating to avoid paying those national

:14:08. > :14:11.insurance contributions, but we do need to better help and support

:14:12. > :14:16.people who are self-employed, who are entrepreneurs setting up on

:14:17. > :14:21.their own in part because they are taking more risk and they don't get

:14:22. > :14:26.access to the same sickness benefits and the same maternity and paternity

:14:27. > :14:31.rights and Universal Credit. So I think that it is wrong to just

:14:32. > :14:34.increase the tax take on self-employed without giving them

:14:35. > :14:37.any additional support to make a success of their business and the

:14:38. > :14:42.reality is, the Government are cutting taxes for the biggest

:14:43. > :14:46.businesses, ?3.8 billion cut in corporation tax and yet asking the

:14:47. > :14:51.self-employed to pay an additional ?2 billion in taxes. I don't think

:14:52. > :14:55.those are right priorities. I think we should be asking more of those

:14:56. > :14:57.with the broadest shoulders and helping small businesses and the

:14:58. > :15:04.self-employed to make a better contribution to our economy. Would

:15:05. > :15:09.you be appeased if there were more benefits for the self-employed over

:15:10. > :15:12.rights from the state? I moon the Government is saying there is almost

:15:13. > :15:16.equal treatment at the moment. There will be a review into modern

:15:17. > :15:20.employment practises. Would that make you change your mind? It

:15:21. > :15:24.doesn't sound like anything would? It is true with the flat rate

:15:25. > :15:28.pension that over time people who are self-employed will start to

:15:29. > :15:32.benefit from a pension they didn't previously get, but when you look at

:15:33. > :15:36.other benefits like maternity and paternity leave and maternity and

:15:37. > :15:39.paternity pay, like for example, sickness and disability benefits,

:15:40. > :15:42.out of work benefits, you don't have the same sort of access if you are

:15:43. > :15:47.self-employed. So, if the Chancellor wants to go further, and look at

:15:48. > :15:51.those whole range of benefits I think that would be something that

:15:52. > :15:55.we could support and we could get behind, but at moment we don't have

:15:56. > :15:58.anything like those guarantees. All we know is the self-employed are

:15:59. > :16:02.going to have to pay higher national insurance without getting those

:16:03. > :16:06.benefits that many of the rest of us take for granted. We also need to do

:16:07. > :16:11.more to help the self-employed access pensions and mortgages. In

:16:12. > :16:16.the private sectorment if you are self-employed... That's a different

:16:17. > :16:21.issue, isn't it? Just focussing on the tax take from the self-employed

:16:22. > :16:26.here. The Government is pointing out that if it were not to be getting

:16:27. > :16:29.this extra cash from the self-employed with the national

:16:30. > :16:33.insurance increase, there wouldn't be the money that was announced in

:16:34. > :16:39.the Budget for social care, an extra ?2 billion going into social care?

:16:40. > :16:46.Well, as I said the government is cutting corporation tax. They are

:16:47. > :16:50.cutting inheritance tax for the richest estates and that is costing

:16:51. > :16:58.taxpayers ?1 billion. The government are cutting taxes for the better

:16:59. > :17:03.off. I want more money going into the National Health Service and the

:17:04. > :17:06.care system. I do think it is right to be cutting services for the best

:17:07. > :17:11.of while asking the self-employed to pay more. There is an important

:17:12. > :17:14.point. Self-employed people are taking additional risks which were

:17:15. > :17:19.not taking if you are directly employed and you miss out on things

:17:20. > :17:23.both in terms of State benefits through the national insurance

:17:24. > :17:28.system but also, you do find it harder to access things like

:17:29. > :17:32.pensions in the private sector as well. There is something different

:17:33. > :17:35.about being self-employed and the government needs to recognise that.

:17:36. > :17:39.That is why traditionally the southern point have paid less. I

:17:40. > :17:44.recognise with the growth in self employment that needs to be looked

:17:45. > :17:47.at again, but so do the rights that come from paying into national

:17:48. > :17:49.insurance and those are some of the things we have just spoken about.

:17:50. > :17:59.Thank you. Still to come: more and more people

:18:00. > :18:03.are seeing the funny side of being in power and politics in general. We

:18:04. > :18:11.will find out why we are in a golden age of satire.

:18:12. > :18:18.First, an independent watchdog has warned that Britain's aid programme

:18:19. > :18:24.in Libya could be harming migrants. A report said Britain's support lead

:18:25. > :18:29.to more migrants being detained and denied a right to asylum. We can

:18:30. > :18:35.speak to the Oxfam policy adviser. We also joined by the Conservative

:18:36. > :18:38.MP Jeremy Lefroy who was a member of the International development

:18:39. > :18:46.committee. And here in the studio I enjoyed by Doctor John Campbell from

:18:47. > :18:48.the School of Oriental and African. Josephine, spell out why the British

:18:49. > :18:56.aid could actually be making things worse for migrants? Oxfam works with

:18:57. > :19:00.people who had to leave their home due to conflict, violence, poverty

:19:01. > :19:07.and disaster and all around the world. In the companies in which we

:19:08. > :19:10.work, we see first-hand the transformative effect that foreign

:19:11. > :19:20.aid can have when it is targeting people when it addresses the issues

:19:21. > :19:24.of poverty and suffering. We can see how it saves lives. What this report

:19:25. > :19:32.looks at is areas where foreign aid is used to prevent people migrating

:19:33. > :19:37.to Europe or foreign aid used as a bargaining chip to have agreements

:19:38. > :19:42.with third countries to prevent mobility and migration to Europe.

:19:43. > :19:47.This is where the report finds that this must never be the sole

:19:48. > :19:52.objective of foreign aid and assistance and that is something

:19:53. > :19:56.which Oxfam wholeheartedly second is because not only is it ineffective,

:19:57. > :20:01.it also puts people's lives at risk and that was made in the case of

:20:02. > :20:08.Libya and it also risks undermining development in fact by restricting

:20:09. > :20:11.mobility. In Libya we are seeing a situation where the UK and other

:20:12. > :20:16.European governments are trying to prevent people from leaving Libya to

:20:17. > :20:21.seek safety in Europe, and also looking at ways in which they would

:20:22. > :20:25.return people back to Libya. These are really concerning developments

:20:26. > :20:29.and we know from our operations, Oxfam's operations in Italy, where

:20:30. > :20:32.we work with people who have left Libya and made the horrendous

:20:33. > :20:37.journey across the Mediterranean, who tell us about the human rights

:20:38. > :20:45.by nations they have witnessed, the beatings, the kidnappings and forced

:20:46. > :20:47.Labour, so that Libya is Rulli situation they themselves describe

:20:48. > :20:50.as hell. It is really worrying to see trends in which the UK and other

:20:51. > :20:54.European governments are trying to pave the way in which vulnerable

:20:55. > :20:58.people would not be able to leave situations of human rights

:20:59. > :21:02.violations be returned there. Jeremy Lefroy, you are on the international

:21:03. > :21:07.development committee, are you concerned that aid might be doing

:21:08. > :21:12.more harm than good? I don't think the UK is doing more harm than good

:21:13. > :21:16.at all. The report points out that there are cases where because of

:21:17. > :21:22.support slave for the Libyan coast guard, people have been returned to

:21:23. > :21:27.the coast of Libya and maybe in camps or places where there are real

:21:28. > :21:31.problems with human rights violations. Clearly, we need to look

:21:32. > :21:38.at that. However, the report also looks at the work of the United

:21:39. > :21:45.Kingdom in Ethiopia, and in Nigeria, and in both those cases, the work of

:21:46. > :21:50.the UK in those countries is really helping the governments to work with

:21:51. > :21:54.refugees. Ethiopia has an open door policy for refugees which is a

:21:55. > :21:57.magnificent response by that government to the problems

:21:58. > :22:02.particularly in Eritrea and South Sudan. The UK Government is working

:22:03. > :22:07.with the Ethiopian government to see that refugees in Ethiopia can have

:22:08. > :22:12.access to work, up to 30,000 job places. That is something I think we

:22:13. > :22:16.should absolutely be doing. That has been singled out for praise in this

:22:17. > :22:20.report but you said about potentially looking at what happens

:22:21. > :22:25.to migrants when they are returned to Libya, having tried to head off

:22:26. > :22:29.on that journey, it is UK money that is obviously helping the Coast Guard

:22:30. > :22:34.in Libya to intercept these people and take them back, how would you

:22:35. > :22:37.suggest it be looked at and what might change? Clearly, where there

:22:38. > :22:40.are things to be improved, they need to be improved, but I do think

:22:41. > :22:44.anyone would suggest working with the Libyan coast guard in order to

:22:45. > :22:48.save people's lives, when so many people have drowned on a perilous

:22:49. > :22:58.crossing could be a bad thing. It is surely a good thing. What we then

:22:59. > :23:00.have to look at is what happens to people when they are returned. The

:23:01. > :23:03.work of Oxfam and other NGOs are vital and we must listen to them

:23:04. > :23:06.with great respect. To point them out with this particular report and

:23:07. > :23:09.suggest the UK aid is doing real harm is a complete misinterpretation

:23:10. > :23:14.of the report. There are areas we have to look at and there are

:23:15. > :23:18.people, let's not forget it is the people who are actually breaching

:23:19. > :23:22.people's human rights are doing the harm. It is not the UK Government or

:23:23. > :23:26.anybody associated with it. We really need to look at those things

:23:27. > :23:32.in detail while recognising that the work the UK Government, often on its

:23:33. > :23:36.own. I have been to northern Nigeria where the UK Government is working

:23:37. > :23:43.in very, very difficult situations. There is almost no deal is working

:23:44. > :23:47.there apart from the UK Government. I hear the broader picture of what

:23:48. > :23:53.you're saying about the good work that is being done with UK aid. John

:23:54. > :23:58.Campbell, the strategy, obviously, in terms of people travelling from

:23:59. > :24:01.Libya to Europe, making that dangerous journey across the

:24:02. > :24:04.Mediterranean is aimed at stopping that happening, because more than

:24:05. > :24:09.4500 people were killed on Matt Crossen last year, and Jeremy Lefroy

:24:10. > :24:13.making the point that if investing in the Coast Guard and stopping

:24:14. > :24:18.people making that journey is having an effect, it is absolutely the

:24:19. > :24:23.right thing? Does the right thing but what the UK and Europe are

:24:24. > :24:26.interested in, is preventing migrants reaching Europe. The

:24:27. > :24:30.broader issue should be about the security of those migrants. The key

:24:31. > :24:37.issue is being overlooked. What are the factors driving people leaving

:24:38. > :24:43.Africa to come to Europe. That is where we need to focus. This has not

:24:44. > :24:48.identified any relevant thinking of policies which deal with that. I'm

:24:49. > :24:53.afraid I totally disagree with that. The UK is working with the economic

:24:54. > :25:00.divide and in Nigeria and in Ethiopia, and that is the thing to

:25:01. > :25:04.enable both Ethiopians and Nigerians, and refugees seeking

:25:05. > :25:07.refuge in their countries, to see a better future for themselves in

:25:08. > :25:12.their own countries and regions. That is surely very strategic

:25:13. > :25:16.thinking? John Campbell? The government promised last year they

:25:17. > :25:22.would put money into the strategy identified by your speaker. The

:25:23. > :25:26.issue is this already fits into Ethiopia in developing strategies.

:25:27. > :25:29.Ethiopia polices its borders relatively efficiently. The

:25:30. > :25:33.investment into Ethiopian industry is primarily there, as seen by the

:25:34. > :25:37.British government as something which will prevent Eritreans leaving

:25:38. > :25:41.the region. Eritreans are not leaving searching for work. There

:25:42. > :25:45.are broader agendas and there are commitments made to migration which

:25:46. > :25:50.can be addressed by investment next year or the next two years in jobs

:25:51. > :25:51.in Ethiopia. Thank you to all of you.

:25:52. > :25:53.A Government spokesperson said, "Cross-government efforts

:25:54. > :25:55.are tackling the root causes of migration by building opportunity

:25:56. > :25:58.and stability for people in their home regions so they don't

:25:59. > :26:00.need to make the perilous journey across the Mediterranean.

:26:01. > :26:03.ICAI rightly praises our innovative work in Ethiopia where we have

:26:04. > :26:08.We're also getting help to vulnerable migrants who have already

:26:09. > :26:13.Since May 2015, British vessels have saved more than 13,000 lives

:26:14. > :26:22.Lots of you getting touch today about the cuts being made to some

:26:23. > :26:26.We had a particularly strong response to the news that

:26:27. > :26:28.lots of schools stopping design and technology.

:26:29. > :26:33.Lots of you took it at school and have made a career out of it.

:26:34. > :26:44.One viewer who contacted us was Syreeta Challinger from Lincoln.

:26:45. > :26:54.She did design and technology and art A-levels and is now a fashion

:26:55. > :27:00.designer. She joins us now. You obviously feel very strongly about

:27:01. > :27:04.this. Absolutely, I would not be employed at all if I had not taken

:27:05. > :27:11.those subjects. What to think about the idea that it may go off the

:27:12. > :27:14.curriculum if it is not viable? I'm shocked and in disbelief actually.

:27:15. > :27:20.British design is revered around the world. If we cut it at such an early

:27:21. > :27:24.age, at school age, what does that mean for future generations? Do you

:27:25. > :27:29.think you would have ultimately found your way without design and

:27:30. > :27:36.technology? These are relatively new subjects in British education. I

:27:37. > :27:41.would have struggled. And I know that my partner who also struggled

:27:42. > :27:44.with dyslexia at school, if he had not had art, design and technology

:27:45. > :27:48.as well, we would not be as employable as we are now. We would

:27:49. > :27:55.not have the skill set we have now. It has moulded us greatly. What was

:27:56. > :28:04.it you got from studying it, the skills you talk about? If you are

:28:05. > :28:11.not good at maths or remembering subjects, if you are a bit more

:28:12. > :28:15.logical and hands-on, it definitely benefits you at a school age. It

:28:16. > :28:20.shows you that there are other opportunities, rather than having

:28:21. > :28:25.your nose in a book or having to correct spelling or anything in that

:28:26. > :28:30.manner. There are other opportunities. We have talked on the

:28:31. > :28:33.programme about the growth in manufacturing in this country, in

:28:34. > :28:38.the fashion industry, we were talking just before London Fashion

:28:39. > :28:41.Week about how the fashion industry is benefiting the country, tell us

:28:42. > :28:49.more about your career and your input there? So, I was fortunate

:28:50. > :28:53.that I studied, I went on to university to study textile design

:28:54. > :28:58.and that has opened up doors within the industry pretty much

:28:59. > :29:01.straightaway. Having worked for UK-based companies, and then even

:29:02. > :29:06.opening an opportunity to work globally. However, most recently, I

:29:07. > :29:11.have been working predominantly with the British high street and everyone

:29:12. > :29:15.in that industry would have studied art and design or technology at

:29:16. > :29:19.school. Therefore, I think it is quite short-sighted for the

:29:20. > :29:24.government to not invest in those areas, because it is a huge

:29:25. > :29:28.industry. Thank you. It is great to know you were watching at home and

:29:29. > :29:32.you are obviously moved by what he we were talking about and got in

:29:33. > :29:38.touch. It is great to have you on the programme. Thank you.

:29:39. > :29:45.More and more people are seeing the funny side of people in power

:29:46. > :29:54.We'll find out why some think we're in the golden age of Satire.

:29:55. > :30:03.And should you put a cover on your pram or pushchair when you are doing

:30:04. > :30:08.the school run? We will hear more about pollution.

:30:09. > :30:12.Annita McVeigh is in the BBC Newsroom with a summary of the news.

:30:13. > :30:19.BT has bowed to pressure from telecoms regulator Ofcom

:30:20. > :30:21.to legally separate Openreach which runs much of the UK's

:30:22. > :30:25.The regulator had been pushing for the move following complaints

:30:26. > :30:27.about poor levels of service and had threatened to force BT

:30:28. > :30:38.Openreach will have to work to the interests of all consumers, better

:30:39. > :30:41.broadband, but secondly, the decisions it takes as a company in

:30:42. > :30:46.terms of investment again have got to work for the interests of the

:30:47. > :30:50.whole country and we would expect to see from this both better service,

:30:51. > :30:54.but also better broadband. Labour has accused the Government

:30:55. > :30:56.of being in "disarray" after the Prime Minister said

:30:57. > :30:58.controversial tax rises for self-employed workers would not

:30:59. > :31:00.be put into legislation Theresa May said the changes

:31:01. > :31:03.to national insurance, announced in the Budget,

:31:04. > :31:06.were necessary and fair but said the Chancellor would listen

:31:07. > :31:08.to concerns before MPs voted MPs are being warned the Palace

:31:09. > :31:17.of Westminster is close to a "catastrophic failure"

:31:18. > :31:19.unless they make a decision The Public Accounts Committee,

:31:20. > :31:22.which overlooks government spending, says the longer MPs mull over

:31:23. > :31:25.the options, the greater the chance The committee is encouraging

:31:26. > :31:30.parliament to support the cheapest option to repair the deterioration,

:31:31. > :31:33.which will cost around ?3.5 billion and mean MPs and peers would leave

:31:34. > :31:41.the building for six years. Join me for BBC

:31:42. > :31:48.Newsroom Live at 11am. British Cycling have admitted

:31:49. > :31:58.to failings in their World Class Performance Programme after a draft

:31:59. > :32:00.version of the independent report into the sport's governing body

:32:01. > :32:02.was leaked overnight. It claims there is a "culture

:32:03. > :32:05.of fear" among staff at British cycling and that an internal

:32:06. > :32:07.British Cycling report following Jess Varnish's claims

:32:08. > :32:09.of sexism against former technical director Shane Sutton

:32:10. > :32:14.was "sanitised". Manchester United can claim they got

:32:15. > :32:17.a good result on a bad pitch. Henrikh Mkhitaryan scored

:32:18. > :32:19.the away goal in a 1-1 draw at Rostov in the first leg

:32:20. > :32:23.of their Europa League last 16 tie. England's cricketers cruise to

:32:24. > :32:29.a series whitewash in the Caribbean. They won the third one day

:32:30. > :32:31.international against the West Indies comfortably thanks

:32:32. > :32:33.to centuries from Adam Wales and Ireland launch

:32:34. > :32:37.the penultimate weekend Anything other than a victory

:32:38. > :32:42.for Ireland will end their bid for a third title in four years

:32:43. > :32:46.and is likely to mean England can claim the championship

:32:47. > :32:58.by beating Scotland. That's all the sport for now.

:32:59. > :33:03.Lovely, see you later. Thank you very much.

:33:04. > :33:10.The host of one of the biggest talk shows in America said yesterday

:33:11. > :33:12."When I see Donald Trump, I see a stand-up comedian"

:33:13. > :33:15.and it would seem he's not the only one seeing the funny side of him

:33:16. > :33:19.Because there's growing interest in taking the mick out of people

:33:20. > :33:22.in power and some think we're in the golden age of Satire.

:33:23. > :33:26.James Ballardie's been looking into this one for us.

:33:27. > :33:29.You might not think so every time you turn on the news,

:33:30. > :33:35.but some people think we're currently living through one

:33:36. > :33:37.of the funniest periods of human history.

:33:38. > :33:40.It's boomtime for satire, the art of poking fun at public figures.

:33:41. > :33:42.Satirists have never been more popular.

:33:43. > :33:44.In the UK, sales of satirical magazine Private Eye are a record

:33:45. > :33:52.all-time high of 25% on just five years ago.

:33:53. > :33:55.Private Eye has been taunting politicians

:33:56. > :34:02.Its editor Ian Hislop is often described as the most

:34:03. > :34:10.It measures basic intelligence, which he would lose.

:34:11. > :34:14.Meanwhile, in the USA, there are no less than 24 nightly

:34:15. > :34:20.talk shows to guide satire fans through the day's top stories.

:34:21. > :34:24.And long-running comedy sketch show Saturday Night Live

:34:25. > :34:30.is experiencing its highest audience ratings in 24 years, up 26% on 2016,

:34:31. > :34:32.in part thanks to Hollywood actor Alec Baldwin's impression

:34:33. > :34:42.No, that's just a plate of mashed potatoes, sir.

:34:43. > :34:44.It even caught the attention of the president himself.

:34:45. > :34:49.Not everyone is a fan of satire, but it's everywhere.

:34:50. > :35:00.Satirists are lapping up shares and retweets.

:35:01. > :35:03.Last month, this skit starring comedian Melissa McCarthy as White

:35:04. > :35:05.House Press Secretary Sean Spicer became an internet sensation,

:35:06. > :35:11.racking up over 24 million YouTube hits.

:35:12. > :35:12.And it's not just professional satirists

:35:13. > :35:19.You might recognise some of these pictures from your Facebook

:35:20. > :35:23.They're called memes, the tool of choice for budding

:35:24. > :35:35.But why do we relish ridiculing people in power?

:35:36. > :35:39.Can satire really change opinions, or does it just reinforce

:35:40. > :35:43.And by lampooning those we disagree with, do we risk

:35:44. > :35:49.I've come to Private Eye's HQ in London to find out why politics

:35:50. > :36:00.Why is Private Eye selling so many copies right now?

:36:01. > :36:03.I think, if I'm honest, it's because of Brexit and Trump.

:36:04. > :36:06.People have become more interested in politics and also

:36:07. > :36:12.quite gloomy about it, and Private Eye offers some

:36:13. > :36:14.jokes, some light relief, and hopefully some insight,

:36:15. > :36:17.though I'm less confident about that.

:36:18. > :36:19.As a satirist you have a responsibility in some way,

:36:20. > :36:24.do you ever worry people might start taking you literally?

:36:25. > :36:26.Well, I mean that obviously has been a problem.

:36:27. > :36:29.Private Eye was listed as fake news by some American academic who just

:36:30. > :36:32.didn't get any of the jokes and decided that when we said

:36:33. > :36:35.the Queen had signed a petition to stop Trump coming over,

:36:36. > :36:41.So that is a slight problem in doing satire, but responsibility?

:36:42. > :36:47.Yes, I mean, you should be able to justify what you write.

:36:48. > :36:50.What is the difference between Private Eye and fake news?

:36:51. > :36:52.Obviously the journalism in Private Eye is true

:36:53. > :36:58.Fake news is when you deliberately make up stories in order

:36:59. > :37:03.It's a group of teenagers in a shed in Macedonia

:37:04. > :37:05.or the middle of Russia, when you are deliberately making up

:37:06. > :37:12.news in order to make people believe things which aren't true.

:37:13. > :37:16.When a character like Trump comes along, do you think, "Oh, goody,

:37:17. > :37:20.I've got lots and lots of jokes that I can tell," or are you terrified?

:37:21. > :37:24.You know, my first reaction is as a responsible citizen

:37:25. > :37:28.and human being, so I'm appalled and I'm terrified.

:37:29. > :37:31.And my second response is how very lucky we are that Trump

:37:32. > :37:33.is going to provide most of the jokes for the

:37:34. > :37:53.You can feel the acerbic wit just radiating from these covers.

:37:54. > :37:59.Talk me through which is your favourite?

:38:00. > :38:01.We talked about American presidents, I love that, "Bush,

:38:02. > :38:13.But, again, the great thing about doing it for a long time

:38:14. > :38:15.is you realise that there isn't that much that's new,

:38:16. > :38:18.and the approach tends to need to be the same.

:38:19. > :38:21.Satire's pretty consistent, I think, not only over the decades but pretty

:38:22. > :38:25.I mean, what happens is it goes in and out of fashion,

:38:26. > :38:26.sometimes everyone says, "Oh, satire, marvellous,

:38:27. > :38:30.And then during the down periods they say, "Oh,

:38:31. > :38:32.really, it's so pathetic, we don't want this stuff,

:38:33. > :38:41.Do you think that by going after all these people, so many years,

:38:42. > :38:44.that you may have contributed in some way to the climate

:38:45. > :38:48.No, what I hope we've done is make people view it realistically.

:38:49. > :38:51.I think people do tend to say that, they say, "Well, it's your fault

:38:52. > :38:55.for pointing out when people have done something wrong because then

:38:56. > :38:58.we think they are up to something wrong."

:38:59. > :39:01.And I say, no, our job is to make people honest,

:39:02. > :39:14.to make people think if they do that then they will be found out.

:39:15. > :39:17.Satire helps us make sense of the world.

:39:18. > :39:20.It empowers us and reminds us that humour can be found in even the most

:39:21. > :39:28.It was on January 7th 2015 that terrorist attacks on French

:39:29. > :39:30.satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo brought home the power

:39:31. > :39:38.12 people were killed and 11 injured when masked gunmen

:39:39. > :39:44.In an outcry of public grief, 3.7 million people joined

:39:45. > :39:53.One week after the attack, surviving Charlie Hebdo staff

:39:54. > :39:56.released a commemorative edition packed full of incendiary jokes and

:39:57. > :40:02.Shappi Khorsandi is someone who knows this all too well.

:40:03. > :40:06.Her father was a satirist in Iran, until he and the rest of the family

:40:07. > :40:09.were forced to flee in 1976 after he published a poem ridiculing

:40:10. > :40:19.In countries in the Middle East, Iran, after the revolution they went

:40:20. > :40:22.gunning for the satirists, they were the first on the hit list.

:40:23. > :40:25.And your dad was one of those people, that's

:40:26. > :40:34.Yeah! My dad's the man!

:40:35. > :40:38.So I came to Britain in the early 80s.

:40:39. > :40:42.We were refugees long before it became fashionable.

:40:43. > :40:46.A lot of your stuff is based on real life, isn't it?

:40:47. > :40:49.You're taking things that happen to you day-to-day and you're talking

:40:50. > :40:55.There are certain times when certain things are going on in politics,

:40:56. > :40:57.like they've closed the refugee camp in Calais.

:40:58. > :41:00.Now, I was a refugee child, so how can I not mention that

:41:01. > :41:05.in stand-up when what I do is so personal?

:41:06. > :41:11.For me, I find satire itself is to mock the status quo,

:41:12. > :41:15.mock the powers that be, mocking what we are told

:41:16. > :41:19.to consider is right and normal and the moral high ground.

:41:20. > :41:23.And you're like, "No, no, no, that's not the way I see it.

:41:24. > :41:27.You're actually trying to trick us, you're trying to lead us

:41:28. > :41:42.The Western world is currently experiencing the most

:41:43. > :41:45.significant political upheaval since the Second World War.

:41:46. > :41:47.In times of turmoil, satirists see opportunities.

:41:48. > :41:49.Like Geoff Norcott - he's targeting Remain

:41:50. > :41:54.voters in light of last year's EU referendum.

:41:55. > :41:56.One thing about Remainers, right, is they don't realise

:41:57. > :41:58.some of their arguments were oddly racist themselves.

:41:59. > :42:02."Well, who's going to come and do all the menial jobs?"

:42:03. > :42:04.Is that how you see the EU, supplying you with

:42:05. > :42:10.Are you aiming to convert people, are you aiming to reinforce

:42:11. > :42:17.I'd like to think I had that sort of power, I could just reach

:42:18. > :42:20.out my hand and we'd all walk away thinking the same thing.

:42:21. > :42:23.But I think in a way it's about sharing ideas and also

:42:24. > :42:26.unpicking some of the tension around Brexit, because obviously I was

:42:27. > :42:28.a Leave voter and the stereotype of a working-class Leave voter

:42:29. > :42:30.is perhaps a bit ignorant, uneducated, possibly racist,

:42:31. > :42:34.we all took one bite on a straight banana and just started setting fire

:42:35. > :42:39.I know those people exist but I don't honestly think

:42:40. > :42:42.that was the broad sweep of the working-class Leave vote,

:42:43. > :42:47.and I think in a way, hopefully, if you hear somebody talk who's

:42:48. > :42:50.reasonably informed on the subject it might make people think, well,

:42:51. > :42:53.maybe other working-class Leave voters felt that way.

:42:54. > :42:55.Voting Conservative is a bit like buying

:42:56. > :43:00.You know for a fact millions of other people must have done it,

:43:01. > :43:05.Trump and Brexit are the gift that keeps on giving.

:43:06. > :43:06.I do think that's exhaustable, though.

:43:07. > :43:09.I do think there'll come a point with the public where,

:43:10. > :43:11.as things probably settle down a little bit, that seems a bold

:43:12. > :43:14.prediction with Trump, it might be we return to something

:43:15. > :43:18.We'll actually be begging for a minister to go with a call

:43:19. > :43:22.girl, or just something that's a bit more the kind of thing

:43:23. > :43:26.So are you just carving yourself a comedy niche, then?

:43:27. > :43:28.Wouldn't it be easier if you just didn't make jokes

:43:29. > :43:31.Yeah, I was definitely carving a niche.

:43:32. > :43:34.Other kinds of humour, left-wing humour, in a way I admire

:43:35. > :43:36.people doing that kind of comedy because it's a far more crowded

:43:37. > :43:41.People on Twitter, Facebook, all the comedy panel shows,

:43:42. > :43:44.most of the humour comes from that angle so it's almost harder,

:43:45. > :43:48.I think, to make an original joke in that respect,

:43:49. > :43:50.which ultimately I'm only centre-right, really,

:43:51. > :43:53.which is like a lot of the country, but I guess in the context

:43:54. > :44:05.These pictures are the latest weapon in satire's battle

:44:06. > :44:12.Since the birth of social media there's been an explosion in memes,

:44:13. > :44:16.cartoons, drawings and photos made by regular people who've got

:44:17. > :44:19.something funny to say about the world we live in.

:44:20. > :44:23.The very best might get reposted by tens of millions of people,

:44:24. > :44:26.but despite their popularity many meme makers remain

:44:27. > :44:30.I persuaded one of them to speak to me.

:44:31. > :44:33.His name's Jim'll Paint It, and he's agreed to be interviewed

:44:34. > :44:35.on the condition that we don't show his face.

:44:36. > :44:45.My name's Jim, I run Jim'll Paint It, which is an online

:44:46. > :44:48.thing, Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, that sort of stuff.

:44:49. > :44:51.People send me their requests and I do my best to sort

:44:52. > :44:59.You've asked to be represented by one of your very,

:45:00. > :45:02.Why do you think that people who make memes,

:45:03. > :45:05.people who make satirical stuff on the internet, are less keen

:45:06. > :45:12.I think maybe it makes them less afraid to say

:45:13. > :45:15.what they want to say, maybe, without repercussions.

:45:16. > :45:19.Obviously that can have a negative effect us because it means you just

:45:20. > :45:21.get trolls and all kinds of unsavoury characters that can

:45:22. > :45:28.Memes, as you say, or things that are on the internet,

:45:29. > :45:31.they are a form of propaganda, in a way, but instead of coming

:45:32. > :45:33.from the Government it's sort of self-perpetuating propaganda,

:45:34. > :45:36.it's made by people and it's spread by people, and I think that's

:45:37. > :45:39.where the strength of memes is, is that it's not something

:45:40. > :45:42.that is sort of broadcast to you, it's something that you pass on.

:45:43. > :45:48.They spread so much quicker than any other form of satire could.

:45:49. > :45:52.There's a lot of turmoil politically, does that mean

:45:53. > :46:02.the submissions that you're getting are different?

:46:03. > :46:14.Something started as a stupid little joke. All of my stuffs the stuff is

:46:15. > :46:31.user generated. Someone put in a request. .

:46:32. > :46:34.Jim'll Paint It started just as a stupid little joke, I just

:46:35. > :46:38.All of my stuff is user-generated, so whatever people are talking

:46:39. > :46:40.about they send to me, and it influences their ideas,

:46:41. > :46:43.There was absolutely no politics for the first

:46:44. > :46:45.maybe one or two years, it was just celebrities

:46:46. > :46:49.I think it's massively changed, and I think people do talk

:46:50. > :46:52.about politics more than they do celebrity gossip and pop culture.

:46:53. > :46:53.That's become water cooler entertainment.

:46:54. > :46:56.Do you think drawing your pictures helps you deal with these things?

:46:57. > :46:57.Yeah, it's therapeutic, total therapy.

:46:58. > :47:00.The one I got the most likes for was drawing a picture

:47:01. > :47:03.of Donald Trump on the toilet on his first day in office,

:47:04. > :47:06.and it was just my way of basically just trying to get through that day

:47:07. > :47:09.Things are ridiculous, things are easily mockable,

:47:10. > :47:12.probably more so than they've ever been, but that is people's

:47:13. > :47:15.way of dealing with it, they just want to sort of channel it

:47:16. > :47:17.into something that they can laugh at.

:47:18. > :47:19.Sometimes we could all do with a little more

:47:20. > :47:22.When news headlines go bonkers, perhaps laughter might be

:47:23. > :47:28.So long as there are people in charge, so long as there

:47:29. > :47:31.are haves and have nots, there will always be jokes to tell

:47:32. > :47:35.Satire is as old as time itself, and in 2017 it's

:47:36. > :47:39.Keeping an eye on the people in charge can only be

:47:40. > :47:43.A world without satire would be no laughing matter.

:47:44. > :47:46.If you want to see that again, it is on the programme page.

:47:47. > :47:49.Parents are being urged to cover prams and pushchairs

:47:50. > :47:51.during the school run to protect their babies

:47:52. > :47:54.That's according to researchers at the University of Surrey who say

:47:55. > :47:56.that particles from exhaust fumes are particularly high at bus

:47:57. > :48:06.It is an issue that mums on the school run this morning said they

:48:07. > :48:10.are very aware of. I did think about it a lot but there is not much we do

:48:11. > :48:15.as we live in central London so there is pollution everywhere. They

:48:16. > :48:18.have but had any chest problems. I thought if they did have problems we

:48:19. > :48:24.might have to move because we live on Euston Road. There is a lot of

:48:25. > :48:28.pollution and I think it is because of the construction, the cars and

:48:29. > :48:34.everything going on. Have you ever thought about putting the roof up

:48:35. > :48:42.because of pollution? Sometimes I put the raincoat on the pushchair

:48:43. > :48:47.just for her to avoid getting the, how would you say, the fumes of the

:48:48. > :48:51.cars, so yes. Say mums on the school run.

:48:52. > :48:53.The research was lead by Dr Prashant Kumar,

:48:54. > :48:56.who happens to be in the Indian capital, Delhi, and he told me

:48:57. > :49:01.We were trying to assess a typical route when parents

:49:02. > :49:04.are carrying their babies, they pass through a different part

:49:05. > :49:09.of the road so it might include the traffic intersections,

:49:10. > :49:13.a road section where you have the traffic flow

:49:14. > :49:20.which is continuous as well as the bus lanes.

:49:21. > :49:28.So what we found is first of all that during the morning hours

:49:29. > :49:32.you get higher exposure to the fine and very fine particles

:49:33. > :49:35.And interestingly, in the afternoon you get higher exposure

:49:36. > :49:38.to the bigger particles as compared to the morning hours.

:49:39. > :49:45.This was quite interesting because it seems to be the fact

:49:46. > :49:47.of the dew during the night when the suspension

:49:48. > :49:58.of these particles is less during the morning,

:49:59. > :50:01.and in the afternoon hours you might see the influence and that

:50:02. > :50:02.could have increased representations.

:50:03. > :50:06.So how dangerous is that environment for a baby?

:50:07. > :50:17.How much risk does it pose to a baby?

:50:18. > :50:32.So I always say that our body is a good doctor, so it can deal

:50:33. > :50:35.with a certain level but for infants, their body

:50:36. > :50:39.is not yet developed, so if they are inhaling a similar

:50:40. > :50:42.sort of concentrations to adults are inhaling, they might have

:50:43. > :50:45.And when we looked into the chemical composure of the particles,

:50:46. > :50:47.there were traces of aluminium and components which look

:50:48. > :50:53.like they're coming from the tyre wheel or the abrasion

:50:54. > :51:01.What could the adverse effects be of all of that?

:51:02. > :51:05.We looked into the toxicology side of these particles

:51:06. > :51:07.which is an important area and I think the results

:51:08. > :51:10.But the studies in the past, they have sold that,

:51:11. > :51:17.if you have the exposure to these particles, they could lead

:51:18. > :51:18.to the cardiovascular as well as respiratory

:51:19. > :51:23.Right now I am sitting in Delhi and this is one of the worst places

:51:24. > :51:26.when it comes to pollution and statistics show that one

:51:27. > :51:28.in three children has got actually some sort of asthmatic problem

:51:29. > :51:39.Why are the toxic particles so concentrated in a pram?

:51:40. > :51:48.Because what happens is normally in the pram,

:51:49. > :51:54.So the prams are at a much lower height and this

:51:55. > :51:57.is pretty close to the height of the tailpipe as well.

:51:58. > :52:01.It is where the emissions are coming and the babies are basically sitting

:52:02. > :52:06.See might expect a higher concentration of those heights

:52:07. > :52:17.compared with the height of an adult person.

:52:18. > :52:23.That was Doctor Prashant Kumar who carried out the research. We can

:52:24. > :52:27.talk to Senia Dedic, a mother in Battersea who is so concerned about

:52:28. > :52:33.the effects of pollution she has set up a campaign group and we have also

:52:34. > :52:38.been joined by Anna Jones from Greenpeace who also is a mother.

:52:39. > :52:43.Senia, tell us why you are concerned and you set up a group? Pollution in

:52:44. > :52:47.Battersea is so high because of this particular tunnel which all of North

:52:48. > :52:55.Battersea has to go through to get to the south Battersea to the

:52:56. > :53:01.shopping area. Prior five primary schools and care homes are involved

:53:02. > :53:04.which have to use the tunnel. And some research was conducted which

:53:05. > :53:09.found that there is a higher pollution in the whole Battersea in

:53:10. > :53:14.that tunnel which everybody using an foot, in addition to 79 is the buses

:53:15. > :53:20.which go through the tunnel and 89 role I, from 18 platforms above the

:53:21. > :53:25.tunnel which are part of Clapham Junction station. I know you have

:53:26. > :53:28.been campaigning to try to address that issue. In terms of practicality

:53:29. > :53:33.is, what are people doing as they go through the tunnel? The advice

:53:34. > :53:42.today's children in prams at school rush hour should be covered over. Is

:53:43. > :53:46.that correct? I'm not surprised at all. Everyone covered their faces

:53:47. > :53:56.with skulls in winter. In summer we are coughing. -- with scarves.

:53:57. > :53:59.People are trying to take the children to Devon, Dartmoor or

:54:00. > :54:04.Dorset in the summer for the summer holidays. I know it is a short while

:54:05. > :54:07.but it really helps, especially with clean air and organic food and

:54:08. > :54:11.children really do notice it when they come back and they have to go

:54:12. > :54:16.through the tunnel at Clapham Junction. Anna Jones, you are from

:54:17. > :54:20.Greenpeace and you are a mum as well, what is your perspective? We

:54:21. > :54:25.have to get to the root cause of this which is primarily diesel

:54:26. > :54:30.vehicles. We now have alternatives available. We need to make the

:54:31. > :54:32.transition away from old polluting vehicles and towards cleaner

:54:33. > :54:36.alternatives if we are going to get to grips with this. Putting a pram

:54:37. > :54:40.cover on might help a little bit today but those children are being

:54:41. > :54:44.exposed every day and children coming after them and we need to get

:54:45. > :54:48.to the root problem and shift the pollution completely away from our

:54:49. > :54:53.streets. Why haven't we talked much about pollution in recent years? I

:54:54. > :55:05.think we have but the scientific studies are coming thick and fast

:55:06. > :55:07.now. More and more people are looking into this, more and more

:55:08. > :55:10.people are becoming aware of what was previously invisible. The more

:55:11. > :55:13.we talk about it the more we realise it is affecting us. The study 's

:55:14. > :55:17.today show what kind of impact it is having, there is more about the

:55:18. > :55:22.diseases that the children might grow up to experience. Things like

:55:23. > :55:26.lung cancer, respiratory and heart diseases. I think finally we are

:55:27. > :55:31.talking about it but what we need is proper action to deal with the

:55:32. > :55:35.problem. You mentioned action on diesel cars, what else would you

:55:36. > :55:40.like to see? We are looking forward to the government's new plan and we

:55:41. > :55:45.hope that will phase out diesel vehicles from our cities. We will

:55:46. > :55:52.put in strong clean air zones to make sure the polluting vehicles are

:55:53. > :55:55.not entering areas which are really bad. I think we should look at

:55:56. > :55:58.measures like they have in Paris where an high pollution days they

:55:59. > :56:05.restrict hammy vehicles are allowed in. -- how many vehicles are allowed

:56:06. > :56:09.in. We have to get to grips with the industry which are continuing to

:56:10. > :56:14.produce vehicles which are producing up to 15 times more pollution than

:56:15. > :56:17.they should be. The BW scandal showed us one company which is

:56:18. > :56:22.cheating the system but what we have learned since then is all vehicle

:56:23. > :56:28.manufacturers are producing vehicles which produce up to 15 times as much

:56:29. > :56:35.produce and -- pollution as they should be. Senia, what would you

:56:36. > :56:41.like to see to address this? I would like to see a electric buses in all

:56:42. > :56:45.of London and possibly solar only car parks where the electric cars

:56:46. > :56:50.and electric buses as well could be charged everywhere in London. We

:56:51. > :56:56.have quite a few shopping zones around here as well and big

:56:57. > :57:01.supermarkets who could have warnings above their car parks with solar

:57:02. > :57:06.powered electric chargers for a electric cars. And it is obviously

:57:07. > :57:11.being discussed, you said there was a strategy forthcoming, do you

:57:12. > :57:14.expect there to be policy change? I think there will have to be. The

:57:15. > :57:19.government has been taken to court twice now and has been told to go

:57:20. > :57:23.and do its homework. We have to keep things to account and we will have

:57:24. > :57:30.to make some tough decisions. This is about a generation of children

:57:31. > :57:33.and those coming after who will be growing up to experience really

:57:34. > :57:36.serious health impacts. That has a big impact on our NHS. The

:57:37. > :57:42.government's on estimate is air pollution is costing us over ?27

:57:43. > :57:50.billion a year. Thank you both very much. I want to just bring you a

:57:51. > :57:52.couple more comments on school subjects being taken of the syllabus

:57:53. > :57:56.because of Budget cuts. Louisa has e-mailed and said we need to see

:57:57. > :58:05.schools as providing employees of the future. Why deny them the choice

:58:06. > :58:08.where they will switch off. We need all skills, not just academic.

:58:09. > :58:13.Teachers need to be seen as professionals and allowed to do

:58:14. > :58:18.their job without meddling. And, it was also made about payment

:58:19. > :58:22.for after-school clubs, the clubs are used often as a childcare

:58:23. > :58:26.options so they should be paid for by the parents. Thank you for your

:58:27. > :58:31.comments on that and your company today. I will see you soon. Have a

:58:32. > :58:33.lovely weekend. Goodbye. Let's Sing And Dance exploded onto

:58:34. > :58:35.our screens, setting the stage

:58:36. > :58:39.alight...literally.