28/03/2017

:00:09. > :00:10.Hello, it's Tuesday, it's 9 o'clock, I'm Victoria Derbyshire,

:00:11. > :00:18.This morning - in an exclusive interview - a rape survivor defends

:00:19. > :00:21.the judge in her case who said drunk women are putting

:00:22. > :00:24.I think she was absolutely right in what she said

:00:25. > :00:38.She put the blame massively on rapists, not the victims.

:00:39. > :00:40.She just simply said to be careful basically,

:00:41. > :00:44.19 year old Megan Clark has waived her right to anonymity

:00:45. > :00:48.We'll bring you the full interview in around 15 minutes.

:00:49. > :00:53.Also on the programme - Should the NHS really spend

:00:54. > :00:57.?114 million a year on prescriptions for medicines for upset tummies,

:00:58. > :00:59.haemmorrhoids, travel sickness and indigestion which can be bought

:01:00. > :01:07.And a further ?22 million on gluten-free food which can be found

:01:08. > :01:11.We'll hear why throughout the programme.

:01:12. > :01:14.And a Royal Marine who's in prison for the fatal shooting of a Taliban

:01:15. > :01:18.fighter in Afghanistan finds out today if he is to be freed or must

:01:19. > :01:34.I'm hoping and praying that, along with the former Archbishop of

:01:35. > :01:37.Canterbury, for former release. Why? Because he deserves it and this was

:01:38. > :01:40.an absurd sentence from the beginning and I'm hoping the court

:01:41. > :01:42.will be persuaded that we are right on that.

:01:43. > :01:45.We'll bring you the result as soon as it happens.

:01:46. > :02:02.Welcome to the programme, we're live until 11.

:02:03. > :02:06.Throughout the morning - the latest breaking news

:02:07. > :02:11.A little later in the programme we'll look at the latest

:02:12. > :02:24.And we'll discuss this front page, "never mind Brexit

:02:25. > :02:33.Do get in touch on all the stories we're talking about this morning -

:02:34. > :02:36.use the hashtag Victoria Live and if you text, you will be charged

:02:37. > :02:40.The wife of Westminster attacker, Khalid Masood, has said she "totally

:02:41. > :02:45.In a statement released via the police, Rohey Hydara

:02:46. > :02:47.said she was "saddened and shocked" and expressed her

:02:48. > :02:53.Our correspondent Wyre Davies is here.

:02:54. > :02:57.It is a week now, nearly a week since the terror attacks on

:02:58. > :03:01.Westminster Bridge and the police have been trying to piece together

:03:02. > :03:05.what happened and how much did Khalid Masood have help and how much

:03:06. > :03:08.did his friends and family know. We heard from his mother today and

:03:09. > :03:13.today we have heard a statement from Rohey Hydara, his wife, again

:03:14. > :03:18.expressing her complete outrage and shocked at what happened and she has

:03:19. > :03:21.expressed condolences to those who were killed and also wishing the

:03:22. > :03:25.victims who are still alive a speedy recovery. This plays into the

:03:26. > :03:30.narrative that he acted alone, and that his family and friends did not

:03:31. > :03:34.know what he was up to. Rohey Hydara was one of many people who were

:03:35. > :03:37.detained and arrested by police in the aftermath of what happened last

:03:38. > :03:42.Wednesday but she has been released and is now being treated as an

:03:43. > :03:46.innocent party, but again, this view that Khalid Masood was acting alone

:03:47. > :03:49.and maybe had become radicalised at some point in recent years, but he

:03:50. > :03:55.was not linked to any other groups and I think this statement lends

:03:56. > :03:59.weight to that argument. Thanks for joining us. Thanks for joining us.

:04:00. > :04:01.Joanna is in the BBC Newsroom with a summary

:04:02. > :04:07.A rape victim whose attack led to a judge saying drunk women

:04:08. > :04:10.were putting themselves in danger has defended the comments.

:04:11. > :04:11.Megan Clark - who has waived her right

:04:12. > :04:15.to anonymity to speak to this programme - was raped by a man

:04:16. > :04:17.she met in Burger King when she was drunk after a night

:04:18. > :04:21.The judge at the trial of her attacker sparked controversy

:04:22. > :04:23.when she said the drunken behaviour of some women was

:04:24. > :04:26.But 19-year-old Megan said she was warning

:04:27. > :04:29.women to "be careful", and it was "good advice".

:04:30. > :04:31.We'll bring you that interview in just a few minutes' time.

:04:32. > :04:36.Doctors in England could be told to stop prescribing travel vaccines,

:04:37. > :04:39.gluten-free foods and some ointments for muscle pain in a bid

:04:40. > :04:42.to save hundreds of millions of pounds a year.

:04:43. > :04:45.Cough medicines and popular painkillers like paracetemol

:04:46. > :04:47.could be added to the list at a later date.

:04:48. > :04:53.The NHS is under increasing financial pressure.

:04:54. > :04:55.Now, service leaders are set to closely scrutinise what's

:04:56. > :05:04.Local health commissioners in England have drawn up a list

:05:05. > :05:06.of items which they say are unnecessary and inappropriate

:05:07. > :05:11.The medicines and treatments listed include omega-3 and fish oils,

:05:12. > :05:13.some muscle rubs and ointments, gluten-free food, and travel

:05:14. > :05:20.There could be savings of ?128 million a year.

:05:21. > :05:22.NHS England has agreed to carry out a review

:05:23. > :05:30.Longer term, the future of cold and cough treatments,

:05:31. > :05:32.indigestion and heartburn medication, and paracetamol

:05:33. > :05:37.Health officials say hundreds of millions of pounds

:05:38. > :05:40.NHS England argues they are widely available over

:05:41. > :05:46.A spokesman said there was a need to ensure the best

:05:47. > :05:51.The move will form part of a major strategy announcement

:05:52. > :05:54.by the head of NHS England, Simon Stephens, later this week.

:05:55. > :06:00.The Scottish Parliament is expected to back Nicola Sturgeon's call

:06:01. > :06:02.for a second independence referendum, in a vote

:06:03. > :06:08.The vote had been due to take place at Holyrood last Wednesday,

:06:09. > :06:11.but was postponed because of the attack at Westminster.

:06:12. > :06:14.The SNP leader wants a referendum by the spring of 2019,

:06:15. > :06:30.but Theresa May has rejected that timetable.

:06:31. > :06:33.Tesco will pay a ?129 million fine from the Serious Fraud Office

:06:34. > :06:36.It stems from a statement by the supermarket in September

:06:37. > :06:39.2014, that its profits had been overstated by ?263 million.

:06:40. > :06:41.Auditors found that the inflated figure was the result of including

:06:42. > :06:43.payments from suppliers, before the money was due.

:06:44. > :06:47.More must be done to address a sharp rise in the number of suicides among

:06:48. > :06:49.women prisoners in England, according to the prisons watchdog.

:06:50. > :06:50.Self-inflicted deaths among female inmates almost

:06:51. > :06:54.The Prisons and Probation Ombudsman says that reforms recommended

:06:55. > :06:59.a decade ago haven't materialised, as Marc Ashdown reports.

:07:00. > :07:02.For many years, the number of women who took their own life in prisons

:07:03. > :07:07.In 2015, that figure rose to seven, and last year, 12 women.

:07:08. > :07:12.This stark rise prompted the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman,

:07:13. > :07:17.Nigel Newcomen, to examine 19 cases of suicide over a 4-year period.

:07:18. > :07:22.He has identified crucial areas of practice where he says

:07:23. > :07:35.A second report out today identifies similar issues.

:07:36. > :07:38.Well, the huge rise in deaths, it's complicated, but there

:07:39. > :07:42.First, there are fewer staff in prisons, fewer people

:07:43. > :07:45.to learn and listen, and the other thing is unmet

:07:46. > :07:50.So women who are vulnerable and who need mental healthcare,

:07:51. > :07:55.need treatment for drug or alcohol addictions are not getting it.

:07:56. > :07:58.Ten years ago, the prisons ombudsman published a landmark report,

:07:59. > :08:03.making a series of 43 recommendations aimed at improving

:08:04. > :08:09.The current ombudsman said it was disheartening

:08:10. > :08:12.that the sweeping reforms had yet to be implemented, and blamed a lack

:08:13. > :08:16.The Ministry of Justice said the safety of prisoners

:08:17. > :08:19.is a priority, and a range of measures has been introduced

:08:20. > :08:25.What's being described as a "monster" cyclone has begun

:08:26. > :08:30.Tens of thousands of people have been evacuated from coastal

:08:31. > :08:33.areas as a result of Cyclone Debbie, which is also bringing warnings

:08:34. > :08:43.GPs have been given access to a new risk assessment tool

:08:44. > :08:45.to help diagnose young people at risk of bowel cancer.

:08:46. > :08:48.Experts say people under 50 do not act on bowel cancer symptoms

:08:49. > :08:51.quickly enough and 20% have to visit a GP five times before

:08:52. > :08:56.The new tool will help calculate the risk of the disease

:08:57. > :08:58.based on blood tests, symptoms and a GP's examination.

:08:59. > :09:01.Bowel Cancer UK told this programme all GPs should be given access

:09:02. > :09:08.The new 12-sided ?1 coin comes into circulation today.

:09:09. > :09:10.Modelled on the old thru'penny bit, it's designed

:09:11. > :09:16.But some vending and ticket machines may not accept it straight away.

:09:17. > :09:24.The old coin remains legal tender until October.

:09:25. > :09:27.And with a day to go before the UK officially triggers Article 50,

:09:28. > :09:29.the BBC News Channel will be putting your questions

:09:30. > :09:32.Today at 1130, we'll be speaking with our

:09:33. > :09:34.Home Affairs Editor Mark Easton, who will take your queries

:09:35. > :09:37.on what Brexit means for immigration and the future of the union.

:09:38. > :09:40.And the right of EU National is to remain here.

:09:41. > :09:44.You can get in touch via Twitter using the hashtag BBC Ask This -

:09:45. > :09:47.or text your questions to 61124 - and you can email us as well

:09:48. > :10:07.That's a summary of the latest BBC News - more at 930.

:10:08. > :10:10.In the next few minutes you will be able to see our

:10:11. > :10:32.interview with Megan Clark. We have had some of you getting in touch,

:10:33. > :10:38.Melissa has said, although being drunk does not excuse other people's

:10:39. > :10:42.despicable actions, it does make you more vulnerable, this is just a fact

:10:43. > :10:47.nothing to do with political correctness. In an ideal world this

:10:48. > :10:55.should not be the case, but this world is far from ideal.

:10:56. > :10:58.Do get in touch with us throughout the morning -

:10:59. > :11:01.use the hashtag Victoria Live and if you text, you will be charged

:11:02. > :11:05.Olly Foster is with us again this morning.

:11:06. > :11:08.Olly, all change in cricket, a new competition to try and breathe

:11:09. > :11:14.We have got to wait three years, but we are going to get eight city

:11:15. > :11:18.franchises, 36 T20 matches, played in the summer from 2020, and they

:11:19. > :11:24.hope it will rival the Indian Premier League and the Big Bash in

:11:25. > :11:29.Australia which have stolen a march in terms of T20 competitions. These

:11:30. > :11:35.sites will be separate from the 18 counties who have got their own T20

:11:36. > :11:40.tournament stash sides. It is the county game at that be ECB feel they

:11:41. > :11:51.need to change, to get more people into the sport -- that the ECB. We

:11:52. > :11:57.have had so many initiatives. T20 has gone some way to bringing a bit

:11:58. > :12:03.more razzmatazz into the British game, but the ECB feel they have to

:12:04. > :12:06.reach out in different areas and these city franchises will try to

:12:07. > :12:12.popularise the game to compete with other sports around like football.

:12:13. > :12:17.This is the ECB chief executive. By doing things differently and by

:12:18. > :12:23.building new teams, we can be relevant to a new audience and bring

:12:24. > :12:27.this very diverse multicultural Britain into our stadium in the

:12:28. > :12:33.future which maybe we haven't been successful in doing today. The key

:12:34. > :12:37.is going to be money and there is resistance from the counties. That

:12:38. > :12:42.has disappeared with the promise of ?1.3 million each year. That money

:12:43. > :12:47.will come from broadcast rights, and broadcast will have a massive say in

:12:48. > :12:51.where the franchises will be based on what they will be called, and

:12:52. > :12:57.eight of the 38 games could be screened live on terrestrial TV.

:12:58. > :13:04.With the vest on pay-TV. -- with the rest. The BBC has expressed an

:13:05. > :13:10.interest. That would help, we have not had live cricket for some time

:13:11. > :13:12.on free to air division. Since the Ashes summer, 2005. Yes, that was

:13:13. > :13:17.amazing. Gosh, 2005. And cycling is back

:13:18. > :13:19.in the news, Olly. Are we any closer to finding out

:13:20. > :13:28.what was in that mystery package We have seen details from a key

:13:29. > :13:32.player in this saga. Doctor Richard Freeman, his written evidence, he is

:13:33. > :13:37.not well at the moment, to the select committee, looking at how

:13:38. > :13:40.they combat doping in sport. He received the package in 2011 when he

:13:41. > :13:47.was looking after Bradley Wiggins in France last Team Sky have been

:13:48. > :13:53.heavily criticised for their medical record-keeping around that time and

:13:54. > :13:56.he has admitted it was not up to scratch but he says the parcel

:13:57. > :14:02.contained a legal decongestant and not a steroid that Bradley Wiggins

:14:03. > :14:05.had previously been given an exemption to use although he would

:14:06. > :14:11.not have been allowed to use it on that occasion. All parties deny any

:14:12. > :14:15.wrongdoing, but the chair of the select committee wants more answers

:14:16. > :14:18.and UK anti-doping are still digging and still carrying out their own

:14:19. > :14:24.investigation into what was in that package. We will be talking that the

:14:25. > :14:32.story again. Finally, heroic set the end of a race in the United States.

:14:33. > :14:36.-- heroics at. Remember the Brownlee brothers, when one of them carried

:14:37. > :14:39.the other across the line, at the Olympics, well this was in

:14:40. > :14:47.Philadelphia. It was run over the weekend. Or not run, as that poor

:14:48. > :15:00.lady found but she got very wobbly at the end. These triathletes

:15:01. > :15:05.stopped to help her, and this chap decided she was not going to make it

:15:06. > :15:10.on her own two feet. Medics had to look after her but we understand she

:15:11. > :15:17.is very well. She made it across the line. They are the heroes of the

:15:18. > :15:19.hour. They are overall the newspapers in Philadelphia. Thank

:15:20. > :15:23.you very much. This morning in an exclusive

:15:24. > :15:26.interview, a rape survivor whose attack led to a judge saying drunk

:15:27. > :15:30.women were putting themselves in danger has defended the comments,

:15:31. > :15:34.saying the judge was "right". Megan Clark, who is 19,

:15:35. > :15:39.was raped by a man she met in takeaway when she was drunk

:15:40. > :15:42.after a night out in Manchester. The trial sparked controversy

:15:43. > :15:47.after the judge said women were entitled to "drink themselves

:15:48. > :15:49.into the ground", but their "disinhibited behaviour"

:15:50. > :15:51.could put them in danger. Her comments were described

:15:52. > :15:53.by campaigners as "outrageous" But today Megan Clark -

:15:54. > :16:00.who has waived her right to anonymity to speak to us

:16:01. > :16:04.exclusively today - defends the judge, saying

:16:05. > :16:06.she was "absolutely right" and that she took the comments

:16:07. > :16:09.in a "positive way". She goes on to tell this programme

:16:10. > :16:12.that she felt shamed and blamed by other people

:16:13. > :16:15.and that her experiences of going through the court system

:16:16. > :16:18.mean she wouldn't report In her only interview

:16:19. > :16:22.Megan Clark explaines why she's It's a really important subject

:16:23. > :16:48.and people do not talk about it You were out with friends and you

:16:49. > :16:51.ended up waiting for a bus. What happened after that?

:16:52. > :16:56.I ended up near where I would go home for the bus and I met two men

:16:57. > :17:00.in Burger King and I asked them to stay out with me

:17:01. > :17:04.for a while because I had a while until I could get my bus.

:17:05. > :17:08.I was pretty drunk at the time and didn't want to go home yet anyway.

:17:09. > :17:11.They suggested going back to theirs which I wasn't too sure

:17:12. > :17:14.about at first because I would rather stay or I could get

:17:15. > :17:18.by bus but then they ended up convincing me.

:17:19. > :17:21.So they said they would go for a smoke, so I went with them.

:17:22. > :17:28.We walked - we ended up near a canal at the top of some steps

:17:29. > :17:37.Can you tell us more about the circumstances of the rape and how it

:17:38. > :17:44.began? I'm not too sure, I don't

:17:45. > :17:46.remember it very well, They ended up being inappropriate,

:17:47. > :17:55.but it didn't bother me at the time. It wasn't an issue,

:17:56. > :18:02.but it was strange, I guess. It's just from what I have

:18:03. > :18:20.seen on the video. I didn't really do much

:18:21. > :18:22.until the police came. When you see the video,

:18:23. > :18:25.you are referring to the fact that somebody was filming this

:18:26. > :18:27.on their phone. From watching the video,

:18:28. > :18:31.first of all, what was that like? It was different to how

:18:32. > :18:41.I'd remembered it. You were calling out,

:18:42. > :18:55.you say you were complaining, you were calling out having

:18:56. > :18:57.watched this footage? Then what happened

:18:58. > :19:00.when the police arrived? Then they took me straight

:19:01. > :19:05.to the police station, which is also a bit blurry

:19:06. > :19:08.because I was still I went back a bit later on,

:19:09. > :19:20.went home and went back later I had to put my life

:19:21. > :19:37.on hold for a while. I didn't do with it

:19:38. > :19:40.so well for a while. I kind of got past it a little bit

:19:41. > :19:43.now, after the trial and sentencing, In terms of the decision to take

:19:44. > :19:56.legal action, was that difficult? I didn't really decide

:19:57. > :19:58.to because the police had The police were involved

:19:59. > :20:02.right from the beginning, but I wasn't going to stop it

:20:03. > :20:05.because it was something quite serious and it

:20:06. > :20:11.needed to be reported. You have just been through a really

:20:12. > :20:15.long process culminating in a trial that lasted weeks and a 19-year-old

:20:16. > :20:18.man was found guilty of two counts of rape and sentenced to six years

:20:19. > :20:22.in jail. What was your reaction to that punishment?

:20:23. > :20:31.It was pretty much what I expected, because that's just out sentencing

:20:32. > :20:42.You expected he would have got more for being found guilty?

:20:43. > :20:53.At the end of the trial the policeman said that the defendant

:20:54. > :21:00.was unable to force himself on others for his own sexual

:21:01. > :21:05.gratification, not only did he make his victim endure the attack, but he

:21:06. > :21:10.denied involvement. Tell us about the court process and having to TV

:21:11. > :21:20.in court? It was really difficult.

:21:21. > :21:23.It didn't bother me so much in the months before it,

:21:24. > :21:26.I managed to just push it to the back of my mind

:21:27. > :21:28.and ignored but I couldn't once the trial started.

:21:29. > :21:30.Then it started to really bother me and when I had

:21:31. > :21:32.to give evidence in court, it was horrific.

:21:33. > :21:35.It was really difficult especially due to seeing the footage of it

:21:36. > :21:47.At the end of the case, the judge who was retiring, said, she made

:21:48. > :21:52.some comments about women being drung and this is the quote.

:21:53. > :21:55.She said, "Women were entitled to drink themselves into the ground,

:21:56. > :21:59.but their disinhibited behaviour could put them in danger."

:22:00. > :22:04.What do you think about those comments?

:22:05. > :22:07.I think she was absolutely right in what she said,

:22:08. > :22:12.She put the blame massively on rapists, not the victims.

:22:13. > :22:16.She just simply said to be careful, basically, which is smart advice.

:22:17. > :22:24.But she wasn't at all victim blaming.

:22:25. > :22:29.She said a woman would be less likely to report a rape because she

:22:30. > :22:34.was drunk or could not remember what happened or feels ashamed to deal

:22:35. > :22:38.with it or if push comes sho shove a girl who is drunk is less likely to

:22:39. > :22:40.be believed than one who was sober at the time. Is that how you felt at

:22:41. > :22:45.the time? You didn't think you would report

:22:46. > :23:02.something like that Are you saying you wouldn't have

:23:03. > :23:08.gone to the police that night unless somebody had videoed it?

:23:09. > :23:19.But it probably wouldn't have gone anywhere.

:23:20. > :23:24.Some said she should know better, the only person who is responsible

:23:25. > :23:31.for rape is the rapist. Women are yet again being blamed for rape.

:23:32. > :23:35.Only the rapist is responsible, but that was the point

:23:36. > :23:40.the judge was making, it was just taken out of context.

:23:41. > :23:55.A few people I don't, they kind of put it down to my behaviour.

:23:56. > :24:00.I know it is not my fault, but it is hard not to blame

:24:01. > :24:02.yourself, especially when you are in that situation.

:24:03. > :24:07.What is your message to other women when they're out and about with

:24:08. > :24:12.their mates in the summer, having had a few drinks?

:24:13. > :24:15.Don't live in fear of rapists and being in danger,

:24:16. > :24:27.Know that it is not your fault, whatever happens.

:24:28. > :24:29.I guess I'd still encourage people to report it,

:24:30. > :24:44.Even though you feel if it ever happened to you again you wouldn't

:24:45. > :24:48.report it? From the experience of this whole

:24:49. > :24:49.process, what do you feel about the kind of justice that you've

:24:50. > :24:53.received? Disappointed, I guess, but I guess

:24:54. > :24:58.you can't expect much more. That's just the way

:24:59. > :25:01.the system works. The outcome wasn't great,

:25:02. > :25:12.the case was dealt with the way it should have been and my outcome

:25:13. > :25:14.was better than most get. Which is, I guess,

:25:15. > :25:16.lucky, in a sense. So many people don't

:25:17. > :25:22.get any justice at all. You will have heard that in the

:25:23. > :25:25.future, the Government has decided that alleged victims of rape are not

:25:26. > :25:28.going to be cross-examined in court in the way you were. You gave

:25:29. > :25:33.evidence behind a screen, but they will be able to video tape, record

:25:34. > :25:35.their evidence in advance which will be played to a court. What do you

:25:36. > :25:39.think of those plans? It is really hard giving

:25:40. > :25:43.evidence in court. I guess you would be able

:25:44. > :25:48.to think about what you are You are not under such awkward

:25:49. > :26:06.circumstances with everybody looking What about the fact some people say

:26:07. > :26:11.if you can record your evidence in advance then actually whoever is on

:26:12. > :26:13.the stand is not going to get a fair trial because a key witness is not

:26:14. > :26:21.going to be cross-examined. I suppose that's true,

:26:22. > :26:23.in a sense, but I think They are still going to get

:26:24. > :26:40.all the answers they need in just Megan Clarke, very frank o open

:26:41. > :26:42.Megan Clarke. She waived her right to anonymity to talk to us in her

:26:43. > :26:45.only interview. And you can read more about Megan's

:26:46. > :26:48.story on the BBC News site. After 10am, we'll get reaction

:26:49. > :26:50.to those comments from As always, I am really keen

:26:51. > :27:03.to hear from you. Felicity says, "This is self blame.

:27:04. > :27:07.No, no, no, it is his fault, not your's." James on Facebook says,

:27:08. > :27:12."Megan is a brave woman for speaking out, but a victim can never be

:27:13. > :27:19.blamed, it is the predatory male which is evil." This texter says,

:27:20. > :27:23."Drunk women appear an easy target. They are unlikely to remember the

:27:24. > :27:31.event afterwards. If you drink you have to accept the consequences."

:27:32. > :27:35.Jane says, "It is not victim blaming themselves to say that drunk women

:27:36. > :27:37.are less able to protect themselves. It is just common sense. Predators

:27:38. > :27:41.look for vulnerable people." If you or anyone else you know has

:27:42. > :27:44.been a victim of sexual assault, you can find a list of other

:27:45. > :27:49.organisations that help on the bbc Actionline:

:27:50. > :27:58.bbc.co.uk/actionline This is the Syrian City of

:27:59. > :28:06.Homs before war broke out. You will see beautiful boulevards

:28:07. > :28:09.where people lived and worked and markets where

:28:10. > :28:15.they came to trade. And this is Homs now,

:28:16. > :28:29.a city ravished by war. Now, Syrian rebels and civilians

:28:30. > :28:32.have been evacuated from a neighbourhood of the city

:28:33. > :28:40.as part of a deal to surrender The elderly and injured,

:28:41. > :28:46.young children, as well as rebel fighters with light weapons

:28:47. > :28:48.have boarded buses. When this processed is finished,

:28:49. > :28:51.all of Homs will be back in From Jordan we have Juliette Touma

:28:52. > :29:00.from Unicef who has recently been in Homs

:29:01. > :29:04.doing aid work. Tell us what you found when you were

:29:05. > :29:09.working there? Well, I was there just a couple of weeks ago. It was

:29:10. > :29:18.my third visit to Homs in recent years. The levels of destruction in

:29:19. > :29:24.the city is just phenomenal. Whole buildings completely destroyed.

:29:25. > :29:29.Whole roads completely gone. Not one building was standing. But what was

:29:30. > :29:34.really reassuring and what was really in fact beautiful is that we

:29:35. > :29:40.were driving very early morning in the city and it was very heart

:29:41. > :29:45.warming to see children walking to school, carrying their school bags

:29:46. > :29:49.amid the destruction and walking on the debris just to make it to

:29:50. > :29:55.school. So trying to go about their normal lives. I mean in terms of

:29:56. > :29:58.this evacuation, it would seem sensible, would it, to get those,

:29:59. > :30:05.you know, young children and elderly and the injured and so on out? Well,

:30:06. > :30:10.I'm, I can't really speak about the evacuation. The UN and Unicef are

:30:11. > :30:17.not involved in that, but what I do know it has been six years since the

:30:18. > :30:22.war started in Syria. The level of destruction is nothing that we have

:30:23. > :30:25.seen since the Second World War. Eight million children inside Syria

:30:26. > :30:30.and neighbouring countries are in need of assistance. The war has got

:30:31. > :30:35.to stop. It has got to stop now. People have been saying that for

:30:36. > :30:44.years and it continues. It does continue. Sadly. The children and

:30:45. > :30:51.women and men, so civilians at large are those who pay the heaviest price

:30:52. > :30:58.and in fact, it is a reminder that there isn't a winner in this war.

:30:59. > :31:03.That everyone loses as a result of this outrageous brutal, brutal war

:31:04. > :31:07.in the country and the biggest losers are the civilians. Thank you

:31:08. > :31:15.very much. Thank you for talking to us.

:31:16. > :31:21.She was speaking to us from Jordan but has recently been in Homs.

:31:22. > :31:25.Still to come, a Royal Marine who is in prison finds out today

:31:26. > :31:28.if he'll be freed after shooting a Taliban fighter in Afghantan.

:31:29. > :31:31.We've spoken to his lawyer ahead of the ruling and we'll bring

:31:32. > :31:35.Ahead of the Scottish parliament resuming its debate

:31:36. > :31:37.on Scottish independence, the Daily Mail focussed

:31:38. > :31:43.We'll be asking whether the paper was right to do so.

:31:44. > :31:50.Here's Joanna with a summary of the news.

:31:51. > :31:53.In an exclusive interview - a rape victim - whose attack led

:31:54. > :31:56.to a judge warning that drunk women were putting themselves in danger -

:31:57. > :32:00.Megan Clark waived her right to anonymity

:32:01. > :32:06.She was raped by a man she met in Burger King when she was drunk

:32:07. > :32:12.The judge at the trial of her attacker sparked controversy

:32:13. > :32:14.when she said the drunken behaviour of some women was

:32:15. > :32:19.But 19-year-old Megan said she was warning

:32:20. > :32:21.women to "be careful", and it was "good advice".

:32:22. > :32:24.The wife of Westminster attacker Khalid Masood

:32:25. > :32:31.has said she 'totally condemns' his actions.

:32:32. > :32:38.Khalid Masood killed three people when he drove across Westminster

:32:39. > :32:40.Bridge before stabbing PC Keith Palmer.

:32:41. > :32:42.In a statement released through the police, Rohey Hydara

:32:43. > :32:45.said she was 'saddened and shocked' and expressed her

:32:46. > :32:48.Health bosses are to look at plans to save hundreds of millions

:32:49. > :32:50.of pounds a year by stopping prescriptions for things

:32:51. > :32:54.like gluten-free food, muscle rubs and omega 3 fish oils.

:32:55. > :32:56.The changes are part of a proposal to cut down

:32:57. > :32:58.on what NHS England called "unnecessary or inappropriate"

:32:59. > :33:00.treatments, that can be bought cheaply over the counter

:33:01. > :33:10.The Scottish Parliament is expected to back Nicola Sturgeon's call

:33:11. > :33:12.for a second independence referendum, in a vote

:33:13. > :33:16.The vote had been due to take place at Holyrood last Wednesday,

:33:17. > :33:18.but was postponed because of the attack at Westminster.

:33:19. > :33:22.The SNP leader wants a referendum by the spring of 2019,

:33:23. > :33:34.but Theresa May has rejected that timetable.

:33:35. > :33:37.Tesco will pay a ?129 million fine from the Serious Fraud Office

:33:38. > :33:41.It stems from a statement by the supermarket in September

:33:42. > :33:43.2014, that its profits had been overstated by ?263 million.

:33:44. > :33:46.Auditors found that the inflated figure was the result of including

:33:47. > :33:48.payments from suppliers, before the money was due.

:33:49. > :33:50.The new 12-sided ?1 coin comes into circulation today.

:33:51. > :33:58.Modelled on the old thru'penny bit, it's designed

:33:59. > :34:02.But some vending and ticket machines may not accept it straight away.

:34:03. > :34:05.The old coin remains legal tender until October.

:34:06. > :34:10.That's a summary of the latest BBC News - more at 10am.

:34:11. > :34:21.On the subject of women being drunk and the comments the judge-made,

:34:22. > :34:25.Jane says the judge is wrong and sexes, and she says anyone is in

:34:26. > :34:33.danger if they are drunk -- is accessed. -- is sexist. Another

:34:34. > :34:36.person says Megan Clark is brave and strong, yes, she was drunk, but

:34:37. > :34:43.things can happen. Predators take advantage. No matter your views on

:34:44. > :34:48.safety, there is a person here who has suffered, she says. We will talk

:34:49. > :34:53.about the latest in the case of Sergeant Alexander Blackman. He will

:34:54. > :34:56.find out today if he is to be freed after his murder conviction was

:34:57. > :35:00.reduced to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility

:35:01. > :35:03.and he spent a number of years in jail and he will find out this

:35:04. > :35:05.morning. We will talk about that very shortly.

:35:06. > :35:08.Here's some sport now with Olly Foster.

:35:09. > :35:16.Some big changes in domestic cricket, a 2020 tournament starting

:35:17. > :35:19.in 2020 featuring eight city franchises rather than the

:35:20. > :35:25.traditional county teams, that will take centre stage to try and bring

:35:26. > :35:27.younger audiences into the sport. Former Team Sky doctor Richard

:35:28. > :35:34.Freeman has explained to MPs what was in the mystical medical package

:35:35. > :35:41.delivered to Bradley Wiggins in 2011 -- mysterious. Johanna Konta is into

:35:42. > :35:46.the quarterfinals of the Miami Open after a straight sets victory in her

:35:47. > :35:47.latest match. We will be speaking to Ebony Raynsford Brent later about

:35:48. > :35:52.those cricket changes. A Royal Marine who is in prison

:35:53. > :35:55.for the fatal shooting of a Taliban fighter in Afghanistan will find out

:35:56. > :35:58.in the next hour if he's going to be released from prison or have

:35:59. > :36:01.to serve any more time. Five judges at the Court Martial

:36:02. > :36:10.Appeal Court in London have been urged to free

:36:11. > :36:12.Sergeant Alexander Blackman, who was known as Marine A,

:36:13. > :36:14.from jail this morning, following the reduction

:36:15. > :36:16.of his murder conviction to diminished responsibility

:36:17. > :36:24.manslaughter two weeks ago. Blackman was convicted of murder

:36:25. > :36:27.in 2013 and initially sentenced to life with a minimum term

:36:28. > :36:29.of ten years. Sergeant Blackman shot

:36:30. > :36:31.the insurgent, who had been seriously injured in an attack

:36:32. > :36:33.by an Apache helicopter, in the chest at close range

:36:34. > :36:43.with a 9mm pistol before quoting that he "just broke the Geneva

:36:44. > :36:54.Convention." It was all captured

:36:55. > :36:56.on a recording on his helmet. Obviously, this can't

:36:57. > :37:01.go anywhere, fellas. I've just broken

:37:02. > :37:04.the Geneva Convention. The court has ruled previously that

:37:05. > :37:11.Sergeant Blackman was suffering from an "abnormality of mental

:37:12. > :37:13.functioning" at the time Speaking last year his wife told me

:37:14. > :37:22.about his mental state of mind. I don't know how

:37:23. > :37:25.he stays so positive. He makes the best of his

:37:26. > :37:48.time, he is studying for an Open University degree,

:37:49. > :37:51.he is teaching some of the other lads English and maths skills,

:37:52. > :37:54.he is going to the gym a lot, as you would expect of an ex-Royal

:37:55. > :37:57.Marine, he is doing everything You said earlier that your husband

:37:58. > :38:01.believed the Taliban insurgent was dead when he knelt alongside him

:38:02. > :38:04.and fired his pistol at him. Also, as you know, recorded on that

:38:05. > :38:07.video, his words were, "There you are, shuffle off this

:38:08. > :38:09.mortal coil, you... It is nothing you

:38:10. > :38:12.would not do to us." How did he explain

:38:13. > :38:15.those words to you? I know he genuinely believed

:38:16. > :38:25.the insurgent to be dead. He himself was surprised when,

:38:26. > :38:28.having shot the dead body, it moved postmortem more than he had

:38:29. > :38:41.ever experienced before, and he He was out there in incredibly

:38:42. > :38:47.difficult circumstances, he was surrounded by enemy,

:38:48. > :38:50.he had a troop of lads that he was responsible for,

:38:51. > :38:53.and his reaction was one of trying to process what had just happened

:38:54. > :38:55.and deal with the situation and try to take command back

:38:56. > :39:10.for himself and his men. We're expecting to hear

:39:11. > :39:12.what his new sentence will be Jonathan Goldberg QC

:39:13. > :39:18.is Sergeant Blackman's lawyer, Rob Driscoll has served

:39:19. > :39:22.with Sergeant Blackman and considers him a close

:39:23. > :39:24.friend, and former leader of the Lib Dems Paddy Ashdown

:39:25. > :39:31.who is a former Royal Marine. They have been talking to me. I'm

:39:32. > :39:33.hoping and praying along with the former Archbishop of Canterbury for

:39:34. > :39:49.immediate release. He deserves it, this

:39:50. > :39:54.was an absurd sentence from the beginning,

:39:55. > :39:57.and I hope the court will be What are your hopes

:39:58. > :40:00.for this morning? I echo the barrister's

:40:01. > :40:01.thoughts, I am hopeful that the sentence will reflect

:40:02. > :40:04.the time served and will see him Have you ever found yourself

:40:05. > :40:08.in a position similar to the one Sergeant Blackman found

:40:09. > :40:10.himself in in Helmand? I think many people that have served

:40:11. > :40:17.in that environment would have found The outcome is very different,

:40:18. > :40:27.but I think Afghanistan was a complex environment,

:40:28. > :40:32.it was an asymmetric environment, the threat

:40:33. > :40:34.was all around us, there We did not entirely have the trust

:40:35. > :40:48.of the local population. It presented some unique challenges

:40:49. > :40:55.that perhaps had not been seen before, and dictate

:40:56. > :40:57.how we conduct these Why was the evidence

:40:58. > :41:02.of Sergeant Blackman's state of mind not available at the

:41:03. > :41:05.original court martial? Incompetence by those who ought

:41:06. > :41:08.to have provided it to some The prosecution and the defence,

:41:09. > :41:18.mainly the defence. They never had him psychiatrically

:41:19. > :41:19.examined until after Is that something that

:41:20. > :41:23.you would like to see automatically happen in the future

:41:24. > :41:27.for future court martial cases? In cases of murder it ought to be

:41:28. > :41:30.automatic that the prosecution, if not also the defence,

:41:31. > :41:35.obtain psychiatric reports, especially for a man

:41:36. > :41:38.who has been at the sharp end One in four of our front-line combat

:41:39. > :41:44.troops develop a mental illness of What kind of lessons do

:41:45. > :41:47.you believe have been We are not totally excused

:41:48. > :41:51.from making mistakes. The operations we are conducting

:41:52. > :42:09.our different from what we were conducting 50, 100 years

:42:10. > :42:14.ago, and it is a constant case of evolving with the threat and

:42:15. > :42:17.learning that we need more support than we have in the past or that has

:42:18. > :42:20.been given in the past. It is a learning cycle

:42:21. > :42:22.that we must accept Bearing in mind what

:42:23. > :42:29.the judges now know about Sergeant Blackman's state

:42:30. > :42:32.of mind at the time, do you understand now why he shot

:42:33. > :42:37.dead that Taliban insurgent? We can all sit and debate

:42:38. > :42:53.about the shoulds and musts and what we ought to do, but when

:42:54. > :42:56.you are faced with that kind of incident and all of those pressures

:42:57. > :43:05.that would have been bearing down on him with regards

:43:06. > :43:10.to the young Marines and what have you, it is

:43:11. > :43:12.really difficult to apply We cannot really teach how to deal

:43:13. > :43:16.with that, we can only In my opinion, he did,

:43:17. > :43:24.because I am not saying anyone should be above the law,

:43:25. > :43:27.but he certainly may have saved And I think the idea

:43:28. > :43:45.that the insurgents were implying during that time

:43:46. > :44:11.was essentially to use their own What about what he said regarding

:44:12. > :44:15.the Geneva Convention? That was disappointing, and he knows that he

:44:16. > :44:21.has made mistakes, but a man was killed, and the rest of the force,

:44:22. > :44:25.they were there to provide security. We were there to provide security,

:44:26. > :44:29.and we were able to go about our business and achieve the rest of the

:44:30. > :44:35.day's objectives such as rebuilding and engagement with the rebel

:44:36. > :44:39.populations, and the fact that the guy died is sad to a degree, but

:44:40. > :44:49.that is warfare, and that is what happens when we start putting forces

:44:50. > :44:54.against each other. But Ashdown, -- Lord Ashdown, that is warfare, do

:44:55. > :44:58.you agree? Warfare is a whiz conducted subject to the rule of

:44:59. > :45:03.law, and a soldier goes into someone else's country and with lethal force

:45:04. > :45:06.in order to protect the law, the domestic law that operates in

:45:07. > :45:12.Britain and international law, and when that is broken, whether that is

:45:13. > :45:15.broken, that is a matter for the court, the court has judged on this

:45:16. > :45:19.and regarded that there is mitigating circumstances and it is

:45:20. > :45:25.not what anyone else to intervene in that process. I gave evidence

:45:26. > :45:34.against the Walker models -- three war criminals and I did that because

:45:35. > :45:36.I witnessed the forces undertaking actions which were contrary to the

:45:37. > :45:42.law, but if you don't have the rule of law, even on the battlefield,

:45:43. > :45:45.soldiery develops into something which is very different from the

:45:46. > :45:51.great standards which are observed by British forces. Whether the law

:45:52. > :45:56.was broken in this case is a matter for the court, nobody else. The

:45:57. > :45:59.court has decided there are mitigating circumstances, what

:46:00. > :46:03.sentence is passed as a matter for the court, nobody else, and in

:46:04. > :46:08.Britain there is a very clear, indeed in every democracy, a very

:46:09. > :46:12.clear division, the division of powers, between the court that the

:46:13. > :46:17.sites where and whether the laws have been broken -- that decides.

:46:18. > :46:22.One does not interfere with the other.

:46:23. > :46:28.Bearing in mind what we know about Sergeant Blackman's mental state at

:46:29. > :46:34.that time, if understand why he did what he did? It isn't a question of

:46:35. > :46:38.I understand. I don't think it is something that somebody who is not

:46:39. > :46:41.on the battlefield can understand. I have been an officer and I have been

:46:42. > :46:46.in circumstances like this. I've witnessed people being killed on the

:46:47. > :46:49.battlefield. It's not a question of whether you understand, only if

:46:50. > :46:56.you're there do you understand. But it's a question of whether the law

:46:57. > :47:00.has been broken and I come back to a central tenant of British democratic

:47:01. > :47:04.rule which is the rule of law and who decides whether the law has been

:47:05. > :47:09.broken in every instance on the battlefield, on the streets, is a

:47:10. > :47:13.matter for the courts and in this politicians don't interfere. Mr

:47:14. > :47:18.Goldberg you saw Sergeant Blackman a few days ago. What is his frame of

:47:19. > :47:23.mind at the moment? You know, he is a Royal Marine, the amazing thing is

:47:24. > :47:30.how resilient and tough he is about this, much more so than me on his

:47:31. > :47:35.behalf. He's practical. He's doing an Open University course and

:47:36. > :47:41.teaching the other prisoners maths and refereeing volleyball

:47:42. > :47:49.competitions, can you believe this? And he would like to walk free

:47:50. > :47:53.today? You bet he would. Pauline says, "It is not natural

:47:54. > :47:58.justice to jail this marine. We teach them to kill and punish them

:47:59. > :48:04.for doing so. He should be a hero, not behind bars." This viewer says,

:48:05. > :48:10."Murder is murder. Blackman's state of mind not backed up by his lucid

:48:11. > :48:14.warnings to colleagues to keep their mouth shut about the Geneva

:48:15. > :48:17.convention." We are expecting to hear from the court in the next hour

:48:18. > :48:21.or so, as soon as we find out what the ruling is on Sergeant Blackman's

:48:22. > :48:30.sentence, we will bring it to you on BBC News.

:48:31. > :48:35.Wave film about bowel cancer. Experts say too often the warning

:48:36. > :48:47.signs are missed because someone is young. That's at 10.15am.

:48:48. > :48:50.The Scottish Parliament look set to vote to begin the process

:48:51. > :48:52.of calling a second referendum on independence today but talks

:48:53. > :48:55.between the Prime Minister and the First Minister made no

:48:56. > :48:56.progress on when it might actually be held.

:48:57. > :48:59.We can speak now to the Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale

:49:00. > :49:03.And and in a moment we'll speak to Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh

:49:04. > :49:06.from the SNP, which is in favour of Scottish independence.

:49:07. > :49:13.Kezia Dugdale good morning to you. Good morning. In 2015 you said that

:49:14. > :49:18.Labour MSPs could vote for independence if they wanted. Why

:49:19. > :49:21.have you changed your mind? I made it clear in the manifesto that the

:49:22. > :49:24.Scottish Labour Party couldn't support a second independence

:49:25. > :49:27.referendum in the lifetime of this Scottish Parliament. Why did you

:49:28. > :49:32.change your mind? I didn't change my mind. What I did was put forward in

:49:33. > :49:35.a manifesto a clear commitment to oppose independence and indeed a

:49:36. > :49:38.second independence referendum and my colleagues are going to honour

:49:39. > :49:41.that promise that we made to the Scottish people and it is important

:49:42. > :49:44.to ask why we're going to do that. First and fore most, Scotland is

:49:45. > :49:49.incredibly divided just now. The last thing it needs is to be divided

:49:50. > :49:53.once more on this constitutional question. I'm against independence

:49:54. > :49:56.because of the austerity it would bring to Scotland. Because of the

:49:57. > :50:00.additional cuts it would bring to schools and hospitals, we know the

:50:01. > :50:04.gap between what Scotland raises in its taxes and what it spends is ?15

:50:05. > :50:08.billion. As a Labour politician that wants to stand up for public

:50:09. > :50:12.services you cannot possibly ever support that reduction in public

:50:13. > :50:20.services. You wouldn't expect me to to. What's it like to find yourself

:50:21. > :50:25.on the same side as the Conservatives this inn this debate?

:50:26. > :50:31.I'm making different arguments to the Conservatives. Because of the of

:50:32. > :50:34.Theresa May's, the reality is that independence would mean the cuts

:50:35. > :50:38.would be far more severe than we're faced with. It is my job to stand up

:50:39. > :50:41.against the cuts. Actually where I stand is where the majority of

:50:42. > :50:44.people in Scotland stand. We want to remain part of the k UK and that's

:50:45. > :50:48.what we voted for just two-and-a-half years ago and we want

:50:49. > :50:52.as a close a relationship with Europe as possible. Scots want to

:50:53. > :50:56.reject the extremes of nationalism and hard Brexit and that's where the

:50:57. > :51:01.Labour Party stands to represent the people who share those interests.

:51:02. > :51:03.Brexit might be economically damaging to Scotland too? Brexit is

:51:04. > :51:09.going to be dabbling for Scotlandment there is no question of

:51:10. > :51:12.that. Just as it will be damaging for Wales and the rest of the United

:51:13. > :51:17.Kingdom. Independence will not make that any betterment the uncertainty

:51:18. > :51:22.caused by Brexit would be multiplied by the uncertainty of Brexit. Europe

:51:23. > :51:25.is an important trading partner to the UK, to Scotland the rest of the

:51:26. > :51:30.United Kingdom is worth four times that in terms of its trading

:51:31. > :51:34.relationships, why would we jeopardise that in order to maintain

:51:35. > :51:40.that relationship with Europe? I think we can have both choices. How

:51:41. > :51:44.do you respond that then that what your party is proposing, what the

:51:45. > :51:49.Scottish Government is proposing will end up being economically

:51:50. > :51:53.damage for Scotland? Well, I don't accept anything of what Kezia

:51:54. > :51:59.Dugdale saidment she started off speaking about her own manifesto. If

:52:00. > :52:02.we are in a situation where we find ourselves where we are taken out of

:52:03. > :52:05.the EU against our will, the people of Scotland should be given a choice

:52:06. > :52:09.and that's what we're saying. It is not for me or Nicola Sturgeon or

:52:10. > :52:13.Kezia Dugdale to rob the people of Scotland of a genuine choice and

:52:14. > :52:21.that's what they should be offered in 18 months time, not now, in the

:52:22. > :52:26.agreed time scale according to David Davis and Theresa May. The people of

:52:27. > :52:30.Scotland at that time should be offered what the Scotland's

:52:31. > :52:34.prospective is going to be for independence. That's how we take the

:52:35. > :52:37.country forward. What is the alternative that Kezia Dugdale is

:52:38. > :52:41.offering? She speaks of austerity. What she wants to subject the people

:52:42. > :52:44.of Scotland to is decades of austerity as we have a hard right

:52:45. > :52:49.Tory Government that's not going to be removed by Labour any time in the

:52:50. > :52:53.near future. Why isn't it right that the people of Scotland are offered

:52:54. > :52:57.another path, a genuine choice to save themselves from austerity and

:52:58. > :53:01.save themselves from Brexit. I thought Kezia Dugdale was in favour

:53:02. > :53:04.of the single market. We are not going to lie down and let the UK

:53:05. > :53:07.Government take us out of the European Union. We have to stand up

:53:08. > :53:13.for what is right for Scotland and people of Scotland should make that

:53:14. > :53:18.choice. On timing, if you believe that the Brexit deal that Mrs May

:53:19. > :53:21.gets is economically damaging then you would surely benefit in an

:53:22. > :53:26.independence referendum vote if you held that vote after the Brexit deal

:53:27. > :53:30.had been done? We all know, Kezia Dugdale just said she knows the

:53:31. > :53:33.impact of Brexit are going to be economically damaging. That's an

:53:34. > :53:39.understood fact. Actually no one knows. Well, we do know. All

:53:40. > :53:44.reports, all surveys told us that it is going to have a negative

:53:45. > :53:49.impact... No one knows what the deal is. No one knows what the deal is?

:53:50. > :53:53.Terms of the choice which is what we're suggesting, we're not asking

:53:54. > :53:57.for a referendum now, what we are saying given the people 62% voted to

:53:58. > :54:01.Remain, given that the UK-wide approach is not a UK-wide approach.

:54:02. > :54:05.Number Ten Downing Street approach to Brexit, people should be given a

:54:06. > :54:11.genuine choice. These are not my words. The words in terms of the

:54:12. > :54:14.time scale at 18 months come from David Davis a couple of weeks ago

:54:15. > :54:18.and indeed Theresa May yesterdayment we are working to their time scales

:54:19. > :54:23.and indeed, the European Union time scales in terms of the negotiating

:54:24. > :54:28.position. Briefly, if you don't get permission from Westminster, would

:54:29. > :54:34.you hold an informal referendum? We want our referendum that is agreed

:54:35. > :54:38.with, the UK Government. OK. So you wouldn't hold an advisory one. The

:54:39. > :54:43.Prime Minister would sensibly say she wasn't going to agree to that.

:54:44. > :54:49.So you wouldn't hold an advisory referendum? We would hold a proper

:54:50. > :54:53.referendum. I want to ask you about the English edition of the Daily

:54:54. > :55:03.Mail. The front page outside of Scotland says, "Never mind Brexit,

:55:04. > :55:05.who won legs-it?" It has a picture of Nicola Sturgeon and Theresa May

:55:06. > :55:10.in their suits and the attention seems to be on their legs. The

:55:11. > :55:15.inside column, I'm going to read a couple of quotes for anybody who

:55:16. > :55:20.hasn't read it. "While Theresa May's fingers elegant with their classic

:55:21. > :55:25.red nails were relaxed and open, sturgeon's grip appeared tenser. Her

:55:26. > :55:29.right thumb at an awkward angle. Sturgeon looks less comfortable, she

:55:30. > :55:34.is glancing off to one side. Her eyes like two hard chocolate

:55:35. > :55:38.buttonsment her smile and as welcoming as Loch Lomond on a

:55:39. > :55:44.winter's day. What stands out is the legs and the expanse on show. There

:55:45. > :55:49.is no no doubt that both women consider their pins to be their

:55:50. > :55:55.finest weapon in their arsenal. Both have been unSheted." Kezia Dugdale

:55:56. > :55:59.how do you react to that? It is just so tiresome, I'm asked why does

:56:00. > :56:03.gender equality matter in 2017 when you have a female First Minister and

:56:04. > :56:09.female Prime Minister, and three female leaders of opposition parties

:56:10. > :56:13.in Scotland and that front page else you how it matters, they are being

:56:14. > :56:19.judged by their appearance. It is tiresome and another example of

:56:20. > :56:22.every day sexism. We know it is a sensationalist take, but women face

:56:23. > :56:26.that every day. They don't have to be Prime Minister to face that sort

:56:27. > :56:31.of extreme sexism and we have to stand against it every step of the

:56:32. > :56:35.way. How would you describe it? I agree with everything Kezia Dugdale

:56:36. > :56:38.said. It is disgusting. I have been saying in Parliament at Westminster

:56:39. > :56:41.that so often it is report on what we wear as opposed to what we're

:56:42. > :56:45.saying. Theresa May and Nicola Sturgeon held a really important

:56:46. > :56:49.discussion if one could term it as such yesterday and the fact that the

:56:50. > :56:53.focus is on what they are wearing or what their gestures may have been is

:56:54. > :56:58.tiring. We have so much work to do in this respect and I hope The Daily

:56:59. > :57:01.Mail would consider this was an inappropriate way to cover what was

:57:02. > :57:04.an extremely important meeting about the future of the United Kingdom.

:57:05. > :57:08.You say people are treated because they are women Kezia Dugdale. Can

:57:09. > :57:10.you give us an xarple of how you have been treated differently

:57:11. > :57:14.because you are a woman? I remember one of the first times I wore a

:57:15. > :57:17.dress to my work after wearing trouser suits for many years and a

:57:18. > :57:22.male colleague said he didn't know I had legs. You get casual sexism like

:57:23. > :57:26.that every step of the way in politics. I live in a political

:57:27. > :57:30.bubble. I'm part of the political establishment. People are pk around

:57:31. > :57:35.the type of language they would use with me. Think of the working class

:57:36. > :57:38.women, women working three part-time jobs and the sexism they face every

:57:39. > :57:42.day. Who is going to stand up and protect them? That's why it is

:57:43. > :57:46.important when women are in positions of power they break down

:57:47. > :57:54.the barriers to show up the sexism and show the men up who are

:57:55. > :58:01.articulating. Not in this case, it is a female journalist, but it is a

:58:02. > :58:04.male editor. Plenty of people on social media had

:58:05. > :58:10.their say as soon as the front page of the Mail was published in

:58:11. > :58:13.England. This from Jeremy Corbyn, "It's 2017, the sexism must be

:58:14. > :58:25.consigned to history. Shame on The Daily Mail. " This from David

:58:26. > :58:34.Baddiel it says newspaper of the year, 1971 I assume." Mary Beard

:58:35. > :58:40.said this, "Women in power? Worth seeing what we my be up against." Ed

:58:41. > :58:51.Miliband, "The 1950s called and asked for their headline back."

:58:52. > :59:01.Harriet Harman, "Moronic and we're in 2017." Here is an older version

:59:02. > :59:04.posted by Lily Allen. There is Boris Johnson and David Cameron." Very,

:59:05. > :59:14.very good. The Scottish Daily Mail by the way, it is very different. It

:59:15. > :59:20.doesn't mention legs-it. It says, "Oh so frosty, secrets of Nicola and

:59:21. > :59:25.PM's talking." Now the weather with Matt.

:59:26. > :59:33.Let's take to you Australia. You've heard about Cyclone Debbie reaching

:59:34. > :59:40.the Australian coast. This is where it made land fall. Luckily the winds

:59:41. > :59:44.strength is over a narrow corridor. It will be rain that causes problems

:59:45. > :59:48.and that will head southwards in the direction of Brisbane. Some spots

:59:49. > :59:53.could see half a meter's worth of rain before it gradually eases off.

:59:54. > :59:57.Back to our shores. We have our own swirl of cloud, not too far away. A

:59:58. > :00:01.huge swirl of cloud as well. It is out in the Atlantic. Here it is.

:00:02. > :00:06.It's a massive area of low pressure. It is not having a direct impact on

:00:07. > :00:12.us at the moment, but it will have an incorrect action through today.

:00:13. > :00:18.Spreading in a zone of thicker cloud and the chance of rain. We have had

:00:19. > :00:21.dry and sunny weather of late. Starting toads few showers across

:00:22. > :00:26.western areas as we go through the day. Very much more miss than hit,

:00:27. > :00:29.but you could see some through this morning and beyond lunch time across

:00:30. > :00:32.Northern Ireland, maybe in the Midlands and into parts of

:00:33. > :00:36.north-west England. By the end of the afternoon a few spots of rain

:00:37. > :00:39.starting to show up in the south-west of Scotland and

:00:40. > :00:42.particularly Dumfries and Galloway and we may just catch the odd spot

:00:43. > :00:46.or two in Orkney, but much of Scotland will be dry. A big change

:00:47. > :00:49.with recent days, more cloud around and the sunniest conditions will be

:00:50. > :00:53.across the north-west. We could hit 16 Celsius. But once we've lost the

:00:54. > :00:56.bulk of rain from Northern Ireland, the skies will brighten with

:00:57. > :01:00.sunshine, but there could be a few heavy thunderstorms and we could see

:01:01. > :01:06.storms across western England and Wales. Some avoid them. Further

:01:07. > :01:08.south and east, not only dry and sunny, but warmer, temperatures

:01:09. > :01:11.could peak at 20 Celsius. We have got the showers to begin with.

:01:12. > :01:13.Another batch of rain pushing up from the south-west. It will be

:01:14. > :01:18.across northern and western areas where we see rain tonight, but one

:01:19. > :01:21.or two towards the South East and East Anglia could catch the odd

:01:22. > :01:25.shower. Not as cold as the last few nights. Temperatures holding up for

:01:26. > :01:29.the most part. In the nart north-east of Scotland, there may

:01:30. > :01:34.just be a very isolated frost. Here we should start the day dry and

:01:35. > :01:37.bright with sunshine. But weather fronts wriggling away as we head up

:01:38. > :01:40.the western parts of the UK through Wednesday and into Thursday. And by

:01:41. > :01:45.the time we get into Thursday, this is where we are likely to see the

:01:46. > :01:49.warmth gradually building. So some further outbreaks of rain across

:01:50. > :01:52.western areas on Wednesday. Brighter conditions either side, but by

:01:53. > :01:55.Thursday, just notice the warmth build in the South East corner. This

:01:56. > :01:59.is where we will see the best of the sunshine. Could hit 20 or 21

:02:00. > :02:04.Celsius. Wetter still across western areas and we will see more rain as

:02:05. > :02:11.we go into Friday, that pushes southwards and eastwards and get

:02:12. > :02:13.ready for the weekend. It is set to turn cooler.

:02:14. > :02:26.A rape victim speaks exclusively to this programme whose attack led

:02:27. > :02:28.to a female judge saying women who get drunk were putting

:02:29. > :02:34.It's been really difficult, I've pretty much had

:02:35. > :02:38.I didn't deal with it so well for a while -

:02:39. > :02:46.I've kind of got past it a little bit now.

:02:47. > :02:50.In a short while a Royal Marine will find out if he will be released

:02:51. > :02:52.from prison after shooting a Taliban insurgent in Afghanistan.

:02:53. > :02:54.We've been speaking to a friend of his, who said

:02:55. > :02:56.why Sergeant Blackman should be released.

:02:57. > :03:01.In my opinion Al did do the right thing because I'm not saying anyone

:03:02. > :03:08.should be above the law but he certainly may have

:03:09. > :03:17.GPs have been given access to a new risk assessment tool

:03:18. > :03:19.to help diagnose young people at risk of bowel cancer.

:03:20. > :03:22.We've been speaking to people affected by the disease.

:03:23. > :03:28.It's turns your world upside down and it makes you reconsider

:03:29. > :03:32.everything. What you're doing and what you're going to do.

:03:33. > :03:42.Unfortunately I've had to have quite a large operation. We've got a very

:03:43. > :03:45.informative and moving film on bowel cancer quite soon.

:03:46. > :03:48.Here's Joanna with a summary of the news.

:03:49. > :03:51.In an exclusive interview - a rape victim - whose attack led

:03:52. > :03:54.to a judge warning that drunk women were putting themselves in danger -

:03:55. > :03:57.Megan Clark waived her right to anonymity

:03:58. > :04:11.She was raped by a man she met in a takeaway when she was drunk

:04:12. > :04:15.The judge at the trial of her attacker sparked controversy

:04:16. > :04:17.when she said the drunken behaviour of some women was

:04:18. > :04:20.But 19-year-old Megan said she was warning

:04:21. > :04:22.women to "be careful", and it was "good advice".

:04:23. > :04:26.The wife of Westminster attacker Khalid Masood

:04:27. > :04:28.has said she "totally condemns" his actions.

:04:29. > :04:31.Khalid Masood killed three people when he drove a car into pedestrians

:04:32. > :04:33.on Westminster Bridge before stabbing PC Keith Palmer to death

:04:34. > :04:36.In a statement released through the police, Rohey Hydara

:04:37. > :04:39.said she was 'saddened and shocked' and expressed her

:04:40. > :04:46.Health bosses are to look at plans to save hundreds of millions

:04:47. > :04:48.of pounds a year by stopping prescriptions for things

:04:49. > :04:50.like gluten-free food, muscle rubs and omega 3 fish oils.

:04:51. > :04:53.The changes are part of a proposal to cut down

:04:54. > :04:55.on what NHS England called "unnecessary or inappropriate"

:04:56. > :04:57.treatments, that can be bought cheaply over the counter

:04:58. > :05:12.Tesco will pay a ?129 million fine to the Serious Fraud Office

:05:13. > :05:17.It stems from a statement by the supermarket in September

:05:18. > :05:20.2014, that its profits had been overstated by ?263 million.

:05:21. > :05:22.Auditors found that the inflated figure was the result of including

:05:23. > :05:27.payments from suppliers, before the money was due.

:05:28. > :05:30.GPs have been given access to a new tool to help diagnose young

:05:31. > :05:36.Experts say people under 50 do not act on bowel cancer symptoms quickly

:05:37. > :05:39.enough and 20% visit a GP five times before they are referred

:05:40. > :05:43.The new approach will help calculate the risk of the disease

:05:44. > :05:45.based on blood tests, symptoms and a GP's examination.

:05:46. > :05:48.Bowel Cancer UK told this programme all GPs should be given access

:05:49. > :05:59.That's a summary of the latest BBC News - more at 10.30am.

:06:00. > :06:12.We are going to talk more about the interview with Megan Clark.

:06:13. > :06:21.And the fact that the judge in her rape case said that drunk and women

:06:22. > :06:28.were putting themselves in danger -- drunken women. We have had one

:06:29. > :06:37.person getting in touch, she said she was raped, and she had to spend

:06:38. > :06:41.three days giving evidence. She said the trauma of being on the stand was

:06:42. > :06:47.horrific and she was sober which it was raped, and she understands why

:06:48. > :06:51.Megan Clark would not have come forward -- would not come forward if

:06:52. > :06:56.she was raped again. She says she feels the system is set up to

:06:57. > :07:00.protect the rapist rather than the victim.

:07:01. > :07:02.Do get in touch with us throughout the morning.

:07:03. > :07:05.Use the hashtag Victoria LIVE and if you text, you will be charged

:07:06. > :07:12.Here's some sport now with Olly Foster.

:07:13. > :07:21.Cricket is making the headlines this morning.

:07:22. > :07:24.A brand new T20 Torunament to rival the Indian Premeier League

:07:25. > :07:27.and Australia is set to be staged in the Summer of 2020.

:07:28. > :07:29.It will feature 8 franchises based in Cities, operating

:07:30. > :07:33.The governing body, the ECB, say they have to diversify and reach

:07:34. > :07:35.new markets for the health of the sport.

:07:36. > :07:37.Let's get more on this, with former England

:07:38. > :07:39.This hasn't been completely signed off yet,

:07:40. > :07:42.a few counties have had reservations but the ECB are very determined

:07:43. > :08:00.All the counties have signed the media rights. Cricket does need

:08:01. > :08:04.something new, only 22% say cricket is their favourite sport, children,

:08:05. > :08:07.in a country where this is the summer sport, and there are

:08:08. > :08:12.concerns. There are concerns, counties will be nervous about the

:08:13. > :08:16.future, but some of the exciting prospects, looking to attract new

:08:17. > :08:25.audience be very exciting. Looking at TV audiences. How important are

:08:26. > :08:30.the plans that eight of these 36 matches will be on free to air

:08:31. > :08:35.television? It is important in a couple of areas, we have not had

:08:36. > :08:42.cricket on television. When I was a teenager I was inspired by watching

:08:43. > :08:44.the Ashes and that got me into the game and propelled me to continue

:08:45. > :08:56.playing, but for youngsters coming through that this key. The ECB is

:08:57. > :09:01.looking to attract a new audience. So the new audience will have to be

:09:02. > :09:08.poured into this and I think this will be critical. The BBC are

:09:09. > :09:10.interested in this, we understand. Ben Stokes became an instant

:09:11. > :09:16.millionaire in the IPL auction recently. Will the success of this

:09:17. > :09:22.be about how much money the players can be paid? You pay for what you

:09:23. > :09:27.get, don't you? Money will be massive, if you look at India in

:09:28. > :09:30.terms of money, it is out of the world in terms of the investment,

:09:31. > :09:34.and we are going to have broadcast income coming in to support the

:09:35. > :09:39.game, and players will expect to be rewarded. This will reduce to eight

:09:40. > :09:43.teams, only a small fraction of the players that are currently in the

:09:44. > :09:46.county system will have access, but those that do will want to be

:09:47. > :09:49.rewarded and you need to attract the big players to make this a

:09:50. > :09:55.successful stop thanks for joining us. -- to make this a success.

:09:56. > :10:00.Thanks for joining us. In an exclusive interview with this

:10:01. > :10:03.programme a rape survivor has defended the comments made

:10:04. > :10:06.by the judge in her case who said drunk women are putting

:10:07. > :10:09.themselves in danger. 19-year-old Megan Clark was attacked

:10:10. > :10:13.after a night out in Manchester. She has waived her right

:10:14. > :10:17.to anonymity to speak to us today. She had been drinking,

:10:18. > :10:20.but said the judge gave good advice and was just telling women

:10:21. > :10:22.to be careful. Judge Lindsey Kushner's comments had

:10:23. > :10:25.been criticised as victim-blaming. We played you her full

:10:26. > :10:27.intrerview an hour ago. I think she was absolutely

:10:28. > :10:31.right in what she said, She put the blame massively

:10:32. > :10:42.on rapists, not the victims. She just simply said to be careful,

:10:43. > :10:47.basically, which is smart advice. But she wasn't at

:10:48. > :10:54.all victim blaming. She said a woman would be less

:10:55. > :10:57.likely to report a rape "because she was drunk or could not

:10:58. > :11:01.remember what happened or feels ashamed to deal with it or,

:11:02. > :11:04.if push comes to shove, a girl who is drunk is less likely

:11:05. > :11:07.to be believed than one You didn't think you would report

:11:08. > :11:16.something like that That is the harsh reality.

:11:17. > :11:26.That is the way things are. Are you saying you wouldn't have

:11:27. > :11:28.gone to the police that night But it probably wouldn't

:11:29. > :11:39.have gone anywhere. It's just my word against theirs,

:11:40. > :11:41.without the evidence. Rape Crisis did criticise

:11:42. > :11:45.the judge's comments, they said They said, as a judge and a woman,

:11:46. > :11:53.she should know better. The only person who is responsible

:11:54. > :11:56.for rape is the rapist. Women are yet again

:11:57. > :11:58.being blamed for rape. Only the rapist is responsible,

:11:59. > :12:04.but that was the point the judge was making,

:12:05. > :12:09.it was just taken out of context. A few people I told, they kind

:12:10. > :12:19.of put it down to my behaviour. I know it is not my fault,

:12:20. > :12:28.but it is hard not to blame yourself, especially

:12:29. > :12:35.when you are in that situation. What is your message to other

:12:36. > :12:37.women when they're out and about with their mates

:12:38. > :12:39.in the summer, having Don't live in fear of rapists

:12:40. > :12:45.and being in danger. Know that it is not your

:12:46. > :12:55.fault, whatever happens. I guess I'd still encourage

:12:56. > :12:58.people to report it, Even though you feel if it ever

:12:59. > :13:04.happened to you again Megan Clark talking exclusively

:13:05. > :13:14.to us this morning. If you want to read her

:13:15. > :13:30.story you can find it It's one of the most read on this

:13:31. > :13:33.website this morning. One person says she would like to live in a

:13:34. > :13:40.world where she is not told how to avoid rape. Another person says that

:13:41. > :13:46.the judge's comments were reasonable. Nigel says the judge is

:13:47. > :13:50.only giving the correct advice, that women should never make themselves

:13:51. > :13:54.drunk and vulnerable, and it needs to be said that rape against women

:13:55. > :13:59.is a violent act and should never be tolerated or allowed by anyone.

:14:00. > :14:04.Andries says, wow, the bravery of Megan Clark, she has done a

:14:05. > :14:10.wonderful thing -- Anne-Marie says. We can get reaction now.

:14:11. > :14:12.Sarah Vine QC, a criminal barrister who specialises

:14:13. > :14:16.Rebecca Hitchin from the charity Rape Crisis.

:14:17. > :14:24.Megan Clark thinks the judge was right to say what she did. I agree.

:14:25. > :14:28.I was heartened to hear Megan Clark's summary at the end of the

:14:29. > :14:31.interview, when she was asked what advice she would give to people who

:14:32. > :14:39.are going out this summer for a good time, because the weighting that she

:14:40. > :14:44.gave in that summary to what is effectively and adores month of the

:14:45. > :14:51.judge's, as was absolutely right. -- an endorsement of the judge's

:14:52. > :14:55.comments. It is never your fault, please come forward, these are

:14:56. > :14:59.critical comments, and in addition, look after yourself, and that is not

:15:00. > :15:04.because it is short for, that is because drunkenness is a bit icky

:15:05. > :15:09.the form of -- is a particular form of former ability that we have some

:15:10. > :15:15.kind of control over -- vulnerability. She made it very

:15:16. > :15:23.clear, Megan, that an aspect of it was the fact that when she was

:15:24. > :15:25.drunk, like most of us, she felt invulnerable and much more

:15:26. > :15:29.confident, and she was in a position where she trusted people who she

:15:30. > :15:36.probably wouldn't trust when she was sober. These are things which, that

:15:37. > :15:42.is not our responsibility, but if someone is able to put measures in

:15:43. > :15:52.place to enable that they are properly looked after and that there

:15:53. > :15:58.are safeguards there, so that former ability -- vulnerability doesn't

:15:59. > :15:59.overwhelm the situation. I could feel you bristling, at those

:16:00. > :16:08.comments. How do you react? I have a very different view. I

:16:09. > :16:14.think those comments were damaging and harmful. The judge's comments?

:16:15. > :16:17.Yes. The fact that Megan spoke out, that takes incredible strength and

:16:18. > :16:20.bravery, but I think that the fact that the judge had said and she also

:16:21. > :16:24.said if you're drunk and raped then you're less likely to report, you're

:16:25. > :16:28.less likely to be believed. What sort of message is that sending out?

:16:29. > :16:32.As women, we're constantly being told to watch what we wear or be

:16:33. > :16:35.careful of how much you have to drink because then you'll be

:16:36. > :16:38.vulnerable and then you will be responsible for what happens to you,

:16:39. > :16:42.but there never seems to be that flip, that focus on these rapists

:16:43. > :16:45.and these potential rapists being told not to rape rather than that,

:16:46. > :16:49.it is just focus on women and girls being told, you know, don't get

:16:50. > :16:55.drunk, look after yourself, keep yourself safe. And I just think that

:16:56. > :17:00.those judge's comments really reinforce that. More than that, it

:17:01. > :17:02.is even saying to rapist and potential rapists, you're right,

:17:03. > :17:07.target these women because if you target these women they won't report

:17:08. > :17:11.you and if you target these women and they do have that strength to

:17:12. > :17:15.report and only 15% of survivors do report, then if they do choose to

:17:16. > :17:21.report, they won't be believed. So that's the message that's being sent

:17:22. > :17:27.out to rapists, potential rapists. Sarah Vine how often does alcohol

:17:28. > :17:31.play a part in rape trials? It is a common significant factor in rape

:17:32. > :17:35.cases. I'd like to respond to something that Rebecca said because

:17:36. > :17:37.I think it is really important and I completely understand her concern.

:17:38. > :17:45.This is perhaps one area of the judge's comments that I think would

:17:46. > :17:48.bear expansion and that's this - the make-up of a rape trial like any

:17:49. > :17:51.criminal trial is that the prosecution are in a position of

:17:52. > :17:54.having to prove the case to the criminal standard so they have to

:17:55. > :18:02.make a jury sure. They have to prove the case beyond reasonable doubt. In

:18:03. > :18:07.most sex cases, the evidential position is you're going to have one

:18:08. > :18:12.person's word against another. Where the person who is giving evidence

:18:13. > :18:19.for the prosecution, whose evidence has to persuade a jury so that

:18:20. > :18:25.they're sure, when that person has been drunk, the jury are going to

:18:26. > :18:30.take into account the fact that alcohol has objek till an impact on

:18:31. > :18:35.all kinds of things. This is not about a woman being unlady-like or

:18:36. > :18:45.anything of that nature. This is about the impact that alcohol has on

:18:46. > :18:48.judgement, on our recollection crucially, and an impaired

:18:49. > :18:53.recollection may result in a jury arriving at the conclusion that a

:18:54. > :18:57.witness, a complainant has been entirely honest, but nonetheless,

:18:58. > :19:02.that their evidence is not completely reliable so it will cross

:19:03. > :19:07.the criminal standard. First of all, they are not sex cases, they are

:19:08. > :19:11.rape cases and I understand what a prosecution barrister is trying to

:19:12. > :19:14.achieve, but we know the conviction rate for rape cases is woefully low

:19:15. > :19:19.and needs to be addressed and the fact that Megan herself in a case

:19:20. > :19:22.where she was interrupted, the rapist was interrupted by the

:19:23. > :19:27.police, it was also recorded, the fact that she didn't even have that

:19:28. > :19:31.faith in the Criminal Justice System and she thinks if those elements of

:19:32. > :19:35.it hadn't occurred she might not have reported it, I think speaks

:19:36. > :19:39.volumes about the way that survivors are treated and responded to in our

:19:40. > :19:45.society. I would like to ask you Rebecca about another case. This is

:19:46. > :19:52.a domestic aawes case. A judge gave a cricketer a 19 prison sentence

:19:53. > :19:59.suss spended for yo years after the court heard his wife was forced to

:20:00. > :20:05.drink bleach. She was throtled in public and hit with a cricket bat.

:20:06. > :20:11.The prison sentence was suspended for two years. The judge ordered the

:20:12. > :20:17.man to acontinued a workshop called Building Better Relationships pay

:20:18. > :20:22.?1,000 in costs and banned him from contacting his partner, the judge

:20:23. > :20:25.said that he did not believe that the wife, was vulnerable because,

:20:26. > :20:30."She was an intelligent woman with a network of friends and had a college

:20:31. > :20:37.degree." I mean I think that those comments,

:20:38. > :20:40.the sentencing, the fact that it is a suspended sentence is shocking as

:20:41. > :20:43.are those comments. The idea that intelligent women cannot be

:20:44. > :20:53.vulnerable. The idea that intelligent women cannot be in

:20:54. > :20:56.abusive relationships is untrue. I understand that Jess Phillips is

:20:57. > :20:58.trying to get the case looked into in more detail and I would agree

:20:59. > :21:02.with that. We can bring in Labour

:21:03. > :21:06.MP Jess Phillips. She's writing to the

:21:07. > :21:12.attorney-general on the issue. First of all, your reaction to the

:21:13. > :21:18.comments made in this case by the judge? Oh, it's just completely and

:21:19. > :21:23.utterly wrong and the fact that the judge even said that and it has been

:21:24. > :21:29.put on the record is incredibly damaging. It speaks of somebody who

:21:30. > :21:33.does not understand that risk and vulnerability are dynamicment they

:21:34. > :21:37.are not a static thing that are affected by your class, your race,

:21:38. > :21:43.your age. Anyone can be a victim of domestic violence and in fact, this

:21:44. > :21:46.morning I've had a number of women who are incredibly well educated

:21:47. > :21:50.with PhDs, with amazing qualifications get in touch with me

:21:51. > :21:55.and tell me the story of how they've lived in terror and fear.

:21:56. > :21:57.In terms of righting to the Attorney-General explain to our

:21:58. > :22:02.audience what the point of that is and what the Attorney-General could

:22:03. > :22:06.possibly do? Well, I moon, I don't have the full facts of the case. I

:22:07. > :22:10.don't know what was put in in plea bargain. I don't know what other

:22:11. > :22:13.mitigating factors were used in sentencing. So I've asked the

:22:14. > :22:18.Attorney-General to review that case and the Attorney-General can review

:22:19. > :22:22.cases where there is a feeling from people that it is too lenient.

:22:23. > :22:26.However, in this case, because the charge is actual bold bodily harm,

:22:27. > :22:34.ed isn't one of the categories of crime that the Attorney-General can

:22:35. > :22:36.intervene on. That's murder, rape, sexual violence, sexual violence

:22:37. > :22:40.against children and a number of other categories. However, I've

:22:41. > :22:44.asked the Attorney-General to review this case and to review whether this

:22:45. > :22:49.sort of crime, actual bodily harm where domestic violence is a factor

:22:50. > :22:54.could be included in that list. OK. So it won't necessarily change the

:22:55. > :23:00.sentence here, the outcome of this, but for future cases, it may? No. I

:23:01. > :23:03.mean the things the judge said about the zIm and the judgement of the

:23:04. > :23:09.judge in the case won't necessarily change. There is a factor in this

:23:10. > :23:13.case that might change. It seems that there is a discrepancy around

:23:14. > :23:19.the perpetrator saying that he was going to play for a cricket team who

:23:20. > :23:24.have since denied it might actually throw up some possibilities of

:23:25. > :23:27.changing the outcome of the case, but classicically, the

:23:28. > :23:32.Attorney-General cannot intervene on actual bodily harm cases. OK, thank

:23:33. > :23:40.you very much. Thank you for talking to us.

:23:41. > :23:45.A court is due to decide whether to release a Royal Marine

:23:46. > :23:47.from prison after he shot a Taliban insurgent.

:23:48. > :23:50.We'll bring you the result when it comes in.

:23:51. > :23:59.Bowel cancer doesn't just affect elderly men as you're

:24:00. > :24:11.GPs have been given access to a new risk assessment tool

:24:12. > :24:13.to help diagnose younger people at risk of bowel cancer.

:24:14. > :24:17.Experts have told this programme people under 50 do not act on bowel

:24:18. > :24:23.20% have to visit a GP five times before being

:24:24. > :24:30.referred to a specialist often because doctors see them

:24:31. > :24:32.as "too young" to have such a serious condition.

:24:33. > :24:35.Our reporter Michael Cowan has been to meet some of those affected,

:24:36. > :24:37.35-year-old Deborah who was diagnosed just before

:24:38. > :24:40.Christmas, Jaimin who was diagnosed the first time at 29,

:24:41. > :24:42.and Tamsin who lost her boyfriend Ben to bowel cancer

:24:43. > :25:02.I'm a mother of two children, and 35 years old and I have

:25:03. > :25:07.My name is James Patel, 33 and I survived bowel cancer.

:25:08. > :25:17.My name is Tamsin, and 34 years old and I lost my boyfriend, Ben,

:25:18. > :25:30.to bowel cancer just over three years ago.

:25:31. > :25:34.Bowel cancer is the fourth most common cancer in the UK with 44

:25:35. > :25:45.I had been feeling a little bit under the weather for possibly

:25:46. > :25:49.a year and I went to my doctors and they told me it was probably

:25:50. > :25:52.nothing to worry about and they sent me for some blood tests

:25:53. > :25:54.and they came back normal and my symptoms continued to get

:25:55. > :25:58.worse and I continued to go to the toilet even more often

:25:59. > :26:04.and I continued to pass even more blood to the point where a month

:26:05. > :26:18.before my diagnosis I was going ten times

:26:19. > :26:21.a day and I felt I had this massive feeling

:26:22. > :26:22.inside that something was not right.

:26:23. > :26:25.I took myself off and I got a referral and I went

:26:26. > :26:27.to get a colonoscopies and that is when everything fell

:26:28. > :26:30.silent in the room and that was just before Christmas and they found

:26:31. > :26:33.a six inch tumour inside my rectum and straightaway the consultant

:26:34. > :26:37.The first thing I said was I don't want to die.

:26:38. > :26:40.I screamed at the consultant. I said I don't want to die.

:26:41. > :26:41.Secondly, I thought I've got two beautiful children

:26:42. > :26:44.and it is mortifying, the idea that I might

:26:45. > :26:56.I was scared like a three-year-old child and it was easy six inch

:26:57. > :26:59.tumour and it had spread into my lymph nodes which means once

:27:00. > :27:02.it's in your lymph nodes can go anywhere in your lymphatic system

:27:03. > :27:04.and unfortunately that means that I was classified as stage three.

:27:05. > :27:07.The stage of cancer, that means how advanced it is,

:27:08. > :27:11.90% of people with stage one bowel cancer will survive for five years

:27:12. > :27:15.But with each stage ,the numbers could lower.

:27:16. > :27:21.Stage three, more than 60% will survive.

:27:22. > :27:31.But at stage four, it's less than 10%.

:27:32. > :27:34.Like Deborah, James also had blood in his stools and after a number

:27:35. > :27:37.of visits to doctors and various tests he was sent for a colonoscopy.

:27:38. > :27:41.That was a point which he pretty much told me straightaway but he had

:27:42. > :27:43.seen it loads of times before and it was definitely

:27:44. > :27:53.It makes you reconsider everything you've been doing

:27:54. > :27:56.and you are going to do and, unfortunately, I had to have quite

:27:57. > :28:05.a large operation which meant the whole of my large and testing

:28:06. > :28:08.a large operation which meant the whole of my large intestine

:28:09. > :28:11.was removed and it meant I was left with a permanent colostomy bag

:28:12. > :28:14.as well which was a bit of a thing I had to get my head around.

:28:15. > :28:17.Let's be clear, bowel cancer in the under 50s is rare.

:28:18. > :28:23.But since 2004, it has increased by 45%.

:28:24. > :28:30.2,500 people are diagnosed each year,

:28:31. > :28:34.Tamsin had just moved in with her boyfriend, Ben.

:28:35. > :28:37.One year later, after experiencing diarrhoea, blood in his stools

:28:38. > :28:42.and severe tiredness, he was sent for tests.

:28:43. > :28:48.That's when they diagnosed the bowel cancer, three weeks after

:28:49. > :29:00.Eventually he was sent away and booked in for an operation,

:29:01. > :29:03.but that is the tumour actually burst, so he had to be rushed back

:29:04. > :29:06.Then the doctors, after the operation,

:29:07. > :29:08.they told us what stage it was at, which was quite advanced.

:29:09. > :29:12.For people between the ages of 60 and 74, the NHS provides bowel

:29:13. > :29:15.The problem for the under 50s is that they don't expect

:29:16. > :29:22.So, despite experiencing symptoms, one in four young people

:29:23. > :29:26.wait over three months before going to see their GP.

:29:27. > :29:29.20% of them said they had to see their doctor or a staggering

:29:30. > :29:31.five times before being referred to a specialist.

:29:32. > :29:36.We went into the hospital in the first weekend of the New Year

:29:37. > :29:39.and I then went down into the operation,

:29:40. > :29:45.it was a five-hour operation and I woke up in intensive care.

:29:46. > :29:47.So I'm hoping, all being well, to finish my chemotherapy

:29:48. > :29:56.I was given, I think it was a couple of months or maybe a month

:29:57. > :29:59.or so to recover from the operation and then they started me

:30:00. > :30:14.At the end of my treatment cycles they said that they were happy

:30:15. > :30:22.I was clear for a couple of years and then I think in one of the scans

:30:23. > :30:24.they picked something up where they didn't think much

:30:25. > :30:30.of it and then the scan after that they had seen some pretty

:30:31. > :30:33.large tumours on my liver, so these put me straight back

:30:34. > :30:45.into the another treatment cycle, but it was in that process,

:30:46. > :30:48.those scans that they also found another lesion on my lung.

:30:49. > :30:52.Touch wood, keeping OK at the moment.

:30:53. > :31:01.It is when the chemo started, that is when things started to not

:31:02. > :31:04.go so well because Ben, he kept reacting and he was in

:31:05. > :31:07.hospital for a few weeks and doctors were coming up to him and saying

:31:08. > :31:16.Even right towards the end, and this is just the kind

:31:17. > :31:19.of person that Ben was, when we were in the hospice he said

:31:20. > :31:22.I want to get out of bed and do some squats now,

:31:23. > :31:25.because he just wanted to do some exercise to get himself fit enough

:31:26. > :31:38.Presumably he couldn't get out of bed?

:31:39. > :31:51.He managed to do, I think it was two squats.

:31:52. > :32:01.Then he passed away on the fourth day.

:32:02. > :32:06.I have done a lot of crying, I have done a lot of shouting,

:32:07. > :32:09.I have planned my own funeral, I have said thank you,

:32:10. > :32:13.I have said I love you, I have hugged my children and I have

:32:14. > :32:22.I can eat healthily, I can stand on my head backwards

:32:23. > :32:30.and eat three teaspoons of tumeric everyday.

:32:31. > :32:31.And do whatever someone is suggesting

:32:32. > :32:34.is the latest cancer thing, but cancer is a very unknown,

:32:35. > :32:40.It allows you to reassess what really is important,

:32:41. > :32:48.which is a bizarre thing to think about at my age, but it is something

:32:49. > :32:51.I think a lot of people take for granted and don't really value

:32:52. > :32:55.until it hits them in the face and you need to make

:32:56. > :33:02.Every day, every second of every day I miss him all the time.

:33:03. > :33:11.It has been so hard, the last three years have been so tough.

:33:12. > :33:25.You don't just lose a person, you lose your future and your present.

:33:26. > :33:34.It is like everything being pulled out from underneath you.

:33:35. > :33:36.To build yourself up to some sort of a person

:33:37. > :33:43.After we finished filming, Deborah had some questions for Jamin,

:33:44. > :34:00.How did you find your family reacted, like your wife,

:34:01. > :34:03.and did they cope with it as well as you seem

:34:04. > :34:08.I think it was really tough for a lot of my family members.

:34:09. > :34:11.I was in the unfortunate situation, my mum passed away about two

:34:12. > :34:15.It was a sudden thing, she had a brain haemorrhage and it

:34:16. > :34:30.My dad, I think, felt he struggled with that

:34:31. > :34:33.because he lost his wife, going into an operation

:34:34. > :34:36.I think sometimes it is worse being a bystander and supporting

:34:37. > :34:38.somebody because you could do anything about it.

:34:39. > :34:42.I'm not saying we can or I can, but if you are going

:34:43. > :34:44.through the motions it is easier to deal with.

:34:45. > :34:46.As a patient, you know you are dealing with something

:34:47. > :35:08.It is always the second thought about what are not doing?

:35:09. > :35:10.What was life like for you when you were on chemo?

:35:11. > :35:14.I don't understand what my life should look like on chemo.

:35:15. > :35:23.I think the difficulty with the trigger for bowel cancer,

:35:24. > :35:25.it is a bit different to other chemotherapies, or it doesn't

:35:26. > :35:30.I've seen other people who've been so wiped out that they can't do

:35:31. > :35:33.I think we have different side effects.

:35:34. > :35:38.After the treatment I was always very tired and spent a couple

:35:39. > :35:40.of days just recovering in bed and resting.

:35:41. > :35:43.I tried, as soon as I could, I tried to get out.

:35:44. > :35:46.My wife was paranoid about me getting ill.

:35:47. > :35:50.She was always like, you cannot go and see

:35:51. > :35:56.them, nobody who has got kids can come to you.

:35:57. > :35:58.You can't lock yourself away for six months,

:35:59. > :36:13.Partly because I had all the scorers which add to whom.

:36:14. > :36:15.The first operation I had a really big struggle getting

:36:16. > :36:18.I was in there for two or three weeks.

:36:19. > :36:21.It is amazing when standing up is an achievement.

:36:22. > :36:25.I was so comfortable sitting around in the hospital bed,

:36:26. > :36:30.The second or third operations I found the recovery

:36:31. > :36:39.It is your own comfort zone, so you feel a lot better.

:36:40. > :36:43.I think they've coped pretty well so far.

:36:44. > :36:51.I have got a nine-year-old and a seven-year-old.

:36:52. > :36:53.They are old enough, they watch movies and understand

:36:54. > :36:56.that other people's mummys die from cancer, so they understand

:36:57. > :36:59.that they could be in that situation, but I hope that I don't

:37:00. > :37:05.ever have to have that conversation with them.

:37:06. > :37:12.Do you think it has made you, because I don't know about you,

:37:13. > :37:19.but are you suddenly having a new-found appreciation

:37:20. > :37:26.for basic stuff like being a mum and looking at trees?

:37:27. > :37:28.Time with your family and simple things in life.

:37:29. > :37:34.I think the small things make you think, you know what,

:37:35. > :37:36.I appreciate every morning, because you don't know

:37:37. > :37:41.It is nice to speak to people like you because I think

:37:42. > :37:44.there is hope and with you, it has got to the liver

:37:45. > :37:55.I'm scared that I might not be one of the lucky ones either

:37:56. > :38:08.It was always the positivity that keeps you going,

:38:09. > :38:11.because it means you don't have to worry about it as much

:38:12. > :38:14.because then you are thinking, you know what, if it comes to it,

:38:15. > :38:16.I've made the most and done whatever I can and filled

:38:17. > :38:20.It was really nice to meet you, thank you.

:38:21. > :38:32.No, fantastic news to see you doing so well and keeping healthy.

:38:33. > :38:40.You can read more about our story on the BBC News site.

:38:41. > :38:50.Thank you for your comments. Sean says two of his friends died from

:38:51. > :38:56.pal cancer -- bowel cancer and it was heartbreaking to see this

:38:57. > :39:01.happen. Another one says, I had bowel cancer when I was 39, I said

:39:02. > :39:06.this to the doctor, he said I was too young, but I persevered, and by

:39:07. > :39:14.the time I was operated on stage three, but I'm alive and very lucky.

:39:15. > :39:18.Another one says, Peter, he says his wife was diagnosed at stage four,

:39:19. > :39:25.after being fobbed off by the doctor with advice about her diet. He says

:39:26. > :39:30.don't take no for an answer and always seek a second opinion if you

:39:31. > :39:35.are worried about it. He says early diagnosis is crucial and is

:39:36. > :39:40.something we are lagging behind in in this country when it comes to

:39:41. > :39:49.bowel cancer. If you would like to talk to anyone about this issue, you

:39:50. > :39:54.can go to the BBC's action line. Breaking news in the case of

:39:55. > :40:04.Sergeant Alexander Blackman. We can go to our reporter at the Royal

:40:05. > :40:08.courts of justice. We have just had the sentencing for Alexander

:40:09. > :40:16.Blackman, and the five judges have decided that he is to serve seven

:40:17. > :40:26.years for manslaughter and he has already spent almost three and a

:40:27. > :40:34.half years in prison. It is possible he could be released within weeks

:40:35. > :40:39.because he has served half of the sentence and you can be released

:40:40. > :40:44.after that. To go back to the legal history of this case, he was first

:40:45. > :40:51.convicted by a court martial of murder in November 2013, for

:40:52. > :40:55.shooting an injured Taliban insurgent in Helmand province in

:40:56. > :41:00.Afghanistan. He was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum

:41:01. > :41:04.term of ten years, and he appealed the following year and that appeal

:41:05. > :41:10.did not succeed but his minimum term was reduced to eight years and the

:41:11. > :41:12.case was considered by the review commission, the independent body

:41:13. > :41:16.which looks at potential miscarriages of justice. It was

:41:17. > :41:26.referred back to the Court of Appeal for a second time. The judges

:41:27. > :41:33.heard... CHEERING The news has got out, these

:41:34. > :41:39.supporters have long argued that he should not be imprisoned for murder

:41:40. > :41:43.in the first base, but the murder conviction was quashed on the second

:41:44. > :41:48.appeal and it was replaced by a conviction of manslaughter by reason

:41:49. > :41:51.of diminished responsibility and it is for that manslaughter conviction

:41:52. > :42:00.that he has now been sentenced. CHEERING

:42:01. > :42:04.The supporters are achieving and we will be hearing shortly from

:42:05. > :42:09.supporters and also from Alexander Blackman's wife who has been in

:42:10. > :42:15.court for these hearings -- the supporters are cheering. Alexander

:42:16. > :42:21.Blackman has been listening to this by video link from prison in

:42:22. > :42:26.Wiltshire. This information has not reached you yet, but we are hearing

:42:27. > :42:32.that inside the court has just ruled that Alexander Blackman will be free

:42:33. > :42:39.to weeks from today which explains the cheering from his supporters in

:42:40. > :42:42.the background -- two weeks. That is like a man that follows what I was

:42:43. > :42:47.explaining, that because of his seven-year sentence and he has spent

:42:48. > :42:52.almost three and a half years in prison and can be released halfway

:42:53. > :42:57.through that, that has led to this decision, that he will be freed

:42:58. > :43:03.within the next two weeks from the prison in Wiltshire where he has

:43:04. > :43:06.served that sentence. Thanks for the moment. We can get reaction

:43:07. > :43:12.straightaway. Lord John Burnett is

:43:13. > :43:22.a former Royal Marine How do you respond to that news? I'm

:43:23. > :43:26.pleased, I had hoped he would be released immediately today, and you

:43:27. > :43:32.can have diminished responsibility that is 100% but what really

:43:33. > :43:39.concerns me is, I'm hoping to hear, that the discharge by... For

:43:40. > :43:44.disgrace will be lifted and quashed and that he will be free to rejoin

:43:45. > :43:50.the Royal Marines which is what he would love to do, I believe. Could

:43:51. > :43:57.you explain what the discharge for reasons of disgrace is? It is the

:43:58. > :44:01.ultimate insult for a Royal Marine like Alexander Blackman and it means

:44:02. > :44:06.that you have lost your pension and worst of all you have lost and

:44:07. > :44:15.severed contact with the Royal Marines which is his life. He was an

:44:16. > :44:21.impeccable and excellent outstanding Marine and he had done six tours of

:44:22. > :44:24.six months each on the fiercest active service and he never finished

:44:25. > :44:29.in service and he was an exemplary and excellent Marine and

:44:30. > :44:32.non-commissioned officer and I think all of us hope that that will be

:44:33. > :44:36.lifted, but maybe there is further news to come on that. Nevertheless,

:44:37. > :44:43.he was guilty of manslaughter. On the grounds of the Ministry sponsor

:44:44. > :44:47.but guilty of manslaughter. -- on the grounds of diminished

:44:48. > :44:50.responsibility. We heard him say on the camera on his helmet that he

:44:51. > :44:57.knew he had broken the Geneva Convention by shooting dead the

:44:58. > :45:01.Taliban fighter. Yes, his mind, as three eminent psychiatrists have

:45:02. > :45:10.said, was deeply disturbed and that is why they all, world-renowned

:45:11. > :45:15.psychiatrists stated, that he was completely affected by that and his

:45:16. > :45:21.responsibility for his actions was gravely diminished. And that is why

:45:22. > :45:26.he has been convicted of manslaughter. I think that those who

:45:27. > :45:32.have never known the hell and horrors of serving in Afghanistan

:45:33. > :45:37.will never really fully understand how it has affected people and

:45:38. > :45:41.people like Alexander Blackman who went back time after time. The

:45:42. > :45:48.exhaustion and the heat and the mortal danger, you are always in

:45:49. > :45:52.mortal danger, of your life, and in that tour seven men were killed

:45:53. > :45:59.including the young officer that Sergeant Blackman was mentoring and

:46:00. > :46:05.that will have affected the unit Matip be, those events occurred very

:46:06. > :46:11.shortly before this incident -- unit automatically. -- climatically.

:46:12. > :46:21.You have no idea, none of us, of the pressure on these men, and Sergeant

:46:22. > :46:26.Blackman was commanding in an isolated place, the most dangerous

:46:27. > :46:35.and hellish square mile on earth at that time. And he did so selflessly,

:46:36. > :46:41.but I'm afraid it had an affect on him as it would on all of us, it

:46:42. > :46:49.would have affected the best trained and most exemplary Marine or soldier

:46:50. > :46:53.and it had an effect on him, six, six-month tours in mortal danger

:46:54. > :47:02.throughout each of those. Let me bring you the breaking news

:47:03. > :47:08.that Sergeant Blackman formally known as Marine A will be free in

:47:09. > :47:11.two weeks time. He has been re-sentenced this morning at the

:47:12. > :47:15.Royal Courts of Justice to seven years in jail for manslaughter on

:47:16. > :47:18.the grounds of diminished responsibility as he has already

:47:19. > :47:24.spent three-and-a-half years in jail, he can be released on licence

:47:25. > :47:30.in the next 14 days. So Sergeant Blackman will go free from court in

:47:31. > :47:33.two weeks time, two weeks today, in fact, having spent several years in

:47:34. > :47:38.jail. Three-and-a-half years in jail. You can see the jubilant

:47:39. > :47:44.scenes from supporters of Sergeant Blackman outside the Royal Courts of

:47:45. > :47:51.Justice. Green bereted supporters, you can probably see family and

:47:52. > :47:57.friends and his wife Clare Blackman hugged her barrister and in court,

:47:58. > :48:05.actually, Sergeant Blackman, who was appeared videolink told his wife he

:48:06. > :48:13.loved her. He is still dismissed from the Marines, we are being told,

:48:14. > :48:19.and we are hearing from Lord Burnett who wants the discharge in disgrace

:48:20. > :48:24.to be quashed effectively. What is the impact on somebody if they're

:48:25. > :48:32.discharged in disgrace? I think it is largely to do with his, losing

:48:33. > :48:40.pension rights. It is also the whole business of being seen to have let

:48:41. > :48:44.down the corps which he never did. He is an exemplary prisoner and he

:48:45. > :48:49.was an excellent Royal Marine and I'm delighted he is being freed in a

:48:50. > :48:58.fortnight's time, but I very, very much hope that that particular part

:48:59. > :49:01.of his sentence will be lifted, the discharge in disgrace, but we shall

:49:02. > :49:09.wait and see about that. I know that there are talks going on between the

:49:10. > :49:15.Royal Marines and Sergeant Blackman's defence team and I hope

:49:16. > :49:19.that he can be welcomed back fully into our Royal Marines family at the

:49:20. > :49:24.very earliest opportunity and I would like to say a word or two

:49:25. > :49:29.about his wonderful, fantastic and steadfast and loyal wife, Clare. She

:49:30. > :49:34.has supported him throughout, through the most arduous times and I

:49:35. > :49:40.would like to pay tribute, not only to her, but also her husband. I'm

:49:41. > :49:45.delighted he's going to be out in a fortnight's time. Yes. Just to

:49:46. > :49:49.reiterate for those joining us on BBC News, Sergeant Blackman has been

:49:50. > :49:51.sentenced to seven years for manslaughter on the grounds of

:49:52. > :49:56.diminished responsibility, but because of time served already, he

:49:57. > :50:01.will be free in two weeks time. He will be released from jail two weeks

:50:02. > :50:08.today. We're going to play our audience now some of the audio, some

:50:09. > :50:15.of the video from the camera that was on Sergeant Blackman's helmet

:50:16. > :50:20.during that tour of duty. Six, six months tour of duty, incredibly

:50:21. > :50:41.stressful. Let's just hear some of what happened back then.

:50:42. > :50:46.There are some who appreciate the new psychiatric evidence which

:50:47. > :50:50.showed that Sergeant Blackman was suffering from incredible stress at

:50:51. > :50:59.the time of this particular tour. But who on hearing him say in that

:51:00. > :51:02.video footage knowingly I've broken the Geneva convention find it hard

:51:03. > :51:07.to believe that he wasn't in the correct mental state? Well, he

:51:08. > :51:13.wasn't in the correct mental state and that has been found by three

:51:14. > :51:16.very, very eminent, world renowned psychiatrists who have great

:51:17. > :51:23.experience of these things. It's very difficult as I said earlier to

:51:24. > :51:29.appreciate the strsz and strains of being on death's door continuously

:51:30. > :51:34.night and day, week after week, month after month. It turns your

:51:35. > :51:39.mind. It turns the mind of the best trained, the bravest, and the

:51:40. > :51:42.strongest people. That's what they found about Sergeant Blackman and he

:51:43. > :51:50.was the best trained. He was the strongest. He was a very, very high

:51:51. > :51:54.calibre man and he commanded his troops unselfishly and loyally. I

:51:55. > :52:00.mean he and his wife don't have children and he would take on extra

:52:01. > :52:03.patrols and try and relieve the lads who did have children. I mean he

:52:04. > :52:09.always put others before himself. And there is TV to that effect,

:52:10. > :52:14.letter after letter, support after support, not just that tour, but the

:52:15. > :52:20.previous tours he had served in unflinchingly taking a role in the

:52:21. > :52:27.frontline. A combat soldier, a fine, fine man. Unfortunately, he had this

:52:28. > :52:32.aber ration and he's out, well he will be in a fortnight's time and I

:52:33. > :52:41.thank God for that. What lessons should be drawn from this case? I

:52:42. > :52:46.think the lessons are that we cannot, we cannot, cut our frontline

:52:47. > :52:52.troops. It's crucial that they are, that we watch them and that they

:52:53. > :52:55.are, the Royal Marines are our frontline elite fighting troops and

:52:56. > :53:00.we're not complaining about that, but we must have the man power,

:53:01. > :53:04.people are queuing up to join the Royal Marines and we must not cut

:53:05. > :53:11.back on man powerment we need them. And we needed them in Afghanistan.

:53:12. > :53:16.There was, we would have then been able to temper the cycle and

:53:17. > :53:21.somebody like Sergeant Blackman instead of something six, six month

:53:22. > :53:25.tours over five or six years, would have done fewer tours, two or three.

:53:26. > :53:31.I mean, one is enough. Half a tour is enough. It's really tough going

:53:32. > :53:34.in that war. But are you suggesting he did six of these tours because

:53:35. > :53:41.there weren't enough Royal Marines or was that just the way it was? Is

:53:42. > :53:46.this more actually about leadership? I'm suggesting that he was a fine

:53:47. > :53:54.leader and he was a highly respected leader of men, but as I said, the

:53:55. > :54:01.pressure and the tension he was working under would have affected

:54:02. > :54:07.the strongest. He was a good leader and all I will say is that we need

:54:08. > :54:14.more combat fighting troops and the Royal Marines recruit well. We

:54:15. > :54:18.should be able to have a lid taken off the recruits we can take so we

:54:19. > :54:24.can take more frontline fighting troops. We need them. They are the

:54:25. > :54:29.people that effectively win and sustain wars that we send our troops

:54:30. > :54:34.to fight. Stay with us. We're grateful for your time. Just to

:54:35. > :54:39.explain to people who are just tuning into us. Sergeant Blackman

:54:40. > :54:44.will be a free man in two weeks time. You can see there the news

:54:45. > :54:47.that he has been sentenced to seven years for manslaughter, but because

:54:48. > :54:54.of the time he has already spent in jail, three-and-a-half years or so,

:54:55. > :54:58.he will be released on licence, we're told two weeks today. You can

:54:59. > :55:01.see supporters, family mens and friends outside the Royal Courts of

:55:02. > :55:05.Justice. Joyful scenes actually. I can hear some music somewhere. A lot

:55:06. > :55:10.of people are applauding and clapping, there were three cheers

:55:11. > :55:13.earlier and I suspect they're waiting for Sergeant Blackman's

:55:14. > :55:18.wife, Clare Blackman to appear on the steps of the Royal Courts of

:55:19. > :55:21.Justice, perhaps alongside their QC Jonathan Goldberg who we heard from

:55:22. > :55:27.earlier on the programme. They are bound to say a few wrds at some

:55:28. > :55:31.point. We're told during the hearing this morning Sergeant Blackman

:55:32. > :55:37.appeared via video link and he told his wife, Clare Blackman that he

:55:38. > :55:42.loved her. Lord Burnett is welcoming the news, and paying tribute to the

:55:43. > :55:47.steadfast and loyal nature of Clare Blackman and her campaigning. As I

:55:48. > :55:54.said, we're expecting to hear from Clare Blackman and possibly their QC

:55:55. > :55:59.in the next few moments. You will hear her live on BBC News. The court

:56:00. > :56:03.had ruled previously that Sergeant Blackman was suffering from an

:56:04. > :56:18.abnormality of mental functioning at the time of the killing in 2011.

:56:19. > :56:23.Let's go back to our correspondent. Just hearing a cheer in front of the

:56:24. > :56:27.court steps. I can't see if that means that Clare Blackman is coming

:56:28. > :56:34.out, but I suspect that's what is happening at the moment. I'm going

:56:35. > :56:37.to pause you there. I think at some point Clare Blackman, Clare

:56:38. > :56:40.Blackman, I can see Clare Blackman walking out. She is hugging and

:56:41. > :56:48.kissing supporters who are surrounding her. . Her QC Jonathan

:56:49. > :56:56.Goldberg, who we will hear from first. Ladies and gentlemen, this is

:56:57. > :57:04.an me motional moment and on behalf of the legal team of Jeffrey Israel

:57:05. > :57:15.and myself, I want to say that the lioness of this story, who inspired

:57:16. > :57:19.us throughout is Mrs Clare Blackman. APPLAUSE

:57:20. > :57:27.Now, we had the honour of giving the roar, but she was the lioness. She

:57:28. > :57:32.has shown that ordinary people can do extraordinary things. She kept

:57:33. > :57:36.the flame alive when the legal system had completely abandoned her

:57:37. > :57:41.husband and thrown him into the thrash can. Her courage and her

:57:42. > :57:49.dignity throughout have amazed us and I'm sure you also. Now, I know

:57:50. > :57:54.how proud Alexander is of her, but I now publicly give him this warning -

:57:55. > :57:58.she has proposals of marriage from three of his lawyers!

:57:59. > :58:03.LAUGHTER Of which I, of course, am the

:58:04. > :58:14.youngest and most handsome! I give you Clare.

:58:15. > :58:20.Forgive me, one more word. The effect of this sentence is he will

:58:21. > :58:31.be released in about two weeks time at most.

:58:32. > :58:35.We are overjoyed at the judges' decision to significantly reduce

:58:36. > :58:39.Al's sentence such that he can be released imminently. This is the

:58:40. > :58:44.moment we have all been fighting hard for. It is hard to believe that

:58:45. > :58:49.this day is finally here. There are so many people that we must thank

:58:50. > :58:56.for helping us to get here. They include, of course, our brilliant

:58:57. > :59:03.legal team, Jonathan Goldberg QC, Jeffrey Israel, thank you all. They

:59:04. > :59:07.also include the fabulous Frederick Forsyth and Richard Drax MP both of

:59:08. > :59:12.whom have fought tirelessly in support of Al and I must thank

:59:13. > :59:17.former Royal Marine John Davies who had never met my husband and yet who

:59:18. > :59:21.captained the campaign and the supporters from the start with

:59:22. > :59:36.tireless energy. Along is Sue Childs. Major General John Holmes,

:59:37. > :59:40.Major General all for their support. Finally, our sincere thanks to all

:59:41. > :59:45.those who have supported us through this journey. Our own friends and

:59:46. > :59:50.family, the Royal Marines family, especially the Royal Marines mums,

:59:51. > :59:54.all serving and former servicemen and women, members of the public,

:59:55. > :59:59.and The Daily Mail readers. Without whose generosity we would not be

:00:00. > :00:04.here. I'm sure I've missed someone in my excitement for which I

:00:05. > :00:08.apologise. We would like to thank the wider media for keeping Al's

:00:09. > :00:14.story alive and for your fair reporting. Please can I ask you that

:00:15. > :00:17.you now allow the two of us sometime together to readjust? We fully

:00:18. > :00:20.recognise that you will want to speak to us and especially to Al and

:00:21. > :00:25.we will arrange for that soon enough. But in the meantime may I

:00:26. > :00:31.ask that you give us some space? Thank you very much.