18/04/2017

:00:12. > :00:17.Welcome to the programme. This morning, it has been called barbaric

:00:18. > :00:24.and a scandal and now we have learned that hundreds of women are

:00:25. > :00:30.suing the NHS and manufacturers of vaginal mesh implants which has left

:00:31. > :00:35.them unable to walk, work or have sex. I have had over 53 admissions

:00:36. > :00:41.over the last five years, because of agonising pain. My husband has

:00:42. > :00:45.turned into my carer, he is so much less of my husband. We cannot have

:00:46. > :00:54.sex, we have not had sex for four and a half years. It completely my

:00:55. > :00:58.life. I have been left disabled, I am double incontinence, I have no

:00:59. > :01:04.control over my bladder, over my bowel. I will not leave the house

:01:05. > :01:13.until I know that my bladder is empty. Fitted with these

:01:14. > :01:19.instruments, we hear testimony that says it should be banned. It is a

:01:20. > :01:24.device of torture. In the 21st-century, if they were using

:01:25. > :01:46.torture, to extract things, then they could use this.

:01:47. > :01:48.Watch the full story in just over ten minutes time,

:01:49. > :01:55.Also on the programme, smashing the stigma on mental health,

:01:56. > :01:58.just how much good are William and Harry doing by talking so

:01:59. > :02:02.And, North Korea says it's prepared to engage in "all out war"

:02:03. > :02:04.if the United States takes military action.

:02:05. > :02:20.We'll look at what the secretive country's next move could be.

:02:21. > :02:24.Welcome to the programme, we're live until 11.

:02:25. > :02:26.Throughout the morning, the latest breaking news

:02:27. > :02:33.get in touch and tell us your experience,

:02:34. > :02:37.It has for millions of women, use the hashtag Victoria

:02:38. > :02:39.live and of you text, you will be charged

:02:40. > :02:43.The Duke of Cambridge has echoed his younger brother in urging

:02:44. > :02:45.people to talk about their mental health issues -

:02:46. > :02:47.saying the British "stiff upper lip" should not come

:02:48. > :02:52.In a video, Prince William talks to the music star Lady Gaga as part

:02:53. > :02:55.It comes after Prince Harry said he sought counselling to come

:02:56. > :02:57.to terms with the death of their mother.

:02:58. > :03:00.In the video they discuss Lady Gaga's own battle with mental

:03:01. > :03:24.health, and urge people to speak up about how they're feeling.

:03:25. > :03:30.It is interesting to see and hear from you how much having that

:03:31. > :03:34.conversation and that ability to speak to someone really made a

:03:35. > :03:38.difference, for me, the little bits I have learned so far about mental

:03:39. > :03:42.health, very much a case of, it is OK to have the conversation, really

:03:43. > :03:47.important to have the conversation, you won't be judged. So important to

:03:48. > :03:54.break open that fear and that to boot, it will only lead to more

:03:55. > :03:57.problems down the line. -- and that taboo.

:03:58. > :04:00.We can talk to Peter Hunt our Royal correspondent about this now.

:04:01. > :04:11.Not often that you would see a video that begins, hello, Prince William,

:04:12. > :04:15.hello, Lady Gaga, look at her social media presence, 69 million followers

:04:16. > :04:19.on Twitter, 23.8 million followers on Instagram, a person with a very

:04:20. > :04:21.dealt with PTSD after she was raked dealt with PTSD after she was raked

:04:22. > :04:25.at the age of 19, they want a bigger at the age of 19, they want a bigger

:04:26. > :04:31.group of people with profile to continue this campaign. It is

:04:32. > :04:34.reflective of a generational change, a generational change in society and

:04:35. > :04:37.a generational change within the Royal family, he mentions the

:04:38. > :04:43.British stiff upper lip. The institution of the Royal family used

:04:44. > :04:47.to symbolise that. Now, he Prince William, future king, is saying it

:04:48. > :04:50.may have its place but should not be at the extent of mental health and

:04:51. > :04:57.talks in an interview with a magazine called Calm, which aims to

:04:58. > :05:04.tackle men's suicide, the biggest killer of men aged 45 and under in

:05:05. > :05:12.the UK, hoping that people can talk openly as they grow up.

:05:13. > :05:16.The US Vice President Mike Pence, has arrived in Tokyo

:05:17. > :05:18.from South Korea for talks and has reaffirmed Washington's

:05:19. > :05:22.commitment to reining in North Korea's nuclear ambitions.

:05:23. > :05:26.It follows a warning from a senior North Korean official,

:05:27. > :05:29.in an interview with the BBC's John Sudworth, that his country

:05:30. > :05:32.would carry out a pre-emptive nuclear strike if it saw signs

:05:33. > :05:35.Our correspondent in Tokyo, Rupert Wingfield Hayes,

:05:36. > :05:38.Essentially, there is brinkmanship going on from both sides.

:05:39. > :05:40.We have seen first President Trump and now

:05:41. > :05:43.Vice President Pence saying to the North Koreans, don't push us,

:05:44. > :05:46.We are prepared to use military action if necessary.

:05:47. > :05:49.Then we have seen in this interview with John yesterday, from the Vice

:05:50. > :05:52.Foreign Minister in Pyongyang, them saying, well, look, if you infringe

:05:53. > :05:54.on our territory, on our sovereignty, we will retaliate

:05:55. > :05:57.It all sounds very alarming, but actually, what is

:05:58. > :06:00.going on here is diplomacy by other means, if you like, and I think what

:06:01. > :06:04.the American government is trying to do is to send a message to North

:06:05. > :06:06.Korea, and also, crucially, to China, saying that the American

:06:07. > :06:09.government is not prepared to continue with the status quo, and

:06:10. > :06:10.making a realistic threat of military

:06:11. > :06:12.force, if you like, but the

:06:13. > :06:14.purpose of that is to get China to tighten

:06:15. > :06:16.its sanctions against the North Korean regime.

:06:17. > :06:18.And there are some signs that that might be

:06:19. > :06:21.China has now said it might impose oil

:06:22. > :06:25.So, perhaps this alarmist language is starting

:06:26. > :06:52.An investigation by this programme has found that more than 800 UK

:06:53. > :06:55.women are taking legal action against the NHS and the makers

:06:56. > :06:59.The implants are used to treat pelvic organ prolapse

:07:00. > :07:02.and incontinence after childbirth, but some can cut into the vagina,

:07:03. > :07:05.Some women have been left in permanent pain,

:07:06. > :07:18.We'll have much more on this in just a few moments.

:07:19. > :07:20.Ministers are to set out new proposals to speed up appeals

:07:21. > :07:22.by foreign criminals and failed asylum seekers held in detention.

:07:23. > :07:25.A previous fast-track scheme was scrapped 2 years ago

:07:26. > :07:27.after the Court of Appeal ruled it unlawful.

:07:28. > :07:29.Officials say that, if implemented, the system could speed up around

:07:30. > :07:37.President Trump has called the Turkish leader,

:07:38. > :07:39.Recep Tayyip Erdogan, to congratulate him on his victory

:07:40. > :07:40.in Sunday's referendum on constitutional changes.

:07:41. > :07:43.The White House said Mr Trump also thanked President Erdogan

:07:44. > :07:45.for supporting the US missile strike on a Syrian government

:07:46. > :07:48.The Turkish government has announced it's extending

:07:49. > :07:50.the country's state of emergency, introduced after an attempted

:07:51. > :08:03.Facebook has launched a review of how it deals

:08:04. > :08:05.with violent content, after a video apparently showing

:08:06. > :08:07.the killing of a pensioner in Ohio remained on the network

:08:08. > :08:10.Police are still looking for Steve Stephens, who posted

:08:11. > :08:13.a video of the attack on 74-year-old Robert Godwin, who was picked

:08:14. > :08:24.Officers say the suspect is armed and dangerous.

:08:25. > :08:27.The supreme court in the American state of Arkansas has halted two

:08:28. > :08:30.executions which were due to have been the first of seven to be

:08:31. > :08:32.carried out before the end of the month.

:08:33. > :08:34.Lawyers for the two convicted murderers had raised questions

:08:35. > :08:37.The Arkansas government said it would seek an immediate review.

:08:38. > :08:41.Its supply of one of the drugs used in the lethal injections will expire

:08:42. > :08:59.This e-mail, thank you for highlighting the pain that this

:09:00. > :09:04.operation has caused many women, personally I was a nurse before I

:09:05. > :09:07.went in for this operation and was not aware of the problems at the

:09:08. > :09:15.time, I am now disabled by pain and I no longer work, I use sticks and

:09:16. > :09:19.if I go out our use an electric wheelchair, the NHS has a duty not

:09:20. > :09:26.to put more women through this, if it is a worldwide scandal, I hope

:09:27. > :09:33.that this raises awareness. It is like the women cannot win, suffering

:09:34. > :09:38.with and without the mesh stop what I lost their jobs because the

:09:39. > :09:43.implant hurt so much I could not move my left arm, once I caught the

:09:44. > :09:55.incision site with perfume and the GP kept prodding it and hurting me.

:09:56. > :10:00.This e-mail, I was diagnosed with complications from a vaginal tape

:10:01. > :10:09.insertion operation. The tape is eroding through into my joiner. The

:10:10. > :10:15.piece is hugely relevant, as you can see. Bear in mind, this is a

:10:16. > :10:19.procedure that has worked for millions of women around the world.

:10:20. > :10:27.Let us know as well. If you get in touch use the hashtag.

:10:28. > :10:34.If few sore heads in bright in this morning. What a day for those bright

:10:35. > :10:39.and fans, bright and players, everyone at the club, back in the

:10:40. > :10:42.top flight for the English leagues, after 34 years, they beat Wigan,

:10:43. > :10:47.2-1, with Huddersfield failing to win, that confirmed they will be in

:10:48. > :10:52.the Premier League, Glenn Murray's goal, 2-1, it finished, 20 years to

:10:53. > :10:56.the day almost since they were less than 13 minutes of dropping out of

:10:57. > :10:59.the football league completely, they sold the Goldstone ground, to

:11:00. > :11:02.property developers to pay off debts, the fans had to travel 70

:11:03. > :11:07.miles to go to watch games in Chillingham. This is them, that man,

:11:08. > :11:14.double parked, outrageous(!) moved to the with Dean, professional poker

:11:15. > :11:17.player Tony Bloom came in, top manager in Chris Hughton, selling

:11:18. > :11:24.out a 30,000 seater stadium, the Amex Stadium, amazing journey,

:11:25. > :11:31.brighten into the Premier League. -- macro

:11:32. > :11:48.-- Brighton into the Premier League. -- Withdean. Arsenal have won a

:11:49. > :11:52.game, winning 2-1 over Middlesbrough, Mesut Ozil secured

:11:53. > :11:56.the much-needed 3.4 Arsenal, with a strike at the near post, Alexis

:11:57. > :12:01.S nchez got man of the match, he helped Arsenal take the lead with

:12:02. > :12:04.his excellent free kick, lvaro Negredo got the equaliser, Mesut

:12:05. > :12:08.Ozil getting the win. Arsene Wenger will be pleased to see his star man

:12:09. > :12:12.smiling but will it be enough to keep the man at the club, trying to

:12:13. > :12:25.sign a new contract, big win for the Arsenal in terms of the top four.

:12:26. > :12:27.First this morning, it's a scandal which could

:12:28. > :12:29.cost the NHS millions of pounds in compensation.

:12:30. > :12:33.This programme has learnt that more than 800 women in the UK are taking

:12:34. > :12:34.legal action against the NHS and manufacturers over

:12:35. > :12:36.what they describe as"barbaric" vaginal mesh implants.

:12:37. > :12:39.The implants, which are used to treat pelvic organ prolapse

:12:40. > :12:40.and bladder incontinence after childbirth, can erode

:12:41. > :12:43.and cut into the vagina - causing severe pain and discomfort -

:12:44. > :12:45.and leaving some women registered disabled.

:12:46. > :12:48.For the majority of women they work - but others have been

:12:49. > :12:49.left in permanent pain, unable to walk unaided,

:12:50. > :13:13.In our exclusive report we'll hear calls for them to banned on the NHS.

:13:14. > :13:20.a dozen of those women who are taking legal action,

:13:21. > :13:23.and you would support that call for them to be banned?

:13:24. > :13:25.The UK regulatory body MHRA said it "sympathises" with the women

:13:26. > :13:28.affected but that it believes the benefits outweigh the risks.

:13:29. > :13:30.I've been to meet some of the women affected,

:13:31. > :13:33.and just to let you know the report includes graphic description

:13:34. > :13:45.from the beginning which you may not want children to watch:

:13:46. > :13:48.In the 21st-century, if they were using

:13:49. > :13:52.torture to extract things, they could use mesh.

:13:53. > :13:54.My husband has turned into my carer, and he's so

:13:55. > :14:08.We haven't had sex for four and a half years.

:14:09. > :14:12.I have no control over my bowel or my bladder,

:14:13. > :14:15.He examined me and he could actually see the

:14:16. > :14:18.tape was coming through my vagina, so it was actually all the way

:14:19. > :14:35.It's used when women have a prolapse or

:14:36. > :14:37.bladder incontinence, normally brought on by childbirth, and it's

:14:38. > :14:45.often made from polypropylene, that's the same material used to

:14:46. > :14:50.Tens of thousands of women in the UK have had one,

:14:51. > :14:53.but this programme has learnt that more than 800 of them

:14:54. > :14:56.are now taking legal action against the NHS

:14:57. > :14:58.and the manufacturers because this innocuous looking piece

:14:59. > :15:02.of match can erode, disintegrate and lead

:15:03. > :15:06.This simple procedure could end up costing the health

:15:07. > :15:10.service tens of millions of pounds in compensation, but some want to

:15:11. > :15:33.I am registered disabled and doubly incontinent,

:15:34. > :15:40.and I have no control over my bowel or my bladder,

:15:41. > :15:42.so I'm just terrified that I go out...

:15:43. > :15:48.I'll not leave the house until I know my bowel is empty.

:15:49. > :15:51.Karen, let me ask you about the impact on you of

:15:52. > :15:55.I've got extensive nerve damage in my left leg and my

:15:56. > :15:58.I am double incontinent, so that's bowel and bladder.

:15:59. > :16:03.that I've had to go and see an emergency counsellor.

:16:04. > :16:06.I'm seeing a physiotherapist to keep my joints

:16:07. > :16:09.moving because they are seizing up because the pain is just so severe

:16:10. > :16:13.some days that it easier just to stay in bed, but that's not

:16:14. > :16:23.You know, I never foresaw that having a 40 minute

:16:24. > :16:26.procedure twice would be this devastating.

:16:27. > :16:49.Vaginal meshes are designed to be permanent.

:16:50. > :16:52.They are used to treat either prolapse or bladder incontinence.

:16:53. > :16:55.The mesh effectively acts like a sling or

:16:56. > :16:58.hammock, holding up the internal pelvic organs in the case

:16:59. > :17:01.of a prolapse, or supporting the urethra, or bladder neck,

:17:02. > :17:04.Whilst they work for the majority of women,

:17:05. > :17:08.when they go wrong, they can be difficult to remove.

:17:09. > :17:10.Doctor Mark Slack is a surgeon who fits some

:17:11. > :17:19.These are a model representation of the organs

:17:20. > :17:22.of the bladder, uterus, and the bowel at the back.

:17:23. > :17:29.This is much smaller than an actual pelvis.

:17:30. > :17:32.This is less than a quarter of the size of a normal

:17:33. > :17:36.It's made long enough to be able to go from the

:17:37. > :17:42.vagina, up through the abdominal wall, and goes in behind the pelvis,

:17:43. > :17:45.on either side of the bladder neck, into a space where there are no

:17:46. > :17:51.It comes out through the skin, and taken right out, and

:17:52. > :17:54.the tape is cut off, leaving the tape forming a hammock

:17:55. > :18:02.My reality was absolutely fantastic for the

:18:03. > :18:11.And then I began to have what felt like period pains,

:18:12. > :18:18.but very intense period pains that would go on for days and weeks.

:18:19. > :18:20.I was referred back to my gynaecologist, who said,

:18:21. > :18:30.I had a full abdominal hysterectomy to try and rectify my pain.

:18:31. > :18:33.And, of course, I still had it there after that.

:18:34. > :18:36.So, I lost my womb for no reason, and I was 39.

:18:37. > :18:42.I went to see my GP after I had my hysterectomy,

:18:43. > :18:46.and I said that I was still in pain, and he looked at me

:18:47. > :18:49.square in the face and said, Claire, we have had you out on an operating

:18:50. > :18:56.Wow... How did that make you feel?

:18:57. > :18:59.I got back in my car and I phoned my husband,

:19:00. > :19:06.I can't live any more. I can't go through this.

:19:07. > :19:08.I actually do think it's... I'm believing the doctors.

:19:09. > :19:35.I'm very lucky that something kicked in.

:19:36. > :19:42.Over the last five years, I counted, actually...

:19:43. > :19:49.I can feel like something really sharp, every time I walk.

:19:50. > :19:52.It feels like something sharp's inside me.

:19:53. > :19:57.And I couldn't understand what it was, so I went back.

:19:58. > :19:59.I had an appointment coming up to see a

:20:00. > :20:02.He examined me, and he could actually see the tape was

:20:03. > :20:05.coming through my vagina, so it was all the way

:20:06. > :20:12.When you say tape, we are talking about the mesh?

:20:13. > :20:15.Yes, so a piece of that had worked its way - which was

:20:16. > :20:18.this erosion thing - it worked its way through and come

:20:19. > :20:26.My husband has turned into my carer, and he's so much less of my husband.

:20:27. > :20:33.We haven't had sex for forum and years.

:20:34. > :20:36.We haven't had sex for four and a half years.

:20:37. > :20:43.It's cause for divorce, not having sexual

:20:44. > :20:46.Imagine a hedgehog covered in chilli sauce.

:20:47. > :20:52.So, when people say, why can't you have sex

:20:53. > :20:57.The burning is so intense, that's how it feels.

:20:58. > :21:00.To the point where I couldn't even use

:21:01. > :21:02.a tampon during my period, because the burning,

:21:03. > :21:04.that would exacerbate the burning, but also, that would

:21:05. > :21:06.then send shooting pains down my legs.

:21:07. > :21:08.Interestingly, once I had had the mesh removed, within three days

:21:09. > :21:11.of removal, all that burning has gone.

:21:12. > :21:14.It is. It's barbaric.

:21:15. > :21:18.That's the only way to describe it, really.

:21:19. > :21:21.It slices through the wall, so when women are having sex, sometimes

:21:22. > :21:23.their partners are being injured during sex, because it's cutting

:21:24. > :21:30.We've learned that one of the leading manufacturers of mesh,

:21:31. > :21:33.Ethicon, a subsidiary of Johnson Johnson,

:21:34. > :21:38.knew about problems over ten years ago.

:21:39. > :21:44.This is not going to go away any time soon,

:21:45. > :21:46.and the competition will have a field day.

:21:47. > :21:53.Major damage control offensive needs to start to educate

:21:54. > :21:57.2004, they realised, according to this

:21:58. > :22:04.Horrendous. It's outrageous.

:22:05. > :22:07.That they are harming women and they know about it, and

:22:08. > :22:17.How can they do this to women? In this day and age...

:22:18. > :22:20.Five years ago, in the United States, senior executives at

:22:21. > :22:23.Ethicon, the Johnson Johnson subsidiary,

:22:24. > :22:26.were cross-examined as part of a civil lawsuit against the

:22:27. > :22:30.manufacturer, and it became clear they knew

:22:31. > :22:32.that once implanted in women, mesh could contract

:22:33. > :22:37.Product requirement five was that the mesh must not

:22:38. > :22:40.shrink, but on the other hand, you knew that shrinkage was going to

:22:41. > :22:42.happen and the mesh would shrink, correct?

:22:43. > :22:50.Are you aware that the erosion rate at one year in the

:22:51. > :22:54.TVM study, if you counted all the exposures of the mesh into the

:22:55. > :22:57.vagina that occurred, as of one year, it was 20.7% of the women?

:22:58. > :23:00.Yes. I'm aware of that.

:23:01. > :23:03.And it's your testimony to this jury that

:23:04. > :23:10.that's acceptable to you, that the top

:23:11. > :23:13.surgeons in the world, the very best, had eight 20.7%

:23:14. > :23:33.If I met them, I would ask him, would he put it in

:23:34. > :23:35.his wife, his mother, his sister, his niece?

:23:36. > :23:45.When he knows the shrinkage. And he has totally dismissed it.

:23:46. > :23:48.Honest to God, I don't think I could say anything polite.

:23:49. > :23:50.I'm just so angry that people like him just

:23:51. > :24:02.I'm somebody's partner, somebody's mum,

:24:03. > :24:04.somebody's sister, and all these people are impacted on it.

:24:05. > :24:06.You knew it would lead to erosion, correct?

:24:07. > :24:10.You knew it could lead to dyspareunia, correct?

:24:11. > :24:21.You knew that it could lead to the need to have

:24:22. > :24:23.subsequent invasive operations to try to

:24:24. > :24:27.either remove or revise that contracted mesh, correct?

:24:28. > :24:34.He's sitting with his finger on his head,

:24:35. > :24:40.going yes, yes, yes, and I'm hoping that

:24:41. > :24:42.he's going to say no, and he doesn't, and he's just

:24:43. > :24:49.What we've been through. They knew it.

:24:50. > :24:52.2012 was two years from my first implantation, so when

:24:53. > :24:55.he was saying all this, I was at a surgeon, begging

:24:56. > :25:00.Ethicon, subsidiary of Johnson and Johnson, manufacturer of

:25:01. > :25:03.vaginal meshes, also tell us that they are no longer marketing

:25:04. > :25:16.Doctors are still performing them, day in, day out.

:25:17. > :25:20.I would like to implant it in one of them, let them feel this pain.

:25:21. > :25:27.This doctor is a surgeon many women turn to to try and remove the mesh.

:25:28. > :25:29.I tend to see patients who have suffered complications,

:25:30. > :25:36.long-term complications, as a result of these materials,

:25:37. > :25:47.and you will be aware that many of them have had

:25:48. > :25:50.either prolapse or incontinence mesh put in to help with their symptoms,

:25:51. > :25:59.originally, and then some of them have developed problems very soon

:26:00. > :26:02.afterwards, but a lot of them have developed problems several years

:26:03. > :26:06.So, the typical type of patient I see is a

:26:07. > :26:09.patient who is incapacitated by severe pain, of a chronic nature,

:26:10. > :26:11.often they are on high medication, including opiates.

:26:12. > :26:16.They become so incapacitated that many of them are

:26:17. > :26:18.either walking with crutches or sitting in wheelchairs, and perhaps

:26:19. > :26:21.more dramatically, they become unable to look after their families.

:26:22. > :26:24.Many will give up work, and some of them will lose their partners...

:26:25. > :26:29.Because relationships... Relationships break down, yes.

:26:30. > :26:35.It becomes extremely difficult to manage their life as a whole.

:26:36. > :26:41.Vaginal meshes are still being used by surgeons up and down the country,

:26:42. > :26:44.and there are something like 100 different types on the market.

:26:45. > :26:46.To get them approved for clinical use, it's

:26:47. > :26:51.In Europe and America, it does need to be approved, but it

:26:52. > :26:55.doesn't need any evidence when it gets approved, because it can use

:26:56. > :26:58.other devices, what is called equivalence, to say, my device is

:26:59. > :27:00.the same as yours, so I would like approval, please.

:27:01. > :27:02.And what happens is, the regulatory body says, no

:27:03. > :27:07.Do you believe the NHS should stop using these meshes?

:27:08. > :27:11.I do believe they should stop using these meshes,

:27:12. > :27:14.and if people want to come back and say, I'm going to innovate,

:27:15. > :27:16.develop, then they have to do that in the

:27:17. > :27:20.As opposed to using human beings over a 15 year

:27:21. > :27:24.This has been going on since 2000, and using them as

:27:25. > :27:28.experiments, when actually, you should be saying honestly, we are

:27:29. > :27:32.able to tell you, here is a device, here is the benefit, here is a

:27:33. > :27:35.If you can't say that, you shouldn't make it

:27:36. > :27:39.So far, not one single model of mesh has been recalled in

:27:40. > :27:43.Many of the women we have spoken to say they were never

:27:44. > :27:45.told by their surgeons about the potential risks associated

:27:46. > :27:55.Do you tell women about the potential medium to

:27:56. > :27:59.long-term problems that the mesh can erode

:28:00. > :28:02.into the vagina, that the mesh can disintegrate?

:28:03. > :28:05.That the mesh can make having sex so painful that,

:28:06. > :28:09.actually, that woman can never have sex again?

:28:10. > :28:12.We have a patient information leaflet.

:28:13. > :28:17.We divide them into common, very common, uncommon.

:28:18. > :28:20.We give examples of what common means in terms of numbers.

:28:21. > :28:22.Right, but do you have those conversations?

:28:23. > :28:25.Yes, we do. We've got an information leaflet.

:28:26. > :28:27.No, but do you have conversations? Yes.

:28:28. > :28:31.For many women, this is a really good procedure.

:28:32. > :28:36.For some women, it's a pretty horrific procedure.

:28:37. > :28:38.It has a massive impact on their life in a

:28:39. > :28:41.I have enormous sympathy for the patients

:28:42. > :28:49.Is it worth it, then? Not for that group.

:28:50. > :28:54.Would you carry out a mesh implant procedure

:28:55. > :29:02.Even though it goes wrong for some women?

:29:03. > :29:08.It would be very much my wife's decision about

:29:09. > :29:13.whether or not she would undergo such an implant.

:29:14. > :29:17.You would let your wife have one of those for a prolapse?

:29:18. > :29:25.The UK regulatory body, the MHRA, says most women, the use of

:29:26. > :29:28.vaginal mesh implant is safe and effective.

:29:29. > :29:32.A recent review in Scotland said mesh implant is

:29:33. > :29:34.A recent review in Scotland said mesh implants

:29:35. > :29:36.shouldn't be routinely used for pelvic organ prolapse,

:29:37. > :29:39.A separate review is under way in England and

:29:40. > :29:44.In the States, thousands of women have sued manufacturers,

:29:45. > :29:48.receiving pay-outs that totalled $2 billion.

:29:49. > :29:51.In the UK, we've obtained NHS data which suggest around

:29:52. > :29:54.100,000 women have had the implants, and almost 9% of those women

:29:55. > :30:02.But the true figure could be even higher, so why

:30:03. > :30:06.I want the procedure banned, I want the

:30:07. > :30:11.I want surgeons to give the full information.

:30:12. > :30:16.Just stop making it. Stop making it.

:30:17. > :30:18.Please, it is a device of torture, and as

:30:19. > :30:20.Anne-Marie said, in the 21st-century, if they were using

:30:21. > :30:27.torture to extract things, then you could use mesh.

:30:28. > :30:31.It is that... But please, just stop.

:30:32. > :30:34.If pain takes you to a place where you feel, to me,

:30:35. > :30:40.that suicide and leaving people behind you is less painful than

:30:41. > :30:43.them enduring watching you being in pain, then please, just stop.

:30:44. > :31:00.Just don't let anybody else have to live this.

:31:01. > :31:07.while our guests in the studio were watching that, some of the women,

:31:08. > :31:13.some affected by the implants, were in tears. Why was it so upsetting

:31:14. > :31:17.for view to watch that? It is upsetting because women's lives have

:31:18. > :31:22.changed so dramatically but worse than that they are not listen to and

:31:23. > :31:27.when they go back to the surgeons, the majority are told, that has

:31:28. > :31:31.nothing to do with your implant. Some go for years back to

:31:32. > :31:36.consultants and GPs to find a solution to the pain which adds to

:31:37. > :31:43.the distress. You 42 and have this a couple of years ago. When did the

:31:44. > :31:46.problems start? For me it was straight after surgery and I was

:31:47. > :31:53.told it was bruising and you believe that, it was part of the bigger

:31:54. > :31:57.operation for a prolapse repair and I trusted the surgeon and it was

:31:58. > :32:01.said it was because I had been in stirrups for hours. I went back

:32:02. > :32:05.weeks later and was still suffering from pain and it was like tight

:32:06. > :32:11.elastic bands down my legs and he said it was bruising. I went back

:32:12. > :32:16.about six months later, he thought to tell me again it was still

:32:17. > :32:21.bruising. One year later I had an episode when I could not walk for

:32:22. > :32:25.three days and had a shooting pain in my groin. My husband took me to

:32:26. > :32:30.see him and he told me it was bruising and I told him I did not

:32:31. > :32:36.believe him any more. I had what felt like a block of ice attached to

:32:37. > :32:42.my buttocks. I was in constant pain. It was almost like torture. The

:32:43. > :32:47.elastic band feeling turned to almost like an acid, fire in my

:32:48. > :32:52.nerves. That got stronger over the two years, to the point now I am on

:32:53. > :32:56.as many painkillers as I am allowed to take and have steroids and I am

:32:57. > :33:03.on a waiting list to have barbaric torture item removed.

:33:04. > :33:08.You have brought your daughters here with you, you do a lot of looking

:33:09. > :33:12.after your mother because it is difficult for her to get around and

:33:13. > :33:18.do the normal things she used to do. It goes from ironing, to the

:33:19. > :33:24.washing, I make my little brother's dinner, taken to bed, do barks, I

:33:25. > :33:33.walk in and I checked her drug status and that is it for the rest

:33:34. > :33:41.of the night, she is a zombie. -- do baths. You are a young woman, 42

:33:42. > :33:45.years old. It is like I have aged 40 years in the last two years. My

:33:46. > :33:50.four-year-old does not even remember the phone version of me, we used to

:33:51. > :33:54.go out shopping and bowling and have fun, I used to be able to have sex

:33:55. > :33:59.and that has gone out the window. I feel like an 80-year-old woman in a

:34:00. > :34:03.42-year-old's body, it is really infuriating, watching the VAT, to

:34:04. > :34:09.find that they knew about it, I had the operation two years ago and they

:34:10. > :34:17.were aware of the risks. -- VT. When I asked my surgeon if he was using

:34:18. > :34:22.mesh I was told that he was not. The leaflet that I was given said it was

:34:23. > :34:29.a tape or sling, nowhere was it written that it was mesh and I only

:34:30. > :34:36.found out a year after surgery and I was disgusted. Rachel from e-mail

:34:37. > :34:40.says, I had this procedure, I had been suffering from incontinence for

:34:41. > :34:45.years, I am now dry and I have my life back, easy" recovery, all has

:34:46. > :34:50.been well, I wish I had it years ago. It is worth remembering that

:34:51. > :34:54.for millions of women, no consolation to those sitting here,

:34:55. > :35:00.but for millions of women, it is a procedure that has transformed their

:35:01. > :35:09.lives positively. We asked Johnson and Johnson, the NHS, the Department

:35:10. > :35:12.of Health England, and Scotland, the regulatory body, we asked them all

:35:13. > :35:16.for an interview, they all said no, in statements, they told us, these

:35:17. > :35:21.devices have helped millions of women suffering from stress urinary

:35:22. > :35:26.incontinence and pelvic prolapse, on that leaked e-mail they said, taken

:35:27. > :35:29.out of context it could be extremely misleading, and they said that they

:35:30. > :35:38.will vigorously defend litigation claims. And the MHR Ray said that

:35:39. > :35:43.they are committed to addressing the serious concerns raised by some

:35:44. > :35:47.patience and the greater proportion of the community support the use of

:35:48. > :35:51.these devices in the UK for the treatment of the distressing

:35:52. > :35:55.conditions of organ prolapse and incontinence. More messages, so many

:35:56. > :36:02.people getting in touch from around the country. My wife had mesh

:36:03. > :36:07.surgery in 2008 and it has ruined our lives and my career. She has

:36:08. > :36:10.been driven to suicidal depression with the pain, incarcerated in a

:36:11. > :36:16.mental health ward, left mentally and physically incapable. Mesh

:36:17. > :36:20.Surgery is too risky and should be banned. Thank you for highlighting

:36:21. > :36:23.these issues, dawn on Facebook says, I am a medical professional working

:36:24. > :36:28.for the NHS and were stupid enough not to do my research before having

:36:29. > :36:36.the operation, I had it removed in 2015 but I suffered critical pelvic

:36:37. > :36:40.pain, fatigue and repairing urinary tract infections, life as I knew it

:36:41. > :36:43.is no more, I'm still able to work part-time in a GP 's surgery and if

:36:44. > :36:51.my knowledge and experience can stop one woman having this, I consider my

:36:52. > :36:56.job done. In 2008, I had a mesh put in for a minor prolapse, when your

:36:57. > :37:03.internal pelvic organs dropped a little and sometimes bulge through

:37:04. > :37:06.the vagina and since then I have had six further operations, one to

:37:07. > :37:11.remove scar tissue that had built up, and the final operation saved my

:37:12. > :37:18.life because the mesh had started cutting through the wall of my

:37:19. > :37:23.bowel. I had holes torn into my vagina, constant pain, Scottish you

:37:24. > :37:28.around my urethra, I had been made to feel like I was a hypochondriac,

:37:29. > :37:32.I felt depressed because sex was painful, my ex-husband believed I

:37:33. > :37:37.was making it up to avoid sex with him, last few years have been awful,

:37:38. > :37:43.I never knew there were more women suffering. I thought it was just me,

:37:44. > :37:46.and I was being silly. Some of you smiling at that because some of you

:37:47. > :37:53.also felt that, initially, didn't you. I had a real job to get my

:37:54. > :37:57.doctors do believe it was my mesh, and the thing that got me as well,

:37:58. > :38:05.they kept trying to say it was my back and you can get pain down

:38:06. > :38:11.there. Actually, when they took it out, when the surgeon who took it

:38:12. > :38:15.out to it out, it had been implanted incorrectly, had not got into a

:38:16. > :38:22.space without nerves, was sitting at an angle at the top of my groin and

:38:23. > :38:28.left leg and had gone into the nerves. I cannot walk proper, I have

:38:29. > :38:33.lost my job, my house, my partner. I have lost everything through mesh.

:38:34. > :38:41.That is how I feel. To get the help I have needed... It was a two-year

:38:42. > :38:46.battle. If I had not found cat and the group, I was lying in a hospital

:38:47. > :38:51.bed, misdiagnosed, she came on Sky News, my father saw it and said,

:38:52. > :38:57.this is what you have got, this is you, it is your mesh. Because he

:38:58. > :39:00.knew that he had -- that I had in it. People come to the Facebook

:39:01. > :39:04.support campaign to get the information they need to understand

:39:05. > :39:10.what is wrong with them, I can guarantee you, 99% of women who go

:39:11. > :39:15.back to surgeons are categorically told it is not it, and they should

:39:16. > :39:21.not be having to come to a patient support group. I was told that mine

:39:22. > :39:25.was a neurological overload. Get told so many different diagnoses.

:39:26. > :39:30.None of them accurate. None of them accurate. After 10am, we will talk

:39:31. > :39:34.much more. Thank you for giving up your time today. We really

:39:35. > :39:39.appreciate it, huge response from women and men, partners from around

:39:40. > :39:42.the country. We will read more of those through the rest of the

:39:43. > :39:46.programme, worth pointing out, this story came to us from one of our

:39:47. > :39:51.viewers, who is sitting here, in the audience, from Ayrshire, if you have

:39:52. > :39:59.a story you want us to cover, do e-mail us. You can read more about

:40:00. > :40:14.this story on the BBC news site, the most read story at the moment.

:40:15. > :40:24.Still to come: After Prince Harry revealed he's had counselling to

:40:25. > :40:26.deal with the grief after the death of his mother, today his brother

:40:27. > :40:29.William says the british stiff upper lip shouldn't get in the way of

:40:30. > :40:31.seeking help for mental health issues. How much of a different does

:40:32. > :40:33.it make when two royals talk openly about these kind of things? Let me

:40:34. > :40:36.know. A court in the US state of Arkansas

:40:37. > :40:39.has halted two executions which were due to be carried out

:40:40. > :40:42.by the end of April, A senior member of North Korea's

:40:43. > :40:50.government has warned his country is prepared to engage

:40:51. > :40:53.in what he called all-out war, if the United States

:40:54. > :40:54.takes military action. says they will conduct

:40:55. > :40:58.more missile tests. It follows a warning from the US

:40:59. > :41:01.vice-president, Mike Pence, telling North Korea not

:41:02. > :41:12.to "test America's resolve." So is there a risk

:41:13. > :41:14.that the situation could We'll talk about that

:41:15. > :41:17.in just a moment, but first here's a look

:41:18. > :44:58.at what we know about This we can speak to a research

:44:59. > :45:06.associate in Korean studies at the University of London. He thinks

:45:07. > :45:10.options are now limited their -- and there is a Vista both North and

:45:11. > :45:16.South Korea. But first, Greg, do you tensions are rising?

:45:17. > :45:25.We have seen North Korea in the news a lot recently. The regime has not

:45:26. > :45:29.yet been able to figure out the Trump administration. One could have

:45:30. > :45:33.anticipated they would not proceed with a nuclear test over the weekend

:45:34. > :45:38.although they proceeded with a missile test that failed. North

:45:39. > :45:53.Koreans have left while being overwhelmed by this guerrilla

:45:54. > :45:59.mentality. The people of North Korea are being told that their

:46:00. > :46:02.circumstances are so harsh because of external threats, because of

:46:03. > :46:06.external sanctions, and of course nothing could be further from the

:46:07. > :46:11.truth. What do you think will happen next?

:46:12. > :46:15.I think we are going through a phase of high rhetoric on both sides. It

:46:16. > :46:19.is not just the North Koreans who do not understand what Mr Trump is

:46:20. > :46:26.doing, many of us don't. He seems to change policies regularly. But we

:46:27. > :46:32.have been here before. A couple of years back we had declarations of

:46:33. > :46:36.war from the North Koreans and the movement of American aircraft into

:46:37. > :46:42.Korean air space. Around the same time of the year, always a tense

:46:43. > :46:46.time of year because of the exercises and the feeling they have

:46:47. > :46:50.to react to those exercises. I do not think the North Koreans have

:46:51. > :46:56.said they will take pre-emptive action, that is a first? On

:46:57. > :46:59.occasions they have said they are at war with the United States, all with

:47:00. > :47:04.South Korea, depending on the circumstances. I'm not sure we are

:47:05. > :47:09.seeing an increase in the North Korean threat. The limitations

:47:10. > :47:13.imposed by them on technology, how far they have developed things.

:47:14. > :47:18.Whatever they say I don't think it will necessarily mean a change in

:47:19. > :47:23.what they do and that matters. Can I ask about the Americans. They say

:47:24. > :47:31.the strategic patience, President Trump and Mike pence, that strategic

:47:32. > :47:37.patience is over. What can that mean next for the Americas? I am not sure

:47:38. > :47:39.what it means. Strategic patience was the term the Obama

:47:40. > :47:47.administration used for not doing anything very much. It is not really

:47:48. > :47:53.an option. You need less patience and more strategy and you have not

:47:54. > :47:59.really got that. John Everard is the former British ambassador in

:48:00. > :48:04.Pyongyang. What do you think strategic patience from the

:48:05. > :48:09.Americans being over means? I don't think it means a great deal. I think

:48:10. > :48:15.the options before President Trump are pretty much the same as options

:48:16. > :48:21.with which President Obama wrestled and he will probably come to the

:48:22. > :48:26.same conclusions. We are likely to see an increase in diplomatic and

:48:27. > :48:31.economic pressure. They will attempt to increase sanctions against North

:48:32. > :48:35.Korea. Apart from that, probably steady as she goes. What kind of

:48:36. > :48:40.pressure can the Americans put on China to bring to bear on North

:48:41. > :48:47.Korea? They can threaten all kinds of things, a trade war, which would

:48:48. > :48:52.send China into a tailspin, they can threaten a general breakdown in

:48:53. > :48:56.bilateral relations, but to do either of those things, America

:48:57. > :49:00.would shoot itself in the foot and the Chinese know that. They know

:49:01. > :49:05.that the Americans really cannot force them to take actions they do

:49:06. > :49:17.not want to take. What do you think by happen next? I think for while

:49:18. > :49:25.we'll have a war of words. The deputy Foreign Minister has entered

:49:26. > :49:31.into this and I am sure we will see the carrier task force standing off

:49:32. > :49:37.North Korea for a little while. And that things will go quiet again,

:49:38. > :49:42.until the North Koreans do as they promise and conduct a sixth nuclear

:49:43. > :49:46.test. When that happens I think most bets are off. We will have to see

:49:47. > :49:52.whether the Chinese follow through on the threat, whether to support

:49:53. > :49:57.economic sanctions, including possibly cutting off North Korea's

:49:58. > :50:03.oil supplies and how much force there is behind President Trump's

:50:04. > :50:08.veiled threats to use armed force if there is a further tests.

:50:09. > :50:18.I can be you more comments about the mesh implant story. This programme

:50:19. > :50:22.learned more than 800 women are taking legal action against the NHS

:50:23. > :50:31.and the manufacturers of the implants because of the pain so many

:50:32. > :50:37.are in. Bella said she had never heard about this. Dave, he says, you

:50:38. > :50:39.are trailblazers. I knew nothing about this but I do now. We will

:50:40. > :50:42.talk more after 10am. The top court in Arkansas has halted

:50:43. > :50:45.two lethal injection executions that were due to start a series of seven

:50:46. > :50:50.in 11 days. The state's Supreme Court acted

:50:51. > :50:52.hours before convicted murderers Don Davis and Bruce Ward

:50:53. > :50:56.were due to die. Their lawyers had argued they were

:50:57. > :50:59.mentally unfit to face execution However a blanket ruling made

:51:00. > :51:10.on Saturday that the executions could not go ahead because

:51:11. > :51:12.the lethal injection causes All seven executions are driven

:51:13. > :51:16.by the state's desire to use a batch of drugs before it expires

:51:17. > :51:22.later this month - but it's been condemned by critics

:51:23. > :51:25.as an inhumane "assembly line". One of the seven, Ledell Lee,

:51:26. > :51:27.spoke to our Washington correspondent Aleem Macqbool

:51:28. > :51:56.from prison. We can now speak to Bobby Ampezzan -

:51:57. > :51:58.managing editor of Joining me is Maya Foa, director

:51:59. > :52:15.at human rights charity Reprieve. What is the reaction to the fact two

:52:16. > :52:23.executions have been halted? The reaction is split. Among a certain

:52:24. > :52:34.set of people in Arkansas, there is probably some delight that the

:52:35. > :52:40.executions were halted but here in the states poll puts support for the

:52:41. > :52:44.death penalty upwards of 60%. Many people have taken to social media to

:52:45. > :52:51.express their delight at the impending executions and how

:52:52. > :52:58.deserved they are. It is a divisive issue.

:52:59. > :53:05.From your charity's point of view, presumably you welcomed the two

:53:06. > :53:10.halted. There is still a long way to go? Absolutely. What we see in the

:53:11. > :53:14.US is a decline overall for the death penalty and in Arkansas it was

:53:15. > :53:17.an extraordinary situation, eight scheduled in the space of ten days,

:53:18. > :53:25.which would have been the largest mass execution since the civil right

:53:26. > :53:30.ear and it caused consternation across the US, even from those

:53:31. > :53:34.supporting the death penalty. I think the unseemly haste caused deep

:53:35. > :53:39.concern. Driven by the desire it would seem to use this drug in the

:53:40. > :53:46.lethal injection before its sell-by date? That is right and the problem

:53:47. > :53:49.the Arkansas Department of corrections is facing, and other

:53:50. > :53:56.departments, is a problem of their making. They want to use medicine

:53:57. > :54:00.designed to save and improve lives in these executions, which are

:54:01. > :54:04.designed to end the lives of prisoners. The manufacturers of the

:54:05. > :54:11.medicines and the health care industry does not want that so they

:54:12. > :54:15.put controls in place. Our -- Arkansas has tried time and again to

:54:16. > :54:21.undermine the control systems and now we are seeing a reaction from

:54:22. > :54:25.the company saying, we do not accept this, this is not what we made them

:54:26. > :54:36.for, we made medicine to save lives. Bobby, what will happen next? The

:54:37. > :54:42.other big news today is that the eighth US circuit Court of appeals

:54:43. > :54:50.in Missouri decided to vacate the lower courts, the federal district

:54:51. > :54:56.judge's ruling, to put a stay on all of the executions, fast lifting the

:54:57. > :55:02.kind of I would say this day that most folks thought would...

:55:03. > :55:12.Certainly it is the most sweeping stay so far. Now it is up to the US

:55:13. > :55:16.Supreme Court. Whether they uphold the eighth circuit's vacation of the

:55:17. > :55:25.earlier ruling or whether they will overturn that. And uphold or support

:55:26. > :55:29.the judge, the Federal District Court judge.

:55:30. > :55:34.There are charities and human rights groups around the world trying to

:55:35. > :55:42.stop this happening in Arkansas. What else are you able to do in the

:55:43. > :55:50.time limit? It will be interesting to watch the next day 's play out.

:55:51. > :55:55.The choice of the medicine and the case we heard about to play for,

:55:56. > :56:00.this sedative, rather than an anaesthetic. It is an inappropriate

:56:01. > :56:04.choice of drug and has caused botched up executions in every state

:56:05. > :56:09.that has experimented with it, to the point that most have abandoned

:56:10. > :56:16.it. I will be interested to watch the court process because it is not

:56:17. > :56:22.a settled question as to whether this is cruel and unusual. We would

:56:23. > :56:26.save the lethal injection in itself is a cruel form of punishment and

:56:27. > :56:34.should be abandoned as a failed experiment. Thank you.

:56:35. > :56:39.We will bring you the latest news and sport in a couple of minutes and

:56:40. > :56:46.we will talk further about mesh implants after 10am. I have e-mails

:56:47. > :56:50.from people who got in touch. Alex said why should the minority who

:56:51. > :56:56.suffer stop the majority from having mesh fitted in the future? Should I

:56:57. > :57:00.sue the NHS for getting ill when I use statins that I need? Judy said

:57:01. > :57:06.she was offered this implant yesterday. Harry said he watched the

:57:07. > :57:10.informative discussion and he knew that if a similar procedure had been

:57:11. > :57:18.used on men and the outcome similar, they would have been banned years

:57:19. > :57:21.ago. Carol said she had the operation in 2013 and is still

:57:22. > :57:29.suffering the effects today. She said she has had the mesh removed.

:57:30. > :57:33.She said it was eroding into her bladder and the pain was

:57:34. > :57:39.excruciating, like no other. She said it made her feel unwell and

:57:40. > :57:44.depressed and she suffered with infections and was limited, lifting,

:57:45. > :57:47.pulling, stretching, everyday life. She said the day she had the

:57:48. > :57:51.operation is the day she will regret. She said, I have since had

:57:52. > :58:01.three operations to correct the damage but I am nowhere near back to

:58:02. > :58:08.normal. Jena said, I now spend my days in pain. Hashtag disabled.

:58:09. > :58:12.If you're watching on BBC Two, in a moment World Championship snooker.

:58:13. > :58:15.so to continue watching our programme turn over

:58:16. > :58:17.to the BBC News Channel - where coming up in

:58:18. > :58:25.We'll bring you more on the scandal of vaginal mesh implant -

:58:26. > :58:28.hearing much more from these women and we'll speak to one surgeon

:58:29. > :58:40.who says the benefits do outweigh the risks.

:58:41. > :58:45.Let's get the latest weather update - with Carol.

:58:46. > :58:52.Good morning. It has been a cold start with frost around.

:58:53. > :58:57.Temperatures starting to rise and a lot of sunshine. If you are in the

:58:58. > :59:02.breeze in the south-east, it will feel cold and the cloud will

:59:03. > :59:07.continue to build. Later we will see spots of rain. That rain will move

:59:08. > :59:11.further eastwards through the course of the night. Remaining in Northern

:59:12. > :59:28.Ireland, but it is spots of rain. It means tomorrow there is a fair

:59:29. > :59:32.bit of sunshine. There will be cloud in the north. You will find through

:59:33. > :59:36.the course of the day it will break and we will see Sunny spells

:59:37. > :59:42.developed but still showers flirting with the west. Tomorrow, we are

:59:43. > :59:53.looking at a similar range. Round about 12-14 Celsius. On Thursday,

:59:54. > :00:01.some brighter breaks with sunshine and showers. And then the next band

:00:02. > :00:06.of rain comes into the north-west. Good morning. Welcome to the

:00:07. > :00:09.programme. This programme has discovered hundreds of women are

:00:10. > :00:20.skewing the NHS and manufacturers over what they described as barbaric

:00:21. > :00:27.but final mesh -- vagina mesh implants. I have depression, I have

:00:28. > :00:31.had to see an emergency counsellor. I am seeing a physiotherapist to

:00:32. > :00:35.keep my joints moving, because they are seizing up. Because the pain is

:00:36. > :00:43.so severe. We are joined by a group of women

:00:44. > :00:47.who have all been affected and their family members, do you think these

:00:48. > :00:52.mesh implants should be banned on the NHS? Why? I was not warned of

:00:53. > :00:58.the risks, I only had my operation on the 1st of February, I was not

:00:59. > :01:02.warned of the risks. It has changed everything I do in my life, I cannot

:01:03. > :01:06.even attend to my job, I was told it would be four to six weeks off work

:01:07. > :01:12.and then I could return to my job, it has been since the 1st of

:01:13. > :01:16.February. What about you? Most definitely they should be banned, it

:01:17. > :01:20.is like a device from the dark ages and it is not fit for use with the

:01:21. > :01:31.human body, the body is rejecting the mesh. We will hear more from

:01:32. > :01:35.those in the studio in the next half hour, the full exclusive story in

:01:36. > :01:40.the next couple of minutes. If you have had a mesh implants and it has

:01:41. > :01:45.worked for you, please get in touch. Also, smashing the stigma on mental

:01:46. > :01:50.health, Vince Williams calls for an end to the stiff upper lip and

:01:51. > :01:54.releases this video of him chatting with Lady Gaga. How did you find

:01:55. > :01:59.speaking out and how did it make you feel? -- Prince

:02:00. > :02:08.you cannot help it if in the morning when you wake up you are so tired,

:02:09. > :02:11.you are so sad, you are so full of anxiety, but I would wake up telling

:02:12. > :02:14.myself I should be happy because of the great things I have.

:02:15. > :02:18.Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Cressida Dick said you will

:02:19. > :02:22.not be crying wolf if her force as to make further spending cuts and

:02:23. > :02:34.Scotland Yard may have to find new ways to police London if new methods

:02:35. > :02:36.are available. We have just said Theresa May is going to give what is

:02:37. > :02:41.described as a surprise statement outside Downing Street interest

:02:42. > :02:47.under one hour's time, just under 11am, as you can see, some rumours

:02:48. > :02:53.are that she could be announcing a snap general election. Rumours at

:02:54. > :02:57.the moment. Theresa May, Prime Minister, we are told will give a

:02:58. > :03:01.statement outside Downing Street just under an hour's time, some

:03:02. > :03:08.rumours suggesting Theresa May could be about to announce a snap general

:03:09. > :03:17.election. We had a general election last year, you may remember... Last

:03:18. > :03:22.May, 2016. Those are the rumours, obviously, stay with BBC News, we

:03:23. > :03:24.will bring you the statement live from Downing Street as soon as she

:03:25. > :03:41.appears on the steps. The Duke of Cambridge has made every

:03:42. > :03:45.year with Lady Gaga as part of his mental health campaign in which they

:03:46. > :03:49.discuss her own battle with mental health and urged people to speak up

:03:50. > :03:52.about how they are feeling, it comes after Prince Harry said that he

:03:53. > :03:58.sought counselling to come to terms with the death of their mother, the

:03:59. > :04:08.video was broadcast on Facebook. I feel like we are no longer hiding,

:04:09. > :04:15.we are starting to talk. People need to feel very normal about mental

:04:16. > :04:18.health, it is like physical health, everyone has mental health, having a

:04:19. > :04:24.conversation can make such a difference. The US vice president

:04:25. > :04:27.Mike Pence has called for more global pressure to be put on North

:04:28. > :04:30.Korea to rein in nuclear ambitions, speaking in Tokyo where he has

:04:31. > :04:34.arrived for talks after visiting South Korea. The comments follow a

:04:35. > :04:37.warning from North Korea that they would carry out a pre-emptive

:04:38. > :04:42.nuclear strike if there were signs that the US was preparing an attack.

:04:43. > :04:45.The United States of America believes the time has come for the

:04:46. > :04:53.international community to use both diplomatic and economic pressure to

:04:54. > :04:58.bring North Korea to a place that it has avoided successfully now formal

:04:59. > :05:03.than a generation, and we will not rest and we will not relent until we

:05:04. > :05:15.achieve the objective of a denuclearise Korean peninsula. An

:05:16. > :05:18.investigation by this programme has found that more than 800 UK women

:05:19. > :05:21.are taking legal action against the NHS and the makers of vaginal mesh

:05:22. > :05:22.implants. The implants are used to treat pelvic organ prolapse and

:05:23. > :05:24.incontinence after childbirth, but some can cut into the joiner.

:05:25. > :05:35.It can cause severe discomfort. Some women have been left in permanent

:05:36. > :05:37.pain, unable to walk, work or have sex. One woman, Bonita Barrett, gave

:05:38. > :05:41.Victoria emotional testimony this morning, on the effect it had had on

:05:42. > :05:46.her life. I had what felt like a block of ice attached to my

:05:47. > :05:51.buttocks, constant pain, almost like torture, the elastic band feeling

:05:52. > :06:00.had turned to almost an acid, a fire in my nerves, it got stronger over

:06:01. > :06:05.the two years. Now I am on as many tramadol as I am allowed to take all

:06:06. > :06:12.stop I am getting this barbaric torture item removed.

:06:13. > :06:13.Britain's most senior police officer, Cressida Dick,

:06:14. > :06:16.has been speaking about her new role as Metropolitan Police Commissioner.

:06:17. > :06:19.She's told the BBC this morning that the fight against knife and gun

:06:20. > :06:21.crime will define her time in the job.

:06:22. > :06:24.She's said she would be prepared to support the increased use

:06:25. > :06:26.of controversial stop and search powers to tackle the problem.

:06:27. > :06:29.Ministers are to set out new proposals to speed up appeals

:06:30. > :06:31.by foreign criminals and failed asylum seekers held in detention.

:06:32. > :06:34.A previous fast-track scheme was scrapped 2 years ago

:06:35. > :06:36.after the Court of Appeal ruled it unlawful.

:06:37. > :06:38.Officials say that, if implemented, the system could speed up around

:06:39. > :06:56.The supreme court in the American state of Arkansas has halted two

:06:57. > :06:59.executions which were due to have been the first of seven to be

:07:00. > :07:01.carried out before the end of the month.

:07:02. > :07:03.Lawyers for the two convicted murderers had raised questions

:07:04. > :07:07.The Arkansas government said it would seek an immediate review.

:07:08. > :07:10.Its supply of one of the drugs used in the lethal injections will expire

:07:11. > :07:23.Rumours are that Theresa May is going to call a snap general

:07:24. > :07:28.election. Those are rumours at the moment, we will presumably get

:07:29. > :07:32.confirmation when she actually speaks, when she gives her statement

:07:33. > :07:36.at Downing Street, there are one or two things in the way of calling a

:07:37. > :07:41.snap general election, not least the fixed terms Parliament act, which

:07:42. > :07:45.MPs voted for not long ago, which allows a general election every five

:07:46. > :07:53.years, I think they could overcome that if there was support from

:07:54. > :07:56.opposition parties. One or two hurdles in the way. If that is what

:07:57. > :07:58.the Prime Minister is going to announce. We are going to watch the

:07:59. > :08:06.statement live. Sport: breaking sports news from

:08:07. > :08:10.this morning, Birmingham city have appointed Harry Redknapp is the new

:08:11. > :08:15.manager, the former West Ham United, Tottenham Hotspur and QPR boss

:08:16. > :08:18.succeeds Gianfranco Zola, who resigned yesterday following defeat

:08:19. > :08:23.against Burton, 70 years old now, he took charge of Jordan for two World

:08:24. > :08:27.Cup qualifiers and has advised Derby County last season recently.

:08:28. > :08:31.Birmingham are 20th in the championship, three points above the

:08:32. > :08:37.rural gay and zone, facing rivals Aston Villa on Saturday. -- three

:08:38. > :08:41.points above the relegation zone. Right be playing top-flight football

:08:42. > :08:46.for the first time in 32 years this season -- next season, they secured

:08:47. > :08:50.a place in the Premier League after a victory yesterday 2-1, almost 20

:08:51. > :08:53.years to the day from when they were 20 minutes from dropping out of the

:08:54. > :08:57.football league, they have been forced to play matches 70 miles

:08:58. > :09:04.away, in Chillingham, and by home games at a converted athletics

:09:05. > :09:08.stadium. Arsenal kept alive their top four hopes, with a 2-1 victory

:09:09. > :09:13.at second bottom Middlesbrough, this brilliance free kick from Alexis

:09:14. > :09:22.Sanchez gave them the lead, Middlesbrough levelled when Alvaro

:09:23. > :09:27.Negredo volleyed in the cross. Arsenal are up to six, seven points

:09:28. > :09:30.behind fourth placed Manchester City with a game in hand, Middlesbrough

:09:31. > :09:33.remain in deep relegation trouble, six points from safety. Mesut Ozil

:09:34. > :09:46.scored Arsenal's winner. Will this be a snap general

:09:47. > :09:53.election?! Wish I could tell you one way or the other full. Highly

:09:54. > :09:57.unusual and semi-ways, normally when we get these big moments there is

:09:58. > :10:02.plenty of advance briefing. -- one way or the other. Really, we know

:10:03. > :10:07.nothing beyond the factories in May will be making a statement in

:10:08. > :10:11.Downing Street around 11:15am. Prime Minister only makes Downing Street

:10:12. > :10:15.statement is when it is something pretty significant, it is either, it

:10:16. > :10:20.is either a moment that can be a response to a terrorist attack,

:10:21. > :10:23.David Cameron did a view in his "Brexit" negotiations, at key

:10:24. > :10:28.moments it can be resignation statements, election statements, it

:10:29. > :10:33.can be personal statements, we do not know. If you go through the

:10:34. > :10:37.options, personal statement, obviously, Theresa May suffers from

:10:38. > :10:40.diabetes but she looks very healthy, she has been jetting around all over

:10:41. > :10:46.the place and does not really seem to be a prospect of a health issue.

:10:47. > :10:53.Foreign policy moment, it is hard to see how we would get embroiled in

:10:54. > :10:59.Syria, let alone career, no sense of anything building up. Cabinet is

:11:00. > :11:02.going on now, so Theresa May is briefing her cabinet on the

:11:03. > :11:09.statement, and inevitably, there is chitchat about could it possibly be

:11:10. > :11:13.an early election. The big no-no for that is Theresa May and number ten

:11:14. > :11:16.have been absolutely clear, throughout recent weeks and months,

:11:17. > :11:20.she will not go for an early election, she will stick it through

:11:21. > :11:26.to 2020, again and again they have rebuffed that idea, but if she were

:11:27. > :11:31.to go for an early election, with the Labour Party in real

:11:32. > :11:34.difficulties, would she care that she had gone back on her word if she

:11:35. > :11:42.won a massive majority, would that bother her? The political advantages

:11:43. > :11:46.would be enormous, assuming she won by a hefty margin, which seems

:11:47. > :11:54.possible, a lead of more than 20 points over Jeremy Corbyn. This

:11:55. > :11:57.could give the country the mandate to pursue "Brexit" negotiations,

:11:58. > :12:02.they will not kick in until late in the autumn, a narrow window here,

:12:03. > :12:07.also giving her a mandate to pursue her own agenda, not David Cameron's,

:12:08. > :12:11.ditching stuff she does not like. Perhaps that commitment to give 0.7%

:12:12. > :12:16.in overseas aid may go out the window, a whole load of things

:12:17. > :12:20.become possible. Extraordinary big bold move. In terms of timing, we

:12:21. > :12:25.have the main local elections, only two weeks away, so... I'm not sure

:12:26. > :12:29.if there is a legal time frame by which you have to give notice before

:12:30. > :12:32.you can call an election, only two weeks until the local elections,

:12:33. > :12:36.which would seem the fears points to go for, it would have to be

:12:37. > :12:40.somewhere later down the line, this is speculation, I do not know,

:12:41. > :12:45.haven't the faintest idea what she will say, beyond, it will be

:12:46. > :12:50.something big. Cannot wait, thank you very much. I did say earlier

:12:51. > :12:54.that the last general election was last year, of course, 2015, echoes

:12:55. > :12:58.of the fixed term Parliament act, it was 2015. We have a group of voters

:12:59. > :13:06.in all over the country, I will throw you this curveball. -- because

:13:07. > :13:14.of the fixed term Parliament act. What do you think of a snap general

:13:15. > :13:19.election? Stand. A good idea. "Brexit", everything else, all these

:13:20. > :13:24.legal cases, it would give a clear mandate if that is what she is

:13:25. > :13:28.doing. I hope she's not coming out to say that she has had mesh fitted,

:13:29. > :13:32.otherwise we need to head over to Downing Street(!) LAUGHTER

:13:33. > :13:37.Lets talk more about mesh, with the audience here today.

:13:38. > :13:39.This morning: the women who say a simple NHS procedure has

:13:40. > :13:41.ruined their lives - leaving them registered disabled,

:13:42. > :13:46.in permanent pain, unable to walk, work or have sex.

:13:47. > :13:49.All of these women have had a vaginal mesh implant to treat

:13:50. > :13:53.It's meant to act as a hammock to hold up the pelvic organs

:13:54. > :13:55.or the uretha in the case of bladder incontinence.

:13:56. > :13:57.In an exclusive report this programme has learnt that hundreds

:13:58. > :14:00.of women are taking legal action against the NHS and manufacturers

:14:01. > :14:02.for failing to warn them of the potential risks.

:14:03. > :14:10.It could end up costing the NHS tens of millions of pounds.

:14:11. > :14:14.It's used when women have a prolapse, or bladder incontinence,

:14:15. > :14:19.It is often made from polypropylene, that's the same material used to

:14:20. > :14:23.For most women, mesh implants work, but

:14:24. > :14:25.around one in 11 experienced problems when they disintegrate or

:14:26. > :14:41.erode, leaving some in permanent pain, unable to work or have sex.

:14:42. > :14:49.Over the last five years, I counted, I have heard 53 admissions because I

:14:50. > :14:54.am in agonising pain. My husband has turned into my carer, he is so much

:14:55. > :14:59.less of my husband. We cannot have sex. We have not had sex for four

:15:00. > :15:03.and a half years. Now we have learned that more than 800 women are

:15:04. > :15:07.taking legal action against the NHS and the manufacturers over the

:15:08. > :15:15.implant, some want to see them banned completely on the NHS. It is

:15:16. > :15:19.a device of torture. One the procedure banned, I want the

:15:20. > :15:23.material banned. Do you believe the NHS should stop using these

:15:24. > :15:27.measures? I do believe they should stop using these measures. Here, you

:15:28. > :15:31.should be saying, honestly, we are able to tell you, here is a device,

:15:32. > :15:35.here is the benefit, here is the long-term harm, if you cannot say

:15:36. > :15:50.that, you should not make it available.

:15:51. > :15:58.If the MHRA believes the benefits outweigh the risks. Doctor Mark

:15:59. > :16:02.Slack is a surgeon who carries out some types of procedures. I have

:16:03. > :16:06.sympathy for a patient who has severe pain.

:16:07. > :16:11.Is it worth it? Not for that group. Is it worth it for all patients? It

:16:12. > :16:18.is difficult to say. A recent ruling in Scotland said mesh implants

:16:19. > :16:24.should not be routinely used for prolapse. Critics called it a

:16:25. > :16:35.whitewash. A review is under way in England and Wales. Compensation

:16:36. > :16:41.could cause the NHS -- cost the NHS. I have no control over my bladder. I

:16:42. > :16:48.will not leave the house until I know my bowel is OK. What is the

:16:49. > :16:54.impact on you? I have extensive nerve damage in my leg, my foot, I

:16:55. > :17:00.have double incontinence with bowel and bladder. I have depression. I

:17:01. > :17:06.have had to go and seek an emergency counsellor. I have fibromyalgia. I

:17:07. > :17:09.never thought that having a 40 minute procedure, twice, would be

:17:10. > :17:11.this devastating. I just didn't. As you'd expect, we asked Johnson

:17:12. > :17:14.and Johnson, Ethicon, the NHS, the Department of Health in England

:17:15. > :17:17.and in Scotland and the regulatory body the MHRA for interviews -

:17:18. > :17:23.they all said no. But in a statement Ethicon told us

:17:24. > :17:26."these devices have helped millions of women suffering from stress

:17:27. > :17:28.urinary incontinence They say they no longer market them

:17:29. > :17:41.for prolapse. On that leaked email they said taken

:17:42. > :17:44.out of context it could be And they say they'll vigorously

:17:45. > :17:47.defend litigation claims. And indeed they have defended those

:17:48. > :17:53.claims successfully in the US. The MHRA told us they're "committed

:17:54. > :17:56.to helping address the serious concerns raised by some patients"

:17:57. > :17:58.and that "the greater proportion of the clinical community

:17:59. > :18:00.and patients support the use of these devices in the UK

:18:01. > :18:03.for treatment of the distressing conditions of incontinence

:18:04. > :18:04.and organ prolapse." With us here a group of women

:18:05. > :18:07.who've all been affected Plus Dr Mark Slack a Consultant

:18:08. > :18:19.Gynaecologist and Urogynaecologist and who carries out some

:18:20. > :18:23.types of mesh implants. Labour MP Owen Smith,

:18:24. > :18:25.who is planning to hold Sarah Jane Richards, a solicitor,

:18:26. > :18:43.who is representing some How bad was it to have bladder

:18:44. > :18:54.incontinence, or a prolapse? Described to the audience watching

:18:55. > :19:01.what that was like. Nancy. For me, after having my two children, I

:19:02. > :19:07.could no longer do normal things such as go running, playing on the

:19:08. > :19:15.trampoline. So I went to the doctor and they advised tests. I had that

:19:16. > :19:22.done. I still had problems. I had medication to try, that did not

:19:23. > :19:30.help. They said the 20 minute operation would change my life for

:19:31. > :19:37.the better. You regret it? Yes. Why? I was not informed fully of the

:19:38. > :19:40.risks. I am on the list to get removal, which will be partial

:19:41. > :19:49.removal because of the type of mesh I have. When you showed us the kit

:19:50. > :20:00.earlier, that is the first time I had seen one. You mean this, the

:20:01. > :20:08.trocars and the mesh? Yes. And to think that is in my body. Does it

:20:09. > :20:16.sound familiar to others here. That effectively you are told, pop it in,

:20:17. > :20:21.20 minutes, your life will be different? Does that sound familiar?

:20:22. > :20:25.I was told it was the best thing since sliced bread, it would change

:20:26. > :20:32.my life for the better. It is changed it, it is so not better. It

:20:33. > :20:38.has changed completely. Was it implanted for a prolapse? When the

:20:39. > :20:43.internal pelvic organs drop, or incontinence? Both, really, because

:20:44. > :20:49.I was older. And the impact on you? John is my carer now. I can shop. I

:20:50. > :20:58.can drive short distances. I used to drive all over the country without

:20:59. > :21:03.any pain. John? I pick up the pieces now and where it hurts is things

:21:04. > :21:07.like grandchildren. She cannot pick them up any more. How do you explain

:21:08. > :21:16.that to a three-year-old? We were not told there were other options.

:21:17. > :21:19.We were not told anything about the possible impact when it goes wrong

:21:20. > :21:25.and when it does go wrong and it seems to me even when you have it

:21:26. > :21:29.reversed you still have all the constant pain. You cannot get rid of

:21:30. > :21:36.it. Once you have had it, it is too late. And research. I do not think

:21:37. > :21:41.the medical profession have done enough research, either before they

:21:42. > :21:45.started using the things, all the impact afterwards. They really don't

:21:46. > :21:50.know how many it affects and in what way. This is why I think it should

:21:51. > :21:57.be stopped. Claire, for the audience, would you mind showing

:21:58. > :22:05.them what is called a bowel irrigation system, which you have to

:22:06. > :22:14.use in order to MP -- to empty your bladder and bowel. My pelvic floor

:22:15. > :22:21.dysfunction is nil. There is nothing left any more, it is dead. Because

:22:22. > :22:27.of the implant? Yes. My bowel does not function on its own. You put

:22:28. > :22:33.tubes together and this is filled with warm water. And then you

:22:34. > :22:40.inflate. There is a catheter and you inflate the balloon on the catheter

:22:41. > :22:43.and put it up your back passage and slowly filled with warm water to

:22:44. > :22:48.irrigate your bowel so it could empty. You have to do that before

:22:49. > :22:53.you leave the house? Yes. What do you think about the fact you are in

:22:54. > :23:00.that position? I think it is totally disgusting. It was a gold standard

:23:01. > :23:05.procedure that would change my life for the better and my life has been

:23:06. > :23:12.destroyed. By the mesh. Anne-Marie, would you agree? Definitely. I am

:23:13. > :23:18.waiting. I was to get that system on the 9th of March but on the 7th of

:23:19. > :23:24.March I got a phone call telling me I had been discussed at a meeting

:23:25. > :23:29.and they wanted me to try another drug for my bowel before they would

:23:30. > :23:36.give me that. We just seem to have to jump through hoops. When we

:23:37. > :23:44.present GPs with the problems we have got, they don't know. I have

:23:45. > :23:52.been tested for lupus, MS, they told me I have fibromyalgia. I have

:23:53. > :24:00.problems with my liver, my kidneys, because of the medication I am on.

:24:01. > :24:13.This morning I had 40 mg of one drug, 150 mg of another and I have

:24:14. > :24:19.three patches on my back and side which releases an anaesthetic. You

:24:20. > :24:24.wear rich 12 hours. It is actually painful for you to sit down. Stand

:24:25. > :24:30.up whenever you need to. You have been this morning. My day consists

:24:31. > :24:34.of getting up in the morning, I watched the Victoria show and have a

:24:35. > :24:41.bite to eat. When I watch you I stand against the wall. And you have

:24:42. > :24:49.your crutches. I have my stick. I have a mobility scooter. I have two

:24:50. > :24:57.dogs. I take them out on my mobility scooter. I have a three wheeler if I

:24:58. > :25:04.go shopping. It is horrendous. Totally dismissed in the NHS. Let me

:25:05. > :25:11.bring in our doctor. When you look at some of the women here, do you

:25:12. > :25:16.still say it is worth it? In no way am I going to try to trivialise what

:25:17. > :25:22.is clearly major disability these patients are suffering, and a life

:25:23. > :25:26.changing event. As a result of their surgery. Please forgive me if at any

:25:27. > :25:33.point in the conversation it would seem I am not taking that seriously,

:25:34. > :25:35.because it concerns us deeply about any patient operated on,

:25:36. > :25:42.irrespective of the category of surgery we are doing. I occupy a

:25:43. > :25:47.funny position because I have litigated against the pharmaceutical

:25:48. > :25:51.companies in the US at considerable reputational risk to myself about

:25:52. > :26:00.things I believe they have not done correctly. The third problem is we

:26:01. > :26:06.are talking about mesh, or an incontinence operation as a single

:26:07. > :26:09.procedure. There are 100 different meshes and 150 different operations.

:26:10. > :26:16.There are ten, 15 different ways of doing the operations. Even knowing

:26:17. > :26:20.all that, with people who use wheelchairs and registered disabled

:26:21. > :26:26.and have crutches to walk, is it worth it? Can you say to these women

:26:27. > :26:31.it is worth it? I am not going to pick out these women as individuals

:26:32. > :26:36.who are disabled and troubled. We are individuals. Sure. I cannot

:26:37. > :26:40.afford to patronise all patients and they have the right to make a

:26:41. > :26:46.decision based on objective and clear outcomes. Why I introduced the

:26:47. > :26:52.concept of differences in operations, some are all worth

:26:53. > :26:56.associated with high complication rates and others with low ones. The

:26:57. > :27:03.traditional surgery that does not have mesh in them also have major

:27:04. > :27:08.complications, short and long-term. 8-10% of patients in the US who have

:27:09. > :27:14.undergone surgery without mesh are still taking opiate analgesia,

:27:15. > :27:20.strong painkillers, 12 months after surgery. I understand. I am not sure

:27:21. > :27:28.that is consolation. Everybody understands undertaking surgery is a

:27:29. > :27:33.risk. Some of you said the risks... Everybody understands surgery risk,

:27:34. > :27:34.the risk of the implant. We were not informed fully, how wrong it can go

:27:35. > :27:44.when it goes wrong. One of the big challenges in

:27:45. > :27:49.medicine generally is the provision of appropriate data, listening to

:27:50. > :27:52.patients carefully and coming to a joint decision-making process. It is

:27:53. > :27:58.not up to doctors to make the decision for patients, it is for us

:27:59. > :28:03.to inform them and patients to make a decision for themselves. I had a

:28:04. > :28:08.lack of information. If I had been told there were alternatives I would

:28:09. > :28:13.have taken it than have this poison in my body. Surgeons are not fully

:28:14. > :28:20.informing people of the risks. You defend mesh. Last summer you were at

:28:21. > :28:22.a conference and he blatantly said people will look back on mesh

:28:23. > :28:29.implants as one of the darkest days in within's medical history. I wrote

:28:30. > :28:34.about that. Here you are today on the film saying you would implant a

:28:35. > :28:41.mesh into your wife. With these mesh operations you are inserting

:28:42. > :28:48.polypropylene plastic will stop using hoax. They look like Butcher's

:28:49. > :28:51.hooks. At the beginning of this year, the American watchdog body

:28:52. > :29:00.said the risks of those hooks can cause injuries in up to 40% of women

:29:01. > :29:06.having mesh and also for women having mesh for incontinence. There

:29:07. > :29:11.was a report by a surgeon in a leading journal. That shows this

:29:12. > :29:25.plastic mesh can shrink and there are complications it up to 15% of

:29:26. > :29:32.surgeries. Nobody knows the true risk of the scale and we are

:29:33. > :29:37.suffering in a simple 20 minute operation. We should have been fully

:29:38. > :29:47.informed of the risks and we have not been. These are the trocar. I am

:29:48. > :29:53.William from Scotland and I am Nancy's husband. The point I wanted

:29:54. > :29:57.to make, when Nancy had the procedure, and the complications

:29:58. > :30:03.started, at some point after, it was not immediate, there were some

:30:04. > :30:15.complications straightaway, but the big painful episodes she has,

:30:16. > :30:20.controlled with, what is it, tramadol. It knocks her out

:30:21. > :30:25.sometimes 18 hours a day and we have a young family. They do not see her

:30:26. > :30:30.because she is sleeping. My point before that is there seems to be a

:30:31. > :30:36.reluctance from doctors and GPs and professionals these ladies go to to

:30:37. > :30:45.even suggest there might be a link to the mesh and these symptoms. Owen

:30:46. > :30:51.Smith, one in 11 go wrong. Is that a risk worth taking? Not for those

:30:52. > :30:56.women. My view is the reason I want to bring it to Parliament, we have

:30:57. > :31:00.not had a debate. I am here because you have a constituent in the

:31:01. > :31:06.audience whose life has been transformed for the worse by the

:31:07. > :31:11.operation. It is clear to me there is an emerging problem. It is clear

:31:12. > :31:21.to me the effects for the women that get adverse effects are crippling,

:31:22. > :31:26.with chronic pain. I think there needs to be greater investigation.

:31:27. > :31:29.There is a good case for saying suspend its use until there is

:31:30. > :31:34.clarity about the scale of the problems and there is definitely

:31:35. > :31:34.evidence to suggest we should speed up investigation.

:31:35. > :31:37.and definitely, evidence to suggest we should speed up investigation,

:31:38. > :31:41.why has it taken so long to get up new guidelines, why is there not a

:31:42. > :31:45.registry established, to get the data we need, we know that some of

:31:46. > :31:48.these things are in the pipeline, it has taken an awful long time, in the

:31:49. > :31:54.meantime, women living with awful complications. Are you saying they

:31:55. > :31:59.should be banned? I am not a clinician so it is not for me to say

:32:00. > :32:02.that but as a layperson, albeit somebody who has worked for

:32:03. > :32:05.pharmaceutical companies in the past, as a layperson, my review of

:32:06. > :32:10.the evidence, I have read a lot about it, suggest there is growing

:32:11. > :32:14.evidence to suggest it is a problem, a growing number of women are coming

:32:15. > :32:19.forward, the nature of the adverse events they are suffering are really

:32:20. > :32:25.profound, the last study I read, one in ten women is having the source of

:32:26. > :32:34.problems post surgery, and it says... It begs questions about

:32:35. > :32:37.whether this is a safe procedure, it is a minority but it is a

:32:38. > :32:42.significant minority, their voice needs to be heard, I pay tribute to

:32:43. > :32:45.all of the women who have raised this issue, they have to break

:32:46. > :32:49.through quite a lot of their defensive barriers from a clinical

:32:50. > :32:54.community about this, but they are breaking through it. The NHS in

:32:55. > :33:03.England has already paid out ?484,000 in damages. Sarah Jane

:33:04. > :33:07.Richards, you are representing some of the women taking legal action,

:33:08. > :33:13.some of this has been successful for your clients in the past, what did

:33:14. > :33:24.the pay-out range between? First of all, the pay-out is not reflect the

:33:25. > :33:28.pain, suffering, and loss of capacity. The money you have spent,

:33:29. > :33:35.either in losses, or in trying to get back to the position you are in,

:33:36. > :33:41.from... From what to what? The range over all can be anything between

:33:42. > :33:45.?25,000 up to ?500,000. Half ?1 million to one person, awarded to

:33:46. > :33:50.one person but I will very quickly say that the element of the pain,

:33:51. > :33:56.the suffering and the loss of immunity is generally very small.

:33:57. > :34:02.What increases the damage is the financial loss but people have

:34:03. > :34:06.incurred, somebody who has lost employment will have a higher award,

:34:07. > :34:13.because there are special damages will be higher. The pain suffering

:34:14. > :34:17.award is generally low. I have a leaflet which talks about some of

:34:18. > :34:24.the risks, how many of you were told that this was permanent? Only two...

:34:25. > :34:30.What are the disadvantages of a permanent mesh? There are

:34:31. > :34:35.disadvantages... Really, the material can become infected, or

:34:36. > :34:42.recognised by the body as foreign and be rejected. Scar tissue can

:34:43. > :34:50.form around the mesh. Scar tissue... Could you find it, it is on there...

:34:51. > :34:56.Scar tissue could form around the mesh, making it stiffer and causing

:34:57. > :35:01.pain, especially during intercourse, over time, the mesh can wear through

:35:02. > :35:07.the tissues, so that it pokes through the vaginal skin and less

:35:08. > :35:11.common leaf through the wall of the urethra, bladder or bowel, this is

:35:12. > :35:27.called erosion. You are shaking your head. -- less common link. -- --

:35:28. > :35:36.commonly. Did it talk about erosion? Coming stiffer? The plastic becoming

:35:37. > :35:44.harder? It's talked about one in 50 experiencing pain in their legs, it

:35:45. > :35:48.was very much glossed over, it was a PSU G leaflet that I was given

:35:49. > :35:50.discussing the fact that it is a sling or tape and everything is

:35:51. > :35:55.going to be wonderful, does not discuss the fact that you will be in

:35:56. > :36:01.pain afterwards, or that that could be a side-effect. It discusses the

:36:02. > :36:08.post surgery pain but does not discuss the option of living with

:36:09. > :36:13.pain for the rest of your life. I think that if you gave that to any

:36:14. > :36:21.woman, they would say... They would say no... No woman in their right

:36:22. > :36:25.mind would say, I am happy, I will have that. I was told it was a

:36:26. > :36:31.permanent implant, and I was not told it was mesh, I was told it was

:36:32. > :36:38.a tape, part of a prolapse repair, popped in as part of the operation.

:36:39. > :36:42.We will pop it in at the same time as repairing your prolapse. As I

:36:43. > :36:50.say, I was not told anything much about it, the usual anaesthetic

:36:51. > :36:53.risks, and my pain began, really, about four months after the

:36:54. > :36:57.operation, I expected pain after the operation but instead of getting

:36:58. > :37:01.better, I was getting worse, went back to my consultant, who shook his

:37:02. > :37:06.set and said, you are about to be the first person to suffer with

:37:07. > :37:11.this. He said that, he said, are you about to be the first of my patients

:37:12. > :37:17.to suffer with a complication? Those words we use to use, and yet most

:37:18. > :37:20.women are saying... I was described as weird and wonderful by my

:37:21. > :37:25.surgeon, and you told me, I had looked on the Internet, I had no

:37:26. > :37:29.idea it was mesh until August, thank goodness for the patient support

:37:30. > :37:34.groups I found in 2010, that informed me I was not the only one,

:37:35. > :37:38.I had to do all of my own research. He told me I was reading too much on

:37:39. > :37:43.the Internet and reading the pain into me. By November I was in

:37:44. > :37:48.excruciating pain, lives turned upside down, my husband had to take

:37:49. > :37:53.over a lot of the household jobs that we had to do. By December, I

:37:54. > :38:00.was seeking the advice privately of another surgeon will stop having to

:38:01. > :38:04.travel over 160 miles to find that. -- I was seeking the advice

:38:05. > :38:08.privately of another surgeon. A lot of people are getting in touch with

:38:09. > :38:13.us privately, and I keep saying it because it is true. It has been

:38:14. > :38:17.pointed out. Millions of women have this procedure, one of the many

:38:18. > :38:22.different types of mesh implants out there and it works for them, what is

:38:23. > :38:23.your advice to anyone watching now he might be worried, might be

:38:24. > :38:38.anxious? Patients come to us in my unit we provide all of the

:38:39. > :38:44.options, which is a TV to base operation, and it is up to us to

:38:45. > :38:48.give them the information for the patient to make the decision, I

:38:49. > :38:52.don't want to patronise my patients, I don't want to be in a situation of

:38:53. > :39:05.saying, I don't have an operation for you, I am not going to give you

:39:06. > :39:10.the TVT. Slings have serious consequences in a small percentage

:39:11. > :39:14.of people. I was not even offered, I was told, this is what you are

:39:15. > :39:23.getting, this is what we are doing. They never gave me the choices. I

:39:24. > :39:31.don't think that's correct. We were not given that choice. A lot of our

:39:32. > :39:35.discussion here, which is why I value people like yourself, who are

:39:36. > :39:38.willing to come forward and have a say about where you have been and

:39:39. > :39:42.what you have experience, a lot of what we need to do in medicine, I

:39:43. > :39:45.have to sit in the middle somewhere, I have sued pharmaceutical companies

:39:46. > :39:49.and also defended patients and defended certain operations which I

:39:50. > :39:53.think are good on the basis that I want people to get better. I want

:39:54. > :40:01.people to experience as few complications as possible. It is up

:40:02. > :40:07.to me... A person... 79% risk of getting a wind infection... 56% of

:40:08. > :40:12.those will have to go back to hospital to have it treated, people

:40:13. > :40:18.have second procedures in up to 30% of these for prolapse, these are

:40:19. > :40:22.serious secondary interventions. What we are suffering now is

:40:23. > :40:26.serious. We are suffering the adverse reactions, there is no

:40:27. > :40:30.testing beforehand, you don't know. There is people that don't read

:40:31. > :40:33.newspapers, don't watch the news, ladies will come out of the

:40:34. > :40:40.woodwork, and men, for hernia mesh is. If people undergo surgery, there

:40:41. > :40:45.is a risk of developing neuropathic pain, even without a mesh. If we cut

:40:46. > :40:51.the skin, cut tissue, you can get neuropathic pain. Ongoing, lifelong

:40:52. > :40:57.pain, as a consequence of surgery not involving mesh. I will pause

:40:58. > :41:00.there. Owen Smith, final word to you, you are raising this in

:41:01. > :41:06.Parliament with the hope of doing what? Getting the clinical community

:41:07. > :41:09.to look much harder at this, I think there is emerging evidence that this

:41:10. > :41:13.is a much bigger problem than people have appreciated, as ladies have

:41:14. > :41:20.said, there is clearly long-term serious consequences when it goes

:41:21. > :41:22.wrong, some women, the majority of women, it does not appear to go

:41:23. > :41:25.wrong, when it goes wrong, it goes wrong with catastrophic

:41:26. > :41:31.consequences, that requires much greater scrutiny and parliament is

:41:32. > :41:36.one place to start. Thank you all very much. Quick word. This mesh is

:41:37. > :41:40.put in blindly by surgeons, am I right in believing that? That is

:41:41. > :41:45.what I have read. Mine was put in blindly, and it was not put in the

:41:46. > :41:51.right position, how about all the women who are in that, so yes, it is

:41:52. > :41:57.not just nerve pain, it is actually damaging nerves. Correct. I am often

:41:58. > :42:02.in a wheelchair, I have lost my job and my house, a lot of us women, I

:42:03. > :42:06.met some lovely women here, we are all in very similar position, we

:42:07. > :42:11.have had to fight every step of the way to try to get GPs even to

:42:12. > :42:16.listen. It could just be this, it is a bit of scar tissue, well, scar

:42:17. > :42:21.tissue, when you have something stuck at an angle... Surgical

:42:22. > :42:22.compensation as potentially an inept surgeon or undertrained surgeon,

:42:23. > :42:34.which I accept. That would Kid good, yes. What I'm going to

:42:35. > :42:40.stop you there, I want to thank you for making the money mental effort

:42:41. > :42:43.to get here, thank you so much, thank you, all of you, for coming on

:42:44. > :42:46.the programme here today, and for talking about some really personal

:42:47. > :42:51.things and we appreciate your honesty and openness.

:42:52. > :42:59.At the end of the day, the manufacturers, profit, before

:43:00. > :43:02.anybody else. APPLAUSE For details on organisations that

:43:03. > :43:09.offer advice and support, go to the BBC website. While Owen Smith is

:43:10. > :43:14.here, as a Labour MP, the big breaking news, there is speculation

:43:15. > :43:16.over why a Theresa May the Prime Minister is about to give a

:43:17. > :43:20.statement just after 11am on the steps of Downing Street, could it be

:43:21. > :43:24.a snap general election? I have heard nothing about it, came to

:43:25. > :43:28.discuss something far more important, the plight of the women

:43:29. > :43:33.in this audience. I've no idea what Theresa May is going to do. As a

:43:34. > :43:37.Labour politician, would you welcome a snap general election? Always look

:43:38. > :43:41.forward to general elections, they are a lot of fun stop what we will

:43:42. > :43:46.be live to Downing Street in just a moment but first, Vicky Yeung, what

:43:47. > :43:53.is the latest? -- they are a lot of fun. As you know, Westminster likes

:43:54. > :43:58.nothing more than a bit of speculation, number one on the list

:43:59. > :44:01.has got to be the possibility of a snap general election, even though

:44:02. > :44:04.Theresa May has a constantly she would not have an early general

:44:05. > :44:07.election, you can see why she may well be tempted, looking at the

:44:08. > :44:12.polls, Labour in all sorts of trouble, she has a very small

:44:13. > :44:16.majority, causing the problems, and the temptation must be absolutely

:44:17. > :44:22.huge for her. There are other possibilities, it could be an

:44:23. > :44:24.announcement about Northern Ireland, direct rule, could it be a

:44:25. > :44:28.resignation on health grounds, another possibility, or a foreign

:44:29. > :44:32.policy announcement, all of those possible. The reason this is so

:44:33. > :44:36.unusual is because Prime Ministers do not often come out into Downing

:44:37. > :44:39.Street and get behind the lectern reserved for very big significant

:44:40. > :44:43.announcements, and the other thing which is unusual here is that there

:44:44. > :44:47.has notably net -- there has not been any pre-briefing, often the

:44:48. > :44:50.Prime Minister will come out and talk about foreign policy and there

:44:51. > :44:54.will be a pre-briefing but we have not had anything like that, Downing

:44:55. > :44:57.Street will know that they are speculating about the possibility of

:44:58. > :45:02.a general election. We do have the fixed term Parliament act, the next

:45:03. > :45:04.election is set for 2020 and not before but there are ways around

:45:05. > :45:10.that, Theresa May could strike to ask parliament to vote for it, two

:45:11. > :45:15.thirds of MPs would have to do that, that would be 434 MPs, Labour

:45:16. > :45:19.sources close to Jeremy Corbyn have said in the last few weeks they

:45:20. > :45:25.would vote for a general election, the other option for Theresa May is

:45:26. > :45:28.to try to get a no-confidence vote in her own government, which would

:45:29. > :45:33.be pretty unusual, she would not relish doing it that way but that is

:45:34. > :45:36.the other possibility, she could also overturn the legislation which

:45:37. > :45:39.has fixed term Parliament set in it but that could be pretty lengthy,

:45:40. > :45:43.might run into trouble in the House of Lords. There are ways that she

:45:44. > :45:48.can do it, the issue is whether she wants to do it or not. Up to now, as

:45:49. > :45:53.you know, she is a very cautious politician, people have wondered why

:45:54. > :45:59.she would not be tempted by this. Polls suggesting the Tory party

:46:00. > :46:03.would be 20 points ahead of Labour, must make it feel to her like a good

:46:04. > :46:07.option, the earliest date it could be, if she were to say today that

:46:08. > :46:10.she wants to do this, May 20 five. There has been speculation that it

:46:11. > :46:18.could be the same day as local elections at the beginning of May,

:46:19. > :46:24.too late for that to happen now. -- May 25. They may lose to the Deborah

:46:25. > :46:29.Democrats in some areas but they would hope to gain an awful lot from

:46:30. > :46:34.Labour, they feel Jeremy Corbyn is leading the Labour Party in a way

:46:35. > :46:37.that would help the Tories. -- Liberal Democrats. She must be

:46:38. > :46:41.buoyed when she looks at the polls and suggests she could get a

:46:42. > :46:45.landslide victory in a general election. The downside, she has said

:46:46. > :46:48.very clearly, only a few weeks ago her official spokesman said it was

:46:49. > :46:52.not going to happen, this idea of an early election, she would have to go

:46:53. > :46:57.back on that, but within just a few hours of this happening, people will

:46:58. > :47:01.have forgotten about that, the only question, whether voters have

:47:02. > :47:04.fatigue, if they have voted recently, only two years ago, the

:47:05. > :47:07.general election, which David Cameron won, and the referendum.

:47:08. > :47:13."Brexit" is also relevant here, it is going to be a very tough couple

:47:14. > :47:19.of years for Theresa May and I think to have a much bigger majority in

:47:20. > :47:23.the House of Commons would really help her. She has run into trouble

:47:24. > :47:28.over the legislation and other policies recently, it is of course

:47:29. > :47:34.much easier to govern if you have a large number of MPs on your side and

:47:35. > :47:37.she may wish to get her own mandate, her own mandate, because it was

:47:38. > :47:46.David Cameron that won the last general election.

:47:47. > :47:52.Norman Smith is in Downing Street. What will voters think if she is

:47:53. > :47:57.calling a snap election to boost her majority in a Commons? It is a

:47:58. > :48:01.gamble. She made take the view she is more powerful Malbay and she is

:48:02. > :48:07.ever going to be and may look back to Gordon Brown, who hesitated about

:48:08. > :48:12.going for it and bottled it and he had the slow years of drudgery down

:48:13. > :48:16.to election defeat. She might take the view it will never get any

:48:17. > :48:22.better, now is the time. She surprised us. She has been a bold

:48:23. > :48:25.Prime Minister. We thought of her as cautious, who never really does

:48:26. > :48:30.anything out of the ordinary and blow me down, she gets rid of the

:48:31. > :48:35.camera people, ploughs full steam ahead with Brexit and continually

:48:36. > :48:42.surprises us. If she went to the snap election, if you look at what's

:48:43. > :48:47.behind me. One Burson has sent a message to say it does not have the

:48:48. > :48:50.government logo on it so it will be a Conservative Party announcement,

:48:51. > :49:03.does that mean it will be a general election? I have no idea. I feel

:49:04. > :49:09.like the faulty Towers -- Fawlty Towers episode with Manuel saying, I

:49:10. > :49:14.know nothing. I know nothing. It is not Larry the cat. Word was going

:49:15. > :49:18.round something had happened. That would get people down here. We have

:49:19. > :49:22.had an hour since the news came out and an early election would have

:49:23. > :49:25.made sense three weeks ago. With local elections and the by-election

:49:26. > :49:32.in Manchester in three weeks it does not make sense because she cannot

:49:33. > :49:37.just call a snap election. It has to go through Parliament. The ball will

:49:38. > :49:41.not start rolling at least another week. People speculating she is

:49:42. > :49:45.unwell. She did not look it at the weekend and though one wishes that.

:49:46. > :49:50.Some say Northern Ireland, but why not make a statement to Parliament?

:49:51. > :49:56.We do not know, unless it is something to do with foreign policy.

:49:57. > :50:01.Goings-on with Korea and America. Maybe a change of position that

:50:02. > :50:05.cannot wait until this afternoon in the Commons. Maybe she will make a

:50:06. > :50:10.view about the Lions rugby squad which is being announced today. Most

:50:11. > :50:16.of the journalists, there is a sense the other options outside of an

:50:17. > :50:20.election, they look unlikely. The mood is an election seems to be the

:50:21. > :50:28.front running option. She has no better time. She has had two polls

:50:29. > :50:32.with a 21 point lead. She has had 18, 17 point lead is the last few

:50:33. > :50:35.weeks. It does not make sense to do it now but in the absence of

:50:36. > :50:43.anything else all we can talk about is an early election. We had Cabinet

:50:44. > :50:47.this morning at 8:30am. They are still in there. I know from standing

:50:48. > :50:51.outside Cabinet, they usually packing within an hour, our and a

:50:52. > :50:59.half. No one has left the room. You have not had shots of them

:51:00. > :51:03.disappearing. The e-mail came from Downing Street said there would be a

:51:04. > :51:08.lobby briefing post-Cabinet at midday, suggesting it was a normal

:51:09. > :51:13.day. All I can say is anticipation is growing, the crowd is building,

:51:14. > :51:21.tourists are gathering behind us. We will find out at 11:15am. It is

:51:22. > :51:24.extraordinary. The times we live in politically are extraordinary with

:51:25. > :51:28.Brexit, Donald Trump, Theresa May, Boris. We have become used to

:51:29. > :51:34.momentous moments. Nothing is predictable any more. Writing

:51:35. > :51:39.political satire it's hard to satirise what is going on because of

:51:40. > :51:44.what is actually happening. We have three hours after the announcement

:51:45. > :51:49.before the common sit and... I have to stop you there. Vicki Young. I

:51:50. > :51:59.think you are outside Westminster? It is me in the studio. I just

:52:00. > :52:02.wanted to ask if it is about a quick general election, what would it mean

:52:03. > :52:09.for the opposition parties, particularly Labour? You would have

:52:10. > :52:13.to say it does not look great. We had polls over the weekend

:52:14. > :52:17.suggesting they were 21 points behind. You are going back to the

:52:18. > :52:24.darkest days of Michael foot to come up with anything like that. They

:52:25. > :52:28.talk a good game and have been rolling out policies but nobody is

:52:29. > :52:34.under any illusion they face a titanic task. Go back before recess

:52:35. > :52:39.with the by-election in Copeland, when Theresa May won a seat she

:52:40. > :52:44.should never have won from Labour. That may have led her to the view

:52:45. > :52:49.that this is the moment, I cannot do any better, I am winning Labour

:52:50. > :52:53.seats in government, go for it. Plenty of people in Tory ranks have

:52:54. > :52:59.said get on with it. William Hague, he takes the role of outsider, who

:53:00. > :53:06.is incredibly plugged in. The other day he wrote a long article saying,

:53:07. > :53:08.really, I think you ought to look seriously at an early election

:53:09. > :53:17.because the advantages are significant. Remember, she was

:53:18. > :53:23.pretty emphatic about not having a quick general election, not going

:53:24. > :53:27.for it, because she said it was not in the national interest. Going back

:53:28. > :53:31.on her word, that is not good for any politician. There are real

:53:32. > :53:36.problems here. This is a woman who has built her reputation on being

:53:37. > :53:42.steady, dependable, reliable, to just chuck out of the window her

:53:43. > :53:46.previous promises not to cut and run but go the full distance, yes, you

:53:47. > :53:53.could say it would do damage, but you think this woman campaigned for

:53:54. > :53:58.Remain. She is now Mrs Brexit. She managed to get round that. History

:53:59. > :54:03.tells us winner takes all. If she holds an election and wins a big

:54:04. > :54:07.majority, don't expect many colleagues to say, you should not

:54:08. > :54:11.have broken your promise. They will not care. It would provide clarity

:54:12. > :54:17.and certainty and provide her with that mandate and it would be the

:54:18. > :54:22.Brexit election and she might argue, it enables me to go into

:54:23. > :54:27.negotiations, to go eyeball to eyeball with Michel Barnier and the

:54:28. > :54:33.others and say, I have the country behind me, I have won mandate, do

:54:34. > :54:38.not mess me. It strengthens her hand. Maybe she will go for it. We

:54:39. > :54:44.do not know, let's make that clear. We do not know what she will say.

:54:45. > :54:51.Some speculation that she could be resigning. If, if that were the

:54:52. > :54:57.case, what might she be resigning over? I cannot believe I am asking

:54:58. > :55:01.these questions but we are in the realms of speculation. Resignation,

:55:02. > :55:09.general election or military deployment, we are in. She looks as

:55:10. > :55:15.fit as a fiddle. She has been round and about, she has been an America,

:55:16. > :55:20.she has been in Saudi Arabia, Turkey. Continually on her travels.

:55:21. > :55:29.I am always amazed, physically, she is up for it. We know she has type 1

:55:30. > :55:35.diabetes and has to have two insulin jabs per day. Looking at her, she

:55:36. > :55:40.probably thrives on it. She seems to have grown in self-confidence. She

:55:41. > :55:47.does not look ill to me. You do not know. People'sprivate health

:55:48. > :55:52.situation. From what I have seen she looks OK. What would happen, there

:55:53. > :55:56.would be a caretaker Prime Minister and then I imagine a leadership

:55:57. > :56:04.contest in the Tory party, another one. Does that bring Boris Johnson

:56:05. > :56:09.back into the frame? I have no idea. We are in the Outer Himalayas of

:56:10. > :56:13.speculation land. Technically it would be a leadership contest and

:56:14. > :56:18.then you would have to ask what mandate that person had. Could you

:56:19. > :56:22.have another Tory leader without a selection? You are getting so far

:56:23. > :56:31.away from David Cameron's election victory. What about the military

:56:32. > :56:36.deployment speculation? I think that is doubtful. If you look at

:56:37. > :56:39.conflicts where we might deploy. Syria, the government has been clear

:56:40. > :56:45.we are not putting boots on the ground. Parliament voted against air

:56:46. > :56:50.strikes in Syria. Following the recent cruise missile attack on

:56:51. > :56:56.President Assad, Michael Fannon and everyone went out of their way to

:56:57. > :57:00.look for a political solution. I do not get a sense there is an appetite

:57:01. > :57:07.to be involved in a military solution. North Korea is on the

:57:08. > :57:12.other side of the world and not what we would get involved with. Some

:57:13. > :57:17.sort of renewed operation against IS in Iraq? I do not know that would

:57:18. > :57:23.need a statement here, surely it would be a House of Commons

:57:24. > :57:29.statement. Our colleague Laura Kuenssberg is saying one source, not

:57:30. > :57:37.confirmed, speculation that a general election will be called on

:57:38. > :57:42.June the 8th. OK. That is quite conceivable. June the 8th, am I

:57:43. > :57:48.right in thinking it was the day of the referendum last year? No, that

:57:49. > :57:53.was June the 23rd. I am sorry, I thought there was something

:57:54. > :57:59.symbolic... That is possible. She cannot do it in time for the May

:58:00. > :58:06.elections. She could go for an early summer snap election. Reuters are

:58:07. > :58:10.also saying that. We will find out soon because she will be coming out.

:58:11. > :58:18.We will hear it from Theresa May herself. Thanks, Norman. Theresa May

:58:19. > :58:20.live on BBC News at 11:15am. Thanks for your company. Back tomorrow at

:58:21. > :58:22.9am.