27/04/2017 Victoria Derbyshire

Hello, it's Thursday April 27th, it's 9 o'clock, I'm Chloe Tilley,

Boris Johnson refuses to rule out military action against Syria.

The Foreign Secretary says another chemical attack

If the Americans choose to act again and ask us to help I think it would

be very difficult to say No. Should a student-led campaign

against Israel be banned As the Charity Commission

investigates, we have an exclusive report and hear from Jewish students

who say they feel threatened. My friends helped me to get out of

the crowd, I felt claustrophobic, I had a panic attack, I couldn't

breathe and I felt that my chest was tightening up.

And should the Government be allowed to to delay publication

of its anti-pollution strategy until after the election?

It's being argued over in court today.

Welcome to the programme, we're live until 11 this morning.

We are also talking about designer cats. The gene that gives floppy

ears can also cause arthritis. Some vets say that can leave them in

pain. If you have one let us know and to get in touch on all the

stories we are talking about this morning.

and If you text, you will be charged at the standard network rate.

The Foreign Secretary has said that the government would be open

to join strikes against Syria without Parliamentary approval.

Speaking this morning Boris Johnson said it would be "very difficult

for Britain to say no" if US asks us to join in future

Let's speak to Norman Smith our political guru. Norman, tell us more

about what Boris Johnson has been saying. Chloe, normally in general

elections foreign policy doesn't get a lot in, it could be different this

time after what Boris Johnson said this morning. He suggested that if

America decided to launch another attack on Syria, remember 50 cruise

missiles were fired just weeks ago. If Donald Trump decided to do that

again and said that they would like Britain to take part in according to

Boris Johnson it would be very hard for Britain to say no. In other

words we would almost certainly say, yes, we're in. Importantly Mr

Johnson suggested that we would give the go-ahead to taking part in you

as action without Parliament having a say. In other words they would be

no parliamentary vote to approve military strikes against Syria. That

would cause a huge row, I imagine, because convention has now built up

that when we are engaged in military action that has to be some sort of

parliamentary approval. It also contrasts markedly with the stands

by Jeremy Corbyn where he has been highly critical with what he regards

as reckless military intervention in the middle east. It also jars to

some extent with what No 10 said after the cruise missile attacks,

saying they were seeking a political solution, not a military one. This

is what Boris Johnson said on the Today programme on Radio 4 today.

If the Americans were forced again by the actions of the Assad regime,

don't forget it was Assad who unleashed murder upon his own

citizens, weapons that were banned almost 100 years ago, if the

Americans choose to act again and ask us to help I think it will be

very difficult to say no. What will cause concern among opposition MPs

and some Tories is the idea that Britain could take part in some sort

of strike without parliamentary approval. So far, Norman, in this

general election campaign Boris Johnson has been quiet but this has

changed, a scathing personal attack on the Jeremy Corbyn. Very

flamboyant, describing that Jeremy Corbyn, in his flamboyant style, as

a mutton headed old mugwump, in a story for the Sun newspaper. He

says, do not think that he is a benign Islington only in her before.

Behind that abusive language is a political purpose. As he sees it, he

wants to alert people to the risks of Mr Corbyn becoming Prime

Minister. Because there is a danger with the huge poll lead that the

Tories have, that people will think, there is no chance that he will

become leader, Tory voters will think they don't need to bother

voting and those who don't like Jeremy Corbyn will say that it is OK

to vote Labour because he has no chance of becoming Prime Minister.

This is quite inappropriate, it sounds like an arrogant public

schoolboy sneering. And the risk is that when you use that language it

backfires and plays to Jeremy Corbyn's strengths who is presenting

himself as the man standing up to the ruling elite, the political

establishment, standing at the little guys. In effect being the

underdogs taking on the cosy clique at the top of society. Thank you,

Norman. Your thoughts will be welcome on that this morning.

Annita is in the BBC Newsroom with a summary

Labour is promising to tackle the housing crisis

by building a million homes - half of them council houses -

if the party wins the general election.

Labour claims the number of affordable homes being built

But the Conservatives say they have a clear plan to build more

affordable housing - with the number of new homes under

construction up three quarters since 2010.

Ministers from 27 European Union countries are meeting later

for final discussions about the EU's negotiating stance on Brexit.

They're set to approve the draft negotiating guidelines

for the UK's divorce from the EU and discuss the next

Speaking in the German parliament this morning Angela Merkel

said the UK must fulfil all of its obligations to the EU.

This programme has learned that the Charity Commission

is investigating a number of student unions about their campaigns

Seventeen student bodies have endorsed

the pro-sanctions 'Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions' movement -

known as BDS - which calls for an international boycott

of Israel over the way it treats Palestinians.

Some Jewish students say growing support for BDS has fuelled a rise

Tensions are rising over North Korea, as the US calls

for more pressure to force the country to give up its nuclear

Last night, President Trump briefed all one hundred

members of the Senate - revealing a strategy of economic

But Washington also said they were prepared to defend

This is a military exercise just miles from the North Korean border.

A message for Kim Jong-un, that the US is ready

This is how the head of the US Pacific command put it

to members of the House in Washington.

We want to bring Kim Jong-un to his senses, not to his knees.

Later, all 100 senators were bussed to a briefing at the White House

A highly unusual move to show politicians from both sides

of the aisle just how serious the situation has become.

North Korea is the most dangerous spot on the planet right now,

and Kim Jong-un is a dangerous and wildly unpredictable dictator.

Donald Trump is hoping China will use its political and economic

leverage over Pyongyang to persuade Kim Jong-un

Other options include redesignating North Korea as a state sponsor

of terrorism, which will allow the US to impose greater sanctions.

Meanwhile, the US show of might continues.

This is a missile defence system in South Korea.

The current goal is a path to peace through negotiations,

but the Trump administration said it is prepared to defend itself

Some breaking news coming in from Paris, the counterterrorism section

has opened an investigation after two police officers were wounded

this morning by an armed gunman on a French overseas territory, La

Reunion. This is all the information we have at the moment.

There has been a large explosion near Damascus international airport.

The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the

Arabic media reports say it may have been an Israeli air-strike targeting

an arms supply hub operated by the militant group, Hezbollah,

but these claims have not been independently confirmed.

Lawyers are going to the High Court this morning to explain why

the government is planning to delay publication of its

Ministers claim they cannot abide by a court ruling to publish

the consultation document because it would break so-called

purdah rules in the run-up to the general election.

But environmental campaigners say clean air is a public health issue

A new study suggests that a cheap and widely available drug

could prevent one in three deaths among women who haemorrhage

Researchers at the London School of Hygiene

and Tropical Medicine said evidence showed the dru, called T.X.A,

had the potential to become a front-line treatment and change

An Illinois couple married for 69 years have died

91-year-old Isaac Vatkin was holding

the hand of his wife, 89-year-old Teresa,

as she succumbed to Alzheimer's disease on Saturday.

Staff at the local Highland Park Hospital found Mr and Mrs Vatkin

unresponsive and breathing shallowly on Saturday and chose

Family members said they took comfort in knowing

That's a summary of the latest BBC News, more at 9:30am.

Chloe. Thank you. Now let's get some sport with Hugh. Maria Sharapova has

upset quite a few people in the tennis world with a return to the

sport and it's not going away. She is back, although all the talking

seemed to have stopped when she got back on court although it really

hasn't. She played against Roberta Vinci in Stuttgart and lost her

first service game after that ban but eventually fought back to when a

well contested match in straight sets in Stuttgart. She didn't get a

bad reception from the crowd but from the other players it's a

different story. The latest comic Eugenie Bouchard has mentioned the

strongest criticism yet of the former five-time grand slam him,

this is what Eugenie Bouchard said. I don't think it's right. She is a

cheater. And so, to me, I don't think a cheetah in any sport should

be allowed to play that sport again. It's so unfair to the others who do

it the right way and are true. I think it sends the wrong message to

young kids, cheat and you will be welcomed back with open arms, I

don't think that is right. The Court of Arbitration for Sport in its

original ruling said that Maria Sharapova should not be considered

an intentional doper after it was revealed that she took meldonium

after it had been put onto the wider banned list. Maria Sharapova has

said in response to the criticism that she isn't angry or bitter. I

let things go pretty quickly and I move on, she says. About returning

to court eventually after all this time, this is what you had to say.

It was a moment I had obviously been looking forward to for a very long

time, training intensively for the past few month and visualising

myself competing again. So in a way I was rusty but in so many other

ways I felt I had and left. Interesting to see what reception

she will get on and off court later when she plays Ekaterina Makarova.

We clear what she will do, moving forward, play grand slams? That was

originally the criticism because she was given wild cards to get back

into the tournaments and her ranking isn't high enough to allow her to

compete in these tournaments, players like Caroline Wozniacki and

Agnieszka Radwanska have said that the fact that she's getting wild

cards is something that shouldn't be happening. She will not play at

tournaments like Wimbledon or the French Open unless she gets a wild

card, either into the main draw or into qualifying. She is the 2004

Wimbledon champion, of course. Would she get a wild card for Wimbledon?

It's up to the tournament to decide if you will get on at the French

Open. We will find out in May. She herself says she would play in the

junior tournament just to get the chance to play in the grand slams.

Thank you, Hugh. We'll catch up with you later.

The Charity Commission is investigating concerns about 17

students' unions that campaign for a boycott of Israel.

Support for the BDS movement has been growing on British campuses.

But critics accuse it of fuelling anti-Semitism and attacks

John Ironmonger has this exclusive story.

No-one was there for the aftermath of it.

People breaking through windows, banging on the doors.

I thought I was in the middle of a war between pro-Israeli students

It's probably fair to say that students are among

the most politically engaged people in society.

They are known for having strong opinions, for standing together

on things like climate change, tuition fees, and civil rights.

But there's one subject that ignites students and bitterly divides

The Jewish state of Israel is deeply controversial -

accused of wide-ranging human rights abuses against the Palestinian

people and provoking anger around the world.

So when you have these sort of situations...

We've heard from Jewish students here who claim they've become

scapegoats for anti-Israel hostility, subjected

to verbal harassment, even physical attacks.

And we found that some student bodies are now being investigated

for ignoring a legal duty to protect them.

Devora Khafi goes to Queen Mary University in London.

She says she's been targeted time and again for having

Have you ever taken any of these attacks personally?

You know, it's not about political opinions any more, it's more

about if I ever express a viewpoint in class or on social

media, I get comments, in public or in private,

saying, you know, that's the Jewish girl, and pointing

She says the abuse turned physical at UCL in October when she attended

a speech given by a former officer in the Israeli Defence Force.

This one girl used her back and pushed me against the doors

and I was screaming for her to get off me.

My friend helped me get out of the crowd.

I felt very claustrophobic and outside I had a panic attack

and I couldn't breathe, I felt like my chest

The event was hijacked by pro-Palestinian students

who claimed the speaker was complicit in

It was eventually moved to a secret location.

We were running towards the room and my friends got inside,

I saw protesters running around campus trying to look for us

and one of my friends had a Jewish skull cap on.

I was about to tell him to take it off and I felt really disgusted

at myself that that thought would even come into my head.

So you felt you had to shield your identity?

And my grandparents were refugees, they left Afghanistan

because they were Jewish and here I am, as a proud Jewish

student in the modern age at UCL and I still have to do this.

Police were called to prevent further clashes and the event

was able to proceed but footage we have obtained shows protesters

shouting "Shame" at Jewish students as they left the venue.

How has this sort of thing effected your everyday life at university?

It's been two years of just constant fighting for our freedom of speech,

It's been two years of just constant fighting for our freedom of speech,

I've definitely missed a lot of deadlines for example,

I've had counselling, I've had a few anxiety episode

Not all Jewish students share the same views.

Sai Englert is a member of the Palestine Society at SOAS.

There's this kind of image that, you know, the Palestine Society

is running wild, that it's very dangerous for Jewish students etc

and that is something that I don't recognise at all.

When there are cases of unfair harassment, cases of racism,

I actually think the Palestine movement and its organisations

and its kind of official representatives etc is actually very

careful to acknowledge that, to condemn it,

Anti-Semitism at British universities has doubled

Incidents like Nazi graffiti, abuse and assaults increased from 21

But we've heard claims the bodies which represent students

Students unions in increasing numbers have been voting to adopt

strict anti-Israel policies under the banner of a global

movement called BDS - Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions.

SOAS students union in London has been leading the charge.

Why are we allowing Israel in the 21st century to get

It's about ending Israeli impunity and ending complicity of those

institutes and bodies etc that we might be a part

It's about ending our own complicity too.

BDS pressures Israel to end the occupation of Arab lands

by calling for the boycott of Israeli companies

I think SOAS in a lot of ways is a beacon actually for a lot

It is so important that we lead this movement.

Since the referendum at SOAS, many more students unions have

signed up to the movement but some people claim that BDS is threatening

So students unions talk a lot about safe space, and I think

a space which is specifically, explicitly boycotting Israel is not

a safe space for Israeli students or for many other students who have

various kinds of links to Israel, or for other students who simply

are worried by the politics of the singling out

of Israel as a specific, unique evil on the planet.

So do you think these students unions in question may be in danger

of alienating their members that are Jewish?

I think it is profoundly alienating for most Jewish students.

Most Jewish students have as part of their Jewish identity

some kind of attachment or a relationship to Israel.

In total we found 17 students unions who have endorsed BDS

and they include some of the largest in the UK like Manchester and UCL.

Since 2010, students unions have become registered charities and this

means they now have a legal duty to act in the interests

Political campaigns must not become their focus and they are not

allowed to comment publicly on issues that don't affect

the welfare of their members as students.

We raised these findings and the Charity Commission has

confirmed it is now examining concerns about the involvement

of a number of students union charities in the BDS movement.

It has said the concerns will be assessed consistently while taking

into account the circumstances of each individual charity and that,

where appropriate, they may need to take regulatory action.

I went to an event at Queen Mary talking about BDS and so on with

There was a lot of hate speech going on, basically against Israel.

As soon as we started asking questions they started saying,

you were sent by the embassy, and everybody started booing at us.

Your state is a fantasy world for Jews.

And next to us was a guy sitting and he started saying very

intimidating stuff towards the girls that were with me, sexist stuff.

And as we left the event, we thought we were being followed by this guy

and we had to run to the station because we had heard about this guy

I just thought, this is not how I'm supposed to be feeling because I've

asked questions here at a debate at a university.

What is fuelling this anti-Semitism, if you like, on campus?

I think when institutions accept BDS and when a students union accepts

BDS, when the National Union of Students accepts BDS,

when you have your own professors signing petitions to boycott Israel,

when you see the pro-Palestinian cause kind of twisted

into an anti-Israel cause, and that is the problem with this,

it's not pro-Palestinian, it's anti-Israel, when you see that

happening, you understand this is what is fuelling anti-Semitism.

The NUS, which is a confederation of 600 students unions,

The NUS, which is a confederation of 600 students unions,

held a survey this month of their Jewish members.

The vast majority of respondents felt uncomfortable

with their students union having a BDS policy but the NUS

They refused to be interviewed for this programme and failed

A request for comment from the BDS national committee was also declined

and of the students unions we contacted that have

passed boycott motions, only SOAS was prepared

The idea that somehow supporting BDS, supporting boycott,

academic boycott etc, is a kind of blank boycott

on individuals I think is very dangerous.

It's about saying we don't want institutional links, economic links,

political links with institutions, governments, companies that are

The BDS movement proposes referenda, it doesn't propose to shut down

On the contrary, it proposes to open them and to involve

Everybody, whatever their background and ideas, should be allowed to be

involved in the union and take part in them.

That shouldn't stop us from making decisions and from

Decisions that alienate certain students?

I mean national elections alienate everybody that votes

But the government isn't a charity, though.

Sure, and maybe there is a question about whether students unions

I think when students unions encompass this one-sided view,

it's kind of expressing to everyone as a fact that Israelis

are in the wrong, they are the enemy of human rights in the world,

If you look behind the BDS lens, it calls for these things

that are not peaceful, they harm Jewish students

and pro-Israel students and they don't support a peaceful

And the government in court this morning to defend why they all delay

publication of them are good clean air plans until after the election.

We will hear from a leading doctor from the effects from pollution and

the lawyers who have brought the proceedings.

And how a cheap drug could save the lives of one in three mothers. We

will hear from a mother here in the UK who nearly died. And a doctor

treating people in Pakistan. In the BBC Newsroom

with a summary of today's news. The Foreign Secretary has said the

government would be open to join strikes against Syria without

Parliamentary approval. Speaking this morning, Boris Johnson said it

would be very difficult for Britain to say no if the US asks us to join

in future military action in Syria. He was speaking to Radio 4's Today

programme. If the Americans were forced again

by the actions of the Assad regime, don't forget it was Assad

who unleashed murder upon his own citizens, weapons that were banned

almost 100 years ago, if the Americans choose to act

again and ask us to help, as I say, I think it will be

very difficult to say no. Labour is promising to tackle the

housing crisis by building a million homes, half of them council houses,

if they win the general election. They say that house-building is that

a 24 year low. The Conservatives say they have a clear plan to build

affordable housing with a number of new homes under construction since

2010. After days of military manoeuvres,

the Trump administration now seems to be reverted to the policy of past

presidents, tighter sanctions, and diplomatic pressure to end North

Korea's nuclear and missile programmes. South Korea and the USA

have agreed to implement swift, punitive measures towards North

Korea in the event of what they call military provocation.

An Illinois couple married for sixty-nine years have died

Ninety-one-year-old Isaac Vatkin was holding

the hand of his wife, eighty-nine-year-old Teresa,

as she succumbed to Alzheimer's disease on Saturday.

Staff at the local Highland Park Hospital found Mr and Mrs Vatkin

unresponsive and breathing shallowly on Saturday and chose

Family members said they took comfort in knowing

That's a summary of the latest BBC News - more at 10.00.

Let's get the sport with Hugh. Good morning again. Maria Sharapova has

received the strongest criticism yet from another player. She won her

first competitive match after returning from a 15 month doping

ban, beating Roberta Vinci at the Stuttgart open where she had a wild

card. Eugenie Bouchard, the former Wimbledon finalist, says she does

not think a mutton headed should be allowed to play that sport again.

Not a great performance but a great movement took Spurs back near to the

top of the Premier League, 1-0 they won, while Middlesbrough's victory

over Sunderland means the Black Cats could be relegated on Sunday. Only

one goal at the Riverside, 12 points from safety, Sunderland with only

five games to go. And danger we faces defending champion Mark Selby

in the first semifinal of the World Snooker Championship this afternoon.

It's a repeat of last's final, Ding Junhui made it through with a

victory of a good friend Ronnie O'Sullivan. Much more sport later,

Chloe. Thank you, Hugh, we will speak to you then.

Campaigners estimate that the tiny particles in our air

are contributing to 40-thousand early deaths every year.

Nearly 40 million people in Britain live in areas with illegal levels

of air pollution and a cross-party committee of MPs have

called air pollution a "public health emergency".

This morning, a bid by the government to delay

publishing its plans to tackle illegal air pollution

until after the general election is being heard by the High Court.

There's been speculation the clear air plan could include

So let's remind ourselves what this draft legislation is all about:

In 2011, the government was taken to court over its failure

to tackle dangerously high levels of nitrogen dioxide

But in November of last year, it was told its latest

proposals for tackling air pollution wouldn't work fast enough.

But late on Friday, the government said it couldn't

publish its new plan because it would breach election rules.

his is how the environment secretary defended the delay to MPs.

We now have entered a period of time will be strongly advised not to

publish consultations. So what we're trying to do is a very short

extension which we do not believe will make a difference to the

implementation of our plans but at the same we are safeguarding our

democracy. Our environment analyst

Roger Harrabin is here. Explain exactly what is happening in

court today, it's confusing. The question today is can the government

delayed publishing their air pollution strategy because of these

rules, they were invented so that governments couldn't capitalise on a

giveaway before an election, for example, free jobless for everyone

if you vote for us. This is what the purdah rules are for. They are a

convention, not a law, the government is interpreting them to

say that they can't publish the strategy because it is politically

sensitive. Their opponents say, you are allowed to publish them, the

rules allow it to be published on public health issues, so this idea

about trying to disbar it through the purdah rules are irrelevant. And

some say, mischievous. We heard that a clamp-down on diesel is one

possible thing that could be in the plan. If the government is forced to

reveal the plan today what are we expecting to be in it? They will

have to do something about diesel. It's major cause of urban pollution.

Previously the government has said it's too difficult and impractical

to do anything about it and too expensive but the court haven't left

them that option. The court says you have to obey the law. So if the

court ruled today that they had to publish that is the plan we see.

However the government has privately indicated that if they lose this

case today and the purdah rules don't apply, get on and publish

them, then the government will simply put in for an appeal. Which

in turn will delay it until after the election. Pointless, isn't it?

In the sense that nothing much is likely to happen today as long as

the governor and appeals but from the point of view of the campaign as

they are winning an important point, that governments are not allowed to

use purdah rules to put something like this. You talk about the 40,000

deaths, they point out the delay of three months, they say these fuzzy

figures but could lead to contributing to another 10,000

deaths so they think that they have made a point either way. Roger,

thank you for coming in. Let's look at why this clean air

plan has become such a battle, what the various parties want

and what it means for you. Dr Jonathan Grigg is

the leading UK pediatrician on the effects of air pollution

and the founder of Simon Alcock is from

ClientEarth, the environmental laywers who have brought legal

proceedings against the government. Richard Burnett is the CEO

of the Road Haulage Association, who are worried about a blanket

ban on diesel. I want to start with you, Doctor

Greg, if I may, is there a proven link between diesel, air pollution

and our ill health? Step back a little, there is this association

between pollution and deaths, we know far more about nitrogen dioxide

and its effects on people, especially in children, and growth,

asthma is associated with the after-effects, so that's related to

nitrogen dioxide and particles, we know that diesel disproportionately

contributes so I think diesel is a major toxic threat throughout the

UK, to the publisher. Simon, you are one of the lawyers to have brought

this legal action today. What do you want the government to say, a

scrappage of all diesel cars? The government have been breaking the

law on air pollution for seven years now and they've had five months to

find a new plan and they are now trying to delay it at the last

minute which we think is not acceptable. What we would like to

see is a national network of cleaner air zones. That's quite a mouthful.

That would mean taking the dirtiest parts below legal levels. We want to

see a scheme of compensation, it is not people's fault that they are

driving these vehicles, so we need a scrappage scheme. And to see the

government stand up to the motor industry because they've helped us

to get into this mess. We need compensation from the motor industry

so that people are not penalised for switching to cleaner vehicles.

Richard, is diesel a problem and does it needs to be reduced on the

roads? I would agree with everything discussed. We are equally concerned

with people's health and the environment and from the perspective

of the transport industry we want greener cleaner vehicles. Euro six

technology used on new tracks now is the cleanest, they emit the lowest

level of Moxie assumes. Still diesel but they emit a lower level than

diesel cars. So we've got 136,000 euros six technology tracks blush

trucks on the road and we need to increase the number of euro six

tracks on the road. What do you do with ones that don't have this

cleaner diesel because presumably it's hugely expensive. This is the

issue I want you to get into, it is hugely expensive, either with an old

diesel car or a haulage company to clean up those vehicles. This is

where we need a balanced approach. We need government to come up with a

policy, an approach, to speed up the process but find a way of

compensating both businesses and individuals that have to take these

vehicles off the road. To replace one track costs ?80,000. A haulier

makes a profit every year, some less than three present pounds a year and

when we talk about some of the fines being imposed in London, with the

ultra low emission zones, in, in 2019 that is going to but businesses

out of business. Fines of ?50,000 a year for one haulier and a profit of

?3000 means that we won't be able to survive. By the government 's own

estimate, it's a cost of ?27 billion to the economy, tackling pollution,

and remember the public health side that we've heard outlined, it is

causing huge impact on health including that of the drivers

driving these trucks. Why should they be sick because of going to

work? We need to get that balance right, it's not rocket science, we

need to speed the process and the government needs to get on with it,

they've had a long time to this. I think the issue is what emissions

from what vehicles are the population being exposed to. There

is an issue with trucks. A lot of emissions come from old diesel cars,

diesel taxis, we have an ageing toxic fleet... Sorry to interrupt,

you say that there are viable alternatives that people driving

older diesel vehicles are possibly the people who are not able to

afford to get cleaner diesel or new cars. So how can we get those cars

of the road, do you buy their car, give them a free pass, what do you

do? We need government to tell us what to do, we are all in this

together, drivers shouldn't be demonised, because we would all

benefit from this. We are waiting expectantly for the ambitious plans

from the government and it is puzzling why is being delayed, it is

a government decision and I think the pain needs to be shared. It's

pretty obvious what the government needs to do, there's a scrappage

scheme, they do this in Los Angeles where the poorest people are given

replacement vehicles for old cars, it's cheaper to run a diesel vehicle

than a cleaner vehicle and that is madness, we need to change that and

there has to be some compensation from the motor industry. They've

allowed people to buy these cars that are emitting more than they

said they were so there's got to be recall and compensation so that

people aren't penalised. ?80,000 for one Laurie! The government can't

just go around handing out new lorries, can it? I think there has

to be a proper compensation scheme. We are not going to click our

fingers and it will change overnight but the technology is there. It

isn't like we haven't got euro six lorries and we can't find them. Lets

not to delay it, it's been going on for seven years, it's just not

acceptable. The government needs to step up to the plate quickly. This

is taken too long. From our perspective we are concerned about

the future. And also very concerned, if that message has not come about,

concerned about how we want cleaner trucks on the road. So it's critical

to get euro six technology more broadly across the roads of the UK.

You were coming in, doctor? The best way to think about the cost is if we

had tap water which had these facts such as causing cancer and affecting

growth and reducing lung growth and bringing forward deaths, we would

invest a lot of money in cleaning and up. We are now in the position

where we need to think about air in the same way as water, and invest in

a healthy environment, because we will breathe it, and we don't want

it to have the adverse effects of pollution on our own bodies. Thank

you all, gentlemen. We will keep an eye on what is happening at the High

Court today and bring it to everyone watching.

Some breaking crime figures, figures for England and Wales show the

number of crimes recorded by police in 2016 was up by 9% on the previous

year. Police recorded 4.8 million offences in all. The office for

National statistics said the large volume increase is driving this

trend, thought to reflect changes in recording processes rather than

crime. So more crimes are being reported. It said there appeared to

be smaller yet generally increases in homicide and knife crime. And

smaller increases in some offences were recording practice is likely to

have been a driving factor including burglary and robbery. And a survey

of England and Wales showed no significant statistical change

compared to 2015. Those figures just coming into us from our home affairs

correspondent Danny Shaw. Coming up. Boris Johnson warns Syria that any

further chemical attacks We get Labour's reaction

to those comments. Severe bleeding after childbirth

kills more than a hundred thousand Postpartum haemorrhage can be

experienced by any woman but it's in the poorest countries where it

most often ends up being fatal. Now the trial of an inexpensive

and widely available drug in 21 countries has proved so successful

experts think it could stop more The BBC's global

health correspondent Having a baby can be extremely

dangerous here in Pakistan. For every 100,000 births

in the country in 2015, The leading cause of death -

severe blood loss. Nasheen gave birth to a little

girl two weeks ago. TRANSLATION: I was bleeding so much

I felt like I was going to die. The doctor had to remove my

uterus to save my life. But there could be another lifeline

to mothers like Nasheen. This hospital was part of a major

international study which found that the cheap and easily accessible

drug, tranexamic acid, which helps with blood clotting,

could prevent a third of deaths from what is called

postpartum haemorrhage. Tranexamic acid is being used for,

say, heavy menstrual bleeding. It is being used for surgeries

where bleeding is a little more. It is being used for trauma patients

but it is not really being used Any drug which can reduce it to 5%,

10%, 20%, whatever, Let's speak now to Ursula Brunetti

who suffered from postpartum haemorrhage when she gave birth

to twins two years ago, Haleema Shakur, Associate Professor

at the London School of Hygiene Tropical Medicine

which led the trial, and Professor Rizwana Chaudhry,

head of obstetrics and gynaecology at a free government

hospital in Pakistan, Ursula, it sounds like you had a

horrendous experience. What happened? I had a very easy

pregnancy. But my labour was traumatic. I lost four litres of

blood. I had a transfusion. I was lucky not to lose my womb. It

happened after I had an appeasing to me to deliver my son. The panic

button was pressed because the sheets were drenched with blood. I

ended up having to go to theatre. My daughter was delivered. I didn't

stop bleeding, basically. At what point did you realise something is

going very badly wrong? When the room filled with people and I was

told I needed to go to theatre. That is when I started to realise it was

very serious. When I could feel myself losing consciousness and

effectively nearly dying I remember the room just vanishing and

everything fading to black and feeling panicked I couldn't stay

conscious. My twins at that point were being delivered. They were in

the corner of the room with my husband. I felt very isolated and it

was just a nightmare, really. Did you have any idea that this was an

issue before you gave birth? No, I think for me that was part of the

shock afterwards, but I hadn't really heard about postpartum

haemorrhage. Women dying in childbirth, for me, is something

that happened in the Victorian age, you don't hear about it in today's

world. I was aware that in other countries there are more risks

because the facilities and hospitals are not readily available. But it is

something I hadn't come across. In all of the classes I went to it was

never discussed. Let's get a perspective from Pakistan. How

common is this kind of story in the hospital where you work? Since I

work in an important government hospital where there are about

20,000 deliveries per year, since it is a government hospital it is free.

So we see this very often in Pakistan. There are lots of cases of

postpartum haemorrhage where somebody has given birth outside of

the hospital and then they are brought to the Hospital in a

terrible state. Sometimes they have given birth in hospital and they are

already suffering from malnutrition. Once they deliver they going to

postpartum haemorrhage. This can become very difficult to control.

The majority of the deaths which occur in Pakistan are as a result of

postpartum haemorrhage. Sorry for interrupting. I was going to ask, if

this is happening to a woman in your hospital what options are there

right now to help them? Before and after the trial we are going to see

the difference now with the tranexamic acid, but we started off,

I mean, we were willing to take part in the trial because we wanted to

help the patients in whatever way we can. There is a drug which is very

easily available. And it is a cheap drug. So the majority of the people

over here can afford it, or the hospitals can. Since the results

show that there has been a reduction of one third in the deaths due to

bleeding in the group which received the tranexamic acid, compared to the

group which didn't, I think this should be a very important drug for

all cases of maternity is wherever there is a suspicion INAUDIBLE

You were involved in this trial. It sounds like a wonder drug. And a

cheap drug, which is always welcome. Yes, fantastic news, because this

has been over ten years of work. The idea that the trial did not come

from us. It came from doctors in Nigeria. We were doing another trial

in emergency departments. And they were saying, why are you only doing

a trial in men? We see women dying every day in the emergency

departments from postpartum haemorrhage. As Ursula said, it

isn't something that is talked about here, so it was really something I

knew nothing about. Initially I thought it was something totally

unimportant. It is only after the doctors kept pushing us eventually

we decided to look and see whether the tranexamic acid might be useful

or not. We started the trial back in 2010. We engaged over 200 hospitals

in 21 countries. Most importantly, women and their families, 20,000

women, and their families, gave freely to this trial because without

them there would be no new knowledge. This was at the point, as

you described, Ursula, it is a really life threatening point. To be

making dishes and -- to be making decisions at this moment is really

important. The women and the families were making these decisions

but they didn't know if it would help or not. They were deciding

because they felt something needed to be done. And if it was to help

anybody it would help women in the future. Does this help women in the

UK? Would Ursula have had this used on her? At the time probably not. I

don't know what drugs were administered during my haemorrhage.

But I had lots of trips, injections, and everything else, but the

hospital was well prepared with blood before I even got the pushing

stage of my labour. They made sure they had my blood type available

should there be a problem. Hospitals in London and in the UK are equipped

to deal with all sorts of complications. I feel passionately

that this drug is going to be able to help women all over the world.

You were lucky to have blood available. As Rizwana said, in

Pakistan, Nigeria, countries like that, the availability of blood is

very difficult. The reason why these doctors really wanted more

treatments available to them was because getting blood from the

population can be difficult. Its availability, electricity to store

it, etc. So having a heat stable drug, which is relatively cheap, and

can be easily administered, that is all really important factors about

the treatment. Professor Choudhury, after this trial you were saying it

is great you can now use this drug. How much is the Pakistan government

able to pay for it? Will it be available to all women in your

hospital should they need it? What I think is that it should be on the

essential drug list. If it reduces mortality by one third it should be

one of the essential drugs. This is the first time ever that it is

evidence -based that 20,000 women suffered from postpartum haemorrhage

were taken into the trial and this drug was tested against a placebo.

There is no doubting that that about one third of the bleeding women were

relieved of death, at least. A hysterectomy had to be preceded,

there were multiple reasons for that, but the deaths were definitely

due to bleeding. -- a hysterectomy had to be proceded. The most

important thing about the drug is that it is readily available. It was

always being used already, but there should now be guidelines regarding

its use in Pakistan. You went to Nigeria and you saw how first-hand

it really can work. Yes. I was doing a little film in Nigeria. We saw in

front of us a woman starting to bleed. The family kindly agreed for

us to film. I am a nurse by background. I went to see what I

could do to help. The only thing I could do in that situation was hold

her hand. She said to me, please don't let me die. And I couldn't

actually say to her she wasn't going to die because women in Nigeria die

all the time from postpartum haemorrhage. They are aware that

women died. To promise her that she wouldn't was something that really

was very traumatic for me, because at the time I said I would do

everything I can, but I was so fearful she was going to die. Next

morning, when I went to see her, and she was alive, that was the best

moment of my life. I've never seen a smile so huge on a human being in my

life, the fact she was alive. She had twins. Throughout all of that

all she kept saying also was, my babies alive? -- are my babies

alive? This is what doctors and midwives around the world are

dealing with all the time. Thank you all for speaking to us.

This morning we are talking about design the

cats, -- this morning we are talking about designer cat breeding. Do let

us know what you think. it has been a chilly start of the

day for most of us and a cloudy one for others. This is an image from

Cumbria. There is quite a bit of cloud around

today. More than we have seen of late. After that bright sunny start

in the south it'll cloud over. Showers dotted around. In between

all of that we will see some sunny breaks developing. Into the

afternoon we will still have a fair bit of cloud around. And also some

showers across East Anglia, the Midlands, heading down towards the

south. We will see the sunny breaks develop. South-west England holding

onto a lot of dry weather as we go through the day. After a sunny start

dwellers, cloud will build, introducing showers. -- after a

sunny start over Wales. Limited sunshine over Northern Ireland. For

Scotland, the West has the thick of cloud and showers. Any sunshine in

the East, could introduce temperatures as high as 14. Over the

East of England, back into the showers, a fair bit of cloud, but we

will still see some brightness. Overnight, the weather front

producing the showers is here and it will continue to push cloud and the

odd shower. But there are clear skies in its wake. That means the

countryside will have lower temperatures and we will have some

frost around. Tomorrow, we start with sunshine after the chilly

start. Towards the West, cloudy start, but we will see the holes in

the cloud developed. Some showers here and there. It will not feel as

cold as today. A wind changing direction to wind more

south-easterly one. To the weekend, fine and dry on Saturday, breezy

day. But on Sunday, this low pressure is coming our way and it'll

bring rain with it. You can tell that it is also going to be pretty

windy. Saturday, we start on a cloudy note. Some brightness

developing. If you showers. Highs up to 15. And Sunday, this area of low

pressure bringing in the rain from the south-west. Progressing

north-eastwards. Windy but drier with a few showers ahead of it.

Hello, it's Thursday April 27th, I'm Chloe Tilley.

Boris Johnson warns Syria that any further chemical attack could result

in UK military action against the regime.

If the Americans choose to act again and ask

us to help I think it would

Should a student-led campaign against Israel be banned

Some students say it's increasing anti-Semitism.

CHANTING I thought I was in the middle of a

war between pro-Israeli students and pro-Palestinian students. We will

hear from both sides of the debate. "I'm not a thug who's been harassing

people -" the words of the 'Songs of Praise' presenter who tells us

it's been three years of hell trying to clear her name,

after her son-in-law's new girlfriend made

up lies about her. I thought in this country would all

innocent until proved guilty but in that instance I was clearly guilty

until proved innocent innocent! Let's get the news now at ten

o'clock. Thank you, good morning. The Foreign Secretary has said

that the government would be open to join strikes against Syria

without Parliamentary approval. Speaking this morning Boris Johnson

said it would be "very difficult for Britain to say "no" if the US

asks us to join in future He was speaking to Radio

4's Today programme. If the Americans were forced once

again by the actions of the Assad regime and don't forget it was Assad

who unleashed murder upon his own citizens, weapons that were banned

almost 100 years ago, if the Americans choose to act again and

ask us to help I think it would be very difficult to save No.

Figures just released show the number of crimes recorded

by police in England and Wales in 2016 rose by 9%

The Office for National Statistics said the increase reflected changes

in recording processes and practices rather than crime.

But it said there appeared to be "smaller but genuine increases"

Labour is promising to tackle the housing crisis

by building a million homes - half of them council houses -

if the party wins the general election.

Labour claims the number of affordable homes being built

But the Conservatives say they have a clear plan to build more

affordable housing - with the number of new homes under

construction up three quarters since 2010.

After days of military manoeuvres, the Trump administration now seems

to be reverting to the policy of past presidents -

tighter sanctions and diplomatic pressure -

to end North Korea's nuclear and missile programmes.

South Korea has also agreed to implement swift punitive measures

against North Korea in the event of what it caled a further

The Trump administration has also said they were prepared to defend

A new study suggests that a cheap and widely available drug

could prevent one in three deaths among women who haemorrhage

Researchers at the London School of Hygiene

and Tropical Medicine said evidence showed the drug -- called T.X.A --

had the potential to become a front-line treatment and change

That's a summary of the latest BBC News - more at 10.30.

Thanks, let's get the sport with Hugh. Former Wimbledon finalist

Eugenie Bouchard has levelled the strongest criticism yet at Maria

Sharapova, back from a 15 month doping ban calling her if G2 should

not be allowed back into tennis. Maria Sharapova won her first match

since suspension at the Stuttgart open, beating Roberta Vinci to reach

the last 16. She was well received by the crowd but hasn't been

welcomed back in the same way by all her fellow players and Eugenie

Bouchard is the latest. I don't think that's right. She is a

cheater, and I don't think a cheater in any sport should be allowed to

play that sport again. It is so unfair to all the other players who

do it the right way and are true. So yeah, I think from the WTA it sends

the wrong message to young kids, cheat and you will be welcomed back

with open arms. I don't think that is right. Eight straight Premier

League wins for Spurs, they've reduced jerseys lead to four points

at the top of the Premier League, Christian Eriksen scoring the only

goal of the game, what a great goal, there is less than a month to go of

the season and they still in touch with the leaders. Five games left

and we need to keep close to Chelsea do have a chance. We can cross our

fingers that they will lose points and try to end better than we did

last season, give ourselves that extra boost to show what we are

capable of. Spurs's next game is on Sunday against North London rivals

Arsenal, they won 1-0 last night to boost their chances of finishing in

the Premier League top four. Sunderland on the brink of

relegation however after losing to Middlesbrough, Marten de Roon

scoring the only goal of game. Middlesbrough in trouble themselves

but Sunderland could be sent down as early as this weekend. The first

World Snooker semifinals afternoon is a repeat of the final last year,

Mark Selby against Ding Junhui. Ding Junhui made it two by beating heart

champion Ronnie O'Sullivan, Ronnie insists he's in a good place even

though he hasn't won ranking tournament all season. I love what I

do. So why would I not do it because I'm not winning tournaments or get

the hump because I'm not winning. When you love what you do, it's like

all the stuff that comes with Snooker is a bonus. The real love is

just getting your snooker cue out of your case. If you could play as good

as me, mate, you would love it well! Is probably right. The headlines at

1030. That's all for now. Let's go to Westminster for news about Boris

Johnson and the comments he's been making about Syria. Norman Smith is

there. What exactly has he been saying? With his first intervention

in the election campaign he has caused waves, not only because of

the flamboyant language with which he described Jeremy Corbyn but Babs

because he suggested that if Donald Trump launches another missile

strike against President Assad, Britain would probably join in as

well if asked. And also leaving open the option that Britain might join

in without necessarily getting the backing of MPs because there's now a

well-established convention that when we get involved in military

action it needs to be approved by MPs unless it is a pressing

emergency. Of course it matters because Jeremy Corbyn has a very

different approach on this issue. He was highly critical of the last

Christmas strike. He has opposed intervention in the

Middle East. It matters as well because some people will perhaps be

wary about whether we are just going along to easily with Donald Trump

and it matters as well because they will be Conservative MPs and easy at

the prospect that we might somehow get involved in military action

without the approval of the Houses of Parliament. This is what Boris

Johnson said on the Today programme on Radio 4.

If the Americans were forced again by the actions of the Assad regime,

don't forget it was Assad who unleashed murder upon his own

citizens, weapons that were banned almost 100 years ago, if the

Americans choose to act again and ask us to help,

as I say, I think it will be very difficult to say no.

It wasn't just Mr Johnson's remarks about Syria, it was a very personal

attack launched on Jeremy Corbyn this morning in the Sun newspaper

were Mr Johnson described him as an old mutton-headed mugwump. And he

urged people not to discount Mr Corbyn and feel him, I am quoting

Boris Johnson, as a benign Islington herbivore. -- and think of him like

that. Behind that flamboyant language Mr Johnson is trying to as

it were raised the prospect of Mr Corbyn possibly becoming Prime

Minister, he says it would be a real danger for Britain in terms of the

economy and security. Inevitably, there are those who take the view

that this was inappropriate language to use in a general election

campaign. And it demeans politics. Already the Labour Party has said

that it demeans the office of Foreign Secretary. So there is a

danger that it will backfire and enable Mr Corbyn to portray himself

as the man standing up against the old-style political establishment.

I'm joined by the former Lib Dem leader, Paddy Ashdown. Let's just

think about that. The Syria issue. How do you react to Mr Johnson 's

remarks this morning? Nine how do you react to such a foolish thing?

The world has been brought to the edge of nuclear catastrophe by two

mavericks, Kim Jong-il and Donald Trump. Muggy our blizzard Foreign

Secretary seems to want to join the party! There's no mention of

international law. The new law seems to be that whatever America does we

follow. This is dangerous. And for a Foreign Secretary to do something

with no connection to international law except that the Americans go

ahead is not in the tradition of this country, I think. Mr Johnson

left open the option of other parliament would be consulted. He

said it would have to be tested. Is it possible that of Mr Trump said

they had to strike again that we would get involved without

Parliament? Sometimes a parliament has to act quickly and sometimes it

means they have to go ahead without the backing of Parliament. It's not

the backing of Parliament that is, to me, the main thing, it's the fact

that you part company with international law and in many ways

with rational action. Mr Johnson seems to make it up on the back of

an envelope and blurt it out! As an unguided missile he seems to make

the world's delicate situation far worse, and if anyone wants it to go

it alone perhaps Mr Johnson will be sent. What if we say, President

Assad is getting away with atrocities, we cannot just turn

away. Action was taken, we went back to the 1920s, he was not to be

allowed to part company from that, has a Commons voted against it 18

months ago and it was right to act but this is totally different. This

simply says if Mr Trump wants to do something in my view dangerous and

probably unnecessary in the Syria, whatever the rest of the world says

and what of international law says, we will assist them. That is not

international diplomacy, that is making yourself the Playboy of the

United States. Mr Johnson described Mr Corbyn as a mutton-headed mugwump

and a benign Islington only herbivore. He cannot resist a phrase

like this. Without wanting to sound too pompous, the national dialogue

in terms of an election... What would the rest of the world think

about a Foreign Secretary who uses language like that. Mr Johnson is a

highly effective clown but the right place for a clown is in the circus,

not in the government. Thank you, Paddy Ashdown. It will be

interesting to hear if we have more outings from Mr Johnson, the word

was that he would be sidelined in the campaign, his people replied

that he would have a major role. You do wonder because the language that

uses doesn't really fit in with Theresa May's style and perhaps they

fear that he is getting the sort of headlines that they really don't

want. Plenty of time, Norman! Am sure we will talk about it in the

next few weeks. Coming up, how an administrative has led to hundreds

of refugee children being prevented from coming to the UK. We will get

more on this. The Charity Commission

is investigating concerns about 17 students' unions that campaign

for a boycott of Israel. Support for the BDS movement has

been growing on British campuses. It stands for boycott divestment and

sanctions movement. But critics accuse it of fuelling

anti-Semitism and attacks John Ironmonger has

this exclusive story No one protected us. People banging

on the windows, breaking through doors. I thought I was in the middle

of a war between pro-Israeli students and pro-Palestinian

students. It is fair to say that students are among the most

politically engaged people in society, known for having strong

opinions, for standing together on things like climate change, tuition

fees and civil rights but there is one subject that unites students and

bitterly divides them and that is Israel.

The Jewish state of Israel is deeply controversial, accused of wide

ranging human rights abuses against the Palestinian people, and

provoking anger around the world. So when you have these situations... We

have heard from Jewish students who claim they have become scapegoats

for anti-Israel hostility. Subjected to verbal harassment, even physical

attacks. And we found that some student bodies are now being

investigated for ignoring a legal duty to protect them.

Devora Khafi goes to Queen Mary University in London.

She says she's been targeted time and again for having

Have you ever taken any of these attacks personally?

You know, it's not about political opinions any more, it's more

about if I ever express a viewpoint in class or on social

media, I get comments, in public or in private,

saying, you know, that's the Jewish girl, and pointing

She says the abuse turned physical at UCL in October when she attended

a speech given by a former officer in the Israeli Defence Force.

This one girl used her back and pushed me against the doors

and I was screaming for her to get off me.

My friend helped me get out of the crowd.

I felt very claustrophobic and outside I had a panic attack

and I couldn't breathe, I felt like my chest

The event was hijacked by pro-Palestinian students

who claimed the speaker was complicit in

It was eventually moved to a secret location.

We were running towards the room and my friends got inside,

I saw protesters running around campus trying to look for us

and one of my friends had a Jewish skull cap on.

I was about to tell him to take it off and I felt really disgusted

at myself that that thought would even come into my head.

So you felt you had to shield your identity?

And my grandparents were refugees, they left Afghanistan

because they were Jewish and here I am, as a proud Jewish

student in the modern age at UCL and I still have to do this.

Police were called to prevent further clashes and the event

was able to proceed but footage we have obtained shows protesters

shouting "Shame" at Jewish students as they left the venue.

How has this sort of thing effected your everyday life at university?

It's been two years of just constant fighting for our freedom of speech,

I've definitely missed a lot of deadlines for example,

I've had counselling, I've had a few anxiety episode

Not all Jewish students share the same views.

Sai Englert is a member of the Palestine Society at SOAS.

There's this kind of image that, you know, the Palestine Society

is running wild, that it's very dangerous for Jewish students etc

and that is something that I don't recognise at all.

When there are cases of unfair harassment, cases of racism,

I actually think the Palestine movement and its organisations

and its kind of official representatives etc is actually very

careful to acknowledge that, to condemn it,

Anti-Semitism at British universities has doubled

Incidents like Nazi graffiti, abuse and assaults increased from 21

But we've heard claims the bodies which represent students

Students unions in increasing numbers have been voting to adopt

strict anti-Israel policies under the banner of a global

movement called BDS - Boycott, Divestment,

SOAS students union in London has been leading the charge.

Why are we allowing Israel in the 21st century to get

It's about ending Israeli impunity and ending complicity of those

institutes and bodies etc that we might be a part

It's about ending our own complicity too.

BDS pressures Israel to end the occupation of Arab lands

by calling for the boycott of Israeli companies

I think SOAS in a lot of ways is a beacon actually for a lot

It is so important that we lead this movement.

Since the referendum at SOAS, many more students unions have

signed up to the movement but some people claim that BDS is threatening

So students unions talk a lot about safe space, and I think

a space which is specifically, explicitly boycotting Israel is not

a safe space for Israeli students or for many other students who have

various kinds of links to Israel, or for other students who simply

are worried by the politics of the singling out

of Israel as a specific, unique evil on the planet.

So do you think these students unions in question may be in danger

of alienating their members that are Jewish?

I think it is profoundly alienating for most Jewish students.

Most Jewish students have as part of their Jewish identity

some kind of attachment or a relationship to Israel.

In total we found 17 students unions who have endorsed BDS

and they include some of the largest in the UK like Manchester and UCL.

Since 2010, students unions have become registered charities and this

means they now have a legal duty to act in the interests

Political campaigns must not become their focus and they are not

allowed to comment publicly on issues that don't affect

the welfare of their members as students.

We raised these findings and the Charity Commission has

confirmed it is now examining concerns about the involvement

of a number of students union charities in the BDS movement.

It has said the concerns will be assessed consistently while taking

into account the circumstances of each individual charity and that,

where appropriate, they may need to take regulatory action.

I went to an event at Queen Mary talking about BDS and so on with

There was a lot of hate speech going on, basically against Israel.

As soon as we started asking questions they started saying,

you were sent by the embassy, and everybody started booing at us.

Your state is a fantasy world for Jews.

And next to us was a guy sitting and he started saying very

intimidating stuff towards the girls that were with me, sexist stuff.

And as we left the event, we thought we were being followed by this guy

and we had to run to the station because we had heard about this guy

I just thought, this is not how I'm supposed to be feeling because I've

asked questions here at a debate at a university.

What is fuelling this anti-Semitism, if you like, on campus?

I think when institutions accept BDS and when a students union accepts

BDS, when the National Union of Students accepts BDS,

when you have your own professors signing petitions to boycott Israel,

when you see the pro-Palestinian cause kind of twisted

into an anti-Israel cause, and that is the problem with this,

it's not pro-Palestinian, it's anti-Israel, when you see that

happening, you understand this is what is fuelling anti-Semitism.

The NUS, which is a confederation of 600 students unions,

held a survey this month of their Jewish members.

The vast majority of respondents felt uncomfortable

with their students union having a BDS policy but the NUS

They refused to be interviewed for this programme and failed

A request for comment from the BDS national committee was also declined

and of the students unions we contacted that have

passed boycott motions, only SOAS was prepared

The idea that somehow supporting BDS, supporting boycott,

academic boycott etc, is a kind of blank boycott

on individuals I think is very dangerous.

It's about saying we don't want institutional links, economic links,

political links with institutions, governments, companies that are

The BDS movement proposes referenda, it doesn't propose to shut down

On the contrary, it proposes to open them and to involve

Everybody, whatever their background and ideas, should be allowed to be

involved in the union and take part in them.

That shouldn't stop us from making decisions and from

Decisions that alienate certain students?

I mean national elections alienate everybody that votes

But the government isn't a charity, though.

Sure, and maybe there is a question about whether students unions

I think when students unions encompass this one-sided view,

it's kind of expressing to everyone as a fact that Israelis

are in the wrong, they are the enemy of human rights in the world,

If you look behind the BDS lens, it calls for these things

that are not peaceful, they harm Jewish students

and pro-Israel students and they don't support a peaceful

Let's talk now to Jonathan Rosenhead, he's

an emeritus professor at London School of Economics

and he's a member of the BDS movement.

Josh Seitler is the President of the Union of Jewish Students.

Ariol and 30 has been treated differently. -- Ariol says he has

been treated differently because of his religion.

And Michael Deas is a masters student

at the University of Sussex and a BDS activist.

Do you recognise the criticisms from the film? I recognise them, but I

don't see them as a reality. I have spoken a dozens of different

meetings and there has never been any violence. Any obstructions have

been by those trying to interrupt proceedings locally. There has never

been any violence. You have chosen a tip of the exception of the rule.

There were other examples, a girl said she was jostled, another man

said he has been followed. These are not isolated incidents. Do you think

tactics are being used which are not appropriate? Nobody can give a

blanket statement. But the general picture we have is of rational

debate, raising issues which many Jewish students do find

uncomfortable. That is the word one of your students used. There is no

law against making people feel uncomfortable in politics. There is

no law against feeling offended. This isn't anti-Semitic, it is

talking about Israel and what they do. Josh, talk to us about the

situation on campuses. What do you hear? Dude US students tell you they

feel intimidated by the existence of BDS? -- do Jewish students tell you

they feel intimidated. Not all Jewish students are anti-BDS. We

know some who are involved in the movement against Israel, as well. We

see Jewish students constantly standing up. We saw that student who

felt intimidated by the tactics of the BDS movement. They don't feel

that the conversation being stifled by one side of the debate demonising

one side, and oppressors on the other side, being a solution. 68% of

Jewish students at student unions who have active BDS policy feel

uncomfortable with their Mac reunion. That says a lot. Michael,

speak to Josh. -- with their union. I wanted to talk about the

lawfulness of BDS. Organisations have been trying to shut down the

debate and change the topic of the conversation for more than three

years now by bombarding the Charity commission with complaints about

student unions. There has not been any action. I don't think they will

take action. They know student unions have a legal right to bring

up issues students care passionately about. But they also have to protect

all students. If some Jewish students on campuses are feeling

threatened by the BDS movement don't student unions have a responsibility

to protect them, as well? It is important to underline the fact

there are lots of Jewish students involved in the movement. There is

also a lot of misrepresentation going on. A lot of what is being

reacted to is that. BDS is widely supported. Israel has been

oppressing Palestinians... We're not here to have a conversation about

that. This conversation is about what is happening in campuses up and

down the country across the UK. When people are telling us on this

programme that they feel threatened by the BDS movement and the tactics

being used at times. Ariol, I could see you trying to talk. For me, the

BDS movement, I largely agree with it in principle, especially with the

settlement boycotts. I think most people could get on board. Even

people who identify as Zionist could get on board. I think some of the

tactics BDS use and the manner in which they treat, particularly on

campuses, Jewish students, it somewhat alienates people who would

ordinarily be quite keen to get on board with the principles and aims

of the BDS movement. But because of the tactics feel uncomfortable with

associated with it. Josh, your cat in the background is somewhat

stealing the show, I must say. It has gone now but that was a

beautiful moment! If we want to talk about the tactics, a useful thing

would be to talk about the campaigns of the BDS movement, one has been

against the British Security company G4S which until recently helped

Israel's brand the prisons where political prisoners are... BDS are

not here to defend themselves, we are not here to talk about what the

Ariel movement is trying to achieve, it is what the students are saying.

It is not necessarily for Jewish students to support the actions of

Ariel. It is when Jewish students are being picked out because they

are wearing a star or they are singled out as targets, we should

not let this abuse happen and this is why people find the tactics of

BDS difficult because they feel Jewish students are victimised for

being Jewish and feel they have to stand up for Israel. Of course they

don't always have to stand up for it but they are being forced to

consistently defend themselves against attacks that are not

acceptable. Jonathan? I think anyone who confuses the idea of someone

being Jewish and the actions of Israel is making a big mistake.

Israel is a state. Jews are a religion, and ethnicity and culture.

What about this idea that some Jewish students are being threatened

by the behaviour and the tactics. You are changing the language I'm

not. The survey said that Jewish students felt uncomfortable, not

threatened. Ariel and Josh have both said that they are threatened. I am

reflecting their points of view. They it up. A moral panic has made

Jewish students sensitive to issues so they feel that there is

anti-Semitism whereas there is pungent criticism of the dreadful

things Israel does in the Middle East and that is what you don't want

Michael to talk about. Firstly, I never accused the BDS movement of

being anti-Semitic. I don't think that is something we have said. I

think some actions that have supported BDS have been anti-Semitic

in the past. I think Jewish students are feeling uncomfortable and this

needs to be addressed. Thank you all for speaking to us and thank you for

the cat, very entertaining as well. Still to come.

How the Songs of Praise presenter, Diane Louise Jordan,

In the national newspapers, the first thing you read about me is

that I am this bug that has been intimidating people!

The Foreign Secretary has said that the government would be open

to join strikes against Syria without Parliamentary approval.

Boris Johnson said it would be "very difficult for Britain to say no"

if the US asks us to join in future military action in Syria.

He was speaking to Radio 4's Today programme.

If the Americans were forced again by the actions of the Assad regime,

don't forget it was Assad who unleashed murder upon his own

citizens, weapons that were banned almost 100 years ago, if the

Americans choose to act again and ask us to help,

as I say, I think it will be very difficult to say no.

Labour is promising to tackle the housing crisis

by building a million homes - half of them council houses -

if the party wins the general election.

Labour claims the number of affordable homes being built

But the Conservatives say they have a clear plan to build more

affordable housing - with the number of new homes under

construction up three quarters since 2010.

United States now seems to be favouring the use of tighter

sanctions and diplomatic pressure to end North Korea's nuclear missile

programmes. South Korea and the United States have agreed to

implement swift punitive measures against North Korea in the event of

what the court further military provocation. The Trump

administration has also said they would be ready to defend themselves

and their allies. An Illinois couple married

for 69 years have died 91-year-old

Isaac Vatkin was holding the hand of his wife,

89-year-old Teresa, as she succumbed to Alzheimer's

disease on Saturday. Staff at the local Highland Park

Hospital found Mr and Mrs Vatkin unresponsive and breathing shallowly

on Saturday and chose Family members said

they took comfort in knowing It's 1035. Amazon has just said they

are creating 1200 jobs at a new warehouse in Warrington. More about

that later. Let's go to the sport now with Hugh.

I lost you! I will wait, I am nothing if not a gentleman! Good

morning again. Maria Sharapova has received her strongest criticism yet

from a fellow player. She won her first competitive match since

returning from her 15 month doping ban beating Roberta Vinci of Italy

at the Stuttgart Grand Prix. One sensed she was relieved and

delighted after receiving a wild card into the tournament. Former

Wimbledon finalist Eugenie Bouchard says she does not believe a cheater

in any sport should be allowed to play that sport again. It wasn't a

great performance that it was a great moment that took Spurs to

within four points of Chelsea's lead in the Premier League, Christian

Eriksen from a good distance, scoring to give Spurs the win, 1-0

at Crystal Palace last night. Middlesbrough's win over Sunderland,

also 1-0 means the Black Cats could be relegated as early as this

weekend. Marten de Roon scored the only goal of the game. Sunderland 12

points from safety with just five games to go. Ding Junhui plays Mark

Selby in the first semifinal at the World Snooker Championship later. A

repeat of last's final at the crucial ball, which Selby won. Ding

Junhui made it through by beating friend and five-time champion Ronnie

O'Sullivan. That's it for me, I'll be back later.

Thanks, Hugh, lots of comments about the discussion we've just had, Lynn

says, I've been watching a programme on anti-Semitic actions at top

universities, as an educator it makes me sad that we are not

teaching people to see black and white issues in more complex terms.

One tweet says that sadly BDS to not see that their cause is not advanced

by bullying tactics. Sarah says, what about Palestinian students, how

will they feel if we fail to condemn the abuses on them? And Bill says,

I'm hugely against the government of Israel Bosman policies and do not

blame British Jews for those policies, if some people choose to

attack all Jews because of this policy that is despicable. Keep your

thoughts coming in. Three years ago Diane Louise Jordan,

former Blue Peter presenter and presenter of Songs Of Praise was

issued with -- was accused of harassment, and wants to stay away

-- want to stay away from her supposed victims. The woman who

harassed has now pleaded guilty to making false charges. I was issued

with a complaint, three years ago, and then another one, from the same

woman saying that I physically and verbally abused her which we now

know is completely untrue. She admitted in court yesterday that

everything that she said was alive. How did you find out what had

happened? Did the police come to you? What was the chain of events?

Literally I knew nothing about whatever plans she had against me

until three years ago when there was a knock on my front door. Two

policemen, now for me when I see two policeman at the door I think,

somebody has been in an accident, or someone has been hurt, because you

know that you haven't done anything illegal yourself but the Izzy and

this notice to me. I had no idea what it was. -- they issued this

notice. They said someone had reported that I had been abusive to

them. It wasn't a criminal notice but it was a warning, notice, to say

that it had been reported to the police and that if I did it again

more serious action could be taken. What I found shocking at that moment

was, I thought, in this country, we were all innocent until proved

guilty but in that instance I was clearly guilty until proved

innocent. I was told that I had no option but to sign this notice.

Being law-abiding I signed it and that started a series of events.

Talk to us about those events. What did it lead on to. You don't have a

criminal record as such but it does go on some sort of record. And for

me it meant that if you go for any sort of enhanced checking likes EIB

or anything like that it will come up and so because I work with

children's charities and those sort organisations I'm always being

checked in that way. It was obviously going to have a

detrimental effect on me. They say that these notices last for about

one year. So as long as you keep your nose clean in that year,

apparently they are supposed to go although I have found out that they

stay on your record longer than that. With me, it was almost to the

day that the first one, it was its sell by date, I was issued with

another one. And at this stage, I told the police, I think I know what

this is about, let me have some time to work out what I was doing on the

data that I was supposed to have been intimidating this lady. Sadly,

I don't know why, the police did not wait, the notice was issued, and the

newspapers got hold of it, they got hold of it both times around, the

first time I was in a national newspaper and the second time on the

front page of a national newspaper. And some of the charities I was

working with, I haven't heard from them since. It has been a tough

three years. Really hard trying to clear my name. Having said that, I

went back to the police and asked them to really investigate and they

have been utterly brilliant. One officer in particular, Ruth Craig, I

must praise her because she has been amazing in her diligence in clearing

my name. You say that it has affected you work- wise.

Emotionally, just as a human being? It must have been very difficult to

cope. To tell you the truth, Chloe, I am still reeling from it now. I

feel as if I've been on the most horrible three roller coasters. My

integrity has been questioned. My sense of trust feels as if it has

flown out of the window. I just don't know who is going to come out

of the woodwork to perhaps say something about me that is not true.

And also that thought, the fact that now, in the national newspapers and

online, wherever you go, the first thing that you probably read about

me is that I am this sort of thug who has been intimidating people.

That is the furthest from what I am. And I did not know until yesterday

if my name would be cleared and I would be vindicated. I walked around

for a few years having to feel that this was how I would be viewed from

now in and it is hard to live with an untruth. How hard is it for

police to issue these notices? How much evidence do they need to see

them? Presumably that is your worry. I was led to believe that you just

need to be in the same place as the person making this allegation

against you. I wasn't in the same place. It just seems to me that they

really, really to issue. My understanding of these notices is,

if somebody, for what ever reason, takes a dislike you are, they can

walk into any police station, make an allegation, and before you know

it, the innocent person can be slapped with one of these notices.

My understanding also is that the police are aware that they are less

than perfect. And two years ago I was led to believe that they were

going to look in to changing them somewhat, and to date, I don't think

anything has been done. So as we speak right now, there are people

who are, I say less fortunate than me because they don't have a

platform like this to speak about it, and they may not have their

names cleared the way I did but there are people right now who are

being issued with these notices and have no way of addressing that.

The number of crimes recorded by police in England and Wales last

year are up on the previous year. Danny is here to tell us more.

These figures are for 2016 compared with the previous year. They cover

England and Wales. They are offences recorded by police, which are up 9%.

There were increases in virtually every category of crime. That is

something we haven't seen before. Particularly notable are the fact

there are increases in car crime. That's the first time since 2002

when new recording processes were introduced that we seen an increase

in car crime. Burglary, where there have been significant falls over the

past 20 years, we are seeing an increase there, as well. Violent

crime is up by 19%. We should add a word of caution. Some of these

increases are due to more effective and efficient waste police are

counting crimes, recording crimes, different categorisations of some

crime. Some of it isn't genuine increases. By the Office of National

Statistics, which has released the data, have said they're genuine

increases in and killings will stop there were 601 last year compared

with 576 the previous year. That is if you take away the Hillsborough

deaths, which have been included, as well. There are genuine increases in

knife crime and gun crime as well as some other offences. Concerning

statistics. Confusingly we have other stats, as well, released. That

is in the crime survey. This includes offences which are not

reported to police. Figures there are broadly stable. That is

confusing. It is but you can say that police are recording more

offences and there are some genuine increases that may not yet be picked

up by the crime survey. Also out, new figures on assault and self harm

in prisons in England and Wales. Not surprising that we are seeing

increases overall in society that we are seeing a rise of assaults in

custody in England and Wales. They are up 27% to a record 26,000

attacks on staff and prisoners. The assaults on staff were up 38%. That

is a record high of 26,000 plus. Some really concerning figures in

terms of prison violence. Deaths in custody. This is to the period to

the end of March, self-inflicted were 113, near record levels in that

particular category. Some people say that is linked to numbers of prison

officers. We have seen over the past few years a significant fall in the

number of prison staff. People say that is making jails less safe.

Officers are unable to respond to the incidents as quickly. That is

certainly a factor. Also, the former legal highs like Spice which are

available in jails. Thank you very much. A mistake has led to 113

refugee children being delayed coming into the UK. We will speak to

a charity helps these children. Donald Trump's election was a

celebration for some, a calamity for others, and now nearly 100 days into

the Trump presidency it is still dividing one couple. I'm Gretchen, I

voted for Hillary Clinton. I'm told, I voted for Donald Trump. We just

got married. -- I'm Tom. There were a couple of days where we couldn't

even talk to each other. It was difficult because we didn't know

what to say to each other. They were engaged in a lot of heated political

discussions when I first met them. Don't talk over me yet. I caught up

with them again six weeks into their marriage. And 100 days into the

Trump presidency. I never thought I would hear anybody say I would be