31/08/2017

:00:00. > :00:13.This morning: Britain has the gayest parliament in the world -

:00:14. > :00:15.but what's it like for a poltitician when they come out?

:00:16. > :00:17.This morning, Kezia Dugdale, the former leader of

:00:18. > :00:19.Scottish Labour, tells us she was outed by

:00:20. > :00:25.I didn't have complete control over coming out.

:00:26. > :00:27.I came out in the middle of an incredibly intense

:00:28. > :00:34.It was the 2016 Scottish parliament elections.

:00:35. > :00:36.It wasn't under my control, and I do regret that,

:00:37. > :00:47.And one Conservative MP tells us he thinks he was turned down

:00:48. > :00:49.for a Government job because of he's gay.

:00:50. > :00:51.That full exclusive report in 15 minutes' time.

:00:52. > :00:52.Also on the programme, tributes are being paid

:00:53. > :00:55.to Diana exactly 20 years after she was killed

:00:56. > :00:59.To have something so traumatic as the death of your mother

:01:00. > :01:02.when you're 15, as very sadly, many people have experienced,

:01:03. > :01:07.and no one wants to experience, it leaves you...

:01:08. > :01:14.It will either make or break you, and I wouldn't let it break me.

:01:15. > :01:18.We will talk about her legacy with her former bodyguard who worked with

:01:19. > :01:20.her for six years. Plus - Theresa May says she's not

:01:21. > :01:23.quitting and plans to carry on as Prime Minister to fight

:01:24. > :01:25.the next general election. We'll get reaction

:01:26. > :01:27.from Conservative Mps - let me know what you think of that

:01:28. > :01:41.statement, whoever you vote for Welcome to the programme,

:01:42. > :01:44.we're live until 11. Throughout the morning,

:01:45. > :01:46.we'll bring you the latest news and developing stories

:01:47. > :01:49.and as always, rEally keen to hear from you on all the stories

:01:50. > :02:00.we're talking about. After ten, we will be talking to a

:02:01. > :02:04.young woman who has been on 77 first dates in two years in the hope of

:02:05. > :02:10.finding the right bloke. So far, none of them have been good enough,

:02:11. > :02:16.apparently. Tell us about your first dates, the triumphs and disasters.

:02:17. > :02:21.The details on your screen. The Prime Minister, Theresa May says

:02:22. > :02:25.she wants to lead the Conservatives saying she's in it

:02:26. > :02:28."for the long term". The Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson

:02:29. > :02:31.has given his support but backbench Conservative MPs have told the BBC

:02:32. > :02:33.they're sceptical she'll be able to stay in the job

:02:34. > :02:36.until the next general election. Theresa May is currently

:02:37. > :02:38.on a three-day trip to Japan. Our political correspondent

:02:39. > :02:41.Ben Wright is with her. There has been an awful lot

:02:42. > :02:44.of speculation about my future that There is a real job to be done

:02:45. > :02:50.in the United Kingdom. It's about getting the Brexit deal

:02:51. > :02:53.right, it's about building that deep and special partnership

:02:54. > :02:56.with the European Union for the future, but it is also

:02:57. > :02:58.about building global Britain, trading around the world, yes,

:02:59. > :03:05.dealing with injustices that remain inside the United Kingdom,

:03:06. > :03:08.but also going out around the world ensuring that we can do those trade

:03:09. > :03:10.deals which bring prosperity to our economy and bring jobs

:03:11. > :03:20.to the United Kingdom. Chris Rogers is in the BBC

:03:21. > :03:22.Newsroom with a summary The former Scottish Labour leader

:03:23. > :03:29.Kezia Dugdale has exclusively told this programme she had to come out

:03:30. > :03:32.as gay after being The Member of the

:03:33. > :03:35.Scottish Parliament - who recently quit as leader -

:03:36. > :03:38.says when she asked for her quotes on her sexuality not to be included,

:03:39. > :03:40.her request was ignored. Dugdale is one of a number of

:03:41. > :03:43.politicians asked by this programme about what it was like opening up

:03:44. > :03:48.about their sexuality. I would always answer honestly,

:03:49. > :03:50.but then I would say And up until that day,

:03:51. > :03:58.everybody had respected that. And then that one journalist

:03:59. > :04:01.decided it was a story, I had to make some phone calls,

:04:02. > :04:06.speak to a few people, tidy it up, make the best of it that I could,

:04:07. > :04:09.but it wasn't under my control, We will bring you more on that story

:04:10. > :04:21.in the next few minutes. A law banning so-called legal highs

:04:22. > :04:24.in the UK is to be reviewed by the Crown Prosecution Service,

:04:25. > :04:27.after the collapse of the first ever contested cases under

:04:28. > :04:28.the new legislation. Two separate trials of people

:04:29. > :04:30.accused of intending to supply nitrous oxide -

:04:31. > :04:33.more commonly known as laughing gas - at music festivals were stopped

:04:34. > :04:36.after the courts heard the drug is exempt because it is used

:04:37. > :04:38.as a medicinal product. The drug charity, Release,

:04:39. > :04:49.claims the new law is The brother of the Manchester Arena

:04:50. > :04:52.bomber will go on trial in Libya in the next two months in connection

:04:53. > :05:02.with the attack that left 22 people dead. Hashim Amla a deep was

:05:03. > :05:05.arrested shortly after the bombing in May, by his brother, Salman. His

:05:06. > :05:07.father has been released. Rescuers are searching for up to 40

:05:08. > :05:10.people thought to be trapped in a collapsed building in India's

:05:11. > :05:12.financial capital, Mumbai. The four-storey building

:05:13. > :05:14.gave way after two days of heavy monsoon rains,

:05:15. > :05:16.which have already resulted The governor of Texas has warned

:05:17. > :05:26.the amount of federal government aid it will need in the aftermath

:05:27. > :05:28.of Hurricane Harvey, is likely to be far in excess

:05:29. > :05:31.of the 100-billion dollars made available - the storm that

:05:32. > :05:33.devastated New Orleans At least 33 people are now known

:05:34. > :05:43.to have died since the storm Pipelines and fuel production have

:05:44. > :05:46.been shut down and overnight, the owners of a flooded chemical

:05:47. > :05:54.plant warned that it would explode The NHS in England has issued new

:05:55. > :06:01.guidance for the victims of acid attacks. The advice is to report the

:06:02. > :06:05.attack, remove contaminated clothing and rinse the skin immediately.

:06:06. > :06:10.Surgeons say quick treatment is vital in minimising the extent of

:06:11. > :06:15.injuries. Providing appropriate first aid in a timely fashion can

:06:16. > :06:18.have a dramatic effect. Not only because it will reduce the immediate

:06:19. > :06:19.effect of the trauma of the acid on the skin, but also the possibility

:06:20. > :06:25.of unwanted life changing injuries. 20 years ago today Diana,

:06:26. > :06:27.Princess of Wales died in a car crash in Paris

:06:28. > :06:29.after being pursued A range of public events have been

:06:30. > :06:33.organised to remember her death and flowers, cards and other

:06:34. > :06:36.tributes are again being laid Her sons, Princes William

:06:37. > :06:38.and Harry, will mark The Home Office has apologised

:06:39. > :06:46.after telling a 21-year-old who has that he must leave or face

:06:47. > :06:50.the prospect of being jailed. Shane Ridge, of Colne,

:06:51. > :06:52.in Lancashire, was told he had "no lawful basis

:06:53. > :06:55.to be in the UK", according to The blunder occurred when it failed

:06:56. > :07:02.to establish that his mother, who was born in Australia

:07:03. > :07:04.while her family lived there for a short time,

:07:05. > :07:06.had dual Australian-British That's a summary of the latest BBC

:07:07. > :07:20.News - more at 9.30. Thank you very much. We are going to

:07:21. > :07:24.talk to various gay politicians in an exclusive report made by SNP MP

:07:25. > :07:29.Hannah by Dell and a few minutes time. I wonder if you are a gay man

:07:30. > :07:31.or woman, when somebody in the public eye comes out, does that help

:07:32. > :07:47.you? S know your experiences. To the sport, and it is the final

:07:48. > :07:52.day of the transfer window. We always say it is going to be manic,

:07:53. > :07:57.it isn't always manic, but are we expecting it to be hectic today? I'm

:07:58. > :08:01.expecting pure lunacy today, it will be like the wild West. I don't know

:08:02. > :08:04.what it is like working on the money side of sport, but a few players and

:08:05. > :08:09.agents will feel like it is Christmas come early today. It will

:08:10. > :08:14.be pretty tense. Fans waited to see who their clubs are going to bring

:08:15. > :08:18.in, and one who will be the winners, will be the losers? We can barely

:08:19. > :08:22.predict what is going to happen next. There will be a lot of

:08:23. > :08:26.stressed faces on mobile phones and we will try to keep you up-to-date

:08:27. > :08:31.across the day, but it won't be easy. Over ?1.16 billion have

:08:32. > :08:35.already been spent, that is a new record, and the spending will

:08:36. > :08:38.continue, so it is difficult to say where people are going to be going

:08:39. > :08:43.at this stage, but one thing we can bring you is an agreed fee of ?40

:08:44. > :08:47.million as Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is now on the verge of joining

:08:48. > :08:54.Liverpool from Arsenal. You won't get much of this today, but it is

:08:55. > :08:57.worth pointing out he has taken a ?60,000 a week smaller offer than he

:08:58. > :09:01.was given by other clubs to join Liverpool. They usually get a lot of

:09:02. > :09:04.bad press, but 15 million over five years, he will be taking less to go

:09:05. > :09:09.to Liverpool, it is the club he supported as a boy, so maybe money

:09:10. > :09:13.isn't everything today. What other things we expecting over the course

:09:14. > :09:17.of the day? Just about every club in the Premier League B link with

:09:18. > :09:23.players at the moment. In the age of social media, we hear lots of

:09:24. > :09:26.rumours, all, to catered at the moment by the international window,

:09:27. > :09:37.the players are dotted all over the world. Alexis Sanchez is in Chile

:09:38. > :09:41.country at the moment, and he has been part of a rejected bid for

:09:42. > :09:45.Manchester City, but that could be as much as ?70 million and could be

:09:46. > :09:49.repeated today. Riyad Mahrez is set to leave Leicester City. Algeria say

:09:50. > :09:54.he has left the international come to formalise a transfer, to wear, we

:09:55. > :10:00.don't know. This is supposedly him at a Paris airport with a fan

:10:01. > :10:04.earlier today, apparently going to Barcelona. But we do know he won't

:10:05. > :10:09.be going to Arsenal. Another saga that can come to an end today,

:10:10. > :10:13.Philippe Coutinho currently away with Brazil, you can see him

:10:14. > :10:18.training here. He could be going to Barcelona for a huge fee. Liverpool

:10:19. > :10:25.have already turned down ?114 million for him. So much going on.

:10:26. > :10:29.Chelsea have had bids rejected for Ross Barkley and Danny Drinkwater. I

:10:30. > :10:35.could go on and on, and to be honest, I will probably have to

:10:36. > :10:40.today. You keep your ion the app. It will be a very busy day indeed. And

:10:41. > :10:44.breathe! Thank you, see later. Next: what happens when

:10:45. > :10:45.politicians come out? Former Scottish Labour leader

:10:46. > :10:48.Kezia Dugdale has exclusively told this programme she had to come out

:10:49. > :10:50.as gay after being The Member of Scottish Parliament -

:10:51. > :10:54.who quit as leader this week - says when she asked for her quotes

:10:55. > :10:57.on her sexuality not to be included in an interview

:10:58. > :10:59.with the Fabian Review, The Fabian Society says it's

:11:00. > :11:05."very sorry" she was The first ever Conservative

:11:06. > :11:11.MP to come out - Sir Alan Duncan - has told

:11:12. > :11:14.us his sexuality prevented him from getting a role in former

:11:15. > :11:16.Prime Minister They've been speaking to SNP MP

:11:17. > :11:22.Hannah Bardell as part of a report for this programme

:11:23. > :11:28.about gay politicians. We now have a record

:11:29. > :11:32.number of 45 LGBT MP's - that's 1 in every 14 MPs -

:11:33. > :11:35.making Wesminster the gayest I am Hannah Bardell,

:11:36. > :11:49.the SNP MP for Livingston. I came out to myself

:11:50. > :11:54.during the 2015 general election, to family and friends just after,

:11:55. > :12:00.and publicly last year after taking part in this historic photo

:12:01. > :12:03.of LGBT parliamentarians. And since the 2017 general election,

:12:04. > :12:07.there are now a record 45 I am on a mission to meet

:12:08. > :12:15.colleagues who have paved the way for people like me,

:12:16. > :12:18.to look at other politicians' experiences of coming out,

:12:19. > :12:20.the criticism levied against them, and how things have changed for LGBT

:12:21. > :12:23.politicians since the first MP came Over the last 30 years we have seen

:12:24. > :12:38.huge steps forward in gay rights. The age of consent

:12:39. > :12:44.was lowered to 16. We have rights to adopt

:12:45. > :12:47.and to marry, but many politicians who have come out in that time

:12:48. > :12:51.have faced hostility. Sir Alan Duncan is a Foreign Office

:12:52. > :12:54.minister and was the first Conservative MP to publicly come

:12:55. > :12:57.out in 2002. When he came out he was greeted

:12:58. > :13:02.with a mixed reaction, including one article

:13:03. > :13:04.which headlined, "I'm sorry, Mr Duncan, if you're gay,

:13:05. > :13:09.you are not a Tory." He also said he was turned down

:13:10. > :13:11.for a job in government Sir Alan, you were the first

:13:12. > :13:18.Conservative MP in 2002 to come out. What was that experience like and

:13:19. > :13:22.what was the reaction that you got? I had reached the point having been

:13:23. > :13:25.in Parliament for ten years by then that I thought I was senior enough

:13:26. > :13:40.not to be dismissed as irrelevant. But I really had to be honest,

:13:41. > :13:43.I thought, and the time had come When I was first an MP,

:13:44. > :13:49.a senior officer in the party took me out to lunch and was sort

:13:50. > :13:52.of probing, but did not It was like saying have you got

:13:53. > :13:57.a secret criminal record? And someone on the conventional

:13:58. > :14:03.right of politics just And so I thought, right,

:14:04. > :14:08.I'm just going to say it. So you said that you didn't

:14:09. > :14:14.hide your sexuality from your colleagues,

:14:15. > :14:16.but you felt it was Can you talk us

:14:17. > :14:23.through what happened? Well, it's sort of, "Don't make him

:14:24. > :14:27.a whip or a minister because it will all be over the Mail one

:14:28. > :14:30.day, you know." The Daily Mail would be

:14:31. > :14:37.the permanently bouffanted Alan Duncan, or the over-neat

:14:38. > :14:39.Alan Duncan, all these In fact I know I was blackballed

:14:40. > :14:46.from the whips' office in the John Major Parliament,

:14:47. > :14:49.not by him, but by a couple of fellow whips who just thought it

:14:50. > :14:53.would be too high risk. You said afterwards when you came

:14:54. > :14:55.out you had some really interesting, positive reactions, particularly one

:14:56. > :14:58.lady who came to you Someone I met actually

:14:59. > :15:02.at a Conservative Party function came up to me,

:15:03. > :15:07.she was perhaps about 75, and said She said my granddaughter is gay

:15:08. > :15:14.and thank you because I now feel comfortable with it and you have

:15:15. > :15:25.made me feel respectable. Lord Chris Smith made history

:15:26. > :15:28.when he became the first MP of any We brought him together

:15:29. > :15:37.with Nia Griffith, the Labour MP for Llanelli, who also came out

:15:38. > :15:40.when I did last year, and Labour's Chris Bryant

:15:41. > :15:43.who came out in 2000 So, Chris Smith, you came out just

:15:44. > :15:52.a year after I was born, But you were really a pioneer

:15:53. > :16:04.for the LGBT community and obviously you made that very public

:16:05. > :16:06.declaration about your How difficult was that

:16:07. > :16:10.both personally and For nine years, I was the only

:16:11. > :16:17.openly gay member of Parliament. Since then, I haven't regretted

:16:18. > :16:19.making that decision In terms of on the doorsteps

:16:20. > :16:26.in your constituency, Was there any anxiety,

:16:27. > :16:32.were there any comments? I was terrified and no one had

:16:33. > :16:35.ever done this before, so I had no idea what the reaction

:16:36. > :16:39.was going to be. There was no social media in those

:16:40. > :16:43.days, thank goodness. But I did get letters from people

:16:44. > :16:49.all around the country and a lot of them were saying,

:16:50. > :16:51."Well done, congratulations". But the ones that really

:16:52. > :16:56.meant the most to me "Thank you, it has made

:16:57. > :17:06.it easier for me". Obviously, your friends, family,

:17:07. > :17:09.colleagues, had known for all the time that

:17:10. > :17:12.you were a parliamentarian up until the point that

:17:13. > :17:15.you and I were both in that famous Yes, it's a rather strange

:17:16. > :17:22.situation, really. Bizarrely for me, after a long-term

:17:23. > :17:25.relationship came to an end, It was because I couldn't

:17:26. > :17:31.cope with the grief, not And so bizarrely, that was

:17:32. > :17:35.the moment I came out party and they were then

:17:36. > :17:39.campaigning with me. So you are actually asking other

:17:40. > :17:42.people to defend you as well. You are standing on a list of X

:17:43. > :17:45.amount of councillors standing in one ward or whatever

:17:46. > :17:47.and you are obviously I have got to say,

:17:48. > :17:50.they were fantastic. And, Chris, your experience,

:17:51. > :17:53.you have been such a vocal proponent of LGBT rights,

:17:54. > :17:59.but you were in the clergy before. That I was a priest

:18:00. > :18:06.in the Church of England. Did you feel you had to choose

:18:07. > :18:11.between religion and sexuality? It took me quite a long time

:18:12. > :18:17.to work out that I was gay. I probably wasn't meant

:18:18. > :18:23.to have a girlfriend as I was training to be a priest

:18:24. > :18:26.in the Church of England In the past, the Church of England

:18:27. > :18:32.has always been kind Then it became "We want to know

:18:33. > :18:38.everything about everybody". But that was their sort

:18:39. > :18:40.of strange world. This is why I think there

:18:41. > :18:43.will always still be a moment of coming out because you sit down

:18:44. > :18:46.at a dinner and someone says, And in your head you are

:18:47. > :18:56.going, now do I say, "Fine,

:18:57. > :19:02.thank you very much"? Which is what I did say once

:19:03. > :19:07.to the papal Nuncio and he said, I said, "No, no, I am

:19:08. > :19:11.married to a man." He then said to me here

:19:12. > :19:14.in Parliament, "You are more danger to civilisation

:19:15. > :19:16.than climate change." At the time of recording,

:19:17. > :19:19.Kezia Dugdale was leader She has since resigned, saying

:19:20. > :19:25.it is time to pass on the baton. This is the first time

:19:26. > :19:27.she has spoken publicly You were put in the position

:19:28. > :19:34.where you had to say something before maybe

:19:35. > :19:39.you would have chosen to. I didn't have complete

:19:40. > :19:44.control over coming out. I came out in the middle

:19:45. > :19:47.of an incredibly intense election campaign, it was the 2016

:19:48. > :19:51.Scottish parliament elections. I'd done an interview

:19:52. > :19:55.with a publication. I've done hundreds of

:19:56. > :19:57.interviews with journalists, I do them every week,

:19:58. > :20:00.and it wasn't the first time I had been asked about my sexuality

:20:01. > :20:02.or about my relationships. I would always answer honestly

:20:03. > :20:05.and then I would say, "But I would prefer you didn't use

:20:06. > :20:08.that, I don't talk about it, And up until that day,

:20:09. > :20:11.everybody had respected that. And then that one journalist

:20:12. > :20:16.decided no, it was a story, speak to a few people, tidy it up,

:20:17. > :20:23.make the best of it that I could, but it

:20:24. > :20:25.wasn't in my control. I do regret that,

:20:26. > :20:28.I think that was unfair. The journalist involved denies

:20:29. > :20:39.being asked to take it out. Kezia, you are one of four out

:20:40. > :20:42.of six Scottish party leaders I mean, that's quite an incredible

:20:43. > :20:47.statistic for a start. Does it make you proud

:20:48. > :20:50.to be part of that group? I am immensely proud, but I think

:20:51. > :20:57.it is worth just contemplating for a second that Nicola

:20:58. > :20:59.Sturgeon, by the very nature of being straight,

:21:00. > :21:01.is in a minority group in Scotland. One of three women, but what immense

:21:02. > :21:06.progress we have made in that time. Obviously, there has been quite

:21:07. > :21:08.a bit of press recently about your relationship

:21:09. > :21:10.with my colleague, SNP Jenny Gilruth,

:21:11. > :21:11.but what was interesting about that was when there

:21:12. > :21:14.was commentary and coverage of two female parliamentarians

:21:15. > :21:16.being in a relationship, it was about two female

:21:17. > :21:17.parliamentarians who were That seemed to be the thing people

:21:18. > :21:21.were upset or intrigued about. Does that in a strange way

:21:22. > :21:24.represent progress to you? I mean, I think it is fascinating

:21:25. > :21:32.when you stop and think about it. People were not in any way bothered

:21:33. > :21:42.that we were together, that the idea that two women

:21:43. > :21:44.were together, they were more intrigued that it was two people

:21:45. > :21:47.from two different political parties and that divide was a much bigger

:21:48. > :21:50.deal than their different Scotland is one of the most

:21:51. > :21:53.progressive countries in the world in terms of LGBT rights,

:21:54. > :21:56.but that was not always the case. Many LGBT people were put off

:21:57. > :21:59.politics because they thought their sexuality was incompatible

:22:00. > :22:05.with a political career. That was the case for my friend

:22:06. > :22:09.and colleague Joanna Cherry QC. So, Joanna, tell us a bit

:22:10. > :22:15.about your coming out. In many ways, I had quite a positive

:22:16. > :22:18.coming out experience, but in relation to my career

:22:19. > :22:21.choices, it definitely affected them because in my teens and early 20s

:22:22. > :22:25.I was a member of the Labour Party and when I was growing up

:22:26. > :22:28.it was really my passionate But when I realised I was gay

:22:29. > :22:32.and I saw what happened to Peter Tatchell in the Bermondsey

:22:33. > :22:34.by-election, the really terrible homophobia that he faced

:22:35. > :22:42.from his main opponents, the Liberal Democrats,

:22:43. > :22:45.but also I think, to be fair, from people inside his own party,

:22:46. > :22:48.I thought to myself as a gay person, a career in politics is not

:22:49. > :22:51.going to be open to me, So I chose instead to concentrate

:22:52. > :22:55.on my legal career. When you got elected in 2015,

:22:56. > :22:58.how did you find the environment I have experienced,

:22:59. > :23:03.like most gay politicians, quite a lot of homophobic

:23:04. > :23:05.abuse on Twitter. But generally in the media, I have

:23:06. > :23:09.not experienced any homophobia. You come to Parliament,

:23:10. > :23:11.you become a politician and your personal life

:23:12. > :23:13.becomes public property. I didn't come into politics to be

:23:14. > :23:16.a professional lesbian, I came into politics to achieve

:23:17. > :23:18.social justice and But on the other hand, I am very

:23:19. > :23:27.proud to be out as a lesbian in politics and I hope that I can be

:23:28. > :23:31.a role model to younger women who can see that you can be an out

:23:32. > :23:35.lesbian in public life. Politicians come out at different

:23:36. > :23:37.stages in their careers. Some feel that in order to fit in,

:23:38. > :23:41.they have to hide their sexuality. That was something I grappled with,

:23:42. > :23:45.so much so that I nearly did not run until my friend and former SNP

:23:46. > :23:47.leader Alex Salmond talked A number of politicians

:23:48. > :23:52.come out later in life. He was married with children before

:23:53. > :24:07.coming out at the age of 54. He is a Conservative

:24:08. > :24:08.MP and the Secretary Obviously because you had been

:24:09. > :24:15.married and had children, that must have been very difficult

:24:16. > :24:17.for you, for them. How did they react to that

:24:18. > :24:19.and how difficult was that? Firstly, my children were very

:24:20. > :24:21.positive that I didn't Because at my age, people think this

:24:22. > :24:29.might be one of those But they were very positive

:24:30. > :24:33.and I think that is because young people have such a completely

:24:34. > :24:35.different outlook. Do you think your life

:24:36. > :24:37.would have been different, your career would have been

:24:38. > :24:39.different, if you had come If I was at this point

:24:40. > :24:44.in my life 20, 30 years ago, it would have been a much

:24:45. > :24:46.more difficult situation. Maybe 20 years ago, I might have had

:24:47. > :24:49.to resign from the Cabinet. I have not really so far

:24:50. > :24:51.encountered any prejudice I have not found any

:24:52. > :24:56.in my constituency either. I met one person on the doorstep,

:24:57. > :24:59.actually in my son's election campaign to the Scottish Parliament,

:25:00. > :25:02.who said that they could not vote Yes, I know, but that is still

:25:03. > :25:32.somewhat surprising. I think obviously, we were not very

:25:33. > :25:35.positive to him and he fundamentally disagreed with that and we left

:25:36. > :25:37.it at that. Following the 2017 general election,

:25:38. > :25:40.the Conservatives chose to form an informal coalition

:25:41. > :25:42.with Northern Ireland's Democratic They hold controversial

:25:43. > :25:53.views on gay marriage. I think one of the concerns I know

:25:54. > :25:57.that people in your own party have expressed are the concerns

:25:58. > :25:59.around dealing with the DUP and what that means, because some

:26:00. > :26:02.of their views have been really abhorrent to people

:26:03. > :26:06.in the LGBT community. I don't think you bring about change

:26:07. > :26:09.by demanding that people do things. You have got to campaign,

:26:10. > :26:12.you have got to seek to influence You have got to encourage voices to

:26:13. > :26:33.be heard and show your solidarity. My final stop is the

:26:34. > :26:37.magical Highlands. It's where my family have come

:26:38. > :26:41.since I was a wee girl on holiday and it is where I had the first

:26:42. > :26:44.conversation with my mum She brought my brother and I up

:26:45. > :26:53.on her own and being politically active herself, has been

:26:54. > :26:55.absolutely instrumental in my One of the things I wanted

:26:56. > :27:02.to talk about was, I suppose, what it was like

:27:03. > :27:05.for you when I came out. Other than I didn't want

:27:06. > :27:09.you to be hurt in any additional way because of that

:27:10. > :27:12.and because you are And in terms of being

:27:13. > :27:21.from a single-parent family I mean, the world has just moved

:27:22. > :27:32.on hugely about all sorts of things And that was a revelation,

:27:33. > :27:36.how long you had been thinking about it and trying to figure it out

:27:37. > :27:39.and the things that inhibited I waited until after the election

:27:40. > :27:53.to tell you, although I pretty well I guess that was because I knew how

:27:54. > :28:00.much you were so involved in my campaign, you were giving me

:28:01. > :28:03.so much support, you were worried about my stress levels,

:28:04. > :28:06.I did not want to add any more worry I thought it was quite

:28:07. > :28:15.sensible in some ways, I have talked to colleagues

:28:16. > :28:25.across the political spectrum whose experiences have in many ways

:28:26. > :28:29.mirrored society's changing But we must be mindful of the work

:28:30. > :28:38.that still needs to be done across our communities,

:28:39. > :28:56.in our country and around the world. And you can read more about that

:28:57. > :28:59.story on the BBC News website. It is the most read story and has been

:29:00. > :29:01.since 6am. Regarding the allegation

:29:02. > :29:03.Kezia Dugdale makes that she felt she was "forced" to come

:29:04. > :29:05.out by a magazine, in a statement that they were "very

:29:06. > :29:09.sorry that Kezia Dugdale was upset The article's author,

:29:10. > :29:12.Mary Riddell, said "at no point

:29:13. > :29:14.during the interview or afterwards did Ms Dugdale ask me not

:29:15. > :29:16.to publish her comments, which were recorded

:29:17. > :29:18.with her agreement. Nor has she ever complained to me

:29:19. > :29:20.that her on-the-record comments relating to her relationship

:29:21. > :29:41.had been published." Lee says, when I came out, I was

:29:42. > :29:42.bullied school. And this from kit, seeing an influential person, it

:29:43. > :30:17.helps normalise it. Graham says he thinks people like

:30:18. > :30:27.Gareth Thomas help, because they are just regular blokes, deems to be

:30:28. > :30:31.least stereotypical. And Luke says, interesting report on gay

:30:32. > :30:35.politicians and the difficulties of being, and even being forced out.

:30:36. > :30:39.Your own inexperience is really welcome. After ten, we will hear

:30:40. > :30:42.more. On the 20th anniversary of Diana's

:30:43. > :30:47.death, we'll talk to her former personal protection officer

:30:48. > :30:49.Ken Wharfe about his memories And the woman who's been on 77

:30:50. > :30:57.first dates in two years, Your stories of first dates

:30:58. > :31:12.are welcome this morning. Here's Chris in the BBC Newsroom

:31:13. > :31:32.with a summary of today's news. Theresa May says she wants to lead

:31:33. > :31:35.the Conservatives into the next general election. The Conservatives

:31:36. > :31:37.including Boris Johnson have rallied behind her. Labour has accused Mrs

:31:38. > :31:40.May of deluding herself. The former Scottish Labour leader

:31:41. > :31:43.Kezia Dugdale has exclusively told this programme she had to come out

:31:44. > :31:45.as gay after being The MSP

:31:46. > :31:53.says when she asked for her quotes on her sexuality not to be included,

:31:54. > :31:55.her request was ignored. Dugdale is one of a number of

:31:56. > :31:58.politicians asked by this programme about what it was like opening up

:31:59. > :32:01.about their sexuality. A law banning so-called legal highs

:32:02. > :32:04.in the UK is to be reviewed by the Crown Prosecution Service,

:32:05. > :32:07.after the collapse of the first ever contested cases under

:32:08. > :32:08.the new legislation. Two separate trials of people

:32:09. > :32:10.accused of intending to supply nitrous oxide -

:32:11. > :32:13.more commonly known as laughing gas - at music festivals were stopped

:32:14. > :32:16.after the courts heard the drug is exempt because it is used

:32:17. > :32:18.as a medicinal product. The drug charity, Release,

:32:19. > :32:20.claims the new law is Rescuers are searching for up to 40

:32:21. > :32:29.people thought to be trapped in a collapsed building in India's

:32:30. > :32:32.financial capital, Mumbai. The four-storey building

:32:33. > :32:34.gave way after two days of heavy monsoon rains,

:32:35. > :32:35.which have already resulted The governor of Texas has warned

:32:36. > :32:41.the amount of federal government aid it will need in the aftermath

:32:42. > :32:43.of Hurricane Harvey, is likely to be far in excess

:32:44. > :32:46.of the $100 billion made available for the storm that devastated

:32:47. > :32:48.New Orleans 12 years ago. At least 33 people are now known

:32:49. > :32:51.to have died since the storm Pipelines and fuel production have

:32:52. > :33:00.been shut down and overnight, the owners of a flooded chemical

:33:01. > :33:03.plant warned that it That's a summary of the latest

:33:04. > :33:14.BBC News - more at ten. It's the dreaded final day

:33:15. > :33:18.of the football transfer window but there are plenty of deals that

:33:19. > :33:22.could still be concluded. Leicester City's Riyad Mahrez has

:33:23. > :33:24.been given permission by Algeria to leave the international camp

:33:25. > :33:31.and formalise a transfer. Arsenal won't be the destination

:33:32. > :33:33.though, it's expected Manchester City are reportedly

:33:34. > :33:41.chasing a deal for Alexis Sanchez. They've had a bid of ?50 million

:33:42. > :33:44.rejected but could go back in for him, with his contract

:33:45. > :33:46.at the Emirates finishing Alex Oxlade-Chamberlian

:33:47. > :33:51.will definitely be leaving Arsenal. He's heading to Merseyside to join

:33:52. > :33:53.Liverpool after the two clubs agreed The England midfielder expected

:33:54. > :34:02.to sign a 5 year deal. Maria Sharapova made it

:34:03. > :34:07.through to Round 3 at the US Open. She came from a set down to beat

:34:08. > :34:10.Hungray's Timea Babosh in what's her frist major tournament

:34:11. > :34:12.since returning from When Diana died: "all

:34:13. > :34:23.of us lost somebody", "still the people's princess",

:34:24. > :34:26."her legacy lives on in her sons", "the popularity

:34:27. > :34:28.of the monarchy is down to her" - just some of the tributes

:34:29. > :34:31.to Princess Diana on the 20th This next film has some flashing

:34:32. > :35:56.images. The body of Diana, Princess

:35:57. > :36:04.of Wales is lying tonight Her close friend Dodi Fayed

:36:05. > :36:09.is being buried in a Muslim cemetery And all less than 24 hours after,

:36:10. > :36:15.by all accounts, one of the happiest Around the wreckage of their lives

:36:16. > :36:22.is already running a bitter debate about what part in her death

:36:23. > :36:25.was really played by the squad of determined photographers

:36:26. > :36:29.who dogged her every step until it all unravelled in the horror

:36:30. > :36:31.of a high-speed crash At seven o'clock this evening,

:36:32. > :36:37.an RAF plane brought her Over time, people seem to forget,

:36:38. > :37:27.or have forgotten, what an amazing thing she did and what an amazing

:37:28. > :37:34.presence she was. She was wonderful in their honour

:37:35. > :37:37.was Harry and I can tell You would have to meet

:37:38. > :37:42.her to understand it. If you ask people who met her, they

:37:43. > :37:46.will tell you how amazing she was. We were lucky to

:37:47. > :37:48.have her as a mother. There's not a day that goes

:37:49. > :37:50.past that we don't think Because she was a massive

:37:51. > :38:03.example to both of us. And it's one of those

:38:04. > :38:06.things that's very sad, but you learn to deal with it

:38:07. > :38:10.and there are plenty of other people out there who have the same or worse

:38:11. > :38:14.problems than we have had. The nicest thing is the fact

:38:15. > :38:17.that she was our mother. She had a public site

:38:18. > :38:19.and a private side, and the private side was very

:38:20. > :38:21.small in comparison to the public side,

:38:22. > :38:24.but the memories we have got of her,

:38:25. > :38:28.we are lucky to have those memories You see her get slated

:38:29. > :38:33.for such and such, but the personal memories

:38:34. > :38:35.we have of her are very much private

:38:36. > :38:37.and that's hopefully Today, St David's Day,

:38:38. > :39:07.we are celebrating a great occasion which promises to become a milestone

:39:08. > :39:10.for the city of Cardiff, for the county of which it forms a part

:39:11. > :39:36.and for the principality. She put everybody first

:39:37. > :39:39.and herself very much last. She was our mother,

:39:40. > :39:48.so we would say that. She did everything because she felt

:39:49. > :39:51.it was right and it was She didn't go by what she thought

:39:52. > :39:58.was the best thing to do or be told to do something,

:39:59. > :40:00.she would do it from the heart We were left in no doubt

:40:01. > :40:06.at all that we were the most After that, it was everyone

:40:07. > :40:09.else, all her charities She loved caring for people

:40:10. > :40:15.and she loved helping. Both of us are really glad

:40:16. > :40:20.we were able to feel that. Really caring, so sweet and very

:40:21. > :40:23.much missed not only by us, And that's all that needs

:40:24. > :40:33.to be said, really. I think one of the hardest things

:40:34. > :40:37.to come to terms with is the fact that the people that

:40:38. > :40:41.chased her into the tunnel were the same people that

:40:42. > :40:44.were taking photographs of her while she was still dying

:40:45. > :40:47.on the back seat of a car. We've been told that numerous

:40:48. > :40:51.times by people that know She'd had quite a severe head

:40:52. > :40:57.injury, but she was very much And those people that caused

:40:58. > :41:03.the accident, instead of helping, were taking photographs of her dying

:41:04. > :41:06.on the back seat. And then those photographs

:41:07. > :41:08.made their way back to news When you have something

:41:09. > :41:13.so traumatic as the death of your mother when you're 15,

:41:14. > :41:16.as, very sadly, many people have experienced and no one

:41:17. > :41:18.wants to experience, It'll either make or break you,

:41:19. > :41:24.and I wouldn't let it break me. I wanted her to be proud

:41:25. > :41:34.of the person I would become. I didn't want her worried,

:41:35. > :41:36.or the legacy to be that William and/or Harry were completely

:41:37. > :41:39.devastated by it and that all the hard work and all the love

:41:40. > :41:42.and all the energy she put into us when we were younger

:41:43. > :42:12.would go to waste. Diana's sons, Princes William

:42:13. > :42:36.and Harry, will be marking the anniversary of

:42:37. > :42:38.her death privately. Yesterday they laid flowers

:42:39. > :42:40.outside her former home - Kensington Palace -

:42:41. > :42:44.and took time to look at some of the many flowers members

:42:45. > :42:48.of the public had left, just He was a bodyguard to

:42:49. > :42:53.Princes William and Harry from 1986 and became Princess Diana's personal

:42:54. > :42:55.protection officer in 1988, In 1997 he oversaw security

:42:56. > :43:11.at Diana's funeral. He has just written a new book about

:43:12. > :43:15.her called Guarding Diana. What is her legacy? I don't think I could

:43:16. > :43:19.put it any better than what we have just seen from her sons. They

:43:20. > :43:26.succinctly tell us all what her legacy is. And it is exactly that. I

:43:27. > :43:31.remember Diana, working with her, as somebody that was fun and caring,

:43:32. > :43:39.and William was right, she put everything away, behind that, her

:43:40. > :43:43.children always came first, and seeing William on his first day at

:43:44. > :43:48.school, it was important for Diana to be there taking him to school and

:43:49. > :43:53.to be there when he came home, which was a real break from the tradition

:43:54. > :43:56.of royal education. And that was her priority. If she could do that,

:43:57. > :44:02.everything else was possible, and her work did come second. Her work

:44:03. > :44:07.certainly was, and it broke new mould in terms of royal duty, but

:44:08. > :44:11.behind all of that, it was always, wherever we were in the country,

:44:12. > :44:16.even abroad, it was, I must get back and see boys, because they were

:44:17. > :44:23.crucial in her life. It is very moving to see those pieces, because

:44:24. > :44:29.no one can argue or disagree with what her sons say, because they were

:44:30. > :44:32.central to her life. She was an incredibly funny woman. The book

:44:33. > :44:38.that I have just written is all about the places we visited, and

:44:39. > :44:42.with new anecdotes all about the fun she had, and I've one particular

:44:43. > :44:46.story that my office, and the room was very near to the nursery, and

:44:47. > :44:51.Harry Kane might one afternoon, looking for something to do or play,

:44:52. > :44:57.and I said, I can't play, I've got a guide with your mother, and then

:44:58. > :45:03.Harry disappeared to the kitchen and asked the chef for something to

:45:04. > :45:20.putting Ken's Bath, and the chef sent up this red car cochineal. So

:45:21. > :45:24.she generated the fun as well as recognising... She generated the fun

:45:25. > :45:30.with her kids, but also with us on tour. These were massive events in

:45:31. > :45:35.this country and abroad, but she was always the entertainment manager in

:45:36. > :45:38.it, and was always find something to make people laugh. And it was a big

:45:39. > :45:43.family, from the chef to the housekeeper, the dresser, the

:45:44. > :45:47.chauffeur. Everyone was an integral part in making this work. And

:45:48. > :45:51.William and Harry were not kept locked up in the nursery away from

:45:52. > :45:55.all of this. They were encouraged to go to the chef, go to see the

:45:56. > :46:00.housekeeper or the bottle, the cleaner, however. And this is what

:46:01. > :46:04.we see, and this is the legacy. She was a very caring person, probably

:46:05. > :46:10.very much at home with the man and woman on the street. She could talk

:46:11. > :46:13.to anyone. She could, and so often, the Queen's representative, the Lord

:46:14. > :46:17.Lieutenant, would say, you must come back and we will have lunch, and she

:46:18. > :46:22.would say thank you, but I would much rather have lunch with people I

:46:23. > :46:26.have come to see. And that is what she was like. And I think what we

:46:27. > :46:32.now see, and particularly with the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh

:46:33. > :46:38.winding down, William and Harry now see their role as an important one,

:46:39. > :46:43.and they are using their mother's template, because they know it is

:46:44. > :46:48.one that works, and it does. Her work ethos that endeared her to the

:46:49. > :46:49.public, not in this country but internationally, it was Strawberry

:46:50. > :47:02.to watch it. Angela says Diana obviously loved

:47:03. > :47:06.her kids. It is so sad. Ian says, as a royal photographer, I remember her

:47:07. > :47:11.laughter, her sense of fun and how she turned from a person being very

:47:12. > :47:18.awkward to a photograph to one who could show great feeling through her

:47:19. > :47:21.imagery. I took William's first official Christmas baby shots. I

:47:22. > :47:26.took some of her last photos at an event before she died and many in

:47:27. > :47:31.between. I remember watching her compete with Charles in photography

:47:32. > :47:39.sessions. Her legacy lives on. How did she change the monarchy, in your

:47:40. > :47:45.view? You had a eye view. -- a bird's eye view. Well, initially, in

:47:46. > :47:49.1981, no one handed her a manual on how to become a royal princess. She

:47:50. > :47:55.was just a natural at it and did the opening of shopping malls so forth

:47:56. > :48:01.and obviously a signed herself to a number of charities quickly. And she

:48:02. > :48:06.did that with relative ease. I remember that trip to Australia a

:48:07. > :48:11.bit before my time and the crowds that were there to stop there was

:48:12. > :48:14.that famous speech with the Prince of Wales, who quipped about it and

:48:15. > :48:21.makes a lot of laughter when he said, the next time I come, I will

:48:22. > :48:25.bring two wives. I think that was a sign, because in my view, the Royal

:48:26. > :48:31.Family were pleased that Diana was on board, as it were, but they have

:48:32. > :48:36.a problem dealing with her popularity. They didn't know how to

:48:37. > :48:43.harness this new arrival. How do we channel this? And what Diana was

:48:44. > :48:48.really after was someone to say, well done, we appreciate what you

:48:49. > :48:54.are doing. Had that been said a bit more, who knows, it may have changed

:48:55. > :48:58.the course of events. But four years after she was there as a princess,

:48:59. > :49:02.she changed and became involved in what she considered to be more

:49:03. > :49:05.important aspects of royal duty by getting involved in the mid-80s into

:49:06. > :49:11.the Aids crisis, which was a big problem for a lot of people at that

:49:12. > :49:17.time. And for a princess to get involved, even the Queen said, why?

:49:18. > :49:21.Why don't you do something nice? It wasn't a criticism, but that was the

:49:22. > :49:25.feeling at the time. But if you get the changes Diana made in that field

:49:26. > :49:29.and her relationship with Elton John, and now Harry himself publicly

:49:30. > :49:34.continuing that legacy by himself getting involved with it, send out a

:49:35. > :49:38.clear message that the legacy is obvious. Thank you very much.

:49:39. > :49:40.We can now speak to our Correspondent Sophie Long

:49:41. > :49:42.who is at Kensington Palace where flowers are

:49:43. > :49:54.Yes, we are outside Kensington Palace by the golden gate. If I move

:49:55. > :49:58.out of the way, you can see that quite a few people have come to lay

:49:59. > :50:02.floral tributes and look at the pictures and read some of the

:50:03. > :50:09.messages that people have been leaving on the 20th anniversary of

:50:10. > :50:13.Diana's death. I was speaking to one couple, a mother and daughter who

:50:14. > :50:18.have come from Bulgaria. They came to London specifically for this

:50:19. > :50:25.occasion, to look back at the 20 years that have passed. John, you

:50:26. > :50:30.have been here since 3am. You are wearing a Diana T-shirt. Tell us why

:50:31. > :50:34.this day is so important to you? Because we are remembering the 20th

:50:35. > :50:46.anniversary, and it's important for us to be here. Her most important

:50:47. > :50:55.legacy was her two sons. We saw them yesterday, talking about them

:50:56. > :51:02.other's work. It is special for us all, because we are here to see it.

:51:03. > :51:11.I was moved by how much William and Harry have them other's ways. She

:51:12. > :51:18.always embraced you. No other royals had done that. She was the first.

:51:19. > :51:24.She was born with two hearts, want to give to people and one for

:51:25. > :51:29.herself. Diana was our special princess, and she is one of the

:51:30. > :51:33.Lord's angels. What does it mean to you to see people from coming from

:51:34. > :51:37.all around the world, two decades after her death? I know you helped

:51:38. > :51:40.design the banner there and you have been here since three in the

:51:41. > :51:45.morning. How important is it that her legacy does end your? Two days

:51:46. > :51:50.ago, I was here and an Indian man and an African man came up to me was

:51:51. > :51:55.that they knew I was here to put flowers down. He said, Diana was a

:51:56. > :52:00.special person. And the Indian person said the same thing. I said,

:52:01. > :52:04.you summed it up. You could put Diana in a room. You could be in a

:52:05. > :52:08.bad mood and she would turn the light switch on and bring happiness.

:52:09. > :52:17.Throughout her life, she brought happiness to everybody. John, thank

:52:18. > :52:24.you very much. People will be coming here throughout the day to pay

:52:25. > :52:33.tribute to Princess Diana. People are pausing and remembering. At ten

:52:34. > :52:34.o'clock, we will bring you all the news and sport.

:52:35. > :52:36.Coming up: And the lady's not for quitting.

:52:37. > :52:39.Theresa May has announced she has no intention of giving up

:52:40. > :52:48.We'll get reaction from members of her party.

:52:49. > :52:51.A chemical plant near the flooded city of Houston is expected

:52:52. > :52:54.to explode or catch fire in the coming days.

:52:55. > :52:57.During heavy rainfall from Hurricane Harvey,

:52:58. > :53:02.the Arkema plant at Crosby lost refrigeration of chemical compounds

:53:03. > :53:05.which need to be kept cool, and there is no way to prevent

:53:06. > :53:07.a possible fire, the company has said.

:53:08. > :53:10.At least 33 people have been killed in the aftermath of the storm,

:53:11. > :53:13.large parts of Houston are under water and 32,000 people

:53:14. > :53:26.And yet more rain is expected to fall.

:53:27. > :53:31.We can speak now to Amanda Trost,

:53:32. > :53:35.who has been delivering food to those in need.

:53:36. > :53:45.You have been fortunate, but not everyone was? Yes. It is about 82 or

:53:46. > :53:50.three mile radius around my house, but there are a lot of people still

:53:51. > :53:55.under water. And how have you been helping? The first couple of days,

:53:56. > :53:59.everyone was stuck in their house. As soon as we could get out on

:54:00. > :54:04.Saturday, we checked on neighbours. The school that I work for sent out

:54:05. > :54:08.an SOS to go employees and students to make sure they were OK and to see

:54:09. > :54:16.if they could volunteer. We provide hot meals for anyone who could get

:54:17. > :54:20.there, and then we took a bunch of meals and drove around as far as we

:54:21. > :54:27.could go in each direction without running into water, to see where

:54:28. > :54:30.food was needed. Thankfully on Tuesday, when we did the same thing,

:54:31. > :54:35.all of the shelters in the area had been filled with supplies and

:54:36. > :54:41.volunteers. So it was neat to see people come out and surpass the need

:54:42. > :54:48.we have had. You are a teacher. In terms of the school where you work,

:54:49. > :54:56.how have the pupils been affected? We started school two days before

:54:57. > :55:04.the storm came and some of the students were already reaching out

:55:05. > :55:13.and making sure people were OK and how they could help each other. We

:55:14. > :55:17.spent quite a bit of time as a community, making sure students were

:55:18. > :55:22.OK and try to confirm that they were safe. The stories we heard are

:55:23. > :55:26.heartbreaking, but it was good to get in contact with people and sleep

:55:27. > :55:32.easier knowing that they are alive and have somewhere to stay. What

:55:33. > :55:37.sort of stories have you heard from your peoples? The thing that sticks

:55:38. > :55:42.out to me most is that, I have never been a Facebook person before, but

:55:43. > :55:47.Facebook became our lifeline in Houston to check on each other.

:55:48. > :55:54.Countless stories from friends and acquaintances and family members

:55:55. > :56:01.that would post" I think we are OK, the water is coming up the driveway"

:56:02. > :56:07.. The next hour" the water is at the front door". And then expose would

:56:08. > :56:13.be "I am stuck and I am scared". It was a helpless feeling to know you

:56:14. > :56:18.can't do anything about it. I think your school is trying to distribute

:56:19. > :56:25.about 250 meals a day, is that right? Correct. That is an amazing

:56:26. > :56:32.effort. There are three campuses, actually. So we are able to reach

:56:33. > :56:45.different parts of the city. Well, thank you for talking to us.

:56:46. > :56:52.Right, some messages from you about the film that SNP MP Hannah Bardell

:56:53. > :56:56.made for us, talking to politicians who have come out. Sarah says,

:56:57. > :56:58.powerful feature on how far parliament and the UK have

:56:59. > :57:05.progressed when it comes to LGBT rights. Annie says this piece was

:57:06. > :57:10.well executed and sensitively handled. Boris says years ago, I

:57:11. > :57:14.asked my maternal uncle, why have I not been asked by anyone if I was

:57:15. > :57:18.gay? He replied, does anyone ask whether the Pope is a Catholic! News

:57:19. > :57:20.and sport on the way. Let's get the latest

:57:21. > :57:30.weather update with Carol. Today is a day of sunshine and

:57:31. > :57:36.showers. It has been a chilly start to the day, but temperatures are

:57:37. > :57:41.rising nicely in the sunshine. The showers could be heavy and thundery.

:57:42. > :57:45.We have had a lot of showers in the West and the south, you can see a

:57:46. > :57:48.cluster of them in north-west England, particularly the Blackpool

:57:49. > :57:56.area, where they have been happy and thundery. But Liverpool is dry as a

:57:57. > :58:00.bone. Showers will become more widespread, some of them again the

:58:01. > :58:06.heavy and thundery, some of them with some hail. In the sunshine in

:58:07. > :58:12.between a feeling quite pleasant, especially across parts of Northern

:58:13. > :58:17.Ireland. For Scotland, prolific showers, but in between we will also

:58:18. > :58:21.see some sunshine. The showers are fairly hit and miss. In northern

:58:22. > :58:27.England, we carry on with the showers. You might be lucky, your

:58:28. > :58:31.friend may not. In the Midlands, East Anglia and the south-east,

:58:32. > :58:40.temperature-wise we are in better shape than yesterday, back to where

:58:41. > :58:45.we should be at around 20 or 21. In the south-west, we have a mixed rub

:58:46. > :58:53.right sunshine and showers, as we do across Wales. Overnight, we will

:58:54. > :58:57.slowly start to lose those showers. There will still be clusters of them

:58:58. > :59:08.near the coast and under clear skies, it will be a cool night.

:59:09. > :59:21.Temperatures may be low enough for a touch of grass frost. A loss of

:59:22. > :59:33.sunshine around, but we will see some showers. Few are towards the

:59:34. > :59:38.West. For Saturday, another chilly start to the day, with another touch

:59:39. > :59:46.of grass frost. A lot of dry weather. Later, the cloud will

:59:47. > :59:48.thicken across Northern Ireland, heralding the arrival of a weather

:59:49. > :59:54.front bringing wet and windy weather. Through the course of the

:59:55. > :59:59.day, it is going to slowly meander eastwards. The further east you are,

:00:00. > :00:07.the drier and brighter it is likely to be.

:00:08. > :00:12.Britain has the gayest parliament in the world -

:00:13. > :00:15.but what's it like for a poltitician when they come out?

:00:16. > :00:17.This morning, Kezia Dugdale, the former leader of

:00:18. > :00:19.Scottish Labour, tells us she was outed by a magazine

:00:20. > :00:22.I didn't have complete control over coming out.

:00:23. > :00:24.I came out in the middle of an incredibly intense

:00:25. > :00:27.It was the 2016 Scottish parliament elections.

:00:28. > :00:30.It wasn't under my control, and I do regret that,

:00:31. > :00:49.Have high-profile gay politicians helped you, I'd? -- helped you out?

:00:50. > :00:52.The Government is being forced rethink its new law introduced last

:00:53. > :00:54.year to ban so-called legal highs after the first contested

:00:55. > :00:57.We will explain the background to the story.

:00:58. > :01:01.It's never easy meeting "the one" - we meet a woman who has been on 77

:01:02. > :01:06.Do get in touch and let us know tales of your first dates.

:01:07. > :01:21.How many has it taken you to meet Mr or Mrs Right?

:01:22. > :01:24.Chris Rogers is in the BBC Newsroom with a summary

:01:25. > :01:32.The Prime Minister, Theresa May, says she wants to lead the

:01:33. > :01:36.Conservatives into the next general election, saying she is in it for

:01:37. > :01:39.the long-term Mrs May is on a three-day trip to Japan where she

:01:40. > :01:45.spoke to our political correspondent Ben Wright. The second day of the

:01:46. > :01:52.trip is being dominated with discussions on trade, the security

:01:53. > :01:56.operation, UK troops will be training with Japanese troops. But

:01:57. > :01:59.this trip will be remembered for Theresa May's unplanned yet very

:02:00. > :02:07.blunt declaration on her own political future and her intention

:02:08. > :02:13.to lead the Conservative Party into the next general election in 2022,

:02:14. > :02:18.trying to scotch the rumours since the botched general election in June

:02:19. > :02:22.that she is not long in the job. She wants to make it clear now that not

:02:23. > :02:26.only does she want to see Britain through Brexit, but she wants to

:02:27. > :02:31.take it beyond that. People within her party in parliament will be

:02:32. > :02:35.perfectly comfortable with that. There is no clearly Bishop rival

:02:36. > :02:40.waiting in the wings. But long-term, ultimately Theresa May's fate is in

:02:41. > :02:44.the hands of her party, and if they decide that it is untenable for her

:02:45. > :02:47.to be continuing that long into the future, then frankly, she won't be.

:02:48. > :02:50.The former Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale has exclusively told

:02:51. > :02:52.this programme she had to come out as gay after being

:02:53. > :03:01.The MSP says when she asked for her quotes

:03:02. > :03:03.on her sexuality not to be included, her request was ignored.

:03:04. > :03:06.Dugdale is one of a number of politicians asked by this programme

:03:07. > :03:09.about what it was like opening up about their sexuality.

:03:10. > :03:12.A law banning so-called legal highs in the UK is to be reviewed

:03:13. > :03:15.by the Crown Prosecution Service, after the collapse of the first ever

:03:16. > :03:16.contested cases under the new legislation.

:03:17. > :03:18.Two separate trials of people accused of intending

:03:19. > :03:21.to supply nitrous oxide - more commonly known as laughing gas

:03:22. > :03:24.- at music festivals were stopped after the courts heard the drug

:03:25. > :03:32.is exempt because it is used as a medicinal product.

:03:33. > :03:34.Rescuers are searching for up to 40 people thought to be trapped

:03:35. > :03:37.in a collapsed building in India's financial capital, Mumbai.

:03:38. > :03:39.The four-storey building gave way after two days

:03:40. > :03:40.of heavy monsoon rains, which have already resulted

:03:41. > :03:46.The governor of Texas has warned the amount of federal government aid

:03:47. > :03:48.it will need in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey,

:03:49. > :03:51.is likely to be far in excess of the $100 billion made

:03:52. > :03:53.available for the storm that devastated New Orleans

:03:54. > :03:58.At least 33 people are now known to have died since the storm

:03:59. > :04:02.Pipelines and fuel production have been shut down and overnight,

:04:03. > :04:05.the owners of a flooded chemical plant warned that it would explode

:04:06. > :04:19.20 years ago today, Diana Princess of Wales died in a car crash in

:04:20. > :04:21.Paris after being pursued by photographers.

:04:22. > :04:24.A range of public events have been organised to remember her death

:04:25. > :04:26.and flowers, cards and other tributes are again being laid

:04:27. > :04:29.Her sons, Princes William and Harry, will mark

:04:30. > :04:37.That's a summary of the latest BBC News - more at 10.30.

:04:38. > :04:49.Thank you very much. Do get in touch throughout the programme. We are

:04:50. > :04:53.going to talk to some gay politicians in the next few moments.

:04:54. > :04:58.I will read out some more of your experiences.

:04:59. > :05:07.Does it help if you are gay man or woman? He was back with all the

:05:08. > :05:10.sport. It is the final day of football's transfer window.

:05:11. > :05:13.Over ?1.2 billion has already spent by Premier League

:05:14. > :05:15.clubs in this transfer window - that's a new record -

:05:16. > :05:20.Riyad Mahrez won Player of the Year two seasons ago and he's set

:05:21. > :05:23.Algeria say he's left the international camp

:05:24. > :05:26.Leicester say there haven't been any bids made.

:05:27. > :05:29.This is supposedly him in Paris airport with a fan.

:05:30. > :05:33.He could be going to Barcelona - we do know, though, he won't be

:05:34. > :05:40.That's a move that had long been rumoured.

:05:41. > :05:41.Talisman Alexis Sanchez could leave Arsenal.

:05:42. > :05:43.Their top scorer, with 24 league goals last term,

:05:44. > :05:46.of a ?50 million bid frm Manchester City.

:05:47. > :05:49.It was rejected, but with Sanchez into the final year of his contract,

:05:50. > :05:58.Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain will definitely be leaving Arsenal.

:05:59. > :06:01.He's heading to Merseyside to join Liverpool after the two clubs agreed

:06:02. > :06:07.The England midfielder is expected to sign a 5 year deal.

:06:08. > :06:10.Tottenham are expected to complete the signing of Paris St-Germain

:06:11. > :06:13.defender Serge Aurier for ?23 million.

:06:14. > :06:16.The deal had been held up due to work permit complications.

:06:17. > :06:19.And you can follow all the deals on the BBC Sport website,

:06:20. > :06:22.which will have a live page with updates until the window closes

:06:23. > :06:27.Scotland get another hour till midnight.

:06:28. > :06:30.5 Live have a special programme from seven this evening and there's

:06:31. > :06:38.a special Football Focus at quarter to 11 on BBC One.

:06:39. > :06:41.Kyle Edmund is the last British hope at the US Open.

:06:42. > :06:43.He beat American Steve Johnson in straight sets to get

:06:44. > :06:49.Aljaz Bedene and Cameron Norrie both went out.

:06:50. > :06:59.He injured his shoulder losing to fellow Australian John Millman.

:07:00. > :07:02.It didn't seem to hamper him though when he smashed his racket

:07:03. > :07:03.beyond repair after losing the third set.

:07:04. > :07:06.Kyrios is one of a number of players to have suffered

:07:07. > :07:08.injury trouble recently, with 5 top players having withdrawn

:07:09. > :07:24.The last three months for me has been a nightmare. I said it before,

:07:25. > :07:28.I had such a good Indian Wells, Miami, and then Davis Cup, we had a

:07:29. > :07:31.good win over America, and think things went down hill from there,

:07:32. > :07:32.really. Caroline Wozniacki is out

:07:33. > :07:34.but another former world number one - Maria Sharapova -

:07:35. > :07:37.is through to the third round. The Russian, playing her first

:07:38. > :07:40.Grand Slam since a 15 month doping ban, came from a set down to beat

:07:41. > :07:50.Timea Babos. I know I can do this, I have done it

:07:51. > :07:54.before and I want to have that feeling again. There is also the

:07:55. > :07:57.realistic understanding of you have been in this situation for awhile,

:07:58. > :08:02.it is going to take a little time, so managing the expectations is part

:08:03. > :08:03.of it, and learning as you play the match is something that I haven't

:08:04. > :08:07.done. Remember the BBC Sport website

:08:08. > :08:09.an app has the latest on the transfers -

:08:10. > :08:11.we will have more here This country has the gayest

:08:12. > :08:19.parliament in the world - But what's it like for politicians

:08:20. > :08:23.when they come out? Kezie Dugdale - the former leader

:08:24. > :08:30.of Scottish Labour - has told us she felt

:08:31. > :08:32.forced to come out by a national magazine,

:08:33. > :08:33.and Alan Duncan, the first

:08:34. > :08:35.Tory MP to come out, tells us he feels he was turned down

:08:36. > :08:38.for a job in government They've been speaking

:08:39. > :08:41.to Hannah Bardell - a lesbian SNP MP -

:08:42. > :08:44.for a report on gay politicians. We bought you her full film

:08:45. > :08:46.earlier in the programme - Sir Alan Duncan is a Foreign Office

:08:47. > :08:53.minister and was the first Conservative MP to publicly come

:08:54. > :08:57.out in 2002. When he came out, he was greeted

:08:58. > :09:00.with a mixed reaction, including one article

:09:01. > :09:01.which headlined, "I'm sorry Mr Duncan, if you are gay,

:09:02. > :09:09.you are not a Tory." So, Sir Alan, you were the first

:09:10. > :09:13.Conservative MP in 2002 to come out. What was that experience like and

:09:14. > :09:17.what was the reaction that you got? The time had come where why

:09:18. > :09:19.the hell should it matter? When I was first an MP,

:09:20. > :09:22.a senior officer in the party took me out to lunch and was sort

:09:23. > :09:26.of probing, but did not It was like saying, "Have you got

:09:27. > :09:33.a secret criminal record?" And someone on the conventional

:09:34. > :09:40.right of politics just And so I thought right,

:09:41. > :09:54.I am just going to say it You said you did not

:09:55. > :09:59.hide your sexuality from your colleagues,

:10:00. > :10:01.but you felt it was Can you talk us

:10:02. > :10:03.through what happened? Well, it is sort of, "Oh,

:10:04. > :10:07.don't make him a whip or a minister because it will all be over

:10:08. > :10:09.the Mail one-day." And of course the Daily Mail

:10:10. > :10:15.was always "the permanently bouffanted Alan Duncan,

:10:16. > :10:17.or the over-neat Alan Duncan", I actually think, in fact I know,

:10:18. > :10:23.I was blackballed from the whips' office in the John Major Parliament,

:10:24. > :10:26.not by him, but by a couple of fellow whips who just thought it

:10:27. > :10:33.would be too high risk. At the time of recording,

:10:34. > :10:36.Kezia Dugdale was leader She has since resigned, saying

:10:37. > :10:42.it is time to pass on the baton. This is the first time

:10:43. > :10:44.she has spoken publicly You were put in the position

:10:45. > :10:50.where you had to say something before maybe

:10:51. > :10:53.you would have chosen to. I did not have complete

:10:54. > :10:58.control over coming out. I came out in the middle

:10:59. > :11:00.of an incredibly intense It was the 2016 Scottish

:11:01. > :11:04.Parliament elections. I had done an interview

:11:05. > :11:09.with a publication. I have done hundreds

:11:10. > :11:11.of interviews with journalists, It was not the first time I had been

:11:12. > :11:16.asked about my sexuality or about my relationships

:11:17. > :11:19.and I would always answer honestly and then I would say,

:11:20. > :11:22."But I prefer you don't use that, I don't talk about it,

:11:23. > :11:25.I don't think it matters." And up until that day everybody

:11:26. > :11:28.respected that and then that one journalist decided no,

:11:29. > :11:31.it was a story. So I just had to suck it up,

:11:32. > :11:35.I had to make some phone calls, speak to a few people,

:11:36. > :11:37.tidy it up, make the best But no, it was not in my control

:11:38. > :11:42.and I do regret that, The journalist involved denies

:11:43. > :11:46.being asked to take it out. And obviously there has been quite

:11:47. > :11:48.a bit of press recently about your relationship

:11:49. > :11:53.with my colleague and friend SNP MSP Jenny Gilruth,

:11:54. > :11:55.but what was interesting about that was when there

:11:56. > :11:57.was commentary and coverage, it wasn't about two female

:11:58. > :11:58.parliamentarians being in a relationship, it was about two

:11:59. > :12:00.female parliamentarians That seemed to be the thing that

:12:01. > :12:11.people were upset or annoyed about. Does that in a strange way

:12:12. > :12:13.represent progress to you? I think it is fascinating

:12:14. > :12:18.when you stop and think about it. People were not in any way bothered

:12:19. > :12:22.that we were together, that the idea was of two women

:12:23. > :12:27.being together, they were more intrigued that it was two people

:12:28. > :12:29.from two different political parties and that divide was a much bigger

:12:30. > :12:36.deal than that sexuality or outlook. On that claim that Kezia Dugdale

:12:37. > :12:47.was forced out by a magazine - the magazine in question,

:12:48. > :12:49.the Fabian Review, told us they're "very sorry"

:12:50. > :12:51.she was upset by the interview. The journalist who wrote

:12:52. > :12:54.the article - Mary Riddell - told us "at no point

:12:55. > :12:56.during the interview or afterwards did Kezia Dugdale ask me not

:12:57. > :12:58.to publish her comments, which were recorded

:12:59. > :13:00.with her agreement. she ever complained to me

:13:01. > :13:03.that her on-the-record comments relating to her relationship

:13:04. > :13:05.had been published." Let's speak now to Hannah Bardell,

:13:06. > :13:07.the SNP MP for Livingston, Stuart Andrew, who has

:13:08. > :13:09.been the Conservative MP for Pudsey since 2010 -

:13:10. > :13:12.he came out in 1998, and Lloyd Russell-Moyle

:13:13. > :13:14.is the Labour MP for Brighton Kemptown -

:13:15. > :13:27.he was elected for the first Welcome all of you. Good morning,

:13:28. > :13:35.hello. I am going to ask you all, and I will start with Lloyd, has

:13:36. > :13:40.your experience of coming out been a positive one? I was out before I

:13:41. > :13:47.stood to be a member of Parliament, and I represent a relatively liberal

:13:48. > :13:52.gay area of the country in many respects, and so for me it was

:13:53. > :13:59.something I went through as a young man here in Sussex, and something

:14:00. > :14:05.that I was quite resigned to. I know a number of my colleagues in local

:14:06. > :14:11.seats, some who are still MPs, some who are no longer MPs, struggle much

:14:12. > :14:16.more. Particularly colleagues who were of an older generation. And I

:14:17. > :14:20.suspect that is changing. But it is difficult still for some politicians

:14:21. > :14:26.I know to feel totally comfortable with coming out, and worried that

:14:27. > :14:30.that then dominates the headlines rather than the policy issues that

:14:31. > :14:35.we are standing on. Stuart Andrew, what about your own experience,

:14:36. > :14:39.positive? I grew up on the island of Anglesey in North Wales, so it was

:14:40. > :14:45.quite remote, and you might imagine back in the 90s, things were very

:14:46. > :14:50.different then. It was quite hard, I have to say, quite fearful of what

:14:51. > :14:54.the repercussions might be. But I was incredibly fortunate to have the

:14:55. > :15:01.support of my family and all of the friends around me were a great

:15:02. > :15:05.support to me. But now I have lived in this constituency for 20 years, I

:15:06. > :15:10.have been a councillor here, prior to becoming a member of Parliament,

:15:11. > :15:13.and I have to say it has been a very positive experience. What I find is

:15:14. > :15:19.that most people want to see how good you are at your job rather than

:15:20. > :15:24.your sexuality. Absolutely. Hannah Bardell, in your film, Joanna Cherry

:15:25. > :15:29.told us that every gay MP receives homophobic abuse still. Yes, and

:15:30. > :15:35.that is surprising in some ways, but Twitter seems to bring out sadly the

:15:36. > :15:39.worst in people at times. But I think it is a signal that, and this

:15:40. > :15:45.programme really shows that the experiences of the MPs mirror

:15:46. > :15:48.society changes and attitudes towards LGBT rights, but it shows

:15:49. > :15:51.there is still a lot of work to do, the fact that people still receive

:15:52. > :15:56.abuse, and I know Joanna has received a lot of it, and so have

:15:57. > :16:00.others. I haven't, my experience was very positive, it was a personal

:16:01. > :16:05.struggle more than a public one. For me it was tied up in being from a

:16:06. > :16:09.single parent family and as a child viewing society as heteronormative,

:16:10. > :16:14.getting sent home with a family tree to fill in your mum and dad, and I

:16:15. > :16:17.thought, I am already strange and different, I don't want to be any

:16:18. > :16:18.more different, they think that has changed a lot as well, so we have

:16:19. > :16:32.moved on. Do you know politicians who are in

:16:33. > :16:37.the closet? I can't think of the top of my head, but things have changed

:16:38. > :16:46.so much that there could be people who have not come to terms with it

:16:47. > :16:50.yet. Lloyd, do you? I wouldn't be able to comment on current

:16:51. > :16:55.politicians. I know very recent former politicians who were still in

:16:56. > :17:00.the closet until only a few years ago.

:17:01. > :17:06.It's a personal issue, but it is harder if you enter politics and you

:17:07. > :17:11.were not out, to then suddenly have to make an announcement. That is

:17:12. > :17:23.something that will hopefully dissipate over time. I am very proud

:17:24. > :17:26.that in Worthing East, we ran a transgender candidate for the Labour

:17:27. > :17:31.Party and the campaign was not about the fact that Sophie was trans-, it

:17:32. > :17:35.was about the issues. But that was not universally supported. There

:17:36. > :17:42.were even people in her own local party that raised eyebrows. So we

:17:43. > :17:45.have a way to go. Stuart, do you think if you are an elected

:17:46. > :17:50.politician in the public eye and you are gay, that you have a

:17:51. > :17:54.responsibility to come out? I would agree with Lloyd. It is a personal

:17:55. > :18:00.decision and you have to weigh up what you think is right for you. In

:18:01. > :18:12.my experience, I felt it was something I had to do. I was beaten

:18:13. > :18:16.up for being gay in 1998, and I realised then, because the media

:18:17. > :18:19.were interested because I had stood for general election in 1997, I

:18:20. > :18:24.thought this was something that could be hanging over me if I want

:18:25. > :18:28.to continue working in politics. So that was what made me decide, and

:18:29. > :18:32.also because I want to look my electorate in the face and say, this

:18:33. > :18:36.is who I am, and be open about it. Lloyd makes a valid point that it is

:18:37. > :18:43.difficult if you have been elected and you are then struggling with the

:18:44. > :18:53.decision over when or if to come out. Do you use gay dating apps?

:18:54. > :18:59.Hannah? I have been on one app which some people use for dating, others

:19:00. > :19:03.use for events. And I did think to myself, is this something I should

:19:04. > :19:09.be on as a politician? And I thought, why not? I am not on there

:19:10. > :19:15.today, I have a partner. I am on there to engage with the community.

:19:16. > :19:21.Lloyd, have you used gay dating apps? Yes, I do. I am a single gay

:19:22. > :19:26.man in Brighton and I sometimes use gay dating apps and go for nice

:19:27. > :19:31.coffee is with people. And sometimes I meet people in bars and sometimes

:19:32. > :19:36.I don't. That is a normal way of life and the point of politicians it

:19:37. > :19:38.is to try to live as your constituents do. Many of my

:19:39. > :19:47.constituents use them and enjoy them. So we need to move away from

:19:48. > :19:53.it being an issue. Stuart, do you object to me asking if you are on

:19:54. > :20:01.Grindr? Well, considering that I am considerably older than Hannah and

:20:02. > :20:09.Lloyd... Hey, you are looking good! Well, I have been with my partner

:20:10. > :20:13.for 17 years. Fair enough. Hannah Bardell, do you think that one day,

:20:14. > :20:22.we might have a gay Prime Minister in Britain? I would like to think

:20:23. > :20:27.so. There is no reason why LGBT people, women, people with

:20:28. > :20:29.disabilities, should not be in senior positions. We have to ask

:20:30. > :20:36.ourselves why they haven't been until now. In Scotland, we are

:20:37. > :20:39.proportionally one of the guest column in the world and one of the

:20:40. > :20:46.most progressive countries in terms of LGBT rights. LGBT candidates have

:20:47. > :20:52.been better than their straight allies in the most recent general

:20:53. > :20:58.election am according to a study -- they did better in the most recent

:20:59. > :21:03.general election. It is a personal choice, but I certainly felt a

:21:04. > :21:05.personal responsibility. We are role models and we have a responsibility

:21:06. > :21:13.to the next generation to make it more equal. On that point, it is

:21:14. > :21:17.still not easy for young people to come out in some parts of the

:21:18. > :21:18.country, and you met a teenager in your constituency. Let's have a

:21:19. > :21:19.look. Hopefully, it makes it easier

:21:20. > :21:24.for young LGBT people to come out. And it's so apparent

:21:25. > :21:28.at the Glitter Cannons, a local group for young LGBT people

:21:29. > :21:31.held in my constituency. After catching up with the group,

:21:32. > :21:38.I spoke to Kieran. Tell us a bit about yourself,

:21:39. > :21:41.how old you are now and how old you were when you came out

:21:42. > :21:44.and what that experience was like. I'm 14, and I came

:21:45. > :21:46.out when I was 13. When I came out to my friends,

:21:47. > :21:53.it was all fine and dandy. Everyone accepted me apart

:21:54. > :21:55.from a few boys in my year. But they don't really

:21:56. > :21:58.bother me any more. When I came out to my mum,

:21:59. > :22:02.because she was the first one I came out to, she got a bit angry

:22:03. > :22:05.and anxious, because she thought I How much of that have

:22:06. > :22:08.you experienced And sometimes it does

:22:09. > :22:21.get to me a bit. But as time passes,

:22:22. > :22:25.I just forget about it. It's been going on for years,

:22:26. > :22:30.because they always suspected I was gay because I've never

:22:31. > :22:33.had a girlfriend. And what have you done

:22:34. > :22:35.about the bullying? Nothing, because it

:22:36. > :22:42.doesn't bother me. I feel like if I tell someone,

:22:43. > :22:45.it will just cause more problems and it will give me more stress

:22:46. > :22:47.to worry about. Talk to me about the Glitter Cannons

:22:48. > :22:51.and how that group is helping you. Before this, I used to be

:22:52. > :23:02.very sad and depressed. But since I've been

:23:03. > :23:09.at Glitter Cannons, I've stopped How important is it, do you think,

:23:10. > :23:22.to have role models, people, whether like myself,

:23:23. > :23:24.MPs or other folk, do you think it's important to have

:23:25. > :23:30.people in public life? You need a role model for motivation

:23:31. > :23:34.for what you want to do in life. Role models make you motivated

:23:35. > :23:36.to be yourself in life, because if they can be themselves

:23:37. > :23:55.in life, you can be Really interesting. Let me read

:23:56. > :24:00.these two e-mails to you all. The first is from Nick. It contains some

:24:01. > :24:02.strong language. Watching your programme this morning and the

:24:03. > :24:07.brilliant feature on gay MPs coming out. When you come out, it never

:24:08. > :24:12.really becomes easy and the fear of homophobia is ever present. I should

:24:13. > :24:17.know. My partner and I were recently the victims of homophobia. Our

:24:18. > :24:21.neighbours sang a song at us including the words fag, queer and

:24:22. > :24:24.fairy, which we recorded, took to the police and eventually, it went

:24:25. > :24:30.to court. However, even with all the evidence we have, and after the CPS

:24:31. > :24:34.had downgraded the offence because they were afraid it was difficult to

:24:35. > :24:40.prove intent, the three magistrates found our neighbours not guilty, as

:24:41. > :24:45.they felt the words satirical, and there was no intent. Peter says,

:24:46. > :24:51.watching your feature about coming out, I came out aged 41, 11 years

:24:52. > :24:55.ago. It took me a long time and a lot of courage to do it. Thankfully,

:24:56. > :25:00.it went better than I had anticipated. I had built it up to be

:25:01. > :25:04.a nightmare scenario and I seriously considered taking my own life. I

:25:05. > :25:10.couldn't see a life ahead being in the closet, and I couldn't see a

:25:11. > :25:14.life ahead as being an out gay man, so taking my life seemed like the

:25:15. > :25:18.best option. I had been married for 23 years to my childhood sweetheart

:25:19. > :25:22.from the age of ten, and we had three children. They were all

:25:23. > :25:30.brilliantly supportive, although it was an upsetting time for me and my

:25:31. > :25:36.then wife. It's a real challenge for many people, Hannah. It is. What

:25:37. > :25:40.Kieran's interview shows is that there are still challenges. We have

:25:41. > :25:44.come a long way, there wasn't anything like that group when I was

:25:45. > :25:47.growing up and I am sure colleagues across the political spectrum, it

:25:48. > :25:51.makes me proud that we have something like that in Livingston,

:25:52. > :25:54.but it shows me how many young people there are out there and like

:25:55. > :25:58.those who have e-mailed in who are still struggling. So it is about

:25:59. > :26:02.visibility and role models, but it's also about having a more inclusive

:26:03. > :26:07.society in general and saying we need to be more accepting. We cannot

:26:08. > :26:11.lock people out of society because of their sexuality, their religion,

:26:12. > :26:15.the colour of their skin, their disability, and continuing to push

:26:16. > :26:22.those boundaries. Quick reaction from at least two out of three of

:26:23. > :26:28.you. I can't ask our Conservative MP for his reaction to Theresa May

:26:29. > :26:31.saying she will be leader of the Conservative Party into the next

:26:32. > :26:36.general election, because he is a government whip. He is part of the

:26:37. > :26:46.leadership office, so it might be unfair to put him on the spot. Let

:26:47. > :26:51.me ask Hannah and Lloyd, as a Labour MP, what do you think of Theresa

:26:52. > :26:57.May's comments? I say bring it on. She's a dead woman walking, as

:26:58. > :27:00.Osborne said, and if she wants to run the Conservative Party until the

:27:01. > :27:05.next election, I think people will make sure she is booted out. She has

:27:06. > :27:08.flip-flopped on so many things, it is no surprise that she has changed

:27:09. > :27:13.her mind on this. It seems she does not have the support of all of her

:27:14. > :27:18.party. Grant Shapps' comments this morning were very telling. Time will

:27:19. > :27:19.tell. Thank you all for coming on the programme.

:27:20. > :27:27.Let's talk more now about Theresa May's future.

:27:28. > :27:36.Katie Perrior, a former Press Secretary

:27:37. > :27:49.I think Theresa May's position has not really changed. She's not going

:27:50. > :27:53.to quit. She is in the middle of Brexit negotiations, so she needs to

:27:54. > :27:56.show a strong hand. But if the Conservative Party at any time in

:27:57. > :28:04.the future want to put forward other candidates, that is for them to do.

:28:05. > :28:07.And if she is ask the question, are you going to lead the party into the

:28:08. > :28:10.next general election, it is like asking the England manager if they

:28:11. > :28:16.are going to win the next game. There are not many answers you can

:28:17. > :28:21.give. You can avoid the question or you can address it head-on. When she

:28:22. > :28:25.goes on a trip to Japan or any foreign trips, they are very well

:28:26. > :28:31.scripted answers. They will know the media would want a response to the

:28:32. > :28:35.Daily Mirror story last week, whereby they picked the date out of

:28:36. > :28:40.thin air and said she would be leaving in August of when to 19. She

:28:41. > :28:44.responded strongly to that and said there is no date planned for her to

:28:45. > :28:47.leave. And there was no vacancy at the top of the Conservative Party.

:28:48. > :28:51.Conservative MPs love to plot. It is a bit like an addiction to crack

:28:52. > :28:54.cocaine, they can't get enough of it, but I don't think it will come

:28:55. > :29:03.to much. I don't sense that there is any appetite to replace Theresa May.

:29:04. > :29:08.Thank you very much. We will bring you the latest headlines in a

:29:09. > :29:14.moment. Let me bring you this news from Texas. Two explosions have been

:29:15. > :29:19.reported at a chemical plant. AFP are reporting this, a French news

:29:20. > :29:23.agency. They say local emergency officials reported two explosions at

:29:24. > :29:29.a flood of chemical plant in the Texas town of Crosby. At two a:m.,

:29:30. > :29:36.we were notified of two explosions and black smoke coming from the

:29:37. > :29:42.plant. As a precautionary measure, officials had already ordered the

:29:43. > :29:48.evacuation of an area of three kilometres around organic peroxide

:29:49. > :29:54.plant, which operators said was at risk of exploding due to a critical

:29:55. > :30:05.issue triggered by Hurricane Harvey's torrential rains.

:30:06. > :30:11.The area had already been evacuated, thank goodness, and the operators

:30:12. > :30:13.new there was potentially the risk of an explosion because of those

:30:14. > :30:25.torrential rains. Theresa May says she wants to leave

:30:26. > :30:31.the Conservatives into the next general election, saying she's in it

:30:32. > :30:35.for the long-term. Prime Minister is currently on a three-day visit to

:30:36. > :30:37.Japan. Senior Conservatives including Boris Johnson have

:30:38. > :30:43.publicly rallied behind her. Labour has accused her of deluding herself.

:30:44. > :30:46.The former Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale has exclusively told

:30:47. > :30:48.this programme she had to come out as gay after being

:30:49. > :30:51.The MSP says when she asked for her quotes

:30:52. > :30:56.on her sexuality not to be included, her request was ignored.

:30:57. > :30:59.A law banning so-called legal highs in the UK is to be reviewed

:31:00. > :31:02.by the Crown Prosecution Service, after the collapse of the first ever

:31:03. > :31:03.contested cases under the new legislation.

:31:04. > :31:05.Two separate trials of people accused of intending

:31:06. > :31:08.to supply nitrous oxide - more commonly known as laughing gas

:31:09. > :31:11.- at music festivals were stopped after the courts heard the drug

:31:12. > :31:23.is exempt because it is used as a medicinal product.

:31:24. > :31:32.A residential building has collapsed in a crowded part of Mumbai, killing

:31:33. > :31:34.seven people. Rescuers searching for many more people.

:31:35. > :31:36.The four-storey building gave way after two days

:31:37. > :31:37.of heavy monsoon rains, which have already resulted

:31:38. > :31:45.That's a summary of the latest BBC News.

:31:46. > :31:49.It's the dreaded final day of the football transfer window

:31:50. > :31:52.but there are plenty of deals that could still be concluded.

:31:53. > :31:54.Leicester City's Riyad Mahrez has been given permission by Algeria

:31:55. > :31:58.to leave the international camp and formalise a transfer.

:31:59. > :32:00.Arsenal won't be the destination though, it's expected

:32:01. > :32:05.Manchester City are reportedly chasing a deal for Alexis Sanchez.

:32:06. > :32:08.They've had a bid of ?50 million rejected but could go back

:32:09. > :32:11.in for him, with his contract at the Emirates finishing

:32:12. > :32:30.Tottenham are expecting to complete the signing of Serge Aurier, that

:32:31. > :32:34.had been held up due to permit convocations.

:32:35. > :32:37.Maria Sharapova made it through to Round 3 at the US Open.

:32:38. > :32:39.She came from a set down to beat Hungray's Timea Babos

:32:40. > :32:41.in what's her frist major tournament since returning from

:32:42. > :32:47.I will be back with more after 11 o'clock. Thank you very much.

:32:48. > :32:49.The number of serious incidents involving ambulance patients has

:32:50. > :32:53.An investigation by the BBC found these incidents include

:32:54. > :32:57.an allegation of rape, a wheel falling off an ambulance

:32:58. > :32:59.and the death of a patient after paramedics lost the keys

:33:00. > :33:08.Let's talk to Jonathan Fox, a paramedic for more than 30 years,

:33:09. > :33:11.years, now semi-retired, and Alan Lofthouse, a former

:33:12. > :33:17.paramedic and the ambulance lead with the union Unison.

:33:18. > :33:24.Why do you think these incidents are rising? We have seen a 30% increase

:33:25. > :33:28.in demand an Ambulance Services, and that was, the same time as the

:33:29. > :33:33.Government has only increased the funding by 15%. The main thing to

:33:34. > :33:39.think about is these incidents RF, and they need to be looked into.

:33:40. > :33:42.These are highly dedicated professional staff dealing with

:33:43. > :33:47.emergency care, and lessons need to be learned and shared among other

:33:48. > :33:52.staff. Jonathan Fox, how do you react to the nature of some of these

:33:53. > :33:58.incident, the allegation of a patient being raped, paramedics

:33:59. > :34:01.losing the keys to the vehicle? There is a human dynamic to this,

:34:02. > :34:08.but I agree with your Unison colleague. The Ambulance Service is

:34:09. > :34:12.responding to nearly 7 million calls a year, and thankfully these serious

:34:13. > :34:14.incidents is a very small, but nevertheless they need to be

:34:15. > :34:18.investigated. One thing you must remember is it is not on the

:34:19. > :34:21.individual that the onus of responsibility is, but also a

:34:22. > :34:30.corporate responsibility, and trusts end up being the recipients as well.

:34:31. > :34:34.In terms of potentially trying to moderate or reduce the workload of

:34:35. > :34:38.paramedics, is it simply down to money, recruiting more? The

:34:39. > :34:41.Ambulance Service has become the default service as people struggle

:34:42. > :34:45.to get appointments with GPs. They look to the Ambulance Service much

:34:46. > :34:51.more, and mental health services are still being built. More ambulances

:34:52. > :34:54.are needed, more staff, and we have a situation where it is pretty

:34:55. > :34:58.intolerable out their family lets workers, and many are taking the

:34:59. > :35:02.decision to leave and do other work. We need to do something to stem the

:35:03. > :35:10.levers that are leaving the service. Thank you both very much.

:35:11. > :35:14.Before the end of the programme we are going to talk about the final

:35:15. > :35:17.day of the football transfer window and the massive amounts of money

:35:18. > :35:22.swirling around, and maybe acknowledging that that is a good

:35:23. > :35:25.thing for football and football supporters. Your views are welcome.

:35:26. > :35:29.Now let's speak to the woman who's been on 77 first dates in two years

:35:30. > :35:35.I don't know what she has been looking for.

:35:36. > :35:51.How are you. What are you looking for? I'm good, thank you. What am I

:35:52. > :35:55.looking for, good question. I would say someone with a good sense of

:35:56. > :36:00.humour is a must, not someone that takes himself too seriously, because

:36:01. > :36:03.clearly I don't. I also find ambition really attractive in men,

:36:04. > :36:10.someone that in their work is ambitious but also in their personal

:36:11. > :36:15.life, wants to try new things, go to new places, I could be with someone

:36:16. > :36:21.who just says, I don't mind where we go, or just happy doing the same

:36:22. > :36:24.thing. I would also say dress sense, nice dresser, that is important,

:36:25. > :36:29.someone who takes pride in their appearance. And out of those 77

:36:30. > :36:35.first dates, you haven't found somebody who is a little bit of all

:36:36. > :36:38.of those? Not really. It is also a feeling that you get when you have a

:36:39. > :36:46.first date and you are excited to see them again. I have been on

:36:47. > :36:49.second and third dates, but it hasn't been passed that because I

:36:50. > :36:53.haven't felt buttocks item at where I think it could go somewhere. I

:36:54. > :36:56.feel for you, because you know we need go on a first date, you build

:36:57. > :37:01.yourself up, you do your heroine make up, you think about what you're

:37:02. > :37:10.going to wear. 77 times, you have done that! And you are still single.

:37:11. > :37:12.Yes, when you put it like that! Let's imagine there is a swathe of

:37:13. > :37:21.single young blokes watching you right now and thinking, OK, I don't

:37:22. > :37:26.wear brown shoes, I might do for her. What are your top tips for

:37:27. > :37:30.those guys watching right now? Just someone that wants to get to know

:37:31. > :37:42.me, and... If someone wants to try something

:37:43. > :37:52.new, a new place, or maybe an activity date. Where something nice,

:37:53. > :37:57.a nice shirt, jeans, smart shoes, and just be yourself, really, I

:37:58. > :38:01.think. It is always weird when someone says be yourself, because

:38:02. > :38:04.you try, but we have lost her anyway. Be yourself.

:38:05. > :38:07.Tonight, the most expensive football transfer window ever closes

:38:08. > :38:09.as Premier League clubs splash the cash.

:38:10. > :38:17.We'll be looking at the most eye-watering deals.

:38:18. > :38:20.Is it time to acknowledge that the money in the game is now a good

:38:21. > :38:23.thing? The government is being forced

:38:24. > :38:28.to think again about a new law it brought in last year to ban

:38:29. > :38:31.so-called legal highs. The law bans the production

:38:32. > :38:33.or the sale of any substance that affects a person's mental state

:38:34. > :38:36.or behaviour but in the first case of its kind a judge has ruled

:38:37. > :38:39.that they can't do that. The case collapsed and now there's

:38:40. > :38:42.to be a review by Crown prosecutors I'm joined in the studio

:38:43. > :38:52.now by Mike Trace, a former deputy drugs tsar and chief

:38:53. > :38:55.executive of the Forward Trust of Legal Services at Release,

:38:56. > :39:05.the national centre Welcome to the programme. How do you

:39:06. > :39:15.react first of all to this case collapsing? It is Kirsty. I beg your

:39:16. > :39:17.pardon, I'm so sorry. We warned the Government when we were bringing in

:39:18. > :39:23.the draft legislation that the ability to bring in a ban on

:39:24. > :39:28.psychoactive substances was unworkable, so it is unsurprising.

:39:29. > :39:32.And Nic Ede with the particular collapse of this case is it was to

:39:33. > :39:35.do with nitrous oxide, which is laughing gas, which if you look at

:39:36. > :39:39.the legislation actually says there is an exemption for medical use. As

:39:40. > :39:43.Kirsty says, this could have been predicted. The Government were

:39:44. > :39:48.trying to do something reasonable last year in trying to say we need

:39:49. > :39:53.to encompass all categories of drugs in one legislation, but you then

:39:54. > :39:56.have to write definitions of what you mean by psychoactive drugs, and

:39:57. > :40:00.those are broad categories that are going to be challenged, and this is

:40:01. > :40:06.the first challenge and succeeded in court. OK. So it makes you wonder

:40:07. > :40:12.why the CPS brought the case, doesn't it? Absolutely, and

:40:13. > :40:16.particularly in the most recent case yesterday, it was the prosecution's

:40:17. > :40:20.own expert that agreed that nitrous oxide fell into medical exemption,

:40:21. > :40:24.so it is surprising they didn't check that before going to court and

:40:25. > :40:28.wasting time and resources. Does that mean there will have to be a

:40:29. > :40:33.rewrite of the legislation? It is going to be very challenging to try

:40:34. > :40:37.to ban so-called legal highs. Certainly a rethink is necessary,

:40:38. > :40:40.but what that leads to, the Government will have to take it

:40:41. > :40:45.forward. What they are trying to do with this act was get some control

:40:46. > :40:51.over a market that had lots of different substances in it, new

:40:52. > :40:58.substances being invented a weekly basis. What looks to have happened

:40:59. > :41:01.is that their attempt to do that by including all psychoactive

:41:02. > :41:04.substances under one single legislation is now called into

:41:05. > :41:07.question. What they do about it obviously depends on what we want

:41:08. > :41:12.the drug laws to achieve, and what we try to do is reduce the harm that

:41:13. > :41:17.comes from drug use, particularly in terms of what we used to call legal

:41:18. > :41:21.highs. There are overdoses, psychosis, and we want to minimise

:41:22. > :41:25.the health harms that people have. Whether this law has achieved that,

:41:26. > :41:29.we don't know, because there is no real clear evaluation, but certainly

:41:30. > :41:32.doesn't seem to have stopped the problem from the perspective of us

:41:33. > :41:35.treatment agencies, there Rhys Turner problem out there. So the

:41:36. > :41:43.legislation so far has made no difference? They have achieved their

:41:44. > :41:48.initial aim of closing down some of these retail outlets that were legal

:41:49. > :41:52.last year. But it looks like the trade has gone underground and there

:41:53. > :41:56.is still a trade, and my area of interest, which is people who were

:41:57. > :41:59.marginalised from society, prisoners, homeless people, the

:42:00. > :42:06.level of use seems to have gone up since last year. Kirsty, as you are

:42:07. > :42:09.ahead of the national expertise on drug law, what is the impact from

:42:10. > :42:16.your own experience of this legislation? None that we can see.

:42:17. > :42:20.But we know that as well, that if we are looking at wider drug policy,

:42:21. > :42:24.the Government themselves know that, they had their own investigation. So

:42:25. > :42:29.it isn't just a young piece of legislation? No, it is the

:42:30. > :42:35.Government's whole attitude to John policy. They had their own report in

:42:36. > :42:37.2014, and came to their conclusion that there was no significant

:42:38. > :42:40.correlation between the law enforcement approach that country

:42:41. > :42:46.takes and the levels of use in that country. So if law enforcement is

:42:47. > :42:52.causing harm by criminalising people and disproportionately affecting

:42:53. > :42:55.black and ethnic minority communities, then those are wider

:42:56. > :43:00.harms that are being caused without achieving the aimed that the

:43:01. > :43:03.Government set out to do. So if you were in charge of drugs policy in

:43:04. > :43:08.this country, what would your approach be? We need to have a

:43:09. > :43:14.complete rethink. Meaning what? Looking at different models. The

:43:15. > :43:18.first step would be to decriminalise personal possession of all drugs to

:43:19. > :43:22.remove the harms of criminal records. And bring problematic drug

:43:23. > :43:27.use into the public health sphere and look at recreational drug use in

:43:28. > :43:31.terms of education and reducing the harms of that. When something is

:43:32. > :43:35.illegal, then people don't access accurate advice and they also don't

:43:36. > :43:39.go to treatment services because they are scared of being

:43:40. > :43:42.criminalised. I'm reading a Home Office statement. Nitrous oxide is

:43:43. > :43:46.covered by the psychoactive substances act and is illegal to

:43:47. > :43:53.supply for its psychoactive effect. However the act provides an

:43:54. > :43:56.exemption for medical products. Whether a substance is covered by

:43:57. > :44:01.this is based on the circumstances of each individual case. And it goes

:44:02. > :44:04.on to talk about the legislation, since the psychoactive substances

:44:05. > :44:08.act came into force last you, over 300 retailers have either closed

:44:09. > :44:14.down or are now no longer selling the stuff. Able have arrested the

:44:15. > :44:19.suppliers, and action by the agency has based in the removal of UK-based

:44:20. > :44:23.websites. It goes on, these dangerous trucks have already cost

:44:24. > :44:27.far too many lives, and the act is sending out a clear message. This

:44:28. > :44:31.Government will take whatever action is necessary to keep our families

:44:32. > :44:35.and communities safe. You said they close down various retailers, but

:44:36. > :44:40.the blaster using it. Yes, that is the dilemma for governments around

:44:41. > :44:44.the world, you can close down shops and websites, but the fundamental

:44:45. > :44:48.market still goes round. What we are trying to achieve his less harm from

:44:49. > :44:51.that market, less people dying, less people having health problems

:44:52. > :44:55.associated with their drug use. Those indicators will tell us

:44:56. > :45:00.whether laws are helping or not. In the case of new psychoactive

:45:01. > :45:04.substances, we know from our experience at Forward Trust the

:45:05. > :45:07.people we deal with, prisoners, homeless, marginalised people, they

:45:08. > :45:12.are getting access to these drugs at a greater rate than they ever have.

:45:13. > :45:16.The other thing we worry about is purity and potency. One of the

:45:17. > :45:25.indicators of harms is how pure or potent any drug use, whether it is

:45:26. > :45:28.mephedrone, cannabis, the more pure and potent, the more likely harms

:45:29. > :45:30.you will get. One of the real risks of taking a Criminal Justice Act

:45:31. > :45:34.approach is you are creating... I apologise for interrupting, because

:45:35. > :45:36.we are going to Japan where the Prime Minister Theresa May is

:45:37. > :45:50.holding a news conference. TRANSLATION: We are now living in an

:45:51. > :45:54.age of change and uncertainty. The international order founded on the

:45:55. > :46:01.rule of law is faced with serious challenges in a variety of ways. In

:46:02. > :46:07.this context, there is a growing importance of cooperation between

:46:08. > :46:11.Japan and the UK, which are global strategic partners sharing basic

:46:12. > :46:18.values like democracy, rule of law, human rights and so forth. North

:46:19. > :46:25.Korea resorted to an outrageous act of launching a missile that flew

:46:26. > :46:31.over our nation. This is an unprecedented and serious threat. We

:46:32. > :46:42.do not tolerate the nuclear and missile development by North Korea.

:46:43. > :46:49.Today, to increase our pressure on North Korea, we agreed with Prime

:46:50. > :47:00.Minister May to strengthen the pressure and to that end to seek

:47:01. > :47:05.China. Today, we issued our joint statement demonstrating our resolute

:47:06. > :47:11.determination of our two nations, which is also an important outcome

:47:12. > :47:14.of our discussion. Three today's talks, Prime Minister May and I

:47:15. > :47:20.agreed to advance Anglo Japanese relations to a new stage, centred on

:47:21. > :47:31.the areas of security, economy and global prosperity and growth. We

:47:32. > :47:41.issued a joint vision statement on security cooperation and cooperation

:47:42. > :47:52.for prosperity. Firstly on security, we as partners in maritime stability

:47:53. > :47:54.agreed on elevating our security cooperation to a new height

:47:55. > :48:01.including cooperation on ensuring a free and open in the Pacific Ocean.

:48:02. > :48:09.This is of great significance for the peace and stability of the

:48:10. > :48:15.world. I welcome Prime Minister May strengthening her engagement in the

:48:16. > :48:23.Pacific region. Great Britain is an important player in the Asia

:48:24. > :48:28.Pacific. Henceforward, we will be promoting cooperation in areas such

:48:29. > :48:36.as joint exercise, defence equipment technology cooperation and support

:48:37. > :48:42.for capacity building. In the area of counterterrorism and cyber

:48:43. > :48:49.attacks, I confirm to have closer collaboration with Prime Minister

:48:50. > :48:54.May. For the successful delivery of the 2019 Rugby World Cup and 2020

:48:55. > :48:57.Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo, we agreed to promote

:48:58. > :49:01.knowledge sharing in these fields with the UK, which has a wealth of

:49:02. > :49:06.experience in hosting the Rugby World Cup and the London Olympic and

:49:07. > :49:12.Paralympic Games. We also discussed the situation in East and South

:49:13. > :49:20.China Seas, and reaffirmed the close collaboration between us to maintain

:49:21. > :49:28.the rules -based international order upon concurring on our opposition to

:49:29. > :49:38.the attempt to alter the status quo. Second, on the economic partnership,

:49:39. > :49:41.the fact that after the decision on Brexit, Japanese companies are

:49:42. > :49:49.continuing to make new investment into the United Kingdom shows the

:49:50. > :49:56.profound trust that Japanese companies have towards the British

:49:57. > :50:01.economy. It is important for the world economy to realise Brexit from

:50:02. > :50:06.the EU which is smooth and successful. With this in mind, I

:50:07. > :50:13.have asked Prime Minister May for her considered commitment to

:50:14. > :50:16.ensuring transparency and do ability as to minimise its impact on

:50:17. > :50:24.business activities including Japanese companies. We also agree to

:50:25. > :50:28.have further enhancement of the dialogue between the two nations for

:50:29. > :50:37.the strengthening of the bilateral economic relations after Brexit.

:50:38. > :50:42.Lastly, but not least, in the area of cooperation for prosperity and

:50:43. > :50:45.growth of the world, common challenges of our two nations such

:50:46. > :50:51.as ageing with low fertility and women's empowerment are issues which

:50:52. > :50:55.sooner or later, other countries will be facing. With respect to how

:50:56. > :51:01.we are going to counter these issues, I find it of great

:51:02. > :51:05.significance that I agreed with Prime Minister May to lead the

:51:06. > :51:08.international efforts for knowledge sharing through Anglo Japanese

:51:09. > :51:14.collaboration. Today, we were able to embark upon a step towards the

:51:15. > :51:19.new stage of co-operatives relationships on a global scale as

:51:20. > :51:26.we look towards the future founded on a historical connection between

:51:27. > :51:32.Japan and the United Kingdom. Here in Asia, we will be feeling the

:51:33. > :51:41.presence of the United Kingdom even closer than ever as a presence which

:51:42. > :51:45.is to be trusted. The reverse is true as well. Japan will proactively

:51:46. > :51:51.engage with the British issues that the UK is faced with in Europe as

:51:52. > :51:57.well as global ones, and will contribute in their solution in

:51:58. > :52:01.partnership with the United Kingdom. It is a great pleasure that I am

:52:02. > :52:05.here to witness together with Prime Minister May the dawning of a new

:52:06. > :52:11.era in our bilateral relationship. Going forward, I wish to seek the

:52:12. > :52:16.advancement of the Anglo-Japanese relations hand-in-hand with Prime

:52:17. > :52:23.Minister May. Thank you. Prime Minister May, the floor is yours.

:52:24. > :52:28.Thank you, Prime Minister Abe call for welcoming me to Kyoto and Tokyo.

:52:29. > :52:33.The cooperation between our countries is particularly important

:52:34. > :52:37.at this critical juncture, with North Korean provocation presenting

:52:38. > :52:40.an unprecedented threat to international security. I want to

:52:41. > :52:46.begin by expressing the UK's strong sense of solidarity with the

:52:47. > :52:53.Japanese people at this time. The UK and Japan are natural partners. We

:52:54. > :52:57.share common interests as outward looking, democratic, free trading

:52:58. > :53:03.island nations with global reach. We are committed to the rules -based

:53:04. > :53:06.international system, free and open international trade and the

:53:07. > :53:12.fundamental values of freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule

:53:13. > :53:17.of law. Today, we have committed to elevating the UK - Japan partnership

:53:18. > :53:22.in a number of areas. As two outward facing companies with many --

:53:23. > :53:26.countries with shared challenges, Japan is a natural partner for us on

:53:27. > :53:32.defence and security issues. We are each other's closest security

:53:33. > :53:36.partners in Asia and Europe. Today, we have agreed a joint declaration

:53:37. > :53:40.on security cooperation to enhance our collective response to threats

:53:41. > :53:46.to the international order and to global peace and security through

:53:47. > :53:50.increased cooperation on defence, foreign policy, cyber security and

:53:51. > :53:54.counterterrorism. Our defence cooperation is already strong, with

:53:55. > :54:00.our typhoon fighter jets exercising in Japan last year, the first time a

:54:01. > :54:05.country other than the US has done so. We are now taking this further

:54:06. > :54:13.with the deployment of HMS Argyll to the region in December 2018 and UK

:54:14. > :54:18.troops exercising jointly with their counterparts next year in Japan for

:54:19. > :54:23.the first time. We must also tackle new and emerging threats together

:54:24. > :54:28.through counterterrorism and cyber security. Today, we have agreed a

:54:29. > :54:31.new programme of cooperation to ensure a safe and secure Rugby World

:54:32. > :54:37.Cup and Olympic and Paralympic Games here in Japan. We have highlighted

:54:38. > :54:42.our opposition to any actions on the south and east China Seas likely to

:54:43. > :54:48.increase tension. Stability in this region is a global concern, and we

:54:49. > :54:54.encourage all parties to resolve their disputes peacefully and in

:54:55. > :54:59.accordance with international law. Of course, I'm here at a critical

:55:00. > :55:02.time. North Korea's missile launch this week was an outrageous

:55:03. > :55:08.provocation and an unacceptable threat to Japan's nationals. We

:55:09. > :55:13.condemn North Korea in the strongest terms for this reckless act, which

:55:14. > :55:18.was a clear violation of United Nations Security Council

:55:19. > :55:21.resolutions. In response to the illegal action, Prime Minster Abe

:55:22. > :55:24.and I have agreed to work together and with others in the international

:55:25. > :55:31.community to strengthen pressure against North Korea, including by

:55:32. > :55:34.increasing the pace of sanctions implementation and working towards

:55:35. > :55:40.the adoption of a new and effective resolution at the United Nations

:55:41. > :55:44.Security Council. Japan is also a natural partner for the UK on the

:55:45. > :55:49.economy. In building a rules -based international system and encouraging

:55:50. > :55:54.WTO reform to ensure a global economy that works for everyone,

:55:55. > :55:59.Japan is the world's third-largest economy and we benefit more from

:56:00. > :56:05.Japanese investment than any other country in the world apart from the

:56:06. > :56:09.United States. Japanese companies already invest millions in the UK

:56:10. > :56:15.and over 1000 Japanese companies including Humber, Hitachi, Fujitsu

:56:16. > :56:18.and Sony employ 140,000 people in the UK. We welcome the commitment

:56:19. > :56:24.from Japanese companies the long term present in the UK. Nissan,

:56:25. > :56:28.Toyota and Softbank in particular have made commitments to the UK

:56:29. > :56:32.since the EU referendum in a powerful vote of confidence in the

:56:33. > :56:37.long term strength of the UK economy. I have had the opportunity

:56:38. > :56:40.to meet a number of major Japanese investors here in Tokyo who have

:56:41. > :56:44.reiterated to me their belief in the strength of the UK economy and their

:56:45. > :56:50.commitment to a mutually beneficial partnership. Prime Minster Abe, it

:56:51. > :56:55.was good to reaffirm your continued faith in the UK economy including

:56:56. > :57:02.after Brexit as we addressed the business leaders earlier today. As

:57:03. > :57:06.announced earlier this month, our intention is the UK will be free to

:57:07. > :57:09.sign new bilateral trade agreements with partners around the world in

:57:10. > :57:15.any interim Brexit period, and we have agreed here today that we wait

:57:16. > :57:21.-- we want to see a swift conclusion of the ambitious EU- Japan economic

:57:22. > :57:26.partnership agreement. Prime Minster Abe and I have agreed that as we

:57:27. > :57:29.exit the EU, we will work quickly to establish a new economic partnership

:57:30. > :57:34.between Japan and the UK based on the final terms of that agreement.

:57:35. > :57:38.We will set up a new joint working group to examine how we can unblock

:57:39. > :57:45.remaining barriers to trade and take steps to build the closest, freest

:57:46. > :57:50.trading relationship between the UK and Japan after Brexit. And we have

:57:51. > :57:54.agreed to build cooperation in industrial policy, across science,

:57:55. > :58:00.innovation and energy to ensure thriving and so thank you. My first

:58:01. > :58:05.visit to your country has been a memorable one. I have seen your rich

:58:06. > :58:11.traditional culture and the modern dynamism of Japan, and our personal

:58:12. > :58:16.friendship reflects the deep friendship and bonds between our two

:58:17. > :58:22.countries. This visit marks a great step forward, not only in enriching

:58:23. > :58:28.our existing ties, but in agreeing our shared vision of even deeper

:58:29. > :58:36.cooperation in the future. I know that as we both believe, these

:58:37. > :58:39.issues will not only increase our security and prosperity and the

:58:40. > :58:42.steps we have taken will be important in that, but there will

:58:43. > :58:46.also see us together playing a unique role as standard-bearers for

:58:47. > :58:50.the open, liberal, innovative and secure world order that both our

:58:51. > :58:57.great nations rely on. Thank you.