31/10/2017 Victoria Derbyshire

Hello, it's Tuesday, it's nine

o'clock, I'm Victoria Derbyshire.

Welcome to the programme.

Our top story today...

The government's going to cut

the maximum stake on fixed-odds

betting terminals, known

as the crack cocaine

of gambling, from £100

per spin to somewhere

between 50 and £2.

I just went to the counter and I

said 500. I lost that in the space

of a a few minutes. A thousand, lost

that. And another thousand. I had no

more money in my bank account.

We'll get reaction from some

of those who've lost thousands

and thousand of pounds to these

machines - and from those

in the betting industry.

Also this morning, women

fleeing domestic abuse have

told this programme they're

being left homeless because councils

are failing to provide them with

suitable temporary accommodation.

Basically begging and every day not

knowing where you are going to be

sleeping. At the same time trying to

put on a happy face to be supportive

for the children.

That full exclusive report in around

half an hour's time.

And Defence Secretary Sir Michael

Fallon has confirmed he was once

told off by a journalist for putting

his hand on her knee during dinner.

We bring you reaction.

Hello.

Welcome to the programme.

We're live until 11.

Latest breaking news and developing

stories as always this morning.

Plus, a little later we'll look

at claims that some of Britain's

most successful Paralympic athletes

won their gold medals unfairly.

UK Athletics stand accused

of manipulating the classification

system in order to win medals.

Do get in touch on all the stories

we're talking about this morning -

use the hashtag Victoria live

and If you text, you will be charged

at the standard network rate.

Our top story today...

The government has proposed reducing

the amount of money that can be

staked on fixed-odds betting

terminals, to protect players

from racking up huge losses.

Betting companies earn about £1.8

billion a year from the machines,

which critics have described

as the "crack cocaine" of gambling.

Newsbeat's Jim Connolly is with me.

So what kind of proposals are out

there?

Is a general gambling review,

looking at online gambling,

advertising. Today's focus is on

fixed odd machines, because they

have become such a toxic issue four

of the government and society in

general. People are very -- during

the stories about putting hundreds

of pounds and machines. At the

minute if you have a special

cardigan going to your bookmakers,

loaded up and spin a roulette wheel.

The proposals today are to bring

those limits down to be -- to summer

between £2 and £50. If you can only

put £2 into the machine, the chances

of winning our lower, the chances of

getting addicted to add are lower.

The gambling industry are not happy.

They say if you hit that £2 limit.

You will wipe out half of British

gambling shops. Bookmakers will

close. 20,000 to 30,000 jobs are at

stake. It's not football bringing in

the money any more. It is these

machines. There are limited to four

per shot. If you go down a high

street you will often see two the

same bookmaker. It is profitable to

have four of these machines in one

shop and another one 100 yards down

the road.

Thank you. It is a 12 week

consultation period. We bring you

more reaction to these proposals in

the next hour. Now an ETA with the

rest of the news. Good morning.

The White House has insisted

that criminal charges

brought against former

aides to President Trump,

show no evidence of collusion

between his election

campaign and Russia.

George Papadopoulos has

admitted lying to the FBI

about his contacts with Moscow,

and two other senior aides have been

placed under house arrest as

the FBI's investigation intensifies.

Laura Bicker reports.

Paul Manafort, Donald Trump's former

campaign manager, leaves court under

house arrest facing 12 grave

charges including money

laundering and conspiracy.

He's pleading not guilty

and the charges don't relate

to his work with the Trump campaign.

But as he sped away

from the spotlight, there came

an unexpected bombshell.

George Papadopoulos,

an unpaid foreign policy adviser

for the Trump campaign secretly

pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI

about his Russian contacts.

His charge sheet says that

while he was an aide he met

a Russian professor in London

who said he had dirt

on Hillary Clinton.

Despite having earlier told

the FBI he wasn't a member

of the Trump campaign

when the meeting took place.

The professor claimed he had

thousands of Clinton campaign emails

and he worked to arrange a meeting

between Vladimir Putin

and Donald Trump, something

that did not happen.

Papadopoulos's guilty plea discloses

facts of communication

between Donald Trump campaign

and the Russians we didn't know

about and that could be

a bigger problem for Trump.

More details have emerged

about alleged Russian attempts

to influence voters on social media.

Facebook believes that 126 million

American users may have come

into contact with Russian backed

propaganda during the election.

This investigation is not going

away, as the White House had hoped,

and could overshadow the Trump

presidency for some time to come.

The Bank of England is warning that

75,000 jobs could be

lost from Britain's financial

services sector, if the UK leaves

the European Union

without a trade deal.

Senior figures at the Bank

of England are said to be

using the number as a "reasonable

scenario" in their planning

for the future, but are thought

to be optimistic that negotiations

will be successful.

Our economics editor,

Kamal Ahmed, reports.

It will be one of the toughest

challenges facing the Brexit

negotiators, tackling

the multitrillion-pound financial

services industry which links the UK

with the rest of the European Union.

Banks and financial companies based

in Britain pay £67 billion in taxes

each year, and contribute a trade

surplus of £58 billion,

helping the UK's economy.

Many EU countries would like a slice

of the sector and see

Brexit as an opportunity.

Frankfurt and Paris, for example,

are marketing themselves

as new places to locate.

The Bank of England is now preparing

for tens of thousands of job losses

which it believes will hit the UK

if there is no new free-trade deal.

Some will simply disappear

as the financial sector shrinks

across Britain and some will be lost

to London's competitor cities.

Although the bank believes 75,000

job losses is a reasonable

scenario over 3-5 years,

many are optimistic that a good deal

will be signed on financial services

because both the UK and the EU

will not want to disrupt such

a vital component of the economy.

And even with the job losses,

Britain, with over 1 million

financial services jobs,

will still be by far the most

important centre for

banking in Europe.

The Defence Secretary,

Sir Michael Fallon, has

confirmed he was once

rebuked by a political journalist

for putting his hand

on her knee during dinner.

The radio presenter,

Julia Hartley-Brewer, said she had

not been "remotely upset

or distressed" by the incident,

which happened 15 years ago.

Ms Hartley-Brewer said

that it was absurd to treat

misjudged sexual overtures

or flirting as being morally

equivalent to serious sexual

harassment or assault.

NetFlix, has insisted its decision

to cancel the political drama,

House of Cards, was made before

the star of the series was accused

of making a sexual advance

towards a teenage boy.

Kevin Spacey has apologised for any

"inappropriate drunken behaviour",

but he's faced criticism

for using the same statement

to come out as gay.

The deposed leader of Catalonia,

Carles Puigdemont, has arrived

in Belgium and hired a lawyer

specialising in immigration,

raising speculation

he may seek asylum.

Earlier, the Spanish Attorney

General said he was seeking charges,

including rebellion,

sedition and the misappropriation of

public funds, against Mr Puigdemont

and other separatist leaders over

last week's unilateral

declaration of independence.

Sarah Corker reports.

In Barcelona, people are asking

just what happens next.

The Spanish government is now

in charge of running this,

the Catalan region.

Carles Puigdemont, the deposed

Catalan leader faces charges

of rebellion and he has

decided to escape.

TRANSLATION: He is in Belgium.

I think, to step away a bit

and let things calm down.

He did not give me

much more explanation.

I am not his political assistant

but his justice assistant.

And speculation is growing that

Carles Puigdemont is preparing

to seek asylum in Belgium.

He is now potentially a fugitive

from Spanish justice.

In Catalonia, he won the hearts

of these supporters by declaring

independence on Friday.

But he has left others,

like these pro-unity

campaigners, furious.

What happened here, it is like

Carles Puigdemont is a dictator.

I lost a lot of friends.

We talk a lot about politics and

this is impossible to talk about.

And the stand-off is escalating.

Yesterday the prosecutor in Madrid

announced serious charges

against Catalan leaders,

carrying a maximum sentence

of 30 years in prison.

TRANSLATION: In order to uphold

honour, this office has five

charges of rebellion,

sedition and misuse of funds

against the main Catalan leaders.

And the reaction to that

from the defacto Catalan deputy

president who said he had nothing

new to say.

Amid reports of the other former

Cabinet members are also in Belgium

with Carles Puigdemont,

the potential repercussions of this

crisis now stretch across Europe.

Women fleeing domestic abuse have

told this programme they're

being left homeless because councils

are failing to provide them with

suitable temporary accommodation.

It means in some cases women

are having to move time and time

again when councils can't

find appropriate homes.

Prince William attended the Pride

of Britain Awards last night,

in which first responders

to the terrorist attacks in London

and Manchester were among

the people honoured.

Just a warning, the following

pictures do contain flashing images.

The awards, at London's Grosvenor

Hotel, were also attended

by the Prime Minister.

Residents and community helpers

were given a special recognition

award for their work

following the Grenfell Tower fire.

Prince William praised

the "inspiring" efforts of those

who reacted to the tragedy.

That's a summary of the

latest BBC News - more at 9.30am.

We are going to talk more about the

proposals for a fixed odds betting

terminals. If you have spent money

on them, tell's your own experience.

Let's get some sport

with Olly Foster.

Sir Mo Farah is coming home and

ending his relationship with

controversial American coach Alberto

Salazar.

He is indeed. It was an

inspired move in 2011. Mo Farah, not

winning very much at all, halting up

with Alberto Salazar, a former

marathon runner. That

state-of-the-art facility in the

United States. In his time there, it

was a glut of gold medals for Mo

Farah, becoming the greatest

distance runner on the track. Four

Olympic titles, six world titles as

well, as recently as this summer

when he won macro 10,000 metres gold

at the world Championships in

London. He retired from the track

after that race in London. He

decided to aim towards road running.

Half marathons, marathon running.

The last couple of years there has

been a growing unease about that

relationship with Salazar, because

he has been subject to the US

anti-doping investigation. One of

their report was leaked in which the

coach was accused of unlawful

conduct, with absolutely no

justification for possessing

testosterone, something he defended

himself against, saying it was just

for personal use because of a

medical condition that he has. He

has always denied any wrongdoing, as

that investigation, which is also

included an FBI investigation as

well, he says he has never done

anything wrong and none of his

athletes have ever failed drug

tests. We have seen Mo Farah get

very angry when questioned about his

relationship with Salazar and this

ongoing investigation. He says, I

have never failed a drugs test. I

have never done anything wrong. He

says the reason he is ending that

relationship now has got nothing to

do with that investigation or any of

the allegations against Salazar. He

says it is purely for family

reasons. He wants his children to

grow up in the UK. He is joining a

new coach on the road.

He has posted this on social media.

I want to thank each member of the

project and Alberto for what he has

done over the years. Yeah, so I'm

coming back. My new coach is Gary

Locke, who coached Paula Radcliffe

through her marathon. Very excited

to start a new project, a new start.

I can't wait to be back home and I

can't wait to see my team, Arsenal,

the Emirates.

Gary Locke is Paula Radcliffe's

husband. He has guided her career.

He has a stable of young athletes.

Sir Mo Farah, a new chapter in his

athletic career. But breaking his

relationship with Alberto Salazar.

There will be many who will be glad

of that.

At Westminster today the culture,

media and sport select committee are

going to scrutinise Paralympic

classification, aren't they?

This

could be fascinating. The IPC, the

International Paralympic movement,

will be bracing themselves for a a

few high-profile athletes and

allegations against them under

Parliamentary privilege. They are

looking at claims of cheating. There

are claims that athletes are

exaggerating their conditions or

impairments to be classified within

a group that gives them a better

chance of winning. A key man

appearing before the committee will

be the lawyer Michael Green. His

daughter Olivia, Paralympic long

jump champion. He has campaigned for

years Paralympic issues. He says

there is no question that certain

athletes from certain nations have

and continue to manipulate the

classification system. It is easy to

manipulate, he says, not robust, not

fit for purpose. We will be hearing

from the key players later this

morning in Westminster. We will be

across that.

Thank you very much, Olly. Thank

you.

Fixed-odds betting terminals

like these have been dubbed

the crack cocaine of gambling

because they are so addictive.

It is possible to lose a vast amount

of money on them in a very short

amount of time.

But now the maximum stake

for fixed-odds betting

terminals could drop

to as little as £2 under

a government review.

Currently, people can bet up

to £100 every 20 seconds

on the gaming machines,

but proposals could limit that

to between £2 and £50.

The rise of fixed-odds betting

terminals is an issue we've been

covering for years on this programme

and the radio, where we've heard

from addicts who have lost hundreds

of thousands of pounds on them.

Last year an investigation by this

programme found staff in betting

shops telling us they're being told

to offer customers perks

and incentives to keep them playing

on those controversial high

stakes machines.

I was in that hairdressers over

the road and I don't

know what happened.

I came out of the hairdressers

I thought, oh, go on,

what's the harm, I'll go

in and have a go.

The addiction is always present.

I fed in what I had in my wallet,

which I think was about £90.

Then I came out, took some money

out of the cashpoint.

At this point, I was totally

devastated and just completely

caught up in the gambling.

In a red mist is probably the best

way to describe it, or fog.

And I just went to the counter

and said, you know, £500.

I lost that in the space

of a few minutes.

£1,000, I lost that.

£1,000, lost that,

and another £1,000 -

until I had no more

money in my bank account.

And how did you feel

after losing that?

Devastated.

At this point, the plan

was still for my wife and child

to come and live here in this

country with me.

I'd got a flat set up

and everything ready to go.

But because of that relapse,

and because my wife realised

I was still very much

in the gambling, the

addiction was there...

Let us know your reaction to the

proposed changes particularly if you

have used fixed-odds betting

terminals. You can e-mail and tweet.

We can speak now to Jason Haddigan.

Adam Bradford's father has had

major gambling problems.

At one point going to

prison to fuel his habit.

And in the studio,

the Labour MP Carolyn Harris

who chairs a cross-party group

on Fixed Odds Betting.

In a moment we will be joined by

John Wright from the

British Amusement Catering

Trade Association.

Jason, how much do you reckon you

have lost through your lifetime on

these terminals?

I have lost

£300,000 on them.

Over what period

of time?

OK, so they came out in the

year 2000. I was actually banned

from all bookmakers in the year

2014. So from 2000 to 2014, yeah, I

lost over £300,000.

Wow. And where

did you get the money from? How did

you afford it?

I was conning the

bookmakers to fuel my gambling

addiction. Yes and that is why in

2014, a Crown Court judge banned me

from every bookmakers in the United

Kingdom for I believe it was five

years, yes.

Tell me this - how much

do you take responsibility for your

actions? How much do you think it is

to do with the nature of these

particular betting terminals?

Well,

before the fixed-odds terminals came

out, I was gambling since the age of

nine. Very, very bad gambler. I can

relate to Tony Franklin. I feel

sorry for him. I believe he has lost

over £2 million, the same as me, but

you had a chance before the machines

come out. I used to have thro,

three, four five grand on horses and

sometimes I would win, 2-1 and 3-1

and I would collect £15,000 or

£20,000, but the last time I went

into a bookmakers was in 2013 and I

remember going up to the staff and I

wanted £1500 on a horse at 3-1 and

she said no, you can only have £60

on it.

Right.

But we can load the

£1500 into the machines if you want.

So, the bookmakers know that you

have got absolutely no chance at all

of winning any money on these

fixed-odds terminals. This is why

they are not accepting bets on

horses and dogs anymore.

Let me

bring in Adam. Your father went to

jail for stealing to fuel his habit.

Something that the, you only found

out about, I think, after it was

reported in the media. His gambling

had a devastating impact on your

life. Tell us what happened?

So

you're right, he went to prison for

fraud. He had a gambling addiction

more about 30 years that he kept

secret from the family. It started

off line and then in recent years

went online and as he bet more and

more and more he started borrowing

money from banks, from credit cards,

payday loans, he even remortgaged

the house in secret without any of

us knowing. He ended up stealing

money from his employers to fund the

habit which he ultimately went to

prison for, but still, when he was

on his way to court and going

through the court case we had no

idea until he had gone into prison.

He got a two year sentence for fraud

and you know that shock and the

misery we were left with just, you

know, just devastated the family.

Let me bring in Carolyn and John

White. So the proposals that are

going to be consulted on over the

next few months talk about reducing

the £100 stake every 20 seconds to

somewhere between £2 and £50, that's

a big difference, isn't it? What do

you going to be campaigning for?

£2.

If it's not £2 I will feel that the

campaign thave been running for the

last two years will have been a

waste of time. I'm confident that

the Government will see sense. There

is overwhelming evidence that

people's lives have been destroyed

by these machines and I'm interested

to hear what Adam was saying. So

many people I have spoken to had to

steal in order to feed their

gambling habit.

They don't have to

steal, do they?

We would not say

about that a cocaine addict. We

accept that people have a problem

with drugs and we accept that they

commit crime in order to feed that.

It is the same with these machines,

but nobody is acknowledging the fact

that these machines are as dangerous

as any other drug. When you see the

statistics, 31% of the people who

actually use the machines earn less

than £10,000. So where do they get

the money to put into the machines

from? They are not earning it. It

has got to come from somewhere.

John

White, just be clear for our

audience what kind of organisation

you represent?

So we represent the

amusement machine industry, the

seaside amusement arcade and the

people who put machines in pubs and

clubs and adult gaming centres on

the high street.

Where do you stand

on whether it is a £2 or up to £50?

We think it should be reduced

substantially and £2 would be...

You

would get more business compared to

the betting shops?

No, not at all,

it is about striking the right

balance between what is appropriate

for those people that wish to play

on machines and enjoy what they have

to offer and the harnl machines can

cause to some people and quite

frankly, £100, £50, £20, the numbers

quoted in the consultation paper

don't cut the mustard, you will not

see from the evidence that I have

seen any reduction in the harms that

the machines can cause.

As a Labour

MP you will be concerned about jobs,

of course, you know the betting

industry say if you reduce the stake

to £2, thousands of people will be

out of work in the gambling

industry?

Well, I don't accept

that...

You don't believe them?

No,

I don't believe them. They are

classed as shops. They are only

allowed four machines per shop. They

will put more betting shops in the

proximity. They are sole worker

operations. Truth of it is they make

so much money from the machines that

they open up extra shops in order to

take, over 50% of their revenue

comes from these machines.

Exactly.

That's what they are saying. That's

why people will be out of work.

Well, you have done the maths

yourself, pretty much.

If we

actually had better businesses on

the high street and reduced the

stake, there would be more income

that people could spend in cafes and

restaurants, there would be better

shops in the high street.

Gambling

is a legitimate industry. It is not

illegal?

The fixed-odds machines are

dangerous. I'm not out to destroy

industry. This is really, really bad

for individuals.

Michael says, "I

used to work in betting shops and I

have seen people spend hundreds of

pounds in minutes. ." Lyon says, "I

work in a bookies. I'm terrified by

this. So many friends and family

could lose their jobs." Do you care?

I have to say that the FOBTs have

caused job losses across the

economy. One figure that I think

stands out for me, from our

particular sector is that nearly

half of adult gaming centres you

find on the high street have

disappeared since the introduction

of these types of machines. It is

perfectly right and proper that a

sustainable book making industry

should exist on the high street.

Like wise adult gaming centres and

like wise family entertainment

centres. I come back to the word

again, it is balance. What is the

right stake for machines on the high

street to allow people to enjoy them

and provide employment and provide

businesses, but without coming to

harm. There was a study out there, I

don't want to get into too much

technicalities, the introduction of

these machines had destroyed jobs.

Destroyed jobs. So I don't buy the

argument that's being put forward,

but for each individual, of course,

it is a tragedy and one sympathises.

Jason, you want to come back in

there?

Yes. A good point what

Carolyn just made. They are saying

there will be 16,000 people out of a

job if the stake gets reduced to £2.

I actually believe there is more

than 16,000 people that have lost

their job because they have got

addicted to the fixed-odds

terminals.

Well, thank you all of

you. Thank you very much for coming

on the programme. We will see what

happens in the next few weeks. There

will be a lot of lobbying and

campaigning going on. Thank you.

Your reaction welcome. Send me an

e-mail. You can message us on

Facebook, whatsapp.

Still to come, women fleeing

domestic abuse are being left

homeless because councils

are failing to provide them with

suitable temporary accommodation.

We'll be hearing first-hand

experiences from

survivors of domestic abuse.

It is the final of the Great British

Bake Off tonight. We will look ahead

to it.

Time for the latest

news, here's Annita.

The Government has published

proposals to limit the amount

of money that can be staked

on fixed-odds betting terminals.

Measures to cut the current £100

maximum bet to somewhere between £50

and £2 will be considered

during a short consultation period.

Critics have called the machines

the crack cocaine of gambling.

The White House has insisted

that criminal charges

brought against former

aides to President Trump,

show no evidence of collusion

between his election

campaign and Russia.

George Papadopoulos has

admitted lying to the FBI

about his contacts with Moscow.

He appears to be helping

investigators. Two other Trump aides

have been placed under house arrest.

Facebook says 126 million

Americans may have come into contact

with Russian-backed propaganda

before and after last year's

presidential election.

Twitter and Google also say

they were used to share divisive

posts traced to Russia.

The social media giants had

initially dismissed complaints

about fake news as crazy.

Women fleeing domestic abuse have

told this programme they're

being left homeless because councils

are failing to provide them with

suitable temporary accommodation.

Some women have been forced to move

accommodation repeatedly because the

councils can't find appropriate

accommodation.

The Defence Secretary,

Sir Michael Fallon, has

confirmed he was once

rebuked by a political journalist

for putting his hand

on her knee during dinner.

The radio presenter,

Julia Hartley-Brewer, said she had

not been "remotely upset

or distressed" by the incident,

which happened 15 years ago.

Ms Hartley-Brewer said

that it was absurd to treat

misjudged sexual overtures

or flirting as being morally

equivalent to serious

sexual harassment.

Sir Mo Farah has left as American

coach and is returning to the UK

with his family. Gary Locke is set

to oversee his marathon career.

Salazar is the subject of a US

anti-doping investigation but denies

allegations of wrongdoing. Sean

Dyche mark five years as manager of

Burnley with victory over Newcastle

last night. Jeff Hendrick with the

only goal. They are seventh in the

Premier League. Manchester United

take a 100% record to Benfica

tonight in the Champions League.

Victory could take them into the

knockout stages. Chelsea and Celtic

also in action. And Ronnie

O'Sullivan has been knocked out of

the International open in China by a

17-year-old. Sullivan says the only

men to have played that well against

him at the former world champions,

John and Stephen Hendry.

A full update after ten.

Women fleeing domestic abuse have

told this programme they're

being left homeless because councils

are failing to provide them with

suitable temporary accommodation.

It means in some cases women

are having to move time and time

again when councils can't

find appropriate homes.

Lucy Martindale escaped domestic

violence four years ago -

she moved seven times

before finding a home.

She's been to meet other

women in her situation

for this programme.

I reported domestic violence as I

was in fear for my life. I lived in

a two-bedroom flat with a secured

tenancy here in Lambeth. My children

happily attended the local school

just around the corner. The council

moved me out of Lambeth to be away

from my abuser and I was glad of

this. I was placed here in temporary

accommodation, a hostel in Norwood.

It was tiny with six or seven

families, around 22 people, all

crammed inside. I moved the children

to a local school and then the

council told me I had a better

chance of getting permanent

accommodation by taking a private

rental. And so I moved to here. A

small flat in Streatham. The flat

had damp. I reported this to the

landlord. A few months later, I was

evicted and I had to present to the

council as homeless. I was moved to

this hotel. Nowhere to cook, nowhere

to feed your children, and you all

share one bed. My son had his tenth

birthday here. Not one of his best

birthdays. And from the hotel I was

moved here, to a bed and breakfast

in Purley. We shared it with five

families and some single men. We

were now eight miles away from the

children's school. I insisted the

council moved me. And six weeks

later, I ended up here, an old

school which is now used as

temporary accommodation for homeless

families. I had one tiny bedroom.

The children's school was three

miles away. In the end I was so fed

up I found accommodation myself.

This meant a move into a private

rental, which is hard for me to

afford. So now I'm here. My seventh

home in less than four years. My

experience has been traumatic. So it

made me want to find out what has

happened to other women in my

position.

How are you?

Fine, thank you.

Caves

led a violent relationship last

year.

He woke up this morning and

said, it was so comfortable. After

three months of sofa surfing and

going around different properties,

fitting into other people's lives,

it's such a relief.

When I went to

meet her, she had just moved into

temporary accommodation with her

children. Tell me how you ended up

here in Bromley?

I approached

Bromley. After six months, I was in

a refuge, after six months they

agreed to has me as a single person.

A couple of months later, the

children came to live with me. It

was then that they refused to accept

the children onto the housing.

What

is your housing situation now?

I'm

currently in a temporary property.

We have been staying at four

different properties. Just

constantly moving.

With family and

friends?

Yeah.

Did they offered to

put you in a hostel, Hotel?

No. They

didn't give me... They didn't give

me even a leaflet.

How did you

arrange your housing on a day-to-day

basis?

It was very difficult indeed

emotionally. Very difficult. Because

you are basically begging and every

day not knowing where you are going

to be sleeping. At the same time

trying to put on a happy face, to be

supportive for the children, telling

them it's going to be all right went

deep inside you really don't think

it's going to be. You don't know

what you are going to be doing,

where you are going to be staying.

You can maybe -- you couldn't always

maybe Koke dinner, so maybe you are

buying food on the go, eating

sandwiches. You feel you are not

providing a stable diet. But the

fact I was escaping domestic

violence, and that they are

dependent children, still they was

flat-out refusing to liaise with me.

Every door was closed.

Kay visited the council numerous

times and made repeated phone calls,

begging them for help.

I've got nowhere to go. Nowhere!

It says you can stay with your

cousin.

I cannot stay there. I cannot stay

there. OK? But why? But why can't

you help me? Y can't Bromley helped

me? What are we supposed to do

tonight? I can't stay there.

It Bromley council spokesperson

said...

Cheryl fled her home in Croydon this

year and was immediately placed in a

refuge. She has been -- she is being

evicted today because after eight

months her time is up. But she has

nowhere else to go.

How did it make you feel, having to

be evicted from the refuge?

Worried,

because I didn't know where I was

going that night. They give you four

weeks notice. You expect to leave at

the end of four weeks knowing where

you are going.

You know the date you

were leaving?

You would've picture

key is up, gone to view properties.

On the Monday, the week that I was

leaving, they found somewhere in

Westcliff on Sea, but that was too

far. The day after that, the

Tuesday, I spoke to them again and

they asked me if I would go to the

North of England. I said no. I have

commitments down this way. I've got

nobody in the north England.

The

government strategy says it will

continue to ensure all women are

supported. What do you feel about

that?

I feel that they have lied

because all women are not supported.

I feel that someone from the

government should go through what we

have been through and see if they

say the same at the end of it,

because I can guarantee they want. I

think they should be more places for

women with domestic violence to go

to. All the numbers they give you,

half of them don't do anything for

you. It is like a lucky dip. I can

identify with that. You are just a

number at the end of the day,

really. I thought we all have human

rights and stuff. You've got no

rights. Your rights are taken out of

your hands.

I wanted to know if councils have a

duty to house all women who have

left a violent relationship. So I

went to speak to Jane Pritchard, a

housing lawyer.

So when a person

applies to the local authority in a

situation where they are fleeing

domestic abuse, there is a really

low bar that they need to be

satisfied of, in order to provide

them with temporary accommodation.

Of the local authority simply need

reason to believe that the person is

harmless, which should be obvious.

That they are eligible for

assistance under the Housing act.

And that they are in priority need

of accommodation. If those criteria

are satisfied, then there is a duty

to provide suitable accommodation

immediately.

All the women which I

have spoken to feel that they have

been bounced from one person to the

next. Do you think this is a common

thing?

It's a really common

situation that week, Culross.

Clients coming to see us seeking

advice because they have gone to one

council and been told it's not their

responsibility, and to go to another

responsibility it's really important

to understand that this type of

behaviour week-old gatekeeping is

housing lawyers, is unlawful.

---Week-old gatekeeping. Your

connection with the borrower has

nothing to do with their immediate

duty to one, except a homeless

person's application, and two, to

provide you with temporary

accommodation.

What impact does this

have?

Where someone is fleeing

domestic abuse we may only ever have

one chance, one opportunity to

assist in protecting them, to ensure

they are housed in suitable safe,

secure accommodation. If that

applicant goes to the council and is

turned away at that time, we know

that that person may never go back.

They go back to the perpetrator of

the abuse. They never, ever have the

opportunity again of being rehoused.

Lots of the women I spoke to told me

about how councils had refused to

help them. Sofia greeted talk about

her experience but she wanted to

keep her identity private.

When I went into this relationship I

was in love with my partner. And

within a month, when I was beaten

up, I was stripped nude and thrown

out of the house. My neighbours

helped to told me and give me first

aid.

Sofia left her home with

nothing.

I knew I needed resources

like money. So I had some jewellery

on. My wedding ring, my engagement

ring. I had some bangles.

Basically...

Sophia went to the council after

arriving in London, hoping they

would help.

I had walked in about

ten seconds into the council within

ten seconds I was asked to go. They

just dismissed me. They didn't seem

to understand that I was homeless. I

was actually homeless.

What happened

next?

Since then I repeatedly

visited the Council almost every day

and there were times when I have

been in that phone booth crying my

eyes out, I was so upset and I was

so vulnerable.

Eventually the

council agreed to house Sofia and

offered her a place at a hostel.

When I went to this hostel, it

housed 14 women. I was scared. I was

just scared.

You was a victim of

domestic violence.

Yes. I do

remember one of those men actually

came to me and said, you know

darling, if you get a knock on your

door at two o'clock in the morning,

don't worry, it only me. I couldn't

speak. I literally couldn't speak.

Having made it to where I am today,

I couldn't have done it. I am very

proud of myself.

You should be.

I wanted to learn more about the

impact domestic violence has no

woman's light and her housing. So I

travelled to North London to meet

Mary Mason.

There are already people who are

feeling traumatised. To move then

from home to home, to move often

from school to school, to move from

temporary accommodation to temporary

accommodation just adds to the

lengthening amount of trauma that

somebody experiences. The other

thing I think it is important to

understand is that a lot of women

would choose not to leave a violent

relationship because they can't get

decent housing.

This isn't just a

London problem, is it?

No, it is a

national problem and a lot of issues

that are happening in London are

repeated elsewhere around the

country. What we really want to do

and the women we're working with

really want to do is rebuild their

lives. The reason they left the

violence and abuse was to find a

better life for themselves and their

children.

I'm glad there are people like Mary

and Jane who are helping women like

me find their way, but I don't

think, we the survivors of domestic

violence should have to rely on

lawyers and charities to help us.

Thank you for your messages. Jane on

Facebook says, "The system is wrong

and leaves victims more vulnerable

and sweeps this under the carpet. I

lost a daughter to suicide three

years ago due to reporting domestic

abuse and she got no help from

anyone." This tweet from Jo, "Women

and children are fleeing domestic

violence and they are often left

homeless or housed in B&B-type

accommodation which leaves them

feeling more isolated." ." Kirsty

says, "There should be more support

in place to get the abusers out of

the family home." Another viewer

says, "We can't rely on the

Government and councils to help, so

abused women end up staying with the

abuser." Kerry, "I am sorry for

every victim this this domestic

abuse housing film. I just wish I

could help them."

Keep viewer views coming in,

particularly if you have your own

personal experience.

Coming up, some of Britain's most

successful Paralympic athletes

are facing suggestions

they won their gold medals unfairly

at parliamentary hearing.

We'll be getting the views of two

Paralympic athletes a little

later in the programme.

It's the final of the Great British

Bake Off tonight with

Kate, Stephen and Sophie battling it

out to win the title.

Despite only getting around half

the viewers on Channel 4

compared to BBC One,

it has been seen as a huge success.

It has been watched by more young

people than any other show on TV

so far this year, and is likely

to be Channel 4's most watched

programme since 1985.

Here's why.

Is trifle popular in Siberia.

I have

never seen trifle.

What's trifle in

Russian?

I don't know.

Oh my god. What happened?

Stacey is

making red velvet chocolate sponge

which she will decorate to make look

like a designer handbag.

It will be

quite moist.

Looking forward to the

moist clutch.

Do you feel you need

this one to get yourself higher up

the rankings?

I think we do.

It's a

we now. Very nice.

LAUGHTER

It's so frustrating.

I like the

snail!

Is there something about the

shape of the snail?

LAUGHTER

Paul, are you going to pull yourself

together?

Yeah, in a minute.

What's the shape?

Solid.

Try and

keep up with the youth.

That is

ridiculous.

Bakers, you've got 45

minutes left. 45.

Take it out. The second prove.

It is

not horrific.

Let's talk now to

Andrew Smyth, a finalist

on last year's Bake Off.

He's still baking and made

an edible jet for Prince

William after the series.

I said, "I recognise you." Off the

TV! I thought we'd met.

She thought

she had seen me at a conference!

Buzzfeed's Bake Off correspondent,

Scott Bryan is also here.

He thinks this year hasn't

been a "vintage" series.

Becky Chester is a Bake off

superfan that's been baking

along to the series.

She has baked us a Halloween special

pumpkin cake in the theme of week

eight's "forgotten bakes."

We will show it to you now. There is

the pumpkin cake, thank you.

John Holland is a fan who thinks

the Bake Off brand is potentially

running out of steam.

He has brought in a brain-themed

cake based on week

one's "illusion" theme.

That's quite a masterpiece.

It looks

like the same thing.

When have you

seen a real brain?

Not recently!

LAUGHTER

He was carrying it on the Tube this

morning.

Did everyone see it?

Yeah.

Someone said, "Don't eat it all at

once." Scott, let's look at the

audience figures first of allment

they are lower than BBC One. As you

would expect.

Yes.

But for the 16 to

34 age group, it is mega, isn't it?

It is the biggest show on TV this

year for young people and also for

Channel 4's prospective, it is great

for them because they get all of the

appetising for shows they get to

definitely get in the money that

they have spent on this show. I have

sensed that I think particularly

online there is less of a buzz this

year.

So you mean they are not

pumping out the social media as much

or there is less chatter?

There is

less chatter, I think.

Why is that

then?

Part of it is because last

year when you used to watch it on

BBC iPlayer, you could rewind and

have stuff to share around on

Tumbler and Twitter. This year it is

harder because on All 4 it is not as

good as the BBC's. So I think, I

know that sounds a bit specific, but

I think that does have an effect

with how young people talk about the

show. But still, I mean, it is

definitely a programme that I think

people really just like particularly

because it's authentic also the fact

that they have characters like Liam

who is very young, their age range

as well.

Liam... Oh Liam. Liam.

The nation seemed to weep.

Absolutely. Everyone loved Liam.

There was a lot of social media

around Liam going out and there was

huge uproar.

What do you think in

terms of how similar it is to the

BBC version apart from the adverts?

I thought it would be more Channel 4

and the advert leading up to Bake

Off gave you that inkling that we

were going to do something different

and away went the music and you were

there and it was the same again,

apart from Noel being Noel!

LAUGHTER

What do you mean, funny and rude?

Yes.

Do you like that?

I think he's

fantastic. He has done really well.

What do you think looking at the

contestants and presenters and

judges and the new faces?

They have

pitched it quite well. Audiences

only like a certain amount of change

and with the channel move and the

breaks and the new presenting teams

it was a sensible decision to keep

the bake e the music and the

challenges and the same format, they

might have lost more of a share if

they moved away from the classic

format. The bakers have been

fantastic.

What about as characters?

For me it is about the baking and

when we auditioned to go in the

tent, you are judged on the quality

of your baking.

It is nice if there

is a personality to go with it.

There was some personalities when

Liam left, there was some upset

because he was one of the favourite

characters and a lot of people

thought he was going to make it the

whole way to the end. But in the

tenth night, we have got three

amazing skilled bakers and I can't

wait to see what they produce.

John,

why do you think it is running out

of steam?

There is only so much that

Love Productions can do. They have

built in a format where they are

able to introduce commercial breaks

like on Channel 4. And so, I think

there is only so much they can do in

terms of how the show is structured.

You are always going to open with

that signature bake. You are going

to have technical. You are going to

have a show-stopper. So I don't

think the system is there, it's not

broken. I don't think they should

try and fix it.

Right.

But.

I'm

confused. It's running out of steam,

but it's all right.

It's running out

of steam because they can't change

it. It's kind of...

Is that fair or

not?

The weird thing I find about it

Channel 4 say it is a very Channel 4

show now and I still think it is a

BBC show with ads in like it is

distinctively un-Channel 4y.

It is

very similar.

It is very similar and

I like the fact that Noel Fielding

is providing some left field humour

and each every week he is trying to

see how far he can take it. On the

first episode...

Oh, he was

apologetic, he was really sheepish,

I'm really sorry I got this job.

Last week he was dancing around and

having, and I like the how he works

with Sandy. It is not what I was

expecting. Nobody could see them

being a duo.

What do you think

Andrew about the challenges that

they have been set this time? Could

they have pushed that further? Do

you think they were challenging

enough?

I think year-on-year they

have to ramp up the challenges. If

we look back to the first series of

Bake Off now, it does look simpler,

it was things like Victorian sponges

and scones, as you have gone through

the series they have had to increase

in complexity and you only had to

look at the illusion cakes. It was

final territory a couple of years

ago. I think as people have watched

it and gained more confidence at

home as well, people I think around

the nation have upskilled their

baking. If you had talked about

spray nodsles that they were using

in the first episode a couple of

years back, people would have had no

idea, but now there is lots of

amateurs who are making incredible

cakes. I think it will be

interesting to see how much they can

push that because there is only so

far you can go if you get more and

more complicated.

What's been the

best bake for you, Becky?

Well, of

the whole series?

Yes.

In terms of

baking along I found it hard to bake

along with the technicals because

they have used a lot of specialist

equipment and things like that which

I just haven't got so I had to adapt

bits and pieces, but I thought the

meringues were brilliant last week

and you needed that element of

technical ability of understanding

how the meringue works alongside

making it look beautiful which

challenged Stephen which I quite

like the fact it challenged Stephen

because I think he's done so well at

making things look fabulous so far.

How many sometimes of times has he

won star baker?

Three or four.

What

about worst bake?

I can't say how

bad their bakes are because mine

have been horrible in the past. I

think like sometimes that you have

it when they try to be very so

ambitious and they realise about ten

minutes before the end...

They can't

manage it.

They can't manage it.

Sometimes when people do that at

home they don't have the time

constraint. When you are doing it in

timed scenario, I was at this live

interactive baking experience where

you can bake along in real-time and

it is only when you realise that you

are in the at any time and you are

against the clock, it really makes

it, you just do daft things. You

just lose control about how simple

things work like a whisk because it

is the pressure.

Scott is right. It

is the balance between being just

ambitious, but not stretching

yourself because you can fail

quickly in the tent. Whether it is

the oven door coming off or

overflowing things on the hob.

Who

is going to win?

Stephen.

Sophie.

Stephen.

Sophie.

I have the casting

vote -- not! Thank you very much for

bringing in your amazing creations

particularly love the brain cake and

the pumpkin cake. Thank you. We

appreciate it.

Carol is here. I have a lovely

little dancing skeleton if you're

going out to celebrate Hallowe'en,

maybe trick or treating, for most of

us, it will be mild. That's where

the weather starts to change. Let's

focus first of all on what's

happening this morning. We've got

some rain across the western

Highlands. That's going to be

persistent through the course of the

day. Rain pushing north-east wards

across the Northern Isles and some

showers coming in across Northern

Ireland, northern England and

through the day we will see one or

two in Wales, the Midlands and East

Anglia, but there is a lot of dry

weather around as well.

So this afternoon across Northern

Ireland, it's a mixture of bright

spells, sunshine and showers. The

more persistent rain hanging around

Western Scotland and Argyll and

Bute. Anything that goes over to the

east of Scotland will be patchy and

to the east of gram preians, we will

have temperatures 14 or 15 as we

will to the east of Pennines in any

sunshine. But quite a bit of cloud

with the showers across north-west

England, some of it getting across

the Pennines. Some showers in the

Midlands and one or two in East

Anglia, but this morning's cloud

will continue to break up and we

will start to see sunny spells

developing. Temperatures this

afternoon in the sunshine in

Plymouth 12 Celsius. For Wales,

bright skies or sunny spells with

just one or two showers as well. If

you are going out trick or treating

this evening, it will be mild. It

will be fairly cloudy. Where the

cloud breaks across southern England

it will be cooler, but we will have

the rain and mild conditions across

Northern Ireland and Scotland and

the rain sinking further south by

the time we get to the end of the

night. So tomorrow's rush hour

across Scotland and Northern Ireland

is likely to be quite wet and as

this front producing the rain sinks

further south, what you will find is

it will tend to turn weaker in

nature and the rain on it patchier

and behind it, we see a return to

bright spells, sunshine and showers.

Still quite windy in the north and

ahead of it, we are looking at the

cloud breaking up and some sunny

spells coming out as well.

Temperatures in the north, 12

Celsius. But in the south, we are

looking at 15 Celsius. If we pick up

the weather front producing the rain

it sinks south during Wednesday and

into Thursday. That's a weak

feature. What we will find across

southern areas is a band of cloud

with spots of rain, the far south of

England, seeing bright spells, but

look at the difference across

Scotland, northern England and

Northern Ireland. Much drier, much

brighter, but also it's going to

feel much cooler.

Hello, it's Tuesday, it's 10

o'clock, I'm Victoria Derbyshire.

A government review could see

the maximum stake for fixed-odds

betting terminals drop

to as little as £2.

The bookmakers know if you have

absolutely no chance at all of

putting money on. This is why they

are not accepting any bets on horses

or dogs and a more.

That as a man

who lost more than £300,000 on fixed

odds betting.

We're speaking to some

of those who have lost money

through addiction to the machines,

including a man whose

gambling problem cost him

half a million pounds.

Also this morning, women

fleeing domestic abuse have

told this programme they're

being left homeless because councils

are failing to provide them with

suitable temporary accommodation.

Basically begging and every day not

knowing where you're going to be

sleeping and at the same time trying

to put on a happy face and...

To be supportive for the children.

And as sexual harassment claims

continue to engulf Westminster,

we'll bring you more reaction.

Good morning.

Here's Annita in the BBC Newsroom

with a summary of todays news.

Good morning.

The government has proposed reducing

the amount of money that can be

staked on fixed-odds betting

terminals, to protect players

from racking up huge losses.

Betting companies earn about £1.8

billion a year from the machines,

which critics have described

as the "crack cocaine" of gambling.

The White House has

dismissed the arrest of some

of President Trump's former

advisers as inconsequential.

George Papadopoulos has

admitted lying to the FBI

about his contacts with Russia,

and now appears to have been helping

the investigation into alleged

links between the Trump

campaign and Moscow.

Two other Trump aides have been

placed under house arrest.

Facebook says 126 million

Americans may have come into contact

with Russian-backed propaganda

before and after last year's

presidential election.

Twitter and Google also say

they were used to share divisive

posts traced to Russia.

The social media giants had

initially dismissed complaints

about fake news as crazy.

The Bank of England says failure

to secure a trade deal with the EU

before Brexit could see the loss

of 75,000 jobs from the UK's

financial services sector.

It's told financial firms to be

prepared for "no deal",

but senior figures at the Bank

are said to be optimistic that

negotiations will be successful.

Women fleeing domestic abuse have

told this programme they're

being left homeless because councils

are failing to provide them with

suitable temporary accommodation.

It means in some cases women

are having to move time and time

again when councils can't

find appropriate homes.

The Defence Secretary,

Sir Michael Fallon, has

confirmed he was once

rebuked by a political journalist

for putting his hand

on her knee during dinner.

The radio presenter,

Julia Hartley-Brewer, said she had

not been "remotely upset

or distressed" by the incident,

which happened 15 years ago.

Ms Hartley-Brewer said

that it was absurd to treat

misjudged sexual overtures

or flirting as being morally

equivalent to serious sexual

harassment or assault.

NetFlix has insisted its decision

to cancel the political drama,

House of Cards, was made before

the star of the series was accused

of making a sexual advance

towards a teenage boy.

Kevin Spacey has apologised for any

"inappropriate drunken behaviour",

but he's faced criticism

for using the same statement

to come out as gay.

Prince William attended the Pride

of Britain Awards last night,

in which first responders

to the terrorist attacks in London

and Manchester were among

the people honoured.

Just a warning, the following

pictures do contain flashing images.

The awards, at London's Grosvenor

Hotel, were also attended

by the Prime Minister.

Residents and community helpers

were given a special recognition

award for their work

following the Grenfell Tower fire.

Prince William praised

the "inspiring" efforts of those

who reacted to the tragedy.

That's a summary of

the latest BBC News.

More at 10:30.

Jonathan has e-mailed. He is talking

about the fixed-odds betting

terminals. He says he has lost so

much it would be impossible to

accurately calculate. The misery is

incalculable. Gambling should not be

made -- made illegal but strategies

need to be put in place to help

people like him. Individuals who are

not weak but have an illness. A good

start would be to limit the maximum

bet on high Street betting shops and

ban all gambling adverts. Alison

owns a small independent betting

office in Yorkshire, and continues

to watch the programme on the ACU

and the problems caused by

fixed-odds betting. She agrees some

people have a problem with betting

but it is not just restricted to

machines. You can bet and Gamble far

more than £100 on any dog or horse

race. Your guest this morning is 1

million miles wide of the mark if

she thinks there will be no job

losses, if the state is reduced to

£2 per spin. I employ five people.

They will all lose their jobs the

following day should this extreme

action be taken. Thank you for

those.

Do get in touch.

Here's some sport now

with Olly Foster.

Good morning. Four Olympic golds,

six world championship titles, that

is the impact Alberto Salazar had on

so Mo Farah's career. But after six

years he is leaving his American

colt to return to the UK with his

family. He says the split has

nothing to do with the two-year US

anti-doping investigation into

Salazar. Both men deny any

wrongdoing. None of Salazar's

athletes have ever failed a drugs

test. Farah resigned -- retired from

the track this summer. Gary Locke

will oversee his marathon career.

Farah posted this message on social

media.

I want to thank each member

of the project and Alberto

for what he has done over the years.

Yeah, so I'm coming back.

My new coach is Gary Locke,

who coached Paula Radcliffe

through her marathons.

Very excited to start

a new project, a new start.

I can't wait to be back home

and I can't wait to see my team,

Arsenal, at the Emirates.

In the next half an hour at

Westminster, ADC select -- select

committee will hear from figures

within Paralympic sport as they

examine the classification of sports

within the Paralympic movement. A

BBC investigation uncovered claims

that some athletes manipulate the

rules, exaggerate their impairments,

to give them a better chance of

winning.

I don't subscribe to the view that

there is a fundamental weakness

within sport. I don't subscribe to

the view that it is absolutely

perfect either. I think actually it

is a very sophisticated part of

Paralympic sport that is getting

better, that is getting more

understood, and it fundamentally

does work to support the athletes to

compete and win fairly.

Much more on

that select committee looking into

Paralympic sport on this programme

with Victoria after half past ten.

In the Premier League last night,

Sean Dyche celebrated five years at

Burnley in the best possible way. It

was a win for his team. They are

into seventh after beating Newcastle

1-0, Jeff Hendrick with the goal.

Dyche has recently been linked with

the vacant Everton job. England's

cricketers have had their first

practice session in Australia ahead

of the Ashes. They are in Perth and

they will face a waca 11 on

Saturday. We have heard from James

Vince, who is expected to bat at

three. He was dropped last year. He

says he was surprised to get a

recall. He is determined to make the

most of his second chance.

I think if you go to the side and do

well you get pompous up and it's all

very rosy. On the flip side if you

get pompous up and it's all very

rosy. On the flip side if you're

having a tough time, that is also

publicised. It was hard to deal with

at times. I felt I should be doing

better than what I was. Thankful to

have another opportunity now,

especially in Australia against the

Aussies in an Ashes series.

Blue skies in Perth.

Not jealous at all. Back with more

later. Thank you. Good morning.

On this programme tomorrow, we'll be

joined by an audience of women -

and some men - who've been sexually

harassed in all walks of life,

in the NHS, in schools, in banks.

But it's harassment in the world

of politics and acting

which is dominating headlines.

Conservative cabinet

minister Michael Fallon -

who's one of the most senior men

in Theresa May's government -

has admitted inappropriately

touching a female journalist,

by repeatedly putting his hand

on her knee in 2002.

She threatened to punch

him unless he stopped.

That allegation is thought to be

the tip of the iceberg,

Let's speak to Norman Smith,

who's in Westminster.

How serious is this for Michael

Fallon? I suppose mitigating this is

the fact it happened back in 2002.

The reaction of the journalist

involved, Julia Hartley-Brewer, she

tweeted that she doesn't see herself

as a victim, that she is still

friends with Michael Fallon and she

doesn't want this to be compared to

some of the allegations of sexual

harassment and intimidation that

have been swirling around

Westminster. In that sense it is the

lesser end of the accusations. And

her view, and I suspect the view of

many people, will be the danger of

conflating this incident, which was

Michael Fallon repeatedly putting

his hand on her knee at a dinner at

the Conservative Party conference,

isn't in the same league as, you

know, situations where older male

MPs are behaving in a predatory way

towards younger female researchers.

Clearly the dynamic is somewhat

different. Add this morning I notice

Julia Hartley-Brewer was taking a

fairly light-hearted approach to

add. She put up tweet. Full medical

checkup this morning, and yes, both

of my knees are still intact. Get a

grip, people. Although, not of my

knee, obviously. She is not taking

it too seriously. I suspect a lot of

people at Westminster will take the

view there are serious problems to

be addressed. There are issues

around a grossly inadequate

complaints system. There are issues

around the vulnerability of junior

members of staff and the culture at

Westminster. And the danger is they

get sort of conflated and confused

and maybe even trivialised by much

lesser incidents, perhaps like that

involving Sir Michael Fallon.

What

else do you know about this dossier

of MPs acting inappropriately?

The

dossier is reported to have 35 named

MPs who are accused of a whole range

of sexual misdemeanours. From

inappropriate behaviour to

intimidating attitude towards staff,

to asking staff to do inappropriate

duties. A whole range of things. I

have to say, no names. I guess that

is where we are at the moment. There

is a whole swirl of allegations but

there is a lack, at the moment, of

hard evidence. And that kind of, I

suspect, reflected truth here that

many of the victims and probably