08/12/2017 Victoria Derbyshire

Hello it's Friday, it's 9

o'clock, I'm Tina Daheley,

welcome to the programme.

Significant progress on Brexit

following overnight talks.

There will be no hard border

with Ireland and three million EU

nationals living in Britain -

and a million British expats -

will have their rights

protected when we leave.

Theresa May arrived in Brussels to

make the announcement this morning.

We'll have the latest in what's

being called a breakthrough moment

and look ahead to the next

phase of talks.

The deal we have struck will

guarantee the rights of more than 3

million EU citizens living in the UK

and 1 million UK citizens living in

the EU. EU citizens living in the UK

will be able to go on living their

lives as before.

We'll look ahead to

the next phase of talks.

Children affected by domestic

violence need better

protection according

to England's children's

commissioner.

We'll have a special report.

I would like the Prime Minister to

make this a priority for the whole

of government and actually send out

strong messages and a framework for

government and public services

throughout the land as children need

their help now, they can't wait for

that support.

Bochum to the programme. We will

bring you full analysis of the

Brexit negotiations throughout the

programme today, including live

press conferences in Brussels and

reaction here.

Hello and welcome to the programme,

we're live until 11 this morning.

Do get in touch on all the stories

we're talking about this morning -

use the hashtag Victoria LIVE

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Our top story today...

There's been a major breakthrough

in the Brexit talks.

The European Commission now says

"sufficient progress" has been

made in the first stage

of the negotiations -

about citizen's rights,

the Irish border and the size

of the so-called divorce

bill - that we can move

on to the second stage.

That'll be about Britain's future

relationship with the EU -

and in particular, the shape of any

deal on trade.

The announcement came at a news

conference in Brussels this morning

by the European Commission president

Jean-Claude Juncker and Theresa May.

One of the main sticking points

was the issue of which court

would guarantee the rights of EU

citizens in the UK -

this is what the Prime

Minister had to say.

The deal we've struck will guarantee

the rights of more than 3 million EU

citizens living in the UK and of 1

million UK citizens living in the

EU. EU citizens living in the UK

will have their rights enshrined in

UK law and enforced by British

courts. They will be able to go on

living their lives as before. I was

cleared in Florence that we are a

country that honours our

obligations. After some tough

conversations, we've now agreed

settlement that is fair to the

British taxpayer. It means that in

future we will be able to invest

more in our priorities at home such

as housing, schools the NHS.

The breakthrough follows 48 hours

of intense negotiations over

the issue of the Irish border -

after Northern Ireland's DUP party

had made it clear they weren't happy

with the solution proposed earlier.

Jean-Claude Juncker said a hard

border of the Irish island

could now be avoided.

The UK has made significant

commitments on the avoidance of a

hard border after its withdrawal

from the European Union. All of the

EU 27 stand firmly behind Ireland

and behind the peace process.

Let's get all the reaction from this

morning's brexit breakthrough

with our correspondents

in Westminster and in Brussels.

Chris Mason, first, what's

the political reaction been here?

How did we get to this breakthrough

this morning?

Telephone diplomacy

all night, chatting to Dublin,

Belfast in Brussels and then at daft

o'clock in the morning, she got on a

plane with David Davis, the Brexit

Secretary, in order to fly over to

Brussels and sign that document. We

got the first proof that the deal

had been done when Martin sell my,

the chief of staff to the president

of the European Commission,

Jean-Claude Juncker, tweeted a

picture of a chimney with white

smoke pouring out of it, all of the

symbolism and mystique of a papal

conclave in one early morning tweet.

How did we get here from where we

were on Monday, given that you

mediation of the Prime Minister when

she was midway through her lunch

with Mr Juncker and the Democratic

Unionist Party Lou a big raspberry

at the whole thing? Well, a huge

amount of negotiation and

significant compromises to

accommodate the views of the

Democratic Unionist Party, who got

to a place last night where they

were willing, despite some

reservations, to give their consent

to the documents being signed. I

think wherever you are watching this

this morning around the UK, if you

tilt your gear in the direction of

the window, you will probably be

able to hear the size of relief

coming from Downing Street. This is

a massive moment.

Let's find out

what is happening in Brussels now.

What happens next, phase two, next

week?

Well, it has been quite a

dramatic morning here, of course.

Things appear to have fallen into

place in the end, as quickly as they

fell apart on Monday. And attention

is already turning to precisely that

question - what happens now? Because

of course this was just the first

phase of the Brexit negotiations,

that test of sufficient progress

which we have heard about so often

on citizens rights, on the Irish

border and on the financial

settlement. The really big stuff,

actually, is still to come. This was

just a bump in the road, a very

important bump in the road that had

to be navigated successfully. The

talks about trade and transition

will of course be even longer, even

more complex than those first phase

talks. So, you're already hearing

warning voices from the European

Union talking about, for example,

the terms and conditions which they

will be attaching to that transition

period. So, a sigh of relief here as

well, there has been genuine worry

that Britain might not be able to

get this deal over this week, which

would create huge timetabling

problems for next year. But

alongside that sigh of relief,

people drawing breath to prepare for

the next round of talks. The next

phase has already in effect begun,

with EU starting to talk about

transition and what they're going to

want.

Thank you very much, Kevin

Connolly in Brussels. We can go to

the BBC Newsroom now.

Annita is in the BBC

Newsroom with a summary

of the rest of the day's news.

A "day of rage" is being planned

by Palestinians angered by America's

recognition of Jerusalem

as the capital of Israel.

Around 30 demonstrators were injured

in clashes with Israeli forces

in the West Bank yesterday.

The US has warned Palestinians

against cancelling talks

with vice-President

Mike Pence, who will visit

the Middle East in less

than two weeks' time.

A student who died weeks

after starting at university

was failed by "every NHS

organisation that should have cared

for her", a review has found.

Averil Hart, who was 19,

died of a heart attack caused

by anorexia in 2012.

The Parliamentary and

Health Service Ombudsman

says her death could and should

have been prevented.

NHS England has apologised,

and says it's making "real progress"

with eating disorder services.

Snow, ice and windy conditions

are set to sweep across large

parts of the UK today.

Severe gales have already

caused disruption to air,

rail and ferry services.

Yellow "be aware" weather

warnings have been issued

across much of Scotland,

Northern Ireland, Wales

and north-west England -

with up to eight inches of snow

expected in some areas.

A number of new wildfires have

started in southern California,

stretching firefighters

to the limit.

Nearly 200,000 people have now been

evacuated from their homes.

Planes have been diverted to one

of the latest blazes

in the county of San Diego,

and officials say more than 400

buildings have been destroyed.

Our North America correspondent

James Cook reports.

The American West was never really

came. The weather here was always

wild and dangerous and in a warming

world, it seems to be getting worse.

The wind has just picked up here in

the past few minutes and the fire is

really flaring up on the hillside

there and pushing along this canyon.

There are some homes down there. We

can hear shouts in the Valley and

there are some families refusing to

leave. The Walkers are among them.

They would not answer the door. They

are inside and intent on staying

put, despite the danger lurking

nearby. At least two dozen horses

have died in this via, which is the

worst here in living memory. In the

exclusive suburb of Bel Air, they

attacked the fires, and famous

people were among those forced to

flee. Every firefighting aircraft in

the United States has been summoned

to California. They're making a big

difference. In times of crisis come

extraordinary moments of compassion.

Here a man apparently in distress

runs to rescue a rabbit. One little

life saved. Several new fires have

broken out in the past few hours.

Intoning them is a superhuman

effort. -- containing them. But

mother nature is likely to have the

last word.

If universities in England

were banks, they could be accused

of mis-selling courses to teenagers

who have little understanding

of money matters, that's

according to the head

of public spending watchdog.

Sir Amyas Morse says universities

are under very little competitive

pressure to provide the best value,

and young people were taking out

large loans to pay for tuition fees

without much effective

help or advice.

The government says its reforms

are helping students

to make informed choices.

Two of the country's biggest

discount retailers, Primark and

SportsDirect, have been forced to

pay back thousands of staff who were

paid less than the minimum wage.

They were among 206 the companies

who have been named and shamed by

the for underpaying staff. The most

common reasons given were failing to

pay workers when travelling between

jobs and deducting money for

uniforms. All firms on the list say

the issues have now been rectified.

Prison inspectors have found high

levels of violence and filthy

conditions at Wormwood Scrubs for

the third year in a row. They also

found areas of the west London

prison, which houses 1200 inmates,

were strewn with letter, attracting

rats and cockroaches. The Ministry

of Justice says it has taken

decisive action to address the

problems.

Coventry has been chosen as the UK

city of culture for 2021 It beat

submissions from Paisley,

Stoke on Trent, Sunderland

and Swansea to win the title.

The bid team said their plans

were "about changing the reputation

of a city" as well as hosting a year

of cultural celebration.

There's 40 million people within two

hours Drive time. We are looking at

visitors numbering two point

5,000,020 21. We're going to give

something special to the UK.

Scientists working in the Arctic

believe they may have

discovered why some whales

repeatedly become stranded.

Researchers tracked narwhals

which had been released

after becoming entangled

in fishing nets.

They found that when the whales

became frightened, blood-flow

was restricted to their brains,

causing the animals to become

confused and disorientated

as they tried to swim away.

That's a summary of the latest BBC

News - more at 9.30.

Do get in touch with us

throughout the morning -

use the hashtag #VictoriaLIVE.

If you text, you will be charged

at the standard network rate.

Let's get some sport.

And as if he hasn't won enough

awards already, Cristiano Ronaldo

has won another one?

Yes, good

morning. It is that question once

again, who is better, Lionel Messi

or Cristiano Ronaldo? There is never

going to be a definitive answer, I

think. Last night Ronaldo equalled

Messi by winning his fifth Alund or

title. It was awarded to him in

Paris. He posed with the trophy on

the Eiffel Tower. -- Balon d'Or. No

player has won more awards than the

former Manchester United forward

which five. Messi won four in a row

for Ronaldo's surge. Why did he get

it this year? 49 goals in all

competitions is a pretty good

reason! He also helped Real Madrid

to a second successive jumpy and and

he and he says he has more to offer.

I still have the motivation. --

second successive Champions League.

To play with happiness. The main

word is, enjoy myself.

There was a

landmark last night for the Arsenal

boss Arsene Wenger. Their Europa

League victory against BATE Borisov

was his 700th win in charge of

Arsenal. And they won 6-0 in the

end. Mohamed Elneny completed the

rout. Arsenal went through as group

winners. Everton had already crashed

out of the competition, but Ademola

Lookman, the 20-year-old, scored

twice as they got their only win of

the campaign against Apollon

Limassol. Now, the line-up for the

quarterfinals in the U:K.'s new

championship is complete, but there

was a big scare for five-time winner

Ronnie O'Sullivan, who needed a 6-5

win over Sunny Akani, a man 20 years

his junior. At one stage Sunny Akani

was just one frame from victory.

O'Sullivan fought back rather

fortunately in the end, saying he

felt he had robbed his opponent.

He

put up a great performance. His

first time out there, and he played

a lot better than I did Usher and he

probably deserved to win. I got

very, very La Quinta tonight's. So,

I'm kind of relieved to win but I've

really got to improve on that, to

think I'm going to have any chance

of winning another match, really.

O'Sullivan moves on to play Martin

Gould. They will be back out early

this afternoon in York.

So after a frantic night

of long negotiations,

Theresa May has finalised a deal

with the EU to unlock

the next phase of the talks.

Announcing the breakthrough,

the EU Commission President Jean

Claude Juncker said it had been

a difficult negotiation

for the EU as well as the UK.

Today's result is of course a

compromise. It is the result of a

long and intense discussion between

the commission negotiators and those

of the UK. As in any negotiation,

both sides have two listen to each

other. Are just their position, and

show willingness to compromises.

This was a difficult negotiation.

For the European Union, as well as

for the United Kingdom. On

Wednesday, last Wednesday, the

College of commissioners gave me a

mandate to conclude the negotiation

of the joint report. And it has to

be concluded today, not next week.

Today, because next week we will

have the European Council, and in

order to allow our partners to

prepare in the best way possible the

meeting of the European Council, we

had to make the deal today.

On the basis of the mandate given to

me, the European Commission has

formally decided to recommend the

European Council that sufficient

progress has now been made on the

strict terms of the divorce.

Theresa

May also said the talks hadn't been

easy and had required to give and

take on both sides.

We've been working extremely hard

this week. As you have all seen it

hasn't been easy for either side.

When we met on Monday we said a deal

was within reach. What we have

arrived at today represents a

significant improvement and I am

grateful to the negotiating teams

led by David Davis and Michel

Barnier for their efforts. Getting

to this point has required give and

take on both sides. And I believe

that the joint report being

published is in the best interest of

the whole UK. I very much welcome

the prospect of moving ahead to the

next phase, to talk about trade and

security, and to discuss the

positive and ambitious future

relationship that is in all of our

interests. I have consistently said

that we want to build a special and

deep partnership with the EU as we

have met the decision of the United

Kingdom to leave the EU by March

2000 19. Doing so will provide

clarity and certainty to businesses

in the UK and EU and crucially for

all of our citizens. -- by March

2019.

The rights of 3 million EU

nationals living in the UK will be

protected. As for the rights of the

1 million British people living in

the EU. There was also joint

commitment to no heart border

between Britain and the Republic of

Ireland. That was a sticking point.

The British PM said she'd also

agreed a fair settlement for the

British taxpayer. The previous deal

had been blocked by the DUP but its

leader, Arlene Foster, said she was

pleased to see today's agreement

will mean there will be no customs

barrier in the Irish Sea.

There have been six substantive

changes. We are pleased to see those

changes. For me it means there is no

red line down the Irish Sea. We have

a very clear confirmation that the

entirety of the United Kingdom is

leaving the EU, leaving the single

market, leaving the customs union,

and I think that's an important

statement to have. And also vitally

important, of course, the entirety

of the UK was kept in place. But

there are still matters there we

would have liked to have seen

clarified. We ran out of time,

essentially. We think we needed to

go back again and talk about those

matters. But the PM has decided to

go to Brussels in relation to this

text and she says she has done that

in the national interest.

Theresa May and her Brexit

secretary, David Davis, made their

overnight dash to Brussels while

Downing Street were having their

Christmas party. What were the first

signs of a breakthrough? Early this

morning, an aide to Jean-Claude

Juncker tweeted this image of white

smoke. And this picture of Theresa

May and David Davis having breakfast

with Jean-Claude Juncker and Michel

Barnier then emerged. The big

question, what happens next? With me

to talk about the deal are three

Westminster watchers.

Marie Le Conte, who's

a journalist and commentator.

Jessica Elgot, political

reporter at the Guardian.

And the Specator

magazine's Katy Balls.

Good to see you all. You have been

keeping up to speed with this

morning 's developments. Good. Let's

get your response. The breakthrough

this morning, Monday, talks

collapse, embarrassing for Theresa

May, coming back with no deal. She

had to leave the Christmas party

yesterday to go to Brussels and have

managed -- they may have managed to

have come up with an agreement.

It's

good news for everybody. I'm an EU

national. So I'm quite relieved

things have been settled. But it was

very much an 11th hour deal and it

was expected, I think. Theresa May

will be pleased she has some

breathing space now.

I think Theresa

May can take a lot of ownership of

this deal. She seems to have taken

charge of it this week, especially

in negotiations with the DUP, and

David Davis, her Brexit secretary,

slightly on the sidelines over the

last few weeks. But she seems to

have come it's quite interesting how

Arlene Foster, the leader of the

DUP, says that it wasn't quite as

far as they wanted to go. But the PM

decided to go ahead and go to

Brussels and make the deal anyway,

even though there was still

differences between them. I think

that shows that the PM wanted to

show she isn't being held hostage by

the DUP.

It's also clear they had no

choice but to come up with a deal by

the end of today to be able to move

on to phase two next week. The

language we have been hearing this

morning is that sufficient progress

has been made to move onto the next

stage of talks, Katie?

I think

sufficient progress has been made.

But there are overhanging issues.

There was the slight warning from

the DUP that they are not completely

satisfied. But I don't think the

Conservative Party is satisfied

either, because this draft text

leapt out because talks broke down

on Monday, lots of questions now

hanging over what this trade

relationship Britain is seeking with

the EU is actually going to be. That

will be a more difficult stage.

There will be a bit of relief,

Christmas holiday is looking

brighter for number ten staff, but

ultimately the hard work is stuffed

beginning.

We will come onto the

next stage in a moment. But what

have the biggest compromises beam?

The talks haven't been easy, they

have been difficult for both sides,

and compromises have been made. --

the biggest compromises beam?

On the

UK side there will be a divorce

bill. We don't have the figure yet.

But it will be substantial. There is

that. On the UK side again, EU

nationals will be able to bring

family and unborn children will be

able to be born in the UK and have

similar rights they have at the

moment. The UK has budged on that.

On the EU side...

One of the key

compromises with a lot of the more

ardent Brexiteer MPs will want to

see is exactly the role of the ECJ.

That is something they wanted to

draw a line against. We won't ever

be subject to those laws ever again.

Now it seems there might be some

compromise at least for a limited

period that caught here will have to

pay some sort of regard to judgment

there. Weather it is EU citizens, or

maybe the future trade relationship.

-- whether it is EU citizens or

maybe the future trade relationship.

Which areas of life will it affect?

It could affect British businesses.

There could be ruling is different

kinds of regulations for British

businesses that might affect them.

All of that stuff needs to be worked

out when it comes to what the future

relationship will be and what the

trade terms, you know, what we end

up with... And it looks like that

may not even be sorted by the end of

the deal. Theresa May has said she

is seeking a transition period. I

think the EU will want to see in

that transition period, roughly

around two years, that we are

generally accepting the same kinds

of rules and regulations as the EU

has in order to continue to trade.

A

huge sigh of relief from many

people. Not least in Downing Street.

But this still needs endorsement

from 27 EU countries. Are we likely

to see any stumbling blocks, do you

think, Katie?

What we've noticed in

the past few days, after things got

awkward for the British government

on Monday, Brussels seem to really

want Theresa May to get sufficient

progress. There has been a

concentrated effort from figures...

There have been some quite vicious

briefings from Jean-Claude Juncker's

side, the disastrous dinners they

have had, for example, so I think

they wanted to help her out. Michel

Barnier and Donald Tusk want to do

this positive mood music. Everybody,

including the 27 members, want to

get it through to the trade talks.

But I think people will then be a

bit more frank about those talks.

Yes, lots of thank yous this morning

after everybody's speeches. Why is

it in their interest for talks to go

well and progress to be made on

Theresa May's behalf?

Uncertainty

isn't good for anyone. There is

certainly an argument that the EU

can sit back and wait to blink more

than Britain. Because lots of

businesses in Britain are working

out if they need to have contingency

plans. They wanted this reassurance

we are moving to trade and they have

that. It is not in anybody's

interest, because there is so much

trade going on between all of these

countries to keep things waiting.

Use all Leo Varadkar say that, as

well. He said we are keen to get a

conference and trade deal with the

UK. -- you all saw. It is in both

sides' interest to get that going.

The Tory party split over what they

want. How will the party be reacting

to today's compromise?

So far it's

been surprising, nobody has made any

noises, you know? Indicating they

are definitely unhappy with what

happened overnight. Even people like

Michael Gove who is the chief

Brexiteer in the Cabinet, I suppose.

They were all congratulating Theresa

May. So far it is fine. But as Katie

was saying earlier, it is a sign

that they know that most of the work

is yet to come and they may be

saving themselves for the battles of

2018 and 2019.

There will be some

probing by some of the Brexiteers on

the backbenches in the Tory party.

About some of the phrases which have

been agreed. There is talk about

this idea of alignment of

regulations in the UK.

What does all

of that mean? There has been a lot

of confusing language this week.

High alignment, low alignment,

regulatory divergences...

CHUCKLES

Explain, what does it all mean?

That

is something that will need to be

probed quite a lot in Parliament

over the coming days and weeks.

Essentially, when it came to

Northern Ireland, though, their

concern was on Monday and why they

didn't want that agreement to go

ahead was they didn't want to be

more closely aligned with the EU and

Dublin than the UK. The key thing we

heard this morning from Arlene

Foster was that they were given

assurances Northern Ireland, the

entire UK, would be leaving the EU,

including Northern Ireland.

Ultimately now, with all of this

talk of regulation, diverges which

confuses everybody, is how close,

basically, Britain will be to the EU

in terms of all of these

regulations, all of these things we

have to stick by. Do we have to

adhere to all of these rules of the

EU, and trading standards, etc? The

lots of members of the Conservative

Party they find it unappealing

because they like this idea of a

clean Brexit where they don't have

to mirror Brussels in any way. That

is where you will see some worries.

But also this disagreement. There

was a small number of backbenchers

who do not want to give any money to

Brussels. They are still not going

to be delighted that we have

sufficient progress in this way.

Theresa May has been keeping her

cards close to her chest. Almost

telling the hard Brexiteers and

their party what they want to hear,

telling other people what they want

to hear, but going into the next

phase she will have to talk about

exactly what she wants, what the

government wants, how does she go

about keeping everybody happy?

She

can't keep everybody happy.

CHUCKLES

It's impossible.

She needs to start

working out, who basically,

pragmatically, is the best person

for her to disappoint. Who will be

most pragmatic about it? And working

out how she can give different

people what they want. There isn't

solution that fixes all at the end

of the day.

One of the key things to

remember is for a lot of Brexiteers

what they want to do is leave the

EU. As long as she can still say

that we are not going to be attached

to the EU single market and Customs

union, we may end up with an

arrangement which is incredibly

similar to being in the single

market and Customs union. If she is

able to say definitively that that

link has been broken, I think at the

end of it all that is the way she

may be able to, just about, draw a

compromise together in the middle

somewhere.

Do you think phase two

will be as painful as phase one?

Probably more painful. Quite a lot

of factions, especially on the UK

site, have decided to play ball and

be relatively nice and helpful.

Because they know the future of the

relationship is really what matters.

That is when they will dig the

trenches and actually decide to say

to Theresa May, this is what we

want, these are our strong red

lines. The worst is probably yet to

come.

Let's finish on a couple of

e-mails. This is from Brian, well

done, you deserve a good rest,

Theresa May.

Another one says, I would like to

know what will now stop the EU

citizen is getting into England by

slipping through the back door as

there is no border.

Cathy says, what breakthrough, it is

all just words.

Thank you for your messages, keep

them coming in.

Still to come...

We'll hear from the Children's

Commissioner about what more

could be done to protect children

from domestic violence.

Jeremy Hunt tells us the government

must do more to support people with

mental health problems.

Time for the latest

news - here's Annita.

The headlines: There has been a

major breakthrough in the Brexit

talks. The European Commission now

says sufficient progress has been

made in the first stage of the

negotiations about citizens rights,

the Irish border, the size of the

so-called divorce bill that we can

move onto the second stage. That

will be about Britain's future

relationship with the EU and in

particular the shape of any deal on.

But in the last hour Michel Barnier

has warned there is still much to

do.

There is still much to be done

and negotiation on a number of

issues. We will need to have the

final version of the withdrawal

agreement ready by October 2018.

Less than one year.

A "day of rage" is being planned

by Palestinians angered by America's

recognition of Jerusalem

as the capital of Israel.

Around 30 demonstrators were injured

in clashes with Israeli forces

in the West Bank yesterday.

The US has warned Palestinians

against cancelling talks

with vice-President

Mike Pence, who will visit

the Middle East in less

than two weeks' time.

A student who died weeks

after starting at university

was failed by "every NHS

organisation that should have cared

for her", a review has found.

Averil Hart, who was 19,

died of a heart attack caused

by anorexia in 2012.

The Parliamentary and

Health Service Ombudsman

says her death could and should

have been prevented.

NHS England has apologised,

and says it's making "real progress"

with eating disorder services.

Snow, ice and windy conditions

are set to sweep across large

parts of the UK today.

Severe gales have already

caused disruption to air,

rail and ferry services.

Yellow "be aware" weather

warnings have been issued

across much of Scotland,

Northern Ireland, Wales

and north-west England -

with up to eight inches of snow

expected in some areas.

That's a summary of

the latest BBC News.

We will have a weather update coming

up just before ten o'clock this

morning.

Here's some sport now with Hugh.

Real Madrid footballer Cristiano

Ronaldo has been crowned the best

footballer in the world again, after

winning the prestigious Balon d'Or

award. It means he and Lionel Messi

have shared the last ten titles.

Arsene Wenger hailed the influence

of Jack Wilshere, as they won their

final Europa League game 6-0 against

BATE Borisov at what was a half full

Emirates stadium. Everton were

already out but they did beat

Apollon Limassol 3-0 in Cyprus.

Ademola Lookman scored twice. And

finally, Fife winner Ernie

O'Sullivan said he felt sorry for 20

rolled Sunny Akani from Thailand

after a O'Sullivan came from behind

three times to reach the

quarterfinals of the U:K.'s new

championship. That's the sport for

now. We will be back with more just

after ten o'clock if

The Children's Commissioner

for England is calling on the prime

if is calling on the prime

minister to put protection in place

for every child who is living

in a house with domestic violence.

The latest statistics show another

rise, year on year in the number

of domestic violence incidents

police are dealing with,

in England and Wales.

The BBC has had access

to Northumbria Police and charity

Wearside Women In Need,

to see how they respond to emergency

domestic violence calls

where children are involved

and how they're supported.

Jeremy Cooke's report starts

with Claire's story, which some

viewers may find disturbing.

Jack was the eldest, he was 12.

He was a musician.

He was just a lovely

quiet, gentle boy.

Paul was cheeky, full of confidence.

A good sportsman.

He was a runner.

Personal best was

always in his mind.

Claire Throssel, proud mother,

domestic abuse survivor.

She left the man who had controlled

and bullied her and her

children for years.

We've met Claire on this programme

before, and now we hear more

about her unforgettable,

tragic story of what happened

as her two boys were caught

up in a world of fear.

They were frightened of their dad.

And they were frightened for me and

very protective of me and worried.

Despite everything, the boy's father

had a right to see them.

Claire sensed the growing

danger, but was powerless

to stop what happened next.

There was a policeman

stood at the door and I

said, "What's he done?

He's done it, hasn't he?

He's done something to them."

At the 999 call desks,

domestic abuse is a constant theme.

There is a domestic,

with a report of somebody having

been stabbed with a screwdriver...

Calls for help 24/7.

has she got any children...?

The immediate task -

to get the facts.

And if a child is present

it is a maximum priority case.

Said her partner, or her ex-partner

threatened to beat her

and her 12-year-old child up.

So we're going to get somebody

up there straightaway.

Children can and do

suffer direct abuse.

But they also witness violence,

and there's a growing recognition

of the long-term damage.

There's lots of evidence

about adverse childhood experience

of which this is the most common -

domestic abuse - and what a long

impact it can have

on people's ability to learn,

their ability to make

relationships, perhaps

turning to crime, because

they have chaotic lives.

I've had black eyes,

I've had elbows and knees

and my head would be

bashed off something.

Jane finally fled after she and her

kids endured almost five

years of domestic abuse.

We've changed her name to protect

her and to protect the children.

I see the massive effect

it's had on them.

You would be in the middle of having

this fight and you'd be

looking at your kids,

you'd have eye contact

with your kids, and you could see

the fear and them crying and stuff

and you wouldn't know what to do,

because you can't get

out of the situation.

And I just felt myself

like apologising to them a lot

and I didn't know how to deal

with it and I hated the fact

that they were so confused by it.

We have a female and he's

hit her on the back.

After the 999 calls, the response.

Northumbria Police on the case.

Every year across the country,

the number of domestic abuse

incidents is rising,

and this year stands at 645,000.

We're on our way to

a domestic violence case.

Every incident like this

is treated very seriously,

but when there are children

involved, it all takes on an even

greater sense of urgency.

As well as the emergency calls,

there are also routine checks.

Tonight, the police are visiting

Melissa, along with a specialist

from Wearside Women in Need.

So, if we give you a call...?

There are no kids here.

Melissa felt she had

no choice but to give

up her new-born baby for adoption,

because she was trapped

in an abusive, controlling

relationship - domestic abuse,

breaking the bond

between mother and child.

It's cost you your baby and it's

cost your baby his mother.

I'll never see my baby again.

I'm in so much pain.

It's ruined me life, basically.

Do you think about your baby?

Every day.

He's gone.

The biggest mistake

I ever done in my life.

Anything you need for your flat that

I could help you with?

No.

Melissa is trying to

turn things around.

She's got a job and wants

to look to the future.

With the ongoing support

of Wearside Women in Need.

That was really sad, wasn't it?

Yes, absolutely, she had no choice

but to choose her partner over

the child before she even had

a chance to bond or be

with that child.

For kids caught up in domestic

abuse, there's always damage,

but for Claire, as she was rushed

to Sheffield Children's Hospital, it

became a matter of life and death.

I walked up to the bed

and they stopped the CPR

and I held him in my arms.

I held him so tight.

And my tears were in his hair,

his hair was damp and

then his eyes closed.

Paul was gone.

And Claire became aware of another

bed, doctors fighting to save Jack.

Their abusive, violent father had

also died in the fire

that he deliberately set

after trapping

the boys in the attic.

The boys couldn't get out.

But Jack tried.

And he'd managed to get Paul

to the edge of the attic,

but he'd fallen through into

the flames below.

And when the firemen picked him up,

he said, "My dad this did

and he did it on purpose."

A family destroyed.

But still more agony to come.

I went with Jack to Manchester

Burns Unit and he went

straight into theatre.

Jack fell asleep in my arms

after a five-day battle

in Manchester Children's Hospital.

Early intervention can help

children and save lives.

This is Operation Encompass

and at Northumbria Police HQ it's

the first task every morning.

A specialist team scans

through all the overnight

reports of domestic abuse

for cases involving children.

This is an 11-year-old child that's

been present during a domestic

between mum and dad.

It's all about communication.

Operation Encompass has now been

picked up by more than half

of the UK police forces

and they immediately tell

schools what's happened,

so that children can be supported

from the moment they arrive

in the classroom that morning.

The first thing we will do is,

we always make sure we greet that

child with a smile and if they have

not got school uniform on,

we can offer them school uniform,

we check that they have had

breakfast, we just check

that they're alright.

A simple phone call

can make the biggest

of differences to a child.

And you know, if we're not

about making their lives better,

then what are we about?

These children are among

the one in seven in the UK

who experience domestic abuse.

Here they've been taken

into refuge with their mothers.

And now there are calls

for for consistent, multi-agency

response to domestic abuse -

nationwide and driven from the top.

I would like the Prime Minister

to make this a priority

for the whole of government

and actually send out strong

messages and a framework

for government and public services

throughout the land that

children need the help now,

they can't wait for that support.

Claire now spends her life

campaigning with Women's Aid.

They've recorded 20 cases since 2005

where children have been

killed by fathers already involved

in domestic abuse, but still granted

access to their children.

It's a silent killer.

Domestic abuse and coercive control

is something that's not

visible on the outside,

it destroys people,

it destroys lives.

It destroys the whole being.

And it needs to be

recognised and stopped.

The campaign is called Child First,

and it demands that family courts

put children's safety at the heart

of every decision.

A demand Claire makes

in the name of her boys -

her Paul and her Jack.

I promised no other parent

would have to do what I did and hold

a child in their arms as they died,

knowing it's at the hands

of somebody who should love them

and protect them the most.

One family's tragedy -

bleak testimony that the lives

destroyed by domestic abuse include

the lives of children.

If you want help or advice with any

of the issues raised in that report,

you can find support

on our Actionline website.

Just search for BBC Actionline.

Coming up... We will hear how Health

Secretary Jeremy Hunt plans to help

young people with mental health

problems.

Let's get more on Theresa May

and the EU's Jean-Claude Juncker

saying that a Brexit

breakthrough deal paves way for

future trade talks.

"Sufficient progress" has been

made in the first stage

of the Brexit negotiations,

allowing talks to move

onto the subject of

trade and transition -

that's the news breaking

from Brussels this morning.

Michael Gove, the Environment

Secretary, has given his reaction.

This achievement is a significant

achievement for the Prime Minister

and it helps guarantee the rights of

EU citizens in the UK. It will be UK

courts which safeguard those rights

are. In a limited number of cases,

for a limited period of time come

they can if they wish to, if there

is a point of law which is

ambiguous, go to the European Court

of Justice for help in resolving the

issue. But it is important to

Beckett now is that this is a time

limited and very specific exemptions

and it is the UK courts in the

driving seat.

If there is no deal

regarding the relationship between

Northern Ireland and the Republic,

then this document sets out that

there will be a maintenance of a

full alignment between the whole of

the UK and the EU, with rules of the

single market and Customs union -

again, from the perspective of

someone who has supported Brexit

throughout, that seems to be a

massive concession and at least a

massive risk, because if a deal

isn't done, then we fall back into

the single market and customs union

which you have been opposed to all

along?

We are going to be outside the

single market and outside the

customs union because of this deal.

In the Republic of Ireland and in

Northern Ireland there has been so

much progress. That means we will

continue to work together that there

is no return to a hard border. The

alignment between the Republic and

Northern Ireland will mean it is

able to achieve its goals. There

will not be any weakening of the

position of Northern Ireland within

the UK.

Can you tell us now with

full confidence Britain will not be

the customs union come the end of

the negotiations?

It is clear the PM

has made it a priority to ensure we

are outside the customs union and

outside the single market, so we can

set our own rules and sign our own

trade deals. We want a deep and

competence of free trade agreement

with the EU. It is in all of our

interests to secure that great trade

deal.

This document will be

interpreted in wildly different ways

by those in Brussels, and by those

in your government, and those

supporting your government,

therefore despite the agreement that

has been reached, I mean... It is

fair to say that there are huge

challenges going forward. Yes, there

has been an agreement on this first

phase to get through to the second

phase, but, you know, things will be

interpreted wildly differently, and

therefore there are big challenges

ahead.

There was always scope for

people to be cynical. But this is a

significant achievement, I think.

Because it means the right of EU

citizens are protected in the UK.

The rights of UK citizens are

protected in the EU. We have an

agreement that no EU country will be

out of pocket as a result of our

departure. But there will be more

money for NHS, schools, and housing

in this country as a result of us

leaving the EU. And we can get onto

talking about that free trade deal.

It's a significant step forward, and

one that the overwhelming majority

of people in parliament and in the

country will welcome.

Looking

forward to the trade deal do you

accept the broad principle that from

the EU's perspective a trade deal

for Britain in the future has to be

at least slightly less. That has to

be a principle the European Union

takes to the negotiation.

We want a

free trade deal, one which gives

tariff free restrictions access to

goods and services into the European

market. At this stage it would be

wrong for me to try to guess exactly

how every single aspect of that

trade deal will work. But one thing

is clear, we start from a position

where our regulations already

aligned, our markets are already

integrated, so I think we can have

the best free trade deal that has

yet been designed between Britain

and the EU. The goodwill is there if

we build on it.

Finally, should

Parliament be consulted on the broad

principles set out in the document?

It's vital to involve Parliament at

every stage. The Prime Minister has

been scrupulous to make sure the

House of Commons plays its part in

recognising where Britain plays its

part.

I don't think many people would

disagree with that.

The Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has

admitted that his Government must

to do more to help people

will mental health problems.

Mr Hunt says there are "bottlenecks"

in parts of the England

that must improve.

He was responding to

hearing the story of Bex,

who suffers with a range of serious

mental health conditions.

She was featured in a BBC Radio 1

Newsbeat documentary earlier this

week called My Mind And Me.

Mp3 player, phone...

I have been diagnosed

with depression, social anxiety

disorder, obsessive compulsive

disorder, bipolar,

borderline personality

disorder and also insomnia.

And that window's locked.

I call my anxiety disorder

"the anxious hog monster",

because that's how it feels.

My chest is compressed and it feels

like your heart's pounding

and your hands are shaking.

Locked.

When I have been leaving the flat,

it takes me longer with my OCD

as well and my anxiety.

Bex's story, and the others

in that documentary,

prompted a huge reaction

earlier in the week.

Jim Connolly from Newsbeat is

with me to talk about what happened

when he took the story

to Jeremy Hunt.

What happened when you took the

story to Jeremy Hunt?

Like you said,

we got a massive reaction from our

audience. People really connected to

it. They were candid and honest. It

was one person in particular, Bex,

who we saw there, people really

connected with her, he thought she

was speaking so openly and

powerfully. We decided that that the

secretary of State. -- we decided to

put that to the secretary of state.

Compared to the scale

of what we want to do,

which is to be much better

at being there for people

going through the agony that Bex

is doing through, there is a long

way to go.

In the majority of cases,

mental health problems start very

young and that's why it is

so important that people have the

confidence and courage to come

forward, because then something can

be done about it.

But to do that we've

really got to ramp up the

services available and what we need

to do is have a much stronger

partnership between the NHS

and schools and you know if we had

been able to do that when Bex

was at secondary school, who knows,

we could have nipped that problem

in the bud and Bex wouldn't be

having to go through

the horrific challenges

that she is going through now.

So it is really that's the purpose.

One of the stories she told us

was particularly shocking and she's

asked us to show you it,

so I would like to show

you her story and this is one

incident that's caused her

quite a lot of distress.

There was a long wait,

so I waited in hospital

for two and a half hours,

just to see someone and they took me

to a mental health clinic and I felt

quite suicidal and just impulsively

dangerous, so I kept saying,

"I'm not safe" and I kept getting

panicky and I couldn't get my breath

back and my chest was really tight.

So then they were like,

"We can't give you the medication

because it would have to be seen

by a doctor and there's no

doctors at that time."

And then I got back home at like 3

in the morning and then two days

later had another bad panic attack.

Back to this clinic.

They tried to admit me again,

but there were no beds.

She had a mental health crisis,

she was suicidal, she was brought

She had a mental health crisis,

she was suicidal, she was worried

for her own safety and she was sent

home to her house on her own at 3

o'clock in the morning.

Then the problems continued.

And there was no bed for her.

A lot of people say it is all very

well spotting the signs,

but once you have spotted the signs

there isn't the help

out there for people.

Well, there needs to be more help

for sure and the thing that she

talked about in there, there

were some positives and negatives.

I think the negatives

you're absolutely right.

The positive is that she did

have a crisis team at

her local hospital.

Those have only actually started

in the last three years.

We also have more beds available

than we've had before, but

I won't pretend there aren't parts

of the country where there are

real bottlenecks.

I think the broader point

here is we've had a

health system for many

years where if you break

a leg or cut your arm,

you can go to an A&E and it's

sorted out on the spot.

But if you have a mental

health crisis, it isn't.

And we changed the law five years

ago and we said, no, you need

to treat mental health

equally to physical health.

And that means that you have

got to have access to

crisis teams 24/7 and I hope

they will do a lot better job than

evidently happened for Bex,

although I'm sure the professionals

involved were trying their very

hardest, but she is right to say

that this is something

that we are ramping up and it's

going to take a little bit of time.

The Government has repeated this

message over the last ten years,

we have had ten years

of your Government, that mental

health should be treated

the same as physical health.

You have been health

Secretary for five years,

when is it actually going to happen?

It's not happening everywhere,

it is happening in some places.

It does take time and I don't

want to pretend this is

something - you can't change this

by the Queen putting her signature

on an Act of Parliament.

You have got got to train

thousands and thousands

of additional professionals -

psychiatrists, psychologists,

talking therapists and mental

health nurses and so on.

We have got about 4,500 more

people working in the

mental health system compared

to when we came to office and about

1,000 more people are getting

help every single day.

People are much more

open about mental health

conditions than they were before.

That is a really positive thing.

But it does mean

there is an awful lot

more work for us to do in the NHS.

Sometimes if you're working

in the NHS it feels

like we are racing just

to stand still.

But I would never pretend

that there isn't a whole lot more

we can do and every time I meet

people like Bex, I'm reminded that,

yes, we may have made progress,

but there is a whole lot more

we need to do.

What is the wider political

reaction?

We wanted to focus this on

people's personal stories but there

is a political angle to everything.

This is a highly political subject.

Labour say this is another example

of massive cut in the NHS and mental

health funding is one of the areas

being cut to plug gaps elsewhere.

They say they would ring fenced

mental health funding. We spoke to

the Prime Minister earlier in the

year which was announcing another

scheme to spot the early signs of

mental health and she admitted to

us, she said, look, dispatch across

the country, it is different in

different areas. If you have a

crisis in one area, what happens to

you will be different. That has been

proven in what we have seen. And the

reaction we have got. Look at Bex,

she had a difficult situation, and

that was because in her area it was

patchy, had she been somewhere else

it might have been much better.

That's the issue. Once you are in

the system it's pretty good, but it

is getting into the system, which,

for some people can be difficult.

Bex's story will be featuring today

on radio one. The Radio 1 iPlayer

page has the My Mind And Me

documentary in full on there. It is

worth a watch. People talk candidly

about their problems. On the news

channel tomorrow at 10:30am there is

a version going on out. I would urge

you to watch it because these people

are fantastic.

And a pod cast today.

Well worth listening to and

watching. Thank you very much. Back

to Brexit. We can bring you a tweet

from Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson

in response to what has been

described as a breakthrough in

Brexit negotiations this morning.

described as a breakthrough in

Brexit negotiations this morning. He

says congratulations to the PM for

her determination in getting today's

deal. We now aim to forge a deep and

special partnership with our

European friends and allies, while

remaining true to the referendum

result. Taking back control of our

laws, money, and borders the

result. Taking back control of our

laws, money, and borders the whole

of the UK. Boris Johnson there on

twitter.

Let's get the latest weather update.

Lots of talk about snow this

weekend,

Lots of talk about snow this

weekend, what is the forecast?

We've had a lot already today.

Through the weekend, some of us will

see more. Let me show you some of

our lovely weather watchers pictures

taken this morning.

Look at the depth of that snow in

County Down. We have some lying snow

here, a lovely dog in the

foreground. As we keep our journey

going throughout the country, this

picture taken in Shropshire. Again,

you can see it is a beautiful scene,

almost Christmas card material. This

was Worcester this morning, showing

the snow falling here, as well.

Staying in Worcestershire, again, we

have lying snow on the ground. It

isn't terribly deep, but we are

looking at snow showers through the

course of today. This one in Argyll

and Bute. This is just the way it

has been shot, the camera angle,

making it look much bigger. And in

Aviemore, we have lying snow here,

it has been snowing quite steadily

as we've gone through the course of

the morning. To give you an idea of

the depths we have, the lying snow,

Northern Ireland currently ten

centimetres. And so on...

If you are travelling, bear that in

mind. There is the risk of ice. A

cold start to the day. This is where

the snow showers have been falling.

At the moment, we have a line coming

in through the North Channel, across

the Irish Sea, and in towards the

Midlands. That will keep going as we

go through the next few hours into

tonight and also into tomorrow.

Windy conditions will be left behind

once that moves away. It is a cold

wind blowing in from the north-west.

Blowing all of these showers into

the North and west. These are the

lying snow showers. They will

settle. England we will see further

snow showers, possibly over into the

east, and the south coast. We do not

expect those to settle. This

afternoon across Wales, we continue

with the snow showers. We also have

them across Northern Ireland. Still

windy, but in between them all there

will be sunshine. Across Scotland we

have the snow showers. Here we had a

lot of the strong winds, so we will

get blizzards and drifting snow.

Atrocious travelling conditions.

Away from that, dry conditions down

into the south of Scotland, and also

across northern England, away from

the West, all the way down through

East Anglia into Kent. We could see

the odd wintry flurry getting

towards the east and south-east. We

don't expect it to settle. We can

also seek snow flurries down towards

the south coast, perhaps a bit more

at times across the moors. Do this

evening and overnight, snow showers

continue, more or less the same

distribution. The wind eases a

touch. It'll be a cold night. Lots

of dry weather, clear skies, and

where we have the damp surfaces

there is the risk of ice in the

north and the West. Under clearer

skies, temperatures will drop, these

are indicative of towns and cities.

But where we have lying snow in the

north of Scotland feel colder than

that. Into tomorrow morning, a cold

and frosty start. Still some snow

showers around. Again, in the same

kind of areas. We will not see all

of -- we will not all see the snow

showers. Tomorrow, dry weather, a

crisp, Winter's, sunny day.

Temperatures, nothing to write home

about. It'll feel cold if you are

stepping out. This one has been

giving us a headache because as it

comes in it will bring in rain, and

on its leading edge it will bring

snow. At the moment we think

Northern Ireland, Wales, part of the

Midlands, just north of the M4

corridor heading to the east, but

that could change so keep updated

with the weather forecast.

The deadlock is broken in the first

stage of the Brexit talks,

allowing negotiations to move

on to the subject of trade.

Theresa May flew to Brussels early

this morning to agree the deal,

which includes protecting the rights

of EU citizens here and a million

British expats as well as no hard

border with Ireland.

Getting to this point has required

give and take on both sides, and I

believe that the joint report being

published is in the best interests

of the whole of the UK. I very much

welcome the prospect of moving ahead

to the next phase to talk about

trade and security and to discuss

the positive and ambitious future

relationship that is in all of our

interests.

We'll get reaction from migrants

workers, living here in the UK.

We have a special report

on the impact on children

of living in a family

where there's domestic violence.

I see the massive effect it has had

on them. You would be in the middle

of having a fight and you would have

eye contact with the kids and you

could see the fear and you would not

know what to do because you could

not get out of the situation...

We'll hear the Children's

Commissioner's proposals shortly.

It is one of the most-eagerly

awaited fixtures in

the football calendar -

this Sunday's Manchester derby sees

United play arch rivals

City at Old Trafford.

We'll hear from some fans hoping

for very different results.

Good morning.

Here's Annita in the BBC Newsroom

with a summary of todays news.

Here's Annita in the BBC Newsroom

with a summary of today's news.

Good morning.

There's been a major breakthrough

in the Brexit talks.

The European Commission now says

"sufficient progress" has been

made in the first stage

of the negotiations -

about citizen's rights,

the Irish border and the size

of the so-called divorce

bill - that we can move

on to the second stagE.

on to the second stage.

That'll be about Britain's future

relationship with the EU -

and in particular, the shape of any

deal on trade.

Speaking this morning,

Theresa May said she would write

to the people of Northern Ireland

to set out the deal, following this

week's sticking point.

In Northern Ireland, we will

guarantee that there will be no hard

border. And we will uphold the

Belfast agreement. And in doing so,

we will continue to preserve the

constitutional and economic

integrity of the United Kingdom. We

have taken time this week to

strengthen and clarify this part of

the agreement, following discussions

with unionists in Northern Ireland

and across the UK. The Taoiseach,

Leo Varadkar, and I spoke yesterday

and we have both committed that

there should be no barriers either

north or south or east or west, and

I believe this agreement delivers

that.

Donald Tusk, President

of the EU Council,

said he was pleased with today's

developments but warned

there was still so much to do.

Let us remember that the most

difficult challenge is still ahead.

We all know that breaking up is

hard. But breaking up and building a

new relation is much harder. Since

the brusque sick referendum, a year

and a half has passed. -- since the

Brexit referendum. So much time has

been devoted to the easier part of

the task. And now, to negotiate a

transition arrangement and the

framework for our future

relationship, we have de facto less

than a year.

A "day of rage" is being planned

by Palestinians angered by America's

recognition of Jerusalem

as the capital of Israel.

Around 30 demonstrators were injured

in clashes with Israeli forces

in the West Bank yesterday.

The US has warned Palestinians

against cancelling talks

with vice-President

Mike Pence, who will visit

the Middle East in less

than two weeks' time.

A student who died weeks

after starting at university

was failed by "every NHS

organisation that should have cared

for her", a review has found.

Averil Hart, who was 19,

died of a heart attack caused

by anorexia in 2012.

The Parliamentary and

Health Service Ombudsman

says her death could and should

have been prevented.

NHS England has apologised, and says

it is making "real progress"

with eating disorder services.

Snow, ice and windy conditions

are set to sweep across large

parts of the UK today.

Severe gales have already

caused disruption to air,

rail and ferry services.

Yellow "be aware" weather

warnings have been issued

across much of Scotland,

Northern Ireland, Wales