21/12/2017 Victoria Derbyshire

Hello, it's 9.00.

I'm Victoria Derbyshire.

Welcome to the programme.

Theresa May sacks her closest

political ally and deputy,

Damian Green, after a government

inquiry found he made

"inaccurate and misleading"

statements about pornography

on his office computer.

As Damian Green is forced to go, he

says he's done nothing wrong and

doesn't recognise the claims of

inappropriate behaviour and regrets

being asked to quit.

We'll get reaction

through the morning.

Plus - Kaci Sullivan from Missouri

gave birth five years ago,

and then began to transition

to become a man.

Last month he gave birth again.

We'll speak to him in his first

broadcast interview here in the UK.

I finally had a Caesarean section

at about 2.00pm yesterday, so

baby is not quite

24-hour is old, yet.

The kindness of strangers. Here is a

man giving a TV set and stand to go

with it to a man selling the big

issue with only a few days to go

before Christmas. We will be looking

into acts of kindness by strangers.

Hello...

Welcome to the programme,

we're live until 11am this morning.

a heads up that later we're

expecting confirmation that

Birmingham has been chosen to host

the Commonwealth Games in 2022.

It was the only city bidding. So if

it doesn't get it officially, that

will be a massive story.

We'll bring you reaction

to that obviously.

Also today, we want to hear your

"breaking news" from 2017 -

something that's happened

in your own life this year.

Lydia tweeted me -

she's had a hec of a year.

One, started cancer treatment.

Two, bought a house.

Three, treatment didn't work.

Four, hysterectomy.

Five, moved to London.

Six, new job.

And she adds drily -

I'm hoping 2018 will have less

breaking news.

Let me know your breaking news

from 2017, whatever it may be.

Tweet me - use the hashtag Victoria

live and If you text,

you will be charged

at the standard network rate.

Our top story today...

Prime Minister Theresa May

has sacked Damian Green

as First Secretary of State

amid claims that pornographic

material was found

on a Commons computer in 2008.

The Prime Minister expressed "deep

regret" at Mr Green's departure

but said his actions "fell short"

of the conduct expected

of a cabinet minister.

Alex Forsyth reports.

Side by side, yesterday,

the Prime Minister and her close

ally, Damian Green, her deputy

in all but name, but hours

after they sat together

in the Commons, he was sacked.

It stems back to a police raid

on Mr Green's Parliamentary

offices years ago.

Officers said legal pornography

was found on computers.

Mr Green has always and still denies

that it was his, but he also said

that he had not been told

about this, and it wasn't right.

He has now admitted that the lease

lawyers talked to his lawyers

in 2008, and police raised it

with him in 2013.

He said, I apologise

that my statements were

misleading on this point.

It's that breach of the ministerial

code that has cost him his job.

There were also claims

from this activist about

inappropriate behaviour.

Her account was said to be

plausible, but there was no clear

conclusion about what had happened.

Mr Green apologised for making

her feel uncomfortable,

but denied wrongdoing.

In a letter to Mr Green, Theresa May

said that she was extremely

sad at having to write

regarding his resignation.

She has lost a long-term

friend, and confidant

from her Cabinet table.

Some said her decision

showed strength.

I don't think this is damaging

to the Prime Minister at all,

because she has made

the decision, you know.

It shows that even if someone

is a close ally, she is able to make

the decision and urged him to take

the decision himself and step down.

I think it shows that she is not

prepared to cover someone,

if she feels that they didn't answer

the questions as they should have.

Nonetheless, the Prime Minister

will no doubt feel the loss of such

a trusted ally in her team.

Let's get the latest from our

political guru, Norman Smith.

How damaging is this for Theresa

May?

She has lost a third cabinet

minister in the space of eight

weeks. Has lost her closest

political ally. Has lost her number

two in government, of course it is a

blow. But honestly, she really had

no option because Damian Green is

pretty much bang to rights when it

comes to the ministerial code. He

lied and if you lie as a minister,

it is almost always goodbye. If she

hadn't sacked him, she would have

faced accusations she was putting

personal friendship and loyalty

ahead of an independent enquiry.

There would have been questions over

her political judgment. And I

suspect many of those who are

anxious and angry about the abuse

allegations at Westminster would

have been on the warpath. Because

although the enquiry made no

judgment about the claims from Kate

Maltby that Mr Green had behaved

inappropriately towards her, they

describe her evidence as plausible.

One final thought, you can see how

Theresa May's team would present

this as being the Prime Minister

being ruthless, showing leadership

and trying to fashion and narrative

that this is Theresa May getting on

the front foot, she is prepared to

set out a cause. It is a blow, of

course it is, but I can see how she

can find a way through this.

Thank

you, Norman.

Let's go to the BBC

Newsroom for a summary

of the rest of the day's news.

Australian police have arrested two

people after a car was driven into a

crowd in Melbourne. The car collided

with a number of pedestrians on

Flinders Street. The state Ambulance

Service said 14 people have been

injured and several are in a

critical condition. Police have said

it is a deliberate act but too early

to say if it is terrorist related.

Let's go to our Australian

correspondent in Sydney. What is the

latest you have on this incident?

We

have been hearing from eyewitnesses

who described seeing this white, 4x4

Suzuki 's vehicle coming through the

afternoon rush hour, busy with

Christmas shoppers. The vehicle went

to traffic lights. At that point,

started crashing into pedestrians

and people crossing the road. Some

graphic descriptions of how bodies

were thrown up into the air. It kept

going, hitting people until it

eventually crashed into a tramp 's.

Some bystanders ran towards the

vehicle, apprehended the driver. The

police arrived within a couple of

minutes and the driver and the

second month have been taken away

for questioning. The police said it

was a deliberate act to run people

down but they said it is too early

to know the motive and they have not

confirmed whether they see this as a

terror incident. The city is on a

state of high alert and locked down

and the investigation goes on.

Thank

you very much.

Tens of thousands of mothers

and babies in England have been

harmed when receiving maternity care

over the last two years.

More than a quarter of a million

incidents were reported by hospital

staff to the health regulator NHS

Improvement.

Most were minor but almost a quarter

of the incidents led to the mother

or baby being harmed.

Catalonians head to the polls today

in a closely watched regional

election called by Spain,

following October's controversial

independence referendum.

The snap election sees parties

who want Catalonia to be

an independent republic face those

who wish it to remain

a semi-autonomous part of Spain.

All indications are that the result

will be very close.

South Korea says its soldiers have

fired around 20 warning shots

at North Korean troops who had

approached the border

between the two countries.

The Defence Ministry in Seoul said

the North Koreans appeared to be

searching for one of their soldiers,

who had earlier taken advantage

of thick fog to cross the border

and defect to the South.

A poll carried out for the BBC

suggests that almost one in ten

young people across the UK

have spent at least

young people across the UK have

spent at least a month sofa surfing

because they've nowhere else to go.

The most common reasons included

family issues and domestic violence.

The Government says it's providing

more than £1 billion of funding

before 2020 to reduce

all forms of homelessness.

A child's chances of attending

a good secondary school in England

increasingly depends

on where they live,

according to the think-thank,

the Education Policy Institute.

The study says some deprived areas

of London have more high-performing

schools than better-off

areas in the north and

north-east of the country.

The government says it's investing

£280 million in disadvantage areas.

Toys-R-Us's future in the UK

is hanging in the balance ahead

of a key vote later on Thursday over

whether to back

the company's rescue plan.

The Pension Protection Fund ,which

wants the toy retailer to put

£9 million into its struggling

pension fund, has said it will vote

against the plan.

Failure to agree a deal

could put all its 3,200 staff

at risk of redundancy.

But reports suggest Toys-R-Us has

put forward new proposals

to try to reach a last-minute deal.

That's a summary of the latest BBC

News - more at 9.30.

Thank you for you but tweeting your

breaking news. Matthew Horton said

Iran tanker Lahmert arrays,

unimaginable this time last day. And

he raised money for the London air

ambulance. Sarah's breaking news,

she says Mr Twomey, chemotherapy,

lymph nodes removed, chemotherapy,

Don!

Done. Bring on 2018.

Do get in touch with us

throughout the morning -

use the hashtag Victoria live

and If you text, you will be charged

at the standard network rate.

Let's get some sport now

with Katherine and what a night

for Bristol City in the League Cup,

knocking out the holders

Manchester Untied.

There were some great

celebrations, weren't there?

Yes, 2-1 win against the holders of

the League Cup, Manchester United.

Bristol City, third place in the

championship beating the Premier

League giants. Massive result. Let's

look at how they did it. The first

goal came from Joe O'Brien. He put

them ahead in front of their home

fans at Ashton gate. Zlatan

Ibrahimovic equalised for Manchester

United. But this is it, in injury

time, the winner, Corey Smith, the

hero for Bristol City. Celebrations,

the fans ran onto the pitch. This is

the manager looking for someone to

celebrate with. The only person he

can find is the ball boy on the

touchline. Wonderful scenes and that

is what it means to the Bristol City

fans. Euphoria is the word the

manager used to explain how he felt,

beating his hero. Has read all of

Jose Mourinho's books. This is what

he had to say.

Total euphoria, the

noise in the stadium, the motion at

the time. They did know whether to

laugh, cry, cuddle each other, stay

at with the fans, come in to safety.

But again, just fantastic for the

football club and like I say, many

generations will talk about this and

hopefully it will attract more and

more supporters because we want more

nights like that.

He said he raided

his daughter's piggybank to borrow

£450 to buy a bottle of wine to

share with Jose Mourinho after the

match. But funnily enough, the

Manchester United manager was not in

a sharing mood.

They were lucky they

had the run of the game, but they

fought to be lucky. Sometimes you

think good luck comes from nowhere,

but normally it comes from effort,

from belief, which they had. It was

a big night for had them. Probably

the some of my players, it wasn't a

big night, just one more day in the

office. When you play against teams

with extra motivation, you need also

that extra motivation.

Congratulations to them.

Congratulations? He was reluctant to

pass those congratulations on.

Bristol City have done away with

Manchester United and up next for

them is when Chester city.

Favourites are the Champions League

Trophy not just the League Cup. But

he says they cannot do it.

We are awaiting confirmation and it

is due that Birmingham will host the

Commonwealth Games in 2022. It

should win, it is the only bidding

city and it will be a massive event?

It will be, we have been waiting for

this confirmation for a few days. We

get the formal confirmation later on

today. They got their bid in for the

September deadline to say yes, we

would like to host The Games. But

there was an issue with compliance.

The Commonwealth Games Federation

said they were not happy with the

bid. There were toing and froing,

particularly with the finances, but

there has been guarantees from

Birmingham about the money for the

event. It will cost £750 million,

the estimated budget. The most

expensive sports event since the

London 2012 Olympics held in the UK.

We have the 2014, wealth games in

Glasgow shortly after the Olympics,

so another massive sporting event to

be confirmed in the UK, in a couple

of years.

We will talk about who is

paying for that shortly.

This morning Theresa May

is without her closest political

ally and effective deputy,

after Damian Green was sacked

as First Secretary of State.

He was found to have "breached

the ministerial code"

after "inaccurate and misleading"

statements over what he knew over

claims that pornography had been

found on his office computer,

during a police raid in 2008.

He has always denied downloading

or viewing pornography,

but has now admitted he should have

been clear that police had spoken

to him and his lawyers

about the material.

In a letter to Damian Green,

Mrs May said she was "extremely

sad" at his departure

but said his actions 'fell short'

of the conduct expected

of a cabinet minister.

Mr Green wrote that he 'regretted'

being asked to resign following

breaches of the ministerial code,

he also denied that he had either

downloaded or viewed pawn

on his computer in parliament.

But, crucially, he admitted that

statements he made about

what he knew about the pornography

should have been 'clearer'.

The inquiry followed claims

from journalist and Tory

activist Kate Maltby,

seen here on our programme

earlier this year talking

about another matter,

who accused Damian Green

of 'inappropriate behaviour'.

The investigation found it

wasn't possible to reach

a definitive conclusion,

but that her account

was 'plausible'.

Kate Malby hasn't commented yet,

but her parents have

praised their daughter

for her courage in 'speaking out'.

So what were the statements that

caused Damian Green's downfall?

On November 5th, after

the initial claims from former

police chief Bob Quick that

pornography had been found

on his office computer

during the police raid nine years

ago - Mr Green said the allegation

was 'completely untrue'

and a 'political smear'.

And a week later, in

response to a second

story that the former

Met Police Commissioner Sir

Paul Stephenson had been

briefed about the claims,

Mr Green once again insisted

he was the victim of smears.

With me is Sebastian Payne -

Political Leader Writer

at the Financial Times.

Let's talk about the implication for

Theresa May first of all. What sort

of a hole does this leave in No 10.

A big one. Even though first

Secretary of State is no at position

that is always filled, it is effect

yefly Deputy Prime Minister, Damian

Green sat on nine committees that

dictate how things are done across

government.

And on the committees he

is her eyes and ears.

And Damian

Green and Theresa May go back a long

time, they went to university

together and rose through the ranks

together. It is a big loss for her.

Margaret Thatcher once said everyone

needs a Willie, a reference to

Willie Whitelaw. And Theresa May has

lost her Willie. How she gets

another first Secretary of State who

she trusts is not an easy task. I

don't think we will expect another

one too soon.

He was the architect

of his own down fall, he lied.

It is

as simple as that. It began with the

allegations from Kate Maltby and the

investigation couldn't decide, but

said it was plausible. He spoke out

and had a backlash from the press

and that is partly why we haven't

heard from him since this broke. If

you're going to be a minister, you

have to be honest and tell the truth

and he broke that. There is a sense

of sadness across the Conservative

Party as people fear that generally

he has acted well and it is said in

the investigation aside from this

incident...

Apart from the lying.

Apart from the lying he had opinion

a good minister and a good Deputy

Prime Minister. There was no option.

He did have to go. Once he had

broken the ministerial code.

Why did

he say, I regret that I have been

asked to resign. Does he not believe

he has done anything wrong?

He

wanted to stay on here, because I

think he was sort of feeling I don't

want to say witch-hunt, but there

was a media sform and the facts --

storm and the facts were not being

heard. David Davis said if Damian

Green goes will go. But we haven't

heard tr him. There was an

insistence that everything be done

by due process. He didn't fear he

had broken the rules. There is a

tinge of regret. But there was no

other choice when you're a minister

and you lie.

How do the police come

out of this?

Not terribly well. The

leaking about this 2008 thing is a

messy scandal to do with when the

police raided his computer when he

was a shadow spokesman for the

Conservative Party and it was seen

to be politically motivated, the

idea retired police officers

leaking. A lot of Conservatives feel

uncomfortable about it. Don't know

if there is a need for an

investigation. But it is

uncomfortable that they're waging

this war that started with the

sexual harassment allegations going

around Westminster.

How does this

leave Theresa May at the end of one

heck of a year for her?

A bit less

happy than it was. They have had a

good month they got the Budget

through and got progress on the

Brexit deal and there was talk of a

reshuffle. That will have to happen

now. They need a new Cabinet Office

minister. It ends the year on a sour

note. It was released at 8 .40pm

last night. It is getting it out of

way. They will try and leave this

behind and bring in some new faces

and have a reshuffle to try and

bring back some of the political

capital they were building.

Thank

you. More on that later on.

This time yesterday we brought

you the news that MPs had described

homelessness in England

as a 'national crisis'.

Then at lunchtime the PM angered

some Labour MPs in the Commons

when she said that not everyone

classified as homeless

is sleeping on the street.

There's very little data

on the so-called hidden homeless -

people sleeping on sofas,

floors or in spare rooms because

they've nowhere to call home.

Today we can bring you news

that a poll, conducted

by Comres for BBC News,

suggests more than 40% of people

aged 16-25 have spent at least

a night sofa surfing.

10% have done this

for more than a month.

The single biggest reason?

Because parents were unwilling

or unable to house them.

We can chat about this more now

with Dale Taylor-Gentles,

who sofa surfed after being kicked

out of the house during a row

with his mum on Christmas day.

Hafsa Isahak, who sofa

surfed for six weeks.

Talisha Reid-Clementson,

who sofa surfed for six months

until February this year.

And Paul Noblet, from homelessness

charity Centrepoint.

Thank you for coming on the

programme. You were in care at 16.

You did go back to live with your

mum. It didn't work out and you

ended up sleeping on a friend's

sofa, how unsettling was that?

It

was difficult, because I was

studying my A-levels. So when you're

sofa surfing, you're not sure about

where you're going to be sleeping, I

was making phone calls about where I

was staying, as well as doing

revision. So it was an unstable

time. How tired were you? Very

tired, when you're staying at a

friend's house, they don't have a

guest bed, so it was sofas.

Give us

a sense of the impact when you're

trying to study.

It is a very

stressful time. There is no

certainty of what the next day's

going to be like or the evening,

because you don't know what, where

you're going to be staying or what

you're going to be doing and

focussing on A-levels is very

difficult when you're worrying about

where you're going to be sleeping.

What about yourself, how did it

happen to you?

I like went through

certain situations which caused

myself to be homeless, previous

relationships and stuff. That caused

me to be homeless. I had no choice

but to sofa surf. I couldn't go back

to my mum's.

That was staying at,

calling in favours, staying at

friends?

Yes and family and going

back and forth.

What was that like

for you?

Stressful. It was

heart-breaking. You feel like you

have lost control of yourself and

you're not able to be the person you

want to be, because you have nowhere

stable to lay your head and think to

yourself.

How are you?

Hi.

Tell us

what happened to you.

How are you?

I'm really well. Tell us about your

story.

So I was living with my

foster parents and I was 17 and

things got difficult and we were

arguing and I knew I couldn't stay.

So what happened was I ended up

packing my stuff, leaving and

luckily with my friend I could stay

with her and ended up sofa surfing

for six weeks and it was the most

depressing time of my life.

Everybody in that house had a rue

tune, but I was -- routine and I was

coming to disrupt that. You don't

feel where you belong, you feel left

out. But that woman was lovely to me

and helped me show that she could

assist me in different ways to try

and get me a place by the end.

You

feel like you're, do you feel

guilty, because you feel like you're

imposing yourself on somebody else?

Yeah. It is. It makes you feel

like... You over stepping your

boundaries.

And over staying your

welcome potentially.

That is true.

There will be some people watching

and I will ask you this, who will

say, look, you were not sleeping on

the street, you were dry and warm

and had access to the bath or

shower, what do you say to that?

It

is not a home. It is not where you

can foe see, although you may see

the people, it is not somewhere you

can feel safe or be able to rest and

relax. You don't have a room. You

have to chill on the sofa or in your

friend's room.

There is no sense of

privacy or stability. You don't ever

feel like you're relaxed and can be

calm and have your own space. It is

never feels like the home or never

feels like a safe space, although

you may know the people you're

staying with.

What would you say to

people who say that?

You feel like

have...

Go ahead. Oo

You feel like

you have to watch yourself and know

what you're doing all the time and

everything you do, you like it comes

down to pressure, because if you

mess up, you can mess up your chance

of staying in that house and it is

always not knowing what is going to

happen.

Why couldn't any of you go

back to foster parents or parents?

No more space for me. I'm one of

seven. Between me and my mum, the

relationship weren't too good. There

was no chance to go back home.

Deal?

I had grown up living with my

grandmother, when she went into a

care home, I had nowhere else to go.

With my mum, we didn't have a strong

bond and it was constant arguing

until she kicked me out at

Christmas. That was a difficult time

and that relationship had broken

down.

You felt you couldn't go back

to your foster parents?

Yes that is

true. They didn't want anything to

do with me any more and they were

going to send me to a different

house. When you say you're used to

starting over and you don't want to

start over again, I thought I will

leave and hopefully the world will

show me a kind face.

Paul, this is

really sad, this is upsetting, isn't

it? Young people who don't feel

settled, because they have been

kicked out, or can't get on with

their parents or foster parents and

it is where centre point has helped?

Yes we are there to make sure there

is somewhere for the young people to

go. A challenge is if someone is

sofa surfing, they don't know where

the sources of information and help

are. We set up a help line for

people to work out where the next

step might be. Whilst people have

had somewhere that is a refuge at

the time, a lot of the young people

we support can slip into rough

sleeping and into sofa surfing and

back. It is not great what we have

heard about having to stay on sofas

and not feeling like you have a

place of your own. It is worse at

this time of year if people end up

on the street.

How do you react to

this poll which suggests that more

man 40% of 16 to 25-year-olds have

spent at least a night sofa surfing

and 10% for more than a month.

It is

not surprising when you talk to

young people, it is a ready tale and

what their experience is. The role

the government has it is difficult

to quantify but the Government may

be looking at the definitions of

homelessness, the law doesn't see

sofa surfing as a state of

homelessness and local authorities'

hands are tied in terms of offering

help. It is a different system in

Scotland and may England viewers may

to know if there is a discussion

needed as to whether we need to

categorise more people as homeless.

Tell us, be are you now living.

I'm

in lieu wish sham in a property

provided by centre point.

That is

sharing with somebody

else? Yes.

You

pay rent. What is it like to have

your own place.

It is a lot, similar

to the hostel, it is a safe space,

somewhere you can go and get your

work done and I'm at university now

and I can do my work come home and

go out in the day and know I still

have the place.

What about you?

I am living in

Shepherd's Bush in a hostel, sharing

with 13 people. There is three

bathrooms, and three of us share a

bathroom. There is one kitchen we

all share, one washing machine. It

is a bit of a struggle but I get by

and at the end of the day, I am not

trying to light... Mess chance

again, I just want to put my head

down and get on with it.

About

yourself?

At the moment, I was

living in the old people'shospital

which is from Coventry's homeless

team. I have got a flat last year. I

got it on my own, I have just got

some carpets, redecorating, getting

to know myself. Even when you

finally get a place, your mind never

leaves the mental state of being

homeless cell. At the moment I am

trying to pick myself up and I have

got a job.

Congratulations. You have

described, all of you, articulately,

the highs and lows in your lives in

the last few years. I want to wish

you all are very happy Christmas,

thank you for coming on the

programme. We can tell you,

Birmingham is confirmed as the host

city for the 2022 Commonwealth

Games. We will get reaction in the

next half an hour and if you are a

Birmingham resident, let me know

your views.

And random acts of kindness

are taking place across the UK

in the run up to Christmas like this

man giving away a TV.

We'll hear from some of those who've

been given gifts from strangers.

Time for the latest

news - here's Annita.

Prime Minister Theresa May has

sacked Damian Green as first

secretary of State amid claims

pornographic material was found on a

Commons computer in 2008. The Prime

Minister expressed deep regret at

his departure but his actions fall

short of those expected of a Cabinet

minister.

Australian police have arrested two

people after car drove into a crowd

in Melbourne. The car drove into a

number of people in Flinders Street.

The state Ambulance Service said 14

people have been injured and several

are in a critical condition. Police

have said it was a deliberate act

but it is too early to say whether

it was terrorist related.

Tens of thousands of mothers and

babies in England have been harmed

when receiving maternity care over

the last two years. More than 100

incidents were reported. Most were

minor but almost a quarter of the

incidents led to the mother or baby

being harmed.

Catalonians head to the polls today

in a closely watched regional

election called by Spain,

following October's controversial

independence referendum.

The snap election sees parties

who want Catalonia to be

an independent republic face those

who wish it to remain

a semi-autonomous part of Spain.

All indications are that the result

will be very close.

That's a summary of

the latest BBC News.

Here's some sport

now with Katherine.

Birmingham has been confirmed

as the host city for the 2022

Commonwealth Games.

There are now guarantees in place

over the financing of the event,

which, at around £750 million,

will be the most expensive sports

event to be held in the UK

since the 2012 Olympics.

Bristol City have knocked out

the holders Manchester United

in the quarter-finals of the League

Cup.

Korey Smith with an injury time

winner for the Championship side.

They'll face Manchester City

and it'll be Chelsea-Arsenal

in the other semi-final.

Celtic are back to winning ways,

after their 69-match unbeaten run

was ended at the weekend -

they beat Partick Thistle 2-0,

to go five points clear again

at the top of the Scottish

Premiership.

And Marion Bartoli says she's

inspired by the Williams sisters -

as she prepares to return to tennis

at the age of 33, having announced

her retirement four years ago.

Australian police have arrested two

people after a car drove

into a crowd in Melbourne.

The car collided with a number

of pedestrians on Flinders Street,

a busy junction in the centre

of the city 13 people have

been taken to hospital,

several are in a critical condition.

Police have said it was a deliberate

act but it is too early to say

whether it was terrorist-related.

As vehicle, a Suzuki SUV, travelling

at about 60 mph just targeted

pedestrians. It was a busy

intersection in Melbourne. He

ploughed into them without stopping

and the car came to a stop at one of

the tram stops. People were falling

around and within minutes, emergency

services were attending the scenes.

It was a very quick response by the

police and ambulances.

A vehicle has struck a number of

vehicles in the Melbourne CBD.

Police arrived at the scene within

minutes and have arrested two men.

At this stage we have 14 people

injured and several are critical. At

this stage, we believe it is a

deliberate act. I repeat, it is a

deliberate act. However, we don't

know the motivation and it is still

early stages of the investigation.

Police and emergency services will

remain on scene for the foreseeable

future. Crime command have privacy

of the investigation and we are

requested people to avoid the area.

The crime scene will be in place for

a considerable period of time and we

are urging people who can avoid the

area, to avoid the area. Police will

continue to have a strong presence

in the Melbourne CBD tonight. People

might have items in vehicles within

the crime scene. At this stage they

will not be able to be retrieved

until the crime scene is reopened.

We understand this has been a very

traumatic events and there will be

witnesses, victims and family

members affected. Anyone who

witnessed the incident is urged to

attend the police station at 313

Spencer St, Melbourne to make a

statement. We encourage anyone with

any other information to contact

Crimestoppers. Thank you.

We will talk to an eyewitness in the

next few minutes, talking to Sophie

Smith as soon as we establish

contact. We have some messages about

homelessness and the guests we were

talking to a few moments ago. JB

says, I am lucky enough to own my

own house. I know if I was unlucky

to become homeless, the government

couldn't care less. The only thing

they would be bothered about would

be another unhelpful statistic they

would have to deal with. We talked

about homelessness on the programme

yesterday and the government are

putting in £1 billion by 2020 to

make more affordable housing

available. And Paul says, listening

to your guests this morning who have

had to sew the surf, it is sad to

hear what they are saying. Paul

Kelly says, my heart goes out to

those sofa surfers on your programme

and that last one who said she hopes

the world would show her a kind

face, I feel so sad for them. We

should be ashamed this is happening

in our country.

In the past few minutes,

it's been announced that

Birmingham will host

the Commonwealth Games in 2022.

The announcement was expected,

because Birmingham was the only

bidder.

It will be the most expensive

sports event in Britain

since the London 2012 Olympics.

Let's talk to Louise Hazel, who's

a Commonwealth Games Gold Medallist

and member of Birchfield Harriers,

Birmingham's leading athletics club.

Diane Modahl, also

a Commonwealth Gold Medallist.

She was an advisor to the Manchester

Commonwealth Games team.

Ian Metcalfe is from

the Commonwealth Games England,

the team organising the Birmingham

Games.

First of all, your reaction?

I am so

overjoyed. I went to bed last night,

fingers crossed and hoping and

praying it came to this morning. So

proud of the city, proud of London,

it will mean big things for my club.

Was there any doubt Birmingham would

be officially given it because there

was no one else?

No, it has always

been the heart of athletics in this

country. We have had an amazing

stadium built in London for the

Olympic Games, but the heart of

athletics lies in Birmingham.

Athletes, coaches and the stuff of

British athletics will agree, it has

always been in Birmingham. So glad

we are getting the opportunity to

stage a major event in one of the

best cities in the country, in my

opinion.

The Alexander Stadium, home

to Birchwood Harriers will be

redeveloped, as I understand it,

what does that mean for the city?

We

had about 20,000 seater stadium put

in in 2010. I was training over at

University at that time. It will put

us back on the map in terms of

sports, spectatorship and we have

such great local traffic links in

the country, the ideal spot in order

to attract the spectators we need

back to the sport. In 2010 I was

training at the University track in

preparation for the Commonwealth

Games, which I then went on to win.

They have stepped up their game with

outstanding facilities. For all of

those visiting Commonwealth nations

coming to the UK, they will be very,

very well looked after in

Birmingham.

We'll talk about what

happens to the stadium afterwards,

but we have just got the moment my

Birmingham was officially announced.

Let's take a look, hopefully. Any

moment now, we will bring it to you.

Are you ready for the good news? Are

you ready? Fantastic. So, it is my

great pressure to announced the host

of the 2022 Commonwealth Games will

be... Birmingham!

CHEERING and APPLAUSE

Was there any doubt? She was trying

to whip up excitement. I covered the

announcement for Manchester to win

the 2002 games and there was only

Manchester bidding. There is

tension, but not that much. Ian

Metcalfe from Commonwealth Games

England, the team organising the

Birmingham games, congratulations.

Thank you very much, it has been a

fantastic morning, I still have the

goose bumps watching the

announcement from Louise.

Who is

going to pay for it?

That is a

matter between the government and

the city. Those are the two entities

that provide the funding for The

Games, the combination of the

Treasury and the City Council will

be involved. Also, Birmingham is

being supported by the broader West

Midlands regions, many of whom will

support The Games, together with a

variety of sponsors we have raised

to provide commercial funding is as

well.

Taxpayers, council tax payers,

but it is the hope most of the money

will come from the private sector.

It is going to be a very expensive

Abang, £750 million.

The funding is

still needs to be signed off and

there will be astringent budgeting

process which will go back to

Parliament for a review. It will be

a broad combination of central

government, local government and

much private sponsorship as can be

raised to defer the cost for the

taxpayer.

What will it mean for the

city?

It will be huge boost, I was

born and brought up here. It is

something the city has wanted and

needed for many years, it will be on

a global stage, over 1 billion

people watching, 70 different

nations and territories here. It

will be an opportunity for the

region to showcase itself to the

world and forge new links of the

Commonwealth at a time when we will

be leaving Europe and the

relationships with our, while

partners will be so much more

important.

Let me ask you about the

Alexander Stadium, home to

Birchfield Harriers, it will be

redeveloped, what will happen to it

after The Games, who will use it?

It will still be an athletics

stadium. There will be a significant

amount of community use, the local

community here and across Birmingham

can use all the facilities within

the stadium, the athletics track and

indoor warm up areas and all the

support that will be here for the

community.

Let me bring in Diane.

You will remember a lot of people

said, what will the legacy of

Manchester be. What would you say

the legacy has been?

We were clear

from the start as a city that we

wanted to games to bring to

Manchester. And for Manchester it

was about transforming an area of

land that was one of poorest in the

country. We were one of first cities

to have a sports-led regeneration.

When you look at the area now and

consider the facilities we have now,

the national squash centre, the

national BMX centre and a host of

national governing bodies who have

positioned themselves in Manchester,

and all those facilities are used by

the public and I think collectively

across the venues that we have we

have at least two million people

public use using those facilities.

10,000 volunteers signed up for the

games in 2002. 7,000 of those are

still registered within Manchester

as active volunteers who take parts

in activities across the city. It

was a real success in terms of what

we wanted to achieve and we were

very clear from the start in term of

what wanting to leave a lasting

legacy. Not only in facility but in

raising the aspiration of young

people who could then continue to be

inspired by sport.

And the velodrome

became the home of British cycling

and won medals in Beijing and

London. And you could argue I think

with the success of Manchester it

spurred London on to bidding for the

2012 Olympics. Let me bring Ian back

in. What in term of legacy for

Birmingham, what do you hope it will

be?

I hope it will inspire a new

generation of young men and women to

become athletes in which ever sports

they enjoy and introduce Birmingham

to a broader audience. It is the

youngest city in Europe. It will be

a fantastic opportunity to show case

the area and provide a legacy that

people will talk about for many

years and continue to attract

business and tourism.

Louise?

Ian I

wanted to say it is inspiring me I

might get my spikes back on. It is

an amazing achievement. I think the

sport needs it, Birmingham needs it.

I'm just super excited and proud and

obviously having come from

Birmingham it was Birmingham and the

community in Birmingham that got me

to the Commonwealth Games gold medal

and to London 2012. It was their

support, their financial support and

I'm pleased to be able to give that

back.

And people buying lottery

tickets I

Yes

It wasn't that long

ago there were 170 issues that the

Commonwealth Games were asking you

about, what was the most worrying of

those and how did you iron it out?

There is always a broad range of

issues in a bid. What even needs to

remember is normally the process

takes two to three years to finalise

in a bid process. We managed to get

there in about six months. So there

is a broad range of small and large

issues, financial-related issues,

around ensuring the village could be

supplied in time and a lot of small

details about particular venues,

what sports would be where and what

the capacities would be. A broad

range of questions which the

federation perfectly are entitled to

ask, particularly in circumstances

where the games had been granted to

Durban, who had fallen away and they

were keen to make sure this time

that they got it right and that

Birmingham was ready when the host

city contract was signed as it will

be today.

In order for that stadium

to be viable after wards, I hear

what you saying there will be

facilities for the community, but do

you not need a football club to

lease to it make it commercially

viable?

I don't think. Alex-Ander

stadium has never been a football

stadium.

But you're going to spend

millions on rebuilding.

It won't be

a full stadium like the Olympic

stadiums. It will be modernised on

two sides and the ends will be

closed in. That will be broking down

after and leave a sensibly-sized

stadium for athletic and the

infrastructure will be available for

the community. So I do think it is a

sensible investment to generate

value for many years to come.

This

never unanimous support from

taxpayers for their city hosting an

events, what do you say to those who

say we can't afford this and we

don't need this?

Everybody will have

their own views. In my view I think

that this will provide value not

just for the sporting people of the

area who will see the games, but it

will generate significant amounts of

tourism, of new business and show

case the city to the world. And they

will be able to see what a wonderful

area it is to live and work in, to

bring businesses to. And I do

believe it will create value for all

the taxpayers and rates payers of

the city and the area in the way it

show capeses the city.

--

Show cases

the city.

I would like to invite

them to stadium to watch the

community events. While we were

training for the Olympics, there

were schools events, local schools

coming and they have competitions

there and get excited and some of

the older athletes would go and hand

out medals. Turn up on those day and

ask if there is a value in having

the staid crumb in Birmingham.

I --

Stadium in Birmingham.

A quick word

from you, Diane. What would you say

to Ian getting Birmingham ready from

your own experience of being

involved in the Manchester event.

First congratulations to the whole

team who have done a brilliant job

in securing the gameles. It is not

only good for Birmingham, it is good

for the UK as a whole and the

lessons learned from Manchester is

putting on a successful games does

inspire not only a city, its young

people, the volunteers, but drive up

revenue in the economy into the

economy as well, investing in new

facilities. It is a brilliant

opportunity to really ensure that

everyone of the residents across

Birmingham feel part of the games

and have an opportunity to not only

come and watch, but no learn new

skills, to become volunteers and

then become brilliant coaches that

then ties into that whole

conversation around legacy and

ensuring that once the lights have

been turned off from the staid

scombrum and the medals -- stadium

and the medals handed out that

Birmingham benefits and has the

opportunity to be a brilliant games

for everybody involved.

Thank you

very much.

Yesterday we spoke to people

who are facing Christmas estranged

from their families and it prompted

a beautiful reaction from you.

I knew you were compasionate

but this it so touching - two

different families have invited

Farah over for Christmas Day.

Another man got in touch so he could

send them all Christmas Cards

and many of you have sent

messages of support.

So we thought it would be a good

idea to speak to more people

who are making a difference

to the lives of strangers

by carrying out 'random

acts of kindness' -

often by giving away

money or gifts.

Jamielee Macready was shopping

in Morrisons at the weekend

when she was approached

at a checkout and handed a Christmas

card containing £20.

Chrisy Emmerson's mum set up

the Big Light Group.

She and her daughter Kailah have

been giving out money to strangers.

They gave £20 to Jamielee Macready.

And Chrisy is with Kerrie

Moir, another member

of the Big Light Group.

Tell me if this is wrong, Kerry,

another member of the of the group,

why don't you introduce yourself?

Hi

is is Keira and Kerry and Sam and

Taylor.

Thank you all for talking to

us. Jamie, tell us what happened.

Hi.

Tell us what happened.

So on

Friday night I was down to Morrisson

just to grab a couple of things for

tea and I approached the check out

with my groceries and a lady

approached me with an envelope. I

was confused, as I didn't know the

girl. She handed me the envelope and

I opened it and inside contained a

beautiful Christmas card with a very

generous £20 note. I was confused.

And nervous. And I just tried to

give them it back. I felt as if it

was the right thing to do and put it

towards their group. She just

refused. At this point I was...

Taken back by it really touched. The

group is a true inspiration to some

people in this world, there is not

enough kindness. Especially at this

time of year, there is a lot of

cruelty going on in the world.

People are homeless. People are

without families and are on their

own. For little acts like this puts

a smile on your face. It was a true

inspiration from the group and made

me nearly burst out in tears in t

shop. It was really thoughtful. Do

introduce your baby. This is Grace

Duncan, she is 12 weeks old.

She is

beautiful. Now Chrissie and Kerry

and Taylor. Tell us about your

motivation for doing this.

We just,

we like to see people happy. It is

about it is about giving people back

in the community a bit of something

cheering them up, seeing them happy.

I like doing it. I think it was me

that handed the card. I picked her,

because she looked so busy. And I

approached her, because I thought

she needed a bit of cheering up. The

smile on her face was really what

gives us the kick out of doing it.

Kerry, do you often find that the

initial reaction as Jamie said is

people want to give you back?

Yes

you see how shocked they are. It not

something that happens every day in

today's world it is not something

you expect. They're shocked, what

for me, but why? To see just their

happiness is amazing.

Why do you

like doing it?

It makes people

happy.

You're shy?

That is all

right. Taylor, your reaction. What

would you say?

It's really quite

overwhelming just to see how like

afraid people are to accept it.

Because even's been so trade that

nothing's for free and they just

don't want to take it, even though

it is a gift. But it is always a Gad

reaction after -- good reaction

after that.

Well done and a very

happy Christmas and keep up the good

work. Thank you. Bye. More acts of

kindness in the next hour. News and

sport on the way at 10. Before that

the weather with Simon.

sport on the way at 10. Before that

the weather with Simon. For many of

us this morning it is cloudy, misty

and murky. Similar to what we have

had for the last couple of days.

That will continue for the coming

days. Seeing as it is the winter

Solstice, the shortest day of the

year, there is some sunshine out

there. Across Scotland and the

north-east of England. But this

front is producing cloud and rain

for northern England. Temperatures

nine to ten Celsius. Cooler in the

far north-east. Tonight we will

continue with rain in northern

England. More rain coming into Wales

and the South West. For most the

cloud and the mist and temperatures

above freezing. In the far

north-east of Scotland a touch of

frost. But some sunshine in the

north-east of Scotland. A few

brighter spelling developing towards

the east of the Pennines. Otherwise

it is cloudy, it is misty, there is

some hill fog and a mild day for

many of us. Temperatures about nine

to 12 Celsius. Chillier again in the

far north-east of Scotland.

Theresa May sacks her closest

political ally and deputy,

Damian Green, after a government

inquiry found he made

"inaccurate and misleading"

statements about pornography

on his office computer.

One Conservative MP

said the Prime Minister

made the right call.

Damian Green was judged to have

broken the ministerial code and he

had to pay the price for that. The

Prime Minister, quite rightly not

allowing a lifelong friendship with

him to get in the way of making the

decision for him to resign.

Plus - Kaci Sullivan from Missouri

gave birth five years ago,

and then began to transition

to become a man.

Last month he gave birth again.

We'll speak to him in his first

broadcast interview here in the UK.

I'm 32 weeks, so seven months

and getting pretty big for.

I'm 32 weeks, so seven months

and getting pretty big for sure.

If you live up north -

you've got less of chance

of going to a really good school

than those down south -

a new report calls

the inequality "shocking" -

we'll speak to the author

and to a headteacher from Bradford.

Good morning.

Here's Annita in the BBC Newsroom

with a summary of todays news.

Good morning.

Prime Minister Theresa May

has sacked Damian Green

as First Secretary of State

amid claims that pornographic

material was found

on a Commons computer in 2008.

The Prime Minister expressed "deep

regret" at Mr Green's departure

but said his actions "fell short"

of the conduct expected

of a cabinet minister.

Australian police have arrested two

people after a car ploughed into a

crowd in Melbourne. The car collided

with a number of pedestrians on

Flinders Street. The state Ambulance

Service said 14 people have been

injured and several are in a

critical condition. Police have said

it was a deliberate act but is too

early to say whether it is related.

At this stage we believe it is a

deliberate act. However, we do not

know the motivation and it is still

early stages of the investigation.

Tens of thousands of mothers and

babies in England have been harmed

when receiving maternity care over

the last two years. More than a

quarter of a million incidents were

reported. Most were minor, but

almost a quarter of the incident led

to the mother or baby being harmed.

Catalonians head to the polls today

in a closely watched regional

election called by Spain,

following October's controversial

independence referendum.

The snap election sees parties

who want Catalonia to be

an independent republic face those

who wish it to remain

a semi-autonomous part of Spain.

All indications are that the result

will be very close.

South Korea says its soldiers have

fired around 20 warning shots at

North Korean troops who approached

the border between the two

countries. The Defence Ministry in

Seoul said the North Koreans

appeared to be searching for one of

the soldiers who had taken advantage

of thick fog to cross the border and

defect to the south.

A poll

carried out to the BBC suggests

almost one in ten young people in

the UK have found Billy Maka spent a

month sofa surfing because they have

nowhere else to go. The government

says it is providing more than £1

billion of funding before Twenty20

to reduce all forms of homelessness.

Ciao's chants of attending a good

secondary school in England depends

on where they live. The study says

some deprived areas of London have

more high performing schools are

better off areas in the north and

north-east of the country. The

government says it is investing £280

million in disadvantaged areas.

The future of Toys-R-Us1000 SUMMARY

HAND BACK is

failure to agree a deal could put

its 3200 staff at risk of

redundancy, but reports suggest

Toys-R-Us has put forward new

proposals to reach a last-minute

deal.

That is a summary of the last

deleted -- the latest BBC News.

Some reaction to sofa surfing. There

are 11 events who are leaving foster

care across the country, I am

hosting the Hackney Christmas

dinner.

Neville from Greater Manchester said

when I was volunteering at 2014

Glasgow Commonwealth Games, I went

into a McDonald's and put 30 towns

behind the counter so people could

have breakfast on me.

On the Commonwealth Games, this

reviewer who lives in Cornwall said,

can somebody explain how this bid

for Birmingham is good for me? With

austerity and live in costs, how can

they justify the costs. The legacy

is the key question, what happens

when the show leaves the town. I am

sorry, I just don't see it. If you

are getting into touch, you will be

charged at the standard network

rate. Now the sport.

In the last half hour -

Birmingham has been confirmed

as the host city for the 2022

Commonwealth Games.

At a cost of around £750 million,

it'll be the most expensive sports

event to be held in the UK

since the London Olympics in 2012.

Our Midlands reporter Phil Makky

watched the announcement.

What was the reaction in the room

because it wasn't the biggest

surprise?

There wasn't much jeopardy

when everybody gathered here in

Birmingham to hear this

announcement. It had been heavily

leaked, probably the worst kept

secret but Birmingham was the only

viable bidder after Durbin was

originally given The Games. They

couldn't meet its financial

commitments. The Commonwealth Games

committee asked other countries to

submit bids. Birmingham was

originally planning to be the host

city in 2026, but is probably the

best city in the best position at

short notice to stage such a large

games because a lot of the

facilities already exist. The

Barclaycard arena and Villa Park.

The Alexander Stadium is already an

international athletic Stadium, but

it needs to be improved. The

capacity of 12,500 needs to go to

40,000 so there will be a lot of

money that needs to be spent, but

less here than other cities. There

were a lot of children from the

arena Academy waving their flags

when Louise Martin from the

Commonwealth Games made the official

announcement. But it wasn't anything

we weren't expecting, no other

meetings in other cities around the

world at the same time that might

have given a clue. There is still a

news conference going on in the

background at the moment. We have

Andy Street, the West Midlands Mayor

and Ian Ward, the council leader. It

is a West Midlands bid to deliver

The Games in the next four and a

half years.

We have had messages

coming into the programme this

morning from people saying in the

age of austerity, where is the £750

million coming from and where is

going to be spent? Is it the best to

put public money at the moment?

Out

of the £750 million, three quarters

of it comes from central government.

Birmingham and the West Midlands

needs to find 480 million over four

and a half years and that is about

£40 million a year. Fairly small

amounts of money in terms of their

overall budgets which runs into

billions of pounds every year.

People will be concerned about the

cost, it has been a tough time for

local authorities over the past

decade. But I have been talking to

people for the last couple of months

and I haven't met a single person on

the street in Birmingham or the West

Midlands who hasn't welcomed the

idea. Most people are enthusiastic

about it here. Birmingham and the

West Midlands has been largely

overlooked and never get anything

good going on here. It is much this

by Richard as a city and region from

places like London and elsewhere.

They see this as an important

opportunity to put the place in the

shop window, get people coming here

who will realise what a great place

it has become and will continue to

become over the next few years.

Thank you very much for an hour.

Also a big win for Bristol City last

night against Manchester United in

the League Cup. Catch that and the

rest of the sports news on our

website. Thank you for your breaking

news from your own personal life the

2017, we will read some more later

in the programme.

Prime Minister Theresa May

has sacked Damian Green

as First Secretary of State

amid claims that pornographic

material was found

on a Commons computer in 2008.

The Prime Minister expressed "deep

regret" at Mr Green's departure

but said his actions "fell short"

of the conduct expected

of a cabinet minister.

He denies viewing or down loading

the pornography but said he should

have been more clear. Damian Green

wrote he regretted being asked to

resign following breaches of the

ministerial code. He denied he had

either downloaded or viewed

pornography on his computer in

parliament, but said he had made

statements about misleading people

about what he knew. Let's get the

latest from Norman, why was he

forced to go?

One reason, he lied,

as simple as that. Damian Green was

not forced to quit because of the

pornography on his office computers.

An enquiry was unable to conclude

whether he had downloaded it or

whether he had viewed it. He wasn't

forced to go because of the

allegations from Kate Maltby that he

behaved inappropriately towards her.

She said she had a meeting with him

in a pub and was looking for career

advice and he touched her knee and

talked about how his wife was very

understanding. Enquiries said, she

says that, he says that. Although

the enquiry describes her evidence

as credible, he went because he

dispensed pork pies. He lied about

what the police had told him and his

lawyers that pornography had been

found on his pornographer, even

though last month he said he knew

nothing about it. Where are we? This

morning, he was out and about as

usual. Looking not back down in the

mouth as he left home.

How do you

feel about being spoken to by the

police?

I am not going to comment.

Wider July to the public, Mr Green?

Have you let the Prime Minister

down, Mr Green?

So how does this play out the

Theresa May? She lost her closest,

political ally, lost her number two

in government, lost a third minister

in a weeks. But a lot of Tories are

saying, it isn't so bad because Mrs

May has basically done the deed. She

sacked her closest political ally,

that shows guts, it shows

leadership. This in to this Tory MP

this morning.

The government is in a

good place, so is the Prime Minister

following the movement forward on

Brexit. There is strength and depth

in the Conservative Party and it is

an opportunity for the Prime

Minister to look at the wider

picture and decide if she wants to

replace Damian Green or have a wider

reshuffle and a refreshing of the

government for the New Year.

But

there will remain question is

whether Mr Green has been held to

account over the allegations of

inappropriate behaviour. And Jess

Phillips, the Labour MP, who has

been at the centre of the pressure

to get this culture changed at

Westminster, this morning was

sounding a cautious note.

His

resignation and a consequence for

inaction sends a very, very clear

message to young men and women who

work in and around politics, to feel

that if they do come forward, there

is a chance there will be

consequences, there is a chance

justice will be done. Up until this

point, it had felt a little bit

like, what is the point, nobody is

listening.

Mrs May is en route to

Poland but when she lands there will

be a press conference so we will get

her version of events. One of the

interesting things is, does she seek

to replace Damian Green by

appointing another first secretary?

Does she seek to go for a bigger

reshuffle to show she has regained

some authority? We may get a sense

as to whether Mrs May has managed to

rediscover her merger by the way she

responds to it and whether she feels

sufficiently self-confident to go in

for a much bigger reshuffle in the

New Year.

Thank you very much,

Norman.

Some really nice messages from you

about acts of kindness. A man on

Twitter has sent me this photograph,

on his way to work in Bristol and it

is a photograph of a wall. People

have put post-it notes where they

have talked about random acts of

kindness that have been going on in

Bristol. It includes things like

someone told me I had a nice smile.

My wife told me she loves me. It is

really lovely. I will try and

download the picture so you can see

it properly and see more of the

messages. Thank you for sending me

that.

Kaci Sullivan, 30, has become

the first person in the world

to give birth while living as both

genders, four years after he began

the transition from female to male.

Kaci conceived with partner

Steven, 27, after a break

from taking male hormones.

He underwent a C-section

following seven days in labour

before welcoming Phoenix who weighs

a healthy eight pounds nine ounces.

Here are a couple of videos he did

during his pregnancy.

I'm 32 weeks. Getting big. Hello,

I'm now eight months pregnant. A bit

more than 37 weeks. Sorry my bed

looks like a bomb exploded on it in

the background. I have been studying

all day.

I finally had a Caesarean section

at about 2.00pm yesterday, so

baby is not quite

24-hour is old, yet.

Kaci, thank you so much for talking

to us and congratulations,

I gather you got married yesterday?

I did, yes.

Wow!

How is that?

Sorry, what was that?

How did that happen?

Well, we just got

married before a judge.

We had had a social ceremony

in the summer with our friends

and family and then it was just

something that we still

needed to take care of.

It was nice it was before a judge,

it was in the capital,

Madison has an absolutely gorgeous

Capitol Building.

It was nice, we had a few witnesses.

It was really beautiful.

It's clearly the middle of the night

there, or sort of 2 in the morning,

so Phoenix at five-and-a-half weeks

old is sleeping soundly.

How is Phoenix doing?

They're doing fantastic.

They're really happy,

they're gaining weight,

they have a great focus

and make eye contact.

They reach their arms out to be

held, they're cuddly, just great,

everything a baby would be.

Tell us about the birth

because I understand

you were in labour seven days before

you had a c-section?

Yes.

There was a lot of labour for sure.

My midwife knew somebody

who was in labour for two weeks

and said it could have

been even worse.

I did end up opting for a c-section.

I just was ready for it to be done.

The labour was intense

for sure but the birth