14/03/2018 Victoria Derbyshire

I don't have much positive things

to say about Motor Neurone disease

but it taught me not to pity myself

and to get on with

what I still could do.

I'm happier now than before

I developed the condition.

'A brilliant and extraordinary

mind - one of the great

scientists of his generation' -

one of thousands of tributes to

Professor Stephen Hawking,

world-famous for his ground-breaking

work on black holes

and for re-defining perceptions

of people with disabilities,

has died at the age of 76.

We will be looking back at the life

and legacy of the most talked-about

scientist since Einstein.

Also - if your children go

to a nursery, chances that they're

taught by a man are incredibly slim.

Why?

There was a lot of stigma based

on negative stories out

there about men in childcare and,

you know, just children

being at harm and at risk and men

not being able to be nurturing

and men not being able to work

with children so small.

We've been exploring

why men are so unlikely

to join the profession -

why that's bad for our children

and we have exclusive details

on what is being recommended

to reverse the trend.

And Mr Twinkle Toes,

ballroom star Len Goodman,

is with us this morning.

We will be talking about Strictly

and the campaign he's spearheading

to try to stop over 60s falling

victim to bank scams.

Good morning, welcome

to our programme.

If you have a disability we want to

hear from you this morning, how

Professor Steven Hawking inspired

you. So significant how he

approached his motor neurone

disease, did his attitude towards

his disability affecting a positive

way the way that you approached

yours? We would love to talk to you

on the programme in the second hour

of the programme today. Send me an

e-mail, message as on Facebook or

use WhatsApp. Of course, that's our

top story today.

Britain's most famous scientist,

Professor Stephen Hawking,

has died at the age of 76.

Hawking's fame came largely

from his best-selling book,

"A Brief History of Time"

which outlined his theories

about the universe.

He had a brilliant career

despite being diagnosed with motor

neurone disease in 1964

and being told he had just

a few years to live.

Within the past few minutes,

Theresa May has described him

as "one of the great scientists

of his generation, whose courage,

humour and determination

to get the most from life

was an inspiration".

Nick Higham reports.

He was instantly recognisable

and utterly remarkable.

The visionary scientist,

helpless in his high-tech

wheelchair, who nonetheless

transformed our view

of the universe.

While a student, he developed

the first signs of motor neurone

disease.

Gradually his body shut down

until he could communicate only

using a computerised voice

synthesiser, controlled,

to start with, by hand.

It didn't hold him back.

I was never actually told that I had

only two years to live,

but I could see the doctors didn't

think my prospects were good.

His fame sprang from his book,

A Brief History of Time.

It sold 10 million copies.

But though many bought it,

rather fewer actually read it.

His theories about time,

space and black holes

were stupendously difficult

for non-specialists to grasp,

but he turned out to

have a genius for communication.

He gave lectures and interviews,

and became an unlikely celebrity.

His private life was complicated.

With his first wife, Jane,

he had three children and she looked

after him until, in 1990,

he left her for his nurse,

Elaine.

They eventually married, only

for claims to emerge that Hawking

had been physically abused.

Police investigated,

but the case was dropped

for lack of evidence.

The couple later divorced.

Too often we are told that these

are stupid questions to ask,

but this is said by grown-ups

who don't know the answers...

He never lost his sense of humour.

Though by the end, he could only

speak by twitching his cheek to move

an infrared beam.

I don't have much positive to say

about motor neurone disease,

but it taught me not

to pity myself and to get

on with what I still could do.

I'm happier now than before

I developed the condition.

In 2014, his life was dramatised

in The Theory of Everything,

with Eddie Redmayne playing Hawking.

..To see what happened

at the beginning of time itself.

Stephen, here you are.

At Cambridge, they unveiled a statue

of him, a rare honour

for someone still living.

But few did more to transform our

understanding of the universe

and to overcome personal challenges.

We will talk much more about Steven

Hawking through the programme this

morning.

Joanna Gosling is in the BBC

Newsroom with a summary

of the rest of the days news.

Theresa May is expected to announce

sanctions against Russia

after the Kremlin failed

to explain their role in a chemical

attack in Salisbury.

Last night, the Russian Embassy

hinted that the expulsion

of its diplomats from London

would have an impact on their

British counterparts in Moscow.

Jane-Frances Kelly reports.

It began as an attack

on the streets of Salisbury.

The poisoning of a former Russian

intelligence officer

and his daughter.

But there is now diplomatic deadlock

between Britain and Moscow.

I'm standing outside the Russian

embassy here in London

and the midnight deadline

has just passed.

The only reaction the British

government has got from the Russians

so far are angry denials

and the threat of retaliatory action

if they take measures

against Moscow.

They've also helpfully got

a screen outside here that

shows their Twitter feed,

and on it they say:

The Russian Foreign Minister,

Sergey Lavrov, has objected to only

being given 24 hours to respond

to the claim Russia used

a chemical weapon.

Russia should get ten days, he said,

accusing Britain of flouncing

the chemical weapons convention.

Meanwhile, in Salisbury,

painstaking work continues.

Police are appealing for witnesses

who might have seen Sergei

and Yulia Skripal in their red BMW

car on the day they were poisoned.

Separately a number of deaths

are also being reinvestigated

by police and MI5 after claims

of Russian involvement.

They include a man in his 60s found

dead in New Maldon on Monday,

who is believed to be Russian

businessman Nikolai Glushkov,

a friend of Boris Berezovsky,

who was found hanged

in his home in 2013.

This morning Theresa May will be

briefed by her national security

council before going to Parliament,

where she's expected to announce

a series of measures against Russia.

Jane-Frances Kelly, BBC News.

Let's talk to our assistant

political editor Norman Smith...

Is it clear what those measures are

likely to be?

We know the range that

Theresa May is thought to be looking

out, they include expelling Russian

diplomats based in London after the

murder of Alexander Litvinenko four

diplomats were expelled, so I think

we can expect considerably more to

be booted out this time. There are

also likely to be acid freezes,

travel bans on those closely

associated with President Putin. And

some suggestions that perhaps the

broadcasting licence for RTE may be

revoked, I think that is less

likely, it would be a gift for

President Putin in propaganda terms

of he was able to say that the West

was shutting down Russian

broadcasters and he has threatened

to retaliate against British media

in Russia but the key is a more

long-term range of measures which

will require international backing

from organisations like the EU, also

looking to America. Or at an further

sanctions. That may take an awful

lot longer to put in place. Although

following phone calls would Boris

Johnson and Theresa May and a number

of international leaders, they have

expressed support and there have

been expressions of solidarity

mailing them down to specific

commitments, that may be harder and

more time-consuming to put in place

-- mailing them down.

The government is to spend £50

million on trying to raise racial

and religious tensions.

It is one of a number of proposals

in the government's integrated

communities strategy,

which is to be published more

than a year after an independent

review found the country had become

more divided as it

had become diverse.

Here's our Home Editor,

Mark Easton.

17 years after race riots

in Bradford, an official report

warned of highly segregated

communities where people led

parallel lives, the city will now be

named among five places in England

that must adopt an integration plan.

The others Waltham Forest in London,

Peterborough, Walsall and Blackburn,

all areas with a history of racial

and ethnic tensions.

12 years ago, Blackburn

was highlighted as suffering

from deep segregation between white

and Asian communities.

To reduce tensions, teenagers

were bussed in from other

schools to integrate.

Pupils from a 99% white

secondary school made to meet

pupils from a 95% nonwhite

secondary across town.

Today's strategy suggests

more schemes like this.

It also proposes some extra support

for English-language classes,

state provision has halved

in the last few years,

new targeted help to improve

economic opportunities for people

in segregated communities,

particularly women,

and the promotion of pluralistic

British values by teachers.

The strategy is the latest in a long

line of government initiatives

to try and deal with one

of Britain's most sensitive

and enduring social challenges.

Mark Easton, BBC News.

Around a third of NHS clinics

and a quarter of private ones

offering breast implant surgery

in England have not sent any patient

data to a national safety registry.

NHS Digital set up the service

in 2016 to safeguard

patients after the PIP scandal,

when thousands of women

received faulty implants.

Women who have had surgery

are now being urged to make

sure their details are added

to the register.

The creators of The Crown have

admitted Claire Foy who portrays

the Queen was paid less

than her male counterpart.

Matt Smith's portrayal of a young

Duke of Edinburgh earned him more

than Foy's Golden Globe-winning

performance as Queen Elizabeth

in the Netflix drama.

The show's producers said Smith's

previous starring role

in Doctor Who meant he was paid more

than his co-star.

The University of Mosul, in Iraq -

which was left in ruins

by Islamic State militants -

is to begin re-stocking its library,

with new books donated from the UK.

It's believed that well over 100,000

manuscripts were destroyed

or looted during the IS occupation.

A lecturer told the BBC

he was so happy when the books

arrived from Britain, he danced.

That's a summary of the latest BBC

News, more at 9:30am.

Thank you. Thank you for your

messages about Professor Steven

Hawking.

We will focus on all areas of his

life today, his brilliant scientific

mind, the theoretical physics

breakthroughs and how he approached

his disability. Luke says that how

he inspired him was to never give up

and not focus on what you cannot do

but what you can.

Another says that Steven Hawking was

a great advocate for the NHS and

will be sorely missed, and another

says that he is an inspirational

role model as to what can be

achieved with someone with a

disability. His determination and

focus to keep going and keep

achieving professionally. Respect

and RIP. Thank you for those.

Time for a look at the sport. A

disappointing night for Manchester

United?

More than disappointing -

their opposition last night Sevilla

had more shots on goal than any team

to visit Old Trafford

since the great Real Madrid

a full five years ago...

And the manner of defeat has really

hurt the Manchester United fans -

a tradition of arrogant,

effective attacking football has

diminished in the past four or five

years but this performance may well

be worse than anything

they saw under David Moyes

or Louis Van Gaal -

there was a severe lack of urgency

and watching Jose Mourinho's team,

you really wouldn't have known

a place in the Champions

League was at stake...

The tie was poised at 0-0

after the first leg in Spain,

but with away goals counting double,

United looked like they

really hadn't realised.

Sevilla took control by scoring

a crucial away goal with less

than 20 minutes left.

The Spanish side put the tie to bed

with a second soon afterwards,

with Wissam Ben Yedder's second.

If they weren't angry enough,

Manchester United fans won't be

overly happy with Jose Mourinho's

comments after the match...

I sit in this chair twice in the

Champions League. And I walk out

with Manchester United at home at

Old Trafford. I sit in this chair

with Real Madrid, Manchester United

out... So I do not think it is

something new for the club. Of

course, being Manchester United

manager, and losing the Champions

League tie at home, that is

devastating.

The Chelsea game tonight is poised

at 1-1. They have not been beaten on

their last four fizzes away to beat

Barcelona at the Nou Camp.

And at the Winter Paralympics there

has been another medal for Great

Britain?

Yes, things going very well

for ParalympicsGB out in Pyeongchang

and especially for skiiers

Menna Fitzpatrick

and guide Jen Kehoe.

They've won their third medal

at the Games after finishing second

in the women's visually

impaired giant slalom...

It wasn't the best day for GB's

other entrants, Kelly Gallagher and

her guide, Millie Knight and Brett

Wild incident. But the medal tally

is at five so far in South Korea.

They are nearly at the target of

seven set by UK Sport.

Well, the beast from the east has

left Cheltenham racecourse with some

very heavy ground underfoot -

it made for hard work for the horses

and jockey's on the opening day

at the Festival but there was no

dampening of spirits...

In fact, the sun was shining

as Buveur D'Air took

the big race on day one...

The Nicky Henderson trained horse

was the odds-on favourite

going into the Champion Hurdle,

but he and jockey Barry Geraghty

were pushed all the way

by the seven to one shot Melon,

winning by barely

a neck on the line.

It means Buveaur D'Air

retains his title and gives

Henderson his seventh winner

in the race.

The Queen Mother Champion Chase

is the feature race today -

Altior is the favourite -

another Nicky Henderson horse.

Coverage with John Inverdale

on the team 5live from 1pm.

Thank you very much, for the moment.

If your child is under 5 -

the chances of a man

teaching them are very slim.

The numbers of men working as early

years teachers has always been low.

In fact, for the last 20 years,

it's been around 2% of the total

workforce in the sector.

There are currently around 25,000

job vacancies and the Government has

recognised how important men

in early years can be

to the children they teach.

Efforts have been made by small

groups across the country

to increase those numbers,

and our reporter Chris Hemmings has

been given exclusive access

to proposals being drawn up

to advise the Government

on how they can help.

MUSIC

What one?

Where is your puppet one?

If you send your child to a nursery,

chances are the don't have

a male teacher.

A lot of men don't see it

as a man's job, you know?

And a lot of men are not aware

that the role actually exists.

There's about 400,000 early years

educators in the UK, and about 98%

of those are female.

Many people think they

will just be average

baby-sitting, kind of thing.

But what they actually

learn from the

early years really

sets them up for life.

Men are not being encouraged

into the profession.

And when they do take

jobs, they still face

prejudices.

Because I was a man,

it wouldn't be appropriate for me to

work in early years because of

safeguarding concerns, they were

worried particularly

what the parents might think.

The government said they need

help addressing the

problem and a task force

was set up to advise them.

We've been given exclusive

access to what the

government is being urged to do.

Well done, give yourselves a clap.

Jamal Campbell is a rarity.

He's a member of the

London early years

foundation, and part of the just 2%

of the teaching bid teachers under

five who are male.

He started teaching 16

years ago, and is still

frustrated by how little status

is given to his job.

We deserve more.

We deserve more because it is such

an important profession, you know,

people are entrusting their

precious, their babies to us to

care for them, and teach

them and nurture them.

You know, we spend more time

with their children than

they do.

And we're helping them so when they

go to primary school, when

they go to secondary school,

they've got the tools.

So, what do you think it is that

puts men off coming into

the profession in the first place?

The thing about a lot of men

is a lot of them haven't tapped

into that side of their personality

yet, but I

think what will draw people

to the profession is if they had

more knowledge about the profession,

they will understand that...

They will get to see the benefits

they will have of having a balanced

workforce, you know?

Do you think there is

a stigma attached to it?

Yes, there is a lot of stigma based

on negative stories that are out

there about men in childcare,

you know, and just children

being at risk, men not

being able to be nurturing,

men not being able to work

with children so small.

Some children out there

may not have a male

in their home, there needs

to be balance, they need

to have that interaction.

It breaks down the whole, you have

to be macho to be a male thing.

You know?

It shows them that men can be silly,

men can play, men can make

jokes, men can give you a hug,

you know, if you've fallen down.

Basically we're positive role models

for them and we show them a whole

different side of this

being a male thing.

I'm going to see who's

going to choose one of our songs.

Me, me!

I'm looking to see who's listening.

Most nurseries in the UK

are privatised, but some councils do

still provide early years education.

We asked each of those councils how

many male nursery teachers they

employ.

And of the 38 who told us

they still have in-house nursery

services, 26 do not hire

a single male teacher.

So, what's putting men off?

James is just 23 years old,

and in January this year,

parents had him removed

from a class on the

first day of his very first job.

I had been there

maybe 20 minutes,

"I'm sorry, we need to move you.

I'll explain in the corridor."

And they explained that

because I was a man,

it wouldn't be appropriate for me

to work in early years, basically

because of safeguarding concerns,

they were worried particularly what

the parents might think

and stuff like that.

So I ended up being moved to Year 4.

I was obviously shocked as you might

expect, but also I had

heard stories and rumours that this

was the kind of thing you could kind

of expect if you are

a man in early years -

there would be kind of an air

of suspicion around you,

men can't be trusted.

It was more of a, yes,

this isn't right that

is happening to me, but it's kind

of to be expected.

That must have been

heartbreaking for you.

Yes, it was tough,

I couldn't believe that after

they had fed back to me at the end

of the day really positively,

they had then gone and said

to the agency, we don't want him

because we need to put

someone in reception,

and from what they had indicated

through the conversation I had had

at the school, it was more

because I am a man,

I couldn't have been there -

but if I had been a woman,

I would have been kept

for a second day.

Almost exactly a year ago,

a government report highlighted the

lack of gender diversity and clearly

stated they wanted more men to

choose to work in early years.

It highlighted that

more men would help

plug the near 25,000

early years job vacancies

and would increase the number

of male role models

for children, and also recognise

that children from lone parent

families spend very

little time with men, and

so, in their own words, male early

years workers are therefore vital

in making sure young children have

quality contact time with men.

As part of that early years

strategy, the government

set up a task force.

Its aim was to advise them on how

to improve gender diversity.

It is chaired by

David Wright, he runs

Paint Box nurseries in Southampton,

and has helped set up a network of

men in early years across the UK.

We do have a problem

attracting good staff,

and 50% of the population

are excluded from that

because they are not

interested, they don't know

that they are welcome and there

is a career for them they are.

So, what is stopping them?

I think because it is mostly

female staff working here,

they do act in some sense

as gatekeepers, and I think

if you were a 16-year-old lad

and you were

looking to come and work

with young children,

you would be dissuaded by your

parents, you would probably be

dissuaded by careers advisers and

teachers, and then there is

the whole issue around your sense of

masculinity - what do

you tell your friends down

the pub that you're doing?

And you're entering into a workforce

where you would be in the

minority - and again

that is isolating.

So, the percentage of the workforce

that is male has been

about 2% for as long as you can

remember, 20 years at least.

Has the government done

enough in that time to

try to increase that number?

I think, to be perfectly

honest, I don't

think it has been on the

government's agenda at all.

I don't think it is

something that anybody

has really looked at,

you know, there have

been a lot of angst,

a lot of discussions around this,

a lot of people have tried

to do their own little bit but it

hasn't been coordinated

and it hasn't had

leadership or direction from the

government.

And that is what you're

hoping for now?

Yes.

The task force will

recommend improving pay and

working conditions.

And they want a national

campaign to promote mixed

gender teams.

It will suggest improved

careers advice and training

for men,

and would like a target set,

up from the current 2%.

And crucially suggests

Ofsted could include

gender diversity in their

inspection criteria.

We already know boys are twice

as likely as girls to

lack basic language skills

by the time they start school.

And that gap only widens over time.

So, could men in early

years settings actually

help make a difference?

# When I come to nursery

hear me shout

# Stretch up tall and jump about!

#

Come on, then, back to our story.

So, this school in London

has spent the last

ten years ensuring male and female

teachers spend equal time with

their pupils.

And they say the results as those

pupils progress through the school

speak for themselves.

So, we put people where their best

skills are, we're good

at picking up teacher training,

when we spot a talent.

We have seen

men who have a particular bent

for teaching early years children,

and we encourage them

by giving them

opportunities to work and develop

their careers in the early years.

Tell me about the research you been

doing at the school and the effect

it has been having

on the children here

The aim was always to narrow

the gap between girls' and

boys' attainment.

The attainment in the school over

the years has continued

to rise, ever since we have

been keeping records.

Part of that is to make sure

the gender difference is

as narrow as possible,

and a strategy for

doing that is having a workforce

where the teaching methods

we use on the children are things

that boys in particular would

respond to, as well as the girls.

Our girls do extremely well, but so

do our boys, that's the point.

Why do you think

it is important that

the number of men in early years

education has increased?

They see men as positives,

men reading books,

men talking about things

and being successful in careers,

and there has been a tendency

in the past for most

of primary education to be heavily

dominated by women, so it is

important they see men are nurturing

and not just sort of sporting heroes

or adventurous people.

In Bradford, 7% of nursery

teachers employed by

the council are male.

That's about two and a half times

the national average.

Some nurseries there encourage dads

to run reading groups.

They say it's not only good

for the kids but it's a great

pipeline for more men

to join the profession.

Bilal is one of the men working

in Bradford's nurseries.

He helped engage this man,

whose children attend the nursery,

and is now training to become

an early years teacher.

We do a lot of sessions that

are particularly designed for dads.

We want them to be integrated

with the rest of the nursery, so

how we do that is by the male

practitioners and even the female

practitioners making a conscious

effort, you know, trying

to get the dads involved,

talking to them, engaging with them

in conversations,

meaningful conversations.

So you about to start training

to become a practitioner.

Tell us what your journey was.

My daughter used to come

to this nursery, Saint

Edmunds.

When I saw Bilal here, he was young

and doing something about

it and dealing with kids,

and I thought to myself,

I have never seen anyone doing this,

and this

basically touched me in terms

of that I could think

about coming to the sector.

I have got more into it and been

doing voluntary work with

Saint Edmunds and came up

with the idea that this

is something I can do.

It is often said there is a stigma

around men coming into this role.

How important was it for you to have

someone like Bilal as a role model?

To be honest, I would say

he was the one that when I looked at

him as a young person, he was

passionate about his work because I

have seen him working.

He used to be a key worker

with my daughter, and I

thought, OK, if he can

do it, anyone can.

Research shows that the more dads

are involved with their

children from an early age, the

better the educational attainment

levels.

Do you find that?

When fathers attend the sessions,

it is not the norm, people tend

to think my dad is doing this,

they tend to concentrate

more on what their dad

is helping them do.

If they are concentrating,

they are picking it up more.

The dad session used to be small,

but now it is picking up.

More dads are in these groups.

Do you think that is

because more dads like Bilal

are engaged in the sector?

More dads are now engaged?

Yes, because of my

personal experience.

If I had not seen Bilal or any other

male working in the sector,

I would not even think about coming.

Despite that figure of 2% not having

changed for almost 20 years,

thanks to the efforts of people

like Jamal, Bob and Bilal,

there are pockets across the country

where those numbers are improving.

And of course, David

and his team want that

to change across the country.

We invited the Education Secretary

to come on the programme but instead

Department for Education gave

us a statement.

They told us they "want young

children to have both male

and female role models

in their early years and having

a diverse range of people working

in childcare has an important part

to play in this.

They've set up a group to look

at the number of men working

in early years in more

depth and to consider

what more could be done

to encourage men to consider

this rewarding career.

If you are a man working in early

years, let me know your experience.

E-mail us.

Still to come...

More on the incredible life

of Stephen Hawking -

who has passed away

at the age of 76.

We'll look back on how he changed

the way we look at science.

And former Strictly star Len Goodman

tells about about a new campaign

he's heading to stop the over 60s

falling victim to bank scams.

Time for the latest news -

here's Joanna Gosling.

Britain's most famous scientist

Professor Steven Hawking has died at

the age of 76, his fame came from

his bestselling book, A Brief

History of Time, outlining his

theories of the universe. He had a

brilliant career despite being

diagnosed with motor neurone disease

in 1964 and being told he had only a

few years to live.

Theresa May is expected to announce

sanctions against Russia today

after the Kremlin failed

to explain their role in a chemical

attack in Salisbury.

The Prime Minister will address

Parliament after chairing a meeting

of the National Security Council.

Last night, the Russian Embassy

hinted that the expulsion

of its diplomats from London

would have an impact on their

British counterparts in Moscow.

Five councils in England will be

asked to draw up plans to improve

community cohesion in their areas as

a part of proposals on wider

integration. In the integrated

amenity green paper, they want to

promote diversity in schools, and

language tuition for non-English

speakers.

Around a third of NHS clinics

and a quarter of private ones

offering breast implant surgery

in England have not sent any patient

data to a national safety registry.

NHS Digital set up the service

in 2016 to safeguard

patients after the PIP scandal,

when thousands of women

received faulty implants.

Women who have had surgery

are now being urged to make

sure their details are added

to the register.

That's a summary of

the latest BBC News.

Here's some sport now with Hugh.

Manchester United boss

Jose Mourinho says he doesn't

want to make a drama

of the Champions League.

Their last 16 exit at the hands of

Sevilla last night. They were beaten

2-1 at Old Trafford to miss out on

the quarter finals. After a

lacklustre display, Jose Mourinho

said he had no regrets.

Chelsea take a 1-1 draw to Barcelona

for their second leg later.

Manager Antonio Conte

says his players will have to suffer

for periods away against the team

top of the Spanish top flight...

Great Britain's Menna Fitzpatrick

and her guide Jen Kehoe have

won their third medal

at the Winter Paralympics

with silver in the women's visually

impaired giant slalom.

It takes Britain's tally

in Pyeongchang up to 5...

Buveur D'Air retained his

Champion Hurdle title on the opening

day of the Cheltenham Festival.

The 6-4 on favourite ridden

by Barry Geraghty gave trainer

Nicky Henderson a seventh victory

in the race.

That's all of

the sport for now, more after 10am.

Good morning.

The government is to spend

50 million pounds trying to create

more cohesive communities,

especially in five towns and cities

marked by ethnic and religious

divisions: Bradford,

Blackburn, Peterborough, Walsall

and Waltham Forest in London.

There will also be help for people

wanting to improve their spoken

English and for women wanting

to find jobs.

Dame Louise Casey

led the government's review. You

pulled no punches?

I published that

review at the back end of 2016. I

spent a couple of years, by the time

we published, looking at some of the

dynamics happening in our

communities today. I felt, and I

still do, that we are more divided

than we should be as a nation. That

there are pockets of isolation,

where it isn't just poverty and

social disadvantage that is going on

but I would worry about the rights

of women in those sorts of areas as

well. That isn't just Muslim areas,

there are other significant

religious minorities that, again,

are not necessarily embracing what I

would want people to embrace, that

you are equal to a man, or if you

are gay, you should not be punished,

you should respect differences

surrounding race and religion. What

I said was that the solution to that

is obviously things like English

language being a leveller, if

everybody speaks the same language,

when women suffer domestic violence

they do not need a man to interpret

for them or to

for them or to take their son into a

Doctor 's surgery because they do

not speak enough English. If you do

not have the language, you are not

equal. Let alone getting a job. I

did focus on issues surrounding

women.

And you talked about setting

a date by which everyone should be

speaking English, is that correct?

Did not set that out in the strategy

but I said we should have an English

language strategy that makes sure. I

feel like the Moore, a year later,

that actually it would be really

good if we did something big and

bold around English language.

The

Communities Secretary himself, Sajid

Javid, he's talking about various

measures we could take to improve

integration, said on the radio this

morning that his mother took ten

years to learn English. Is that

long? -- is that too long?

We had to

remember that the government cut

significantly, and he is very clear

that they did. He does not pretend

otherwise. He has been very

straight, over a long period of time

we cut English language classes and

I think that was a mistake. But I do

think those English language classes

should be targeted at a working age.

Women, men, anyone. But working age

people who do not have English,

personally, I would set a date. It

is or is helpful to say, look, let's

take five years, let's work through

this. Let's get to a point.

Governments have done that on other

issues, I don't see why they can't

in this.

Five years to learn it if

you do not already speak it. Why is

it important, for example, that

children mix, particularly, in faith

schools? Not just one faith, in a

lot of faith schools, some children

can opt out of particular lessons,

like sport come on religious

grounds?

If it is state schools, I

think, look, we have reached a point

where actually, doing sport, going

to the theatre, enjoying music. I

realise it isn't as harmful and

difficult as, say, teaching children

in segregated environments, telling

them that women are not equal to men

and their place is in the home, not

work. It is and has harmful as that

but I would like every child growing

up in this country to experience the

full country. I'm not going to die

in a ditch over it but I do think it

is daft. I think it is wrong, it is

common sense. It is also

caricaturing vast numbers of people

from religious minorities who

actually really want their children

to enjoy everything. They want their

children to go to the theatre, to

enjoy everything on offer. We are

only talking about a minority of

people who do not want to be part of

that and we should call it out.

And

how do you, we have spoken about

this every day this week because of

what happened in Telford, and in

certain grooming abuse scandals,

those in authority have not had the

confidence to call out, in some

cases, horrific criminal behaviour

for fear of being accused of being

racist. How do you give people

confidence to call out, as you put

it, without that worry?

I

it, without that worry?

I think more

people need to do it and not be

afraid to do so. That's one of the

reasons why think it is good the

government has published an

integration strategy. It is good

that Sajid Javid himself without

today saying that we need to pull

together. He is talking about his

own experiences. His views on music

in schools was stronger than mine.

But you cannot say to everybody

else, it is your responsibility. I

think that government and leaders

need to take responsibility. When

they don't, bad stuff happens. I

spent 6-9 months of my life in

Rotherham. I met the women who were

groomed. There was a dynamic to it

that was about a wrong

interpretation or a race. It is all

wrong. It brings every single person

from Pakistani or Muslim heritage

into disrepute. Those men are not

representative of that community.

But by leaders not calling out, it

gives the far right grounds to go,

well, look at you, look at you!

That's what we need to stop, there

is an extreme far right that is not

mainstream, does not represent

Britain, and it's racist. That is

not a British tradition or culture.

The same way that we have Islamic

extremist thoughts, they are not

mainstream either but if we do not

talk about them, and we do not own

them, we end up in difficult places.

Thank you very much for coming on

the programme. Dame Louise Casey.

Your views are welcome of course.

"There are physicists in a thousand

year's time who will still be

talking about Hawking" -

that's what Brian Cox has said this

morning about the legacy

of Professor Stephen Hawking,

who has died at the age of 76.

The most-talked about

scientist since Einstein,

he turned theoretical

physics into best-selling books,

changed perceptions of people

with disabilities and made numerous

cameo TV appearances.

Have a look...

Theoretical physics is one of the

few fields in which being disabled

is no handicap. It is all in the

mind.

I find humour and a few jokes are a

great help in lectures in the

mysteries of the universe.

I cannot

believe someone I've never heard of

this hanging out with a guy like me.

It's closing time, who is paying the

tab...

I am... I didn't say that!

Yes I did... D'oh!

You really didn't

like our paper?

I liked it very

much. The premise is intriguing.

Then why are you attacking us?

If

you were sitting in a chair for 40

years, you would get bored too.

The

quantum fluctuations in the universe

will not change the cards in your

hand. I call, you are bluffing! And

you will lose...

Albert!

you will lose...

Albert!

What if I

reversed the process all the way

back to see what happened at the

beginning of time itself?

If Eddie Redmayne won an Oscar for

playing me, it would make up in some

way for the fact that I am unlikely

to win a Nobel Prize!

I hope my example will show

disability can be no barrier. One

can achieve anything, if one is

determined enough.

Professor Hawkins's children have

paid tribute to their father.

In a statement, Lucy,

Robert and Tim said:

Elsewhere, the Prime

Minister has led tributes

to Professor Hawking.

Brian Cox said:

Nasa said:

The astronaut Chris Hadfield said:

We have lost a truly beautiful mind,

an astonishing scientist

and the funniest man I have ever had

the pleasure to meet.

And in a statement,

Eddie Redmayne, who won

an Oscar for his portrayal

of Professor Hawking said: "We have

lost a truly beautiful mind,

an astonishing scientist

and the funniest man I have ever had

the pleasure to meet."

Now, either that was Eddie Redmayne

or Chris Hadfield, unless they have

both come up with remarkably similar

tributes! I will work that out for

you in the next hour of the

programme. And your own tributes are

really welcomed this morning.

Next...

The reaction of Russia

to Theresa May's ultimatum

was probably predictable.

She'd said she wanted

answers to questions

about the poisoning by midnight.

They didn't wait until midnight

before the message came back.

That they would not be providing any

information about the poisoning in

such a short space of time and they

would not without being provided

with a sample. The Russian

ambassador to the EU has made clear

that the issuing of the deadline did

not go down well in Moscow.

Russia is not a country to be spoken

to in the language of ultimatums.

It

is high time that the United Kingdom

learned that.

learned that.

Now the ball is in

Theresa May's court as she meets her

National Security Council to decide

how to respond.

We can speak now to

Professor Robert Service -

he was an expert witness

during the Alexander Litvinenko

inquiry and is a Russian

historian, to Mary Dejevsky -

Former Moscow Correspondent

for The Times and to Anna Belkina -

Deputy Editor in Chief

of the Russian State

Broadcaster, RT.

Thank you all of you for talking to

us. Mary, what happens now?

Well,

this is a big question. I think it

was totally unrealistic of Theresa

May actually to set a 36 hour

deadline. Not because fullness of

things 36 hours is unreasonable, but

because it's unreasonable in the

Kremlin's timescale. Whatever the

subject was, they are not going to

respond to anything within 36 hours

and it's particularly bad week for

the Kremlin in terms of deadlines

because you've got a brother until

election on Sunday and although we

may say, well, it's not a proper

election, Vladimir Putin is bound to

be re-elected, nonetheless, that is

what is at the forefront of the

Kremlin's attention right now, not

what happened in a provincial

British city ten days ago. So, what

I actually think is that far from...

Russia has, if you like, flouted the

deadline, but what it hasn't done,

which is interesting to me, it has

not refused to engage with the

request. It's basically throwing it

back to the UK and said, well, you

are accusing us of a chemical

weapons violation, you are signed up

to the convention, as we are, so

abide by the terms of it, and that

means providing the evidence and it

means a ten day wait, a 10-day

period of grace for Russia to

respond. And I think that is a real

response and something that the

British really have to take into

account.

Robert, what do you think

will happen now? Theresa May has to

do something, doesn't she?

She has

to do something but she has to give

the Russians time, as Mary has just

been saying.

There will not be more

time now. The deadline has passed.

That was the time. It was a

unilateral deadline. It is

understandable the British want a

response, but was it seriously

expecting the Russians to...

Do you

think she will now find some wriggle

room to give them more time or will

this mean the expulsion of

diplomats, clamping down on Russian

money in London?

I think what has to

happen is that the British

government has to come clean with

the British Society as to what, in

broad terms, it knows about what

happened.

Why does it need to do

that before they can do something?

Because we are not children. The

British government the last time

around with Alexander Litvinenko

setup an enquiry which said that on

the balance of probability,

Litvinenko was killed on the orders

of Vladimir Putin. But that was it,

there was no further information

given, and this isn't a way that it

is sensible to treat the British

Society and it is not a way to get

credit with the Russian society. So

I think we need a broader scope for

information and not to treat

everything in this highly secretive

way. It just doesn't work with

Russians.

Let me bring in Anna if I

may, deputy editor in chief of

Russia today, the Russian state

broadcaster. What do you think will

happen now?

Well, in terms of the

position of our channel and our

position in the UK, we are still

remaining hopeful there will not be

impacted. We have been operating as

a good-faith broadcaster, abiding by

the terms of the regulator within

the country, and covering vital

stories, important stories. Some

people may not like our editorial

line, but we have been a very

important voice in the UK editorial

landscape and we have even had

politicians coming onto our Channel

4 years as a way to reach their own

constituencies. So it has been

really disappointing to see that RTE

was kind of mixed up into this

conversation of state affairs and

used almost as something to be

sacrificed in this political game.

It is very easy to score PR points

right now, but I think it is

absolutely wrong to attack RT. It

also goes contrary to the principles

of freedom of speech and freedom of

the media.

Sorry to interrupt but do

you trust that if you end up being

taken off air, if you lose your

license, it will be because you are

not abiding by Ofcom rules? That you

are not truly independent?

This is

the crux of the problem. Ofcom right

now is reviewing our state is not

based on any of the rules that we

have broken, and in fact there have

been no statement as such, but has

referenced particularly the

political statements made regarding

our situation, mainly by prime

ministers Theresa May. And that is

what is really troubling. RT has

record with Ofcom that is better

than many other UK broadcasters and

until the statements made this week,

our broadcast this week has been the

same as it was before, so we would

like to be judged on the merit of

our output, not because of the

political situation that has

developed.

If/ when Britain make the

decision to punish Russia in some

way, then they will retaliate.

How?

I would assume they would start with

expelling diplomats who are working

undercover at the Russian Embassy,

so intelligence officers. And that

writes a quid pro quo response

immediately that we lose our people

in a similar status in Russia,

depriving us of a Channel for

information. If we impose further

economic sanctions, it's actually

very difficult to see where those

go, because there are already

economic sanctions because of

Crimea. They haven't the slightest

effect on Russia except to improve

its agriculture sector.

What we

don't have in financial situations

is a stop on Russian money in

London, some of which critics say is

laundered. We haven't done anything

about that yet? And you know way

more than me but people said, that

is the waiter had Vladimir Putin.

It

is the way the herd Vladimir Putin

we should have done more for many

years than we have done -- it is the

way to hurt Vladimir Putin. We

thought we had an advantage of

Russian capital being invested here.

One thing I think would have an

effect is to ban RT. We should laugh

at RT. It is a terrible TV animal.

The best way to treat it is to

ridicule it and British people who

go on to it should be made to feel

ashamed.

OK, well I am obviously

going to ask Anna to respond to

that. People should laugh at you

rather than take you off air.

It is

disappointing to hear that and

busily I disagree with that point of

view entirely. That

view entirely. That said, I am sure

if RTE was taken -- if RT was taken

off at, British media operators

within Russia would see a similar

fate, as has already been indicated

by the Russian government.

OK, thank

you all very much indeed. We will

bring you the latest news and sport

at 10am and of course awful weather

forecast just before then.

forecast just before then. TV

presenter and former strictly come

dancing head judge Len Goodman wants

to stop the over 60s

to stop the over 60s falling to --

falling victim to bank scams.

Specially designed courses

are being offered at branches

of Santander to try to teach them

what to look out for and stop them

becoming victims of fraud.

Len, who is 73, got involved

when his daughter-in law lost

£16,000 through a cash point scam.

Good morning.

How are you? Please tell us what

happened to your daughter-in-law.

Her scam was slightly different. It

was a phone scam. The phone suddenly

wouldn't work and what had happened

was

was somebody had her phone...

Listen, the reason I got involved

with this is because I am not tech

savvy adult. Somehow, her phone got

planed and they downloaded all the

information of her phone including

bank details and Taiwan and the

upshot was she lost £16,000. The

thing is, this is mainly targeted at

the over 60s, but by

daughter-in-law, this shows that

anyone... Santander have got this

scam avoidance school and they

invited me to go along, which I did.

What did you learn?

I learned so

much.

And what will you do

differently now?

The thing is, they

tend to try to rush you and us older

people, we tend to panic and we

don't want anything wrong. If we get

an e-mail, a phone call and people

are trying to rescue along, don't

listen. We don't like to be read, we

don't like to switch off the phone.

If people start to be rushed, you

have got to think, no, something is

wrong here. You know, don't be

frightened to say, no. And then say,

well, I want to speak to one of my

family. If they don't want that...

It is always urgent, you know? What

I like about what Santander have

done, next week, Monday to Friday,

every Santander branch,

every Santander branch, all 800 of

them...

Don't mention the bank name

again. Sorry.

If you pop into any

one of their branches, you can put

your name down and go on the scam

avoidance scheme. It is totally

free, it lasts 45 minutes, you don't

necessarily have to be a member of

that bank. See what I did there? And

although it is mainly aimed at older

people, anyone can go along. Do you

know, age UK found that over 5

million over 60 guys feel they have

been targeted.

Have been targeted,

by scammers? That is an

extraordinary figure, it really is.

So with all the goodwill in the

world, it was such an eye-opener to

me, even with your cash machines.

You know, they put hidden cameras in

there and get your PIN number. The

slot that you put your card and can

be faked, even the whole front of

the ATM can be false.

I know, it is

outrageous.

You have got to be aware

of that. Please don't think, it is

as much for me, I am doing my self a

favour in hopefully helping others,

so basically, all next week, every

branch, just checking what time and

date it will be, there were long, if

you can't go along, there are

leaflets and things to explain all

the points. And it is a serious

thing done in a very fun way.

There's a quiz, there are jokes.

It's a good bit of fun and a great

way of hopefully those scammers,

they target over 60s most of all.

Before you go, please can I ask you

about Sloan? What did you think --

can I ask you about Strictly? What

did you think of Shirley?

I thought

she did fantastically. When you step

into someone's shoes after 12 years,

if the nerve-racking process, but I

thought you stayed true to herself,

she gave good, constructive

criticism. I thought she did a

really good job.

She has remained

really tight-lipped about whether

she will be back for the next

series. The bookies have stopped

taking money on view coming back.

Would you come back?

Well, I have

got 50 quid on myself. No, I had a

wonderful time. I watched it as a

viewer and it was a funny feeling.

It was the right thing to do. It's a

bit like if you split up with a

girlfriend. You know you are not

getting on...

But you are still

doing the American version and

people called you a traitor for

that.

That gets on my wick,

honestly. It is all to do with your

contract. The BBC, your contract is

manual. They can check you out, they

can keep you. America, you are

booked for four in a row. Plus, why

would I not want to go to Los

Angeles in the middle of the winter?

As my wife wants to come.

That's a

very good point. Before you go, why

has Brendan Cole left?

I haven't

spoken to Brendan Cole or Shirley. I

don't know. He was a really

don't know. He was a really nice

guy, I phoned up America for him to

take over as a dancer, I read, but

what it was, because that is

nonsense, I do not know. In America,

they have a pool of professionals

and some are not on one season and

then the next season, they come

back, all you missed two. You know,

it changes it up a bit. Whatever the

BBC do, God bless them, it is with

the right decision.

Thank you very

much.

I went to mention Santander.

Oh, you are so naughty. You get away

with it though. You are so cheeky.

Now, what do you think about looking

at -- letting a man after your child

at nursery? Coming up in the next

hour. Right, let's bring you the

webinar.

Thank you.

Not a bad start for many across the

day. This is the scene over the

river Tay in Dundee, a lovely

sunrise. Conditions like that in the

east, but in the West, outbreaks of

rain and for many in the West,

conditions like this through the

day. This area of low pressure will

be throwing in areas of rain

throughout. Strengthening winds,

touching gale force in the West. It

also drags in milder air across much

of the country. After a chilly start

in the East, sunshine overhead.

in the East, sunshine overhead. In

the West, staying with grey

conditions throughout, and in the

afternoon here, it is going to stay

not just wet but also windy. In

Devon and all, they could be up to

25 millimetres or more of rain

across the moors, going through

tonight, affecting Wales and the

Isle of Man. Wet through the day in

Northern Ireland, and into Scotland.

Western areas are always windy. A

breeze in the east. With hazy

sunshine, after subzero temperatures

in some areas, it could hit 12

degrees in the central belt and

north of London. Pushing the 60

Fahrenheit mark. Don't get

complacent, colder weather on the

way. Not tonight, it stays mild

towards the south and west of the

country. Cloud and rain pushing in

across Wales, the Midlands and the

south-east towards the end of

tonight. Chilly across eastern

Scotland and North England. Here, we

go into tomorrow with some of the

brightest conditions and morning

sunshine. Some sunshine to start the

day in West England and Wales. Heavy

and thundery showers pushing in. A

look at the rain. In Northern

Ireland, the Midlands and the

south-east, turning dry, rain pushes

into southern England and southern

Scotland through the day. Wintry

flurries over the hills of Scotland

as well. Tomorrow, 6 degrees in

Aberdeen

as well. Tomorrow, 6 degrees in

Aberdeen. Colder air pushes in

across the North with a greater

chance of snow on the hills.

I don't have much positive things

to say about Motor Neurone disease

but it taught me not to pity myself

and to get on with

what I still could do.

I'm happier now than I was before

I developed the condition.

Professor Stephen Hawking -

world-famous for his ground-breaking

scientific work on black holes

and for re-defining perceptions

of people with disabilities -

has died at the age of 76.

We'll be assessing his

impact and legacy.

The trouble of getting men to work

with kids in nurseries.

Figures show just 2% of the total

work force over the past 20

years have been male.

So why is it happening?

Some in the industry say

they're being turned

away because of negative

pre-conceptions.

Because I was a man, umm... It

wouldn't be appropriate for me to

work in early years. Basically.

Because of safeguarding concerns,

they were worried, particularly,

what parents might think and stuff

like that.

This tweet saying that

all children should be learning from

both sexes, especially in the early

stages of school life.

So can -- some kids do not have a

father figure, I'm shocked at the

prejudice that these men face.

Your experiences are particularly

welcome.

We will be talking more about that

in the next hour.

Also...

The government is spending £50

million to make more cohesive

communities,

will it make a difference?

We have members of various different

communities saying they have

experienced various segregation.

Good morning.

Here's Joanna Gosling

in the BBC Newsroom

with a summary of today's news.

Britain's most famous scientist,

Professor Stephen Hawking,

has died at the age of 76.

Hawking's fame

came largely from his best-selling

book, "A Brief History of Time"

which outlined his theories

about the universe.

He had a brilliant career

despite being diagnosed with motor

neurone disease in 1964

and being told he had just

a few years to live.

Professor Hawkins's children have

paid tribute to their father.

In a statement, Lucy,

Robert and Tim said: "We are deeply

saddened that our beloved father

passed away today.

He was a great scientist

and an extraordinary man whose work

and legacy will live

on for many years.

His courage and persistence

with his brilliance and humour

inspired people across the world.

He once said, 'It would not be much

of a universe if it wasn't home

to the people you love'.

We will miss him forever."

Moscow has warned it will respond to

any measures imposed by the British

government after a Soviet nerve

agent was used in Salisbury. The

Kremlin has insisted that it is in

no way connected to the poisoning of

a former Russian double agent Sergei

Skripal and his daughter. Theresa

May is expected to announce a

response today after chairing a

meeting at the National Security

Council.

The Outgoing US Secretary of State,

Rex Tillerson, who was fired

by President Donald Trump yesterday,

has described the poisoning

as a "really egregious act...

That "clearly came from Russia"

and there should be

"serious consequences".

Much work remains to respond

to the troubling behaviour

and actions on the part

of the Russian government.

Russia must assess carefully

as to how its actions

are in the best interest

of the Russian people,

and of the world more broadly.

Continuing on their current

trajectory is likely to lead

to greater isolation on their part.

A situation which is not

in any one's interest.

Five councils in England will be

asked to draw up plans to improve

community cohesion in their areas as

part of wider proposals on

integration. Other proposals

outlined in the government's

integrated communities strategy

green paper included teaching

British values in schools, promoting

the English language and for

councils to provide language tuition

to non-English speakers.

Women who have had breast implant

surgery are being urged to make

sure their details are registered.

Around a third of NHS clinics

and a quarter of private ones

offering the surgery in England have

not sent any patient data

to a national safety registry.

NHS Digital set up the service

in 2016 to safeguard

patients after the PIP.

scandal, when thousands of women

received faulty implants.

The University of Mosul, in Iraq -

which was left in ruins

by Islamic State militants -

is to begin re-stocking its library,