15/03/2018 Victoria Derbyshire

Hello, it's 9 o'clock,

I'm Victoria Derbyshire,

welcome to the programme.

Our top story today...

President Trump comes out in support

of the UK's decision to expel 23

Russian diplomats from Britain

after the nerve agent

attack in Salisbury.

The United States stands in absolute

solidarity with Great Britain.

The United States

believes that Russia

is responsible for the attack on two

people in the United Kingdom, using

a military grade nerve agent.

We will get reaction. Also coming up

on the programme...

Sherry Denness was 17

when she attempted to take her own

life nine times in ten

days at the end of last

year before she got

the help she needed.

Her dad's video seeking

support for her went viral.

Sherry Denness and her mum and dad

wll be here shortly.

And working repeated

shifts, but for free,

with no offer of a job

at the end of it.

There are calls to ban the practice

of unpaid trial shifts

and it will be debated

in Parliament.

Did your unpaid shifts

lead to a job, or not?

Let us know.

Hello.

Welcome to the programme.

We're live until 11 this morning.

Later, we'll be talking about beer

yoga - where you can enjoy sipping

a nice, cold lager while

doing the downward dog.

Can you believe that?

That is after

10am.

Also, we definitely want to hear

your own experiences of children

with mental health problems and how

difficult, or otherwise,

it was to get the right help.

We've got a searing example of how

it didn't work early

enough for one teenager.

We'll be talking to her

at 9.15am.

Our top story today...

The White House has given

its backing to Britain's decision

to expel Russian diplomats

in retaliation for the nerve

agent attack on Sergei

Skripal and his daughter.

The US said it was a just response

and America stood in solidarity

with its closest ally.

And in a hardening of

President Trump's tone on Russia,

his spokeswoman accused it

of undermining the security

of countries worldwide.

23 staff at the Russian embassy

in London have been given

a week to leave the UK.

However, the Kremlin continues

to deny any involvement

in the attempted murder.

Keith Doyle reports.

Late-night comings and goings

at the Russian embassy

in London - 23 diplomats considered

to be undeclared spies will be

making preparations to leave Britain

after the decision yesterday

to expel them.

While Russia remains defiant

that it was not involved

in the nerve agent attack,

other major world powers

are backing Britain.

Now one member stands accused

of using chemical weapons

on the sovereign soil

of another member.

The credibility of this council

will not survive if we fail

to hold Russia accountable.

"Russia was to blame,"

the Prime Minister told MPs,

and that's why action

is being taken.

So, Mr Speaker, there is no

alternative conclusion other

than that the Russian state

was culpable for the attempted

murder of Mr Skripal

and his daughter.

This represents an unlawful use

of force by the Russian state

against the United Kingdom.

The Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn,

said the response should be

based on clear evidence.

Russia insists it was not involved

and it will retaliate.

Prime Minister May is destroying

international law and is destroying

the international relationship.

Last night, Britain asked

the International Chemical Weapons

Watchdog to verify Moscow is behind

the attack in Salisbury.

There is now a fully-blown

diplomatic row,

a row that looks likely to escalate

with expected tit-for-tat actions.

And as this goes on,

Sergei Skripal and his daughter

remain critically ill in hospital.

Keith Doyle, BBC News.

Our correspondent Richard

Galpin is in Moscow.

Norman Smith is in Westminster.

Richard, what reaction in Russia to

what President Trump has said?

There

has been another briefing by the

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman in

which she has said that the idea

that Russia is behind the poisoning

is insane and she is saying the

truth behind the Skripal poisoning

is being hidden by the British

authorities and she is of course

saying they are working on

retaliatory measures, we do not know

when they will be implemented, but

certainly they are working on them,

and the widespread assumption is

they will be tit-for-tat, 23 spies,

Russian spies, are going to be

expelled from London and the

expectation is British diplomats in

Moscow and those deemed to be spies

are likely to be expelled. And

possibly further measures mirroring

what the British Government has

announced. It is interesting the

development of the international

community, Western powers, rallying

behind Theresa May and Britain. We

have seen the UN, a lot of

statements expressing solidarity,

including from Nato, and the key

question for the Russian government

is whether those countries will do

something concrete. For example,

whether they would themselves will

impose more sanctions. That would be

very troubling for the Kremlin.

Norman at Westminster, 19 Labour MPs

have signed a Commons motion

supporting the decision of the Prime

Minister to expelled the diplomats,

spies. Why are they doing that?

Because of widespread anger among

Labour MPs at Mr Corbyn's response

to the Salisbury attack, in the

Commons yesterday, he appeared to

question and challenge the evidence

pointing towards Russia. It was not

just that many Labour MPs thought he

got the tone wrong, he also attacked

the Government for cuts to the

police and the National Health

Service, taking Russian money. There

was not just they thought that was

an inappropriate line to take, it is

because they felt he failed to live

up to the moment, that at a time

when people are being attacked, in

Britain, that, they felt, was a

moment when he needed to stand up as

a national leader and show he was

ready to stand up to foreign

aggression. More than that, a view

among some Labour figures he is

betraying the history of the Labour

Party which has, they say, always

been very patriotic, going back to

the likes of Clement Attlee, and

there are clear signs of tension

even right at the very top of the

party with senior figures like the

Shadow Defence Secretary and the

Shadow Foreign Secretary, Emily

Thornberry, both uneasy with the

stance Mr Corbyn has taken.

More

reaction to come of course through

the morning.

Annita McVeigh is in the BBC

Newsroom with a summary

of the rest of the day's news.

The labratory where scientists

helped identify the nerve agent used

in Salisbury is to get more funding

from the government

as part of a defence

modernisation programme.

An extra £48 million

for a new Chemical Weapons Defence

Centre at Porton Down,

will be announced by Gavin

Williamson in his first major speech

as Defence Secretary later today.

The Brexit Secretary,

David Davis, has said he's prepared

to accept the EU's offer

of a shortened transition period,

after the UK leaves

the European Union in March, 2019.

He said he would agree to a call

for the transition to end

in December, 2020, if that

helped to secure a deal at

next week's EU summit.

Ministers are being called

on to introduce a faster phase-out

of petrol and diesel cars,

currently set for 2040.

The MPs have also demanded

a new Clean Air Act,

and they say the motor industry

should finance a clean air fund.

The Government says it'll

publish its own proposals on air

pollution later in the year.

Here's our environment

analyst, Roger Harrabin.

The air in many of Britain's cities

is officially unfit to breathe.

And the MPs are angry that,

despite a series of court cases,

the Government hasn't cleaned it up.

The young are particularly at risk,

and the MPs' report has drawn

support from UN children's

organisation, UNICEF,

which says that Britain's children

deserve to breathe clean air.

The Government aims to end the sales

of diesel and petrol

only vehicles by 2040,

but the MPs say that is inadequate.

India will do it ten years earlier.

They say government must work

with local councils to stop

pollution-related deaths.

This really needs to be stamped out.

We need to improve it.

And that's why the whole report

talked about bringing government,

local authorities together,

so we can work across,

not just here in London,

but across the whole country.

The Government says it's looking

beyond cars to smokeless fuel

and wood stoves in its strategy,

due later in the year.

Roger Harrabin, BBC News.

The World Health Organization

is to carry out a review

of the potential impact of plastic

on human health.

It follows the release

of a new study by US researchers -

the largest of its kind -

which discovered plastic particles

in popular brands of bottled water.

Scientists say that there is no

evidence yet to suggest

it is a cause for concern.

In the past three years,

parents across England and Wales

have been fined about £24 million

for failing to send

their children to school.

A BBC investigation also shows some

councils are issuing penalties

at rates five times higher

than the average.

Some parents say they now actively

budget for the cost of fines

when planning holidays.

While some councils admit

they have become stricter,

they say they are protecting

the education of children.

The use of food and medical

supplies as a weapon of war

by the Syrian regime has

been branded as utterly

abhorrent by the Foreign

Secretary, Boris Johnson,

and International Development

Secretary Penny Mordaunt.

In a joint statement to mark

the seven years of conflict

which has gripped the country,

they are branding the war

as one of the longest

and bloodiest in recent history.

A 20-year-old woman has been

jailed for six months

in the American state of Minnesota

for fatally shooting her boyfriend

in a botched YouTube video

they hoped would go viral.

Pedro Ruiz convinced Monalisa Perez

to shoot him at close range

with a powerful pistol,

believing that a thick

book he held in front

of his chest would shield him.

He died at the scene.

Some MPs and lawyers have

called for a blanket ban

on unpaid shift work.

Companies can currently invite

prospective employees to do trial

shifts with the carrot of a job

at the end.

But there has been a six-fold

increase over three years

in complaints over unpaid shifts,

according to the trade union Unite.

On Friday, a Private Members'

Bill which seeks to make

unpaid trials illegal

will get its second

parliamentary reading.

That's a summary of the latest BBC

News - more at 9:30.

Good morning. Get in touch with us,

you're very welcome. You can use

Twitter, e-mail or message us on

Facebook.

In a moment, a pretty heartbreaking

story from a teenager, a young

woman, who attempted to take her own

life nine times in the space of ten

days. She is here with her mum and

dad and she will talk specifically

about the care she found difficult

to access. They want to improve the

mental health care teenagers and

young people get. Your expenses

really welcome. We would like to

feed those into the conversation

with Sherry and her mum and dad. Do

get in touch.

Let's get some sport with Hugh.

Most wanted five English sides in

the Champions League, but it is just

two.

Just two. We saw Man United go

out in such a disappointing way, as

tough as we thought it would be for

Chelsea last night in the Champions

League.

They went away to Spanish League

leaders Barcelona and had some

confidence after a 1-1 first leg

draw and the fact they hadn't

lost at the Nou Camp

on their last four visits.

However, the were stung

by the five-time Ballon D'or

winner Lionel Messi.

Having gone his first eight games

against Chelsea without a goal,

he scored the equaliser in the first

leg and scored two while setting up

the other last night.

And it was a case of the nutmeg!

The first came after just

a couple of minutes,

deceiving Thibaut Courtois

in the Chelsea goal.

His second,

different end, different

foot, same result.

In fact it finished 3-0 on the night

to Barca, and means Liverpool

and Manchester City will be the two

British clubs in the

quarter-final draw tomorrow.

There were better scenes

for Arsenal's Women last night -

they stunned favourites

Manchester City to win

the Continental Tyres Cup

for a record fifth time -

1-0 - thanks to

Vivianne Miedema's goal.

Eddie Jones, disappointing Six

Nations, apologising for offending

some other home nations.

Not great

for Eddie Jones. England head coach.

You might remember the pictures of

him being verbally abused by

Scotland rugby fans and the sport

was left disgusted, but once again

braced against words from Jones

himself at a port last summer, he

described the Irish as... And Wales

as not very nice place, shall we

say. He has apologised unreservedly,

saying he was very sorry for any

offence, no ski since, he said he

should not have said what he did,

but added motivation for the Ireland

team -- no excuses.

And no Ruby

Walsh for the rest of the Cheltenham

Festival. Awful fall for the top

jockey rest Tony McRae yesterday.

--

awful fall for the top jockey

yesterday. The serious injury

yesterday, he went to hospital with

a suspected broken leg, he found

that the second last fence and it

seems he has broken the same local

four months ago, only just made a

return to racing, and he will miss

the rest of the festival including

Freddie's Gold. The Big Race Was The

Queen Mother Champion Chase

Queen Mother Champion Chase Altior

Easley came home first. Finally,

some bad news from South Korea. GB

cannot win a medal in the curling.

They lost Korea in the penultimate

round Robin Knoche. In the

afternoon's session, Norway's

victory over Slovakia, it means the

Brits are out, even if they beat

China, some disappointment for

Paralympics GB in Pyeongchang.

More

through the morning.

When she was 17, Sherry Denness

tried to kill herself

nine times in 10 days.

That was last November.

Now 18, Sherry's been

diagnosed with a number

of mental health conditions,

including borderline personality

disorder and attention deficit

hyperactivity disorder or ADHD.

On seven of her nine attempts,

Sherry went to A&E,

where she was patched up and deemed

well enough to be sent home

with no further help.

Things came to a head

when she was found near the local

train station and was eventually

sectioned under

the Mental Health Act.

BBC Stories has been

following Sherry.

She's doing better now.

We will talk to her in a moment.

She and her parents

feel she was badly

let down by mental health services

over a period of many years

and they feel places like hospitals

should be better equipped to cope

with children in crisis.

Sherry's dad posted this

online to help raise

awareness of their campaign.

PIANO PLAYS

The video has had more

than 5.5 million views

and the campaign hashtag

"wecaresherry" has

been shared widely.

Sherry and her mum Andi and dad

Chris are here now...

Good morning to all of you. Thank

you for coming on the programme. How

are you, first of all?

I was

nervous, but I'm OK.

We will look

after you. Tell us about the

campaign and what it's been like to

have this incredible support from

millions of people, most of whom are

strangers.

I can't even... I have

always had the mindset that I am not

a very liked person because the

issues I have gone through. I was

bullied at school. I had quite a

rough time with it. I have always

been of the mindset that not a lot

of people care about me apart from

the people who have to do, like my

parents! So seeing it exposed, that

I was under section, when it was

launched, and I had phoned time. I

saw it, and I thought, wow.

You were

sectioned at that time?

I was in the

hospital, yes. I was 200 miles away

from my parents. I checked on my

Facebook and the video that you just

played has come up on there. I was

like... Where are all these people

coming from?

How did it make you

feel to know people did care?

Very

important, it made me feel a lot

better. A lot better.

I know you are

comfortable talking about some of

your diagnoses, including borderline

personality disorder and ADHD. Can

you give any insights to our

audience into the kind of voices you

have heard in your head in the past?

I've had delusions since I was quite

young. My first delusion was when I

was 12. They come in the forms of

site, and they come in the forms of

hearing as well. The site is really

scary because it's, how can you look

at me right now and see in perfect

detail because I'm right here? --

the sight is really scary. You are

scared because everyone else tells

you it's not real. The voices are

the same. Sometimes they can be

inner thoughts. And it will just

come from within. But sometimes you

will actually hear it as if is

external. Again, people tell you

nothing is there. It's a really

dark, scary and lonely place.

There

will be people watching who can

relate to this. I want to let our

audience know that we will talk in

detail about the kind of things you

have experienced and perhaps if you

have young children you might not

want them to hear, but it's your

decision. What kind of things would

you see and what kind of things with

the voices say to you?

I used to

have three delusions. They sometimes

come back when I am in a really bad

state. Or I am emotionally

regularised. One is called Ciaran,

one is Anna and one is Alice. Ciaran

is a really horrible man who would

stand outside my window at night and

wave at me. He would speak to me as

well. Alice was a little girl who

didn't say anything. She would just

walk around my room. And Anna, when

I had anorexia, I developed another

voice called Anna, and it was that

voice who was always telling me,

don't eat. But Ciaran would say

things like, if you don't hurt

yourself, or if you don't do this to

yourself, or tell lies, or whatever,

then I will kill your family. It was

very real. So I would do it because

I was scared for my family. It would

be visions. When I am in that state,

I'm thinking, he is showing me

visions, he can actually do this.

It

must have been terrifying.

It was,

it was horrible. He told me one

night to sit in the garden at three

in the morning. And not come out,

and cover myself in a black blanket.

I was cold, I wanted to go in

because I was cold, and he would

say, no, you don't deserve to. That

kind of stuff.

And this led to last

November when you are tempted to

take your own life multiple times in

a short period of time, in ten days.

You were taken to A&E a number of

times. And then you would be

released when the physical side of

things had been cleared up, is that

correct?

Yes.

What were you thinking

when you were discharged?

At that

point in time, I was not in the

right mindset. I was thinking, good,

because I can do it again.

Really?

Speaking to your mother now, what

were you thinking when she was

discharged?

God, yeah, what on

earth?! From our point of view, once

is enough. We have had to hold

Sherry's hand when she has done

things to herself and she is in a

coma, and to nurse your child that

your bedside, watching, no response

to every single pressure point and

every single thing they do to class

you in a coma, and to see your child

in that fragile state, it's a bit

like today, it's surreal. Is this

really happening? This can't really

be happening. And when they let your

child go, you're just like, what?!

Do you know what I mean? So we were

just left thinking, what the heck,

literally, what the heck.

And what

was it like for you as Sherry's dad,

knowing the potentially the physical

side of things had been treated, but

mentally, clearly, there was so much

going on.

It was a difficult time

for everyone. It was try to get the

nurses or somebody on our side, to

say, will you listen to what we are

saying to you, because if you

release her, she will try and do the

worst. It kept happening and

happening.

But what you were saying

would happen, it would happen, and

yet she would still be released.

Exactly, and this was a pattern that

happened not only in that ten days,

but since she came onto the radar,

if you like, of mental health, when

she was 11. I remember the first

time she self harm that 13. We

looked at each other and thought,

where did that come from? It was a

progression we never ever

anticipated. And that was really

tough.

You say Sherry was 11 when

she was first assessed by CAMS.

She

said -- they said she was naughty

and attention seeking and her

delusions were fake.

They said that

within earshot of me when I was 11

years old. They took me in for an

assessment for ADHD and I heard the

person who assessed me saying to my

mother that she was an attention

seeker, and it was a behavioural

thing.

That she was looking for

attention. We have had to fight for

her every step of the way. There

hasn't been a day gone by that we

haven't been exhausted by the fight.

You get to the end of it and think,

I can't take any more, and then

something else happens. And every

day you think, this is the bottom,

we will get up now, because we are

really positive people. But no,

there is a new bottom. This kept

happening and happening, over and

over again. We have always wanted to

launch a campaign, because we have

always felt there is no help for

young people. We are saying between

the age of 10-25. Because even

though you are an adult at 18,

really, what makes you one day a

child and 1-dayer adult?

That's

normality transition for somebody

with mental health, at 17 you are

still a child, but at 18 you have

adult responsibilities. For somebody

with mental health, who doesn't fit

into the category of normal, it's a

very stressful and hard time. There

should be more support.

But you were

not getting that support when you

are 17 either really. Until you

section, which is what you wanted,

which is after the ninth time you

are tempted to... You were found at

a train station. The police found

you, and they took the decision to

section you, which you were relieved

about.

The legs nearly went from

under me. I was gobsmacked.

under me. I was gobsmacked. PCP

Turcotte and Dan Ayrton are our

heroes, without a shadow of a doubt.

-- PC Peter Coe. We can't thank

those individuals enough.

You say

you were seen in that period of ten

days by 18 different health care

professionals. That's quite

extraordinary. Are you saying that

nobody was joining the dots up

effectively?

I don't think it was a

case of them not joining the dots

up. It was more a case of them not

wanting to. I have been dealt with a

lot in hospitals, main hospitals,

paediatric wards, and there is a

massive taboo about it. Nobody

really wants to talk about it,

nobody really wants to help. That's

why I am continuing with this

campaign.

There are people who do

want to help and organisations,

because we have had them on this

programme. It seems really sad you

were not put in touch with one of

those. Chris Conley you did this

video that went viral. It's very

poignant, I have to say. -- Chris,

you did this video. What is the

point of this, it has been seen

millions of times, so what do you

want to change as a result of your

family's experience?

All the bad my

family has gone through, we want to

make a positive change and help

young people, give them support and

let them know there are people

there. The reason for doing the

video was to give an insight into

what it is like for Sherry, what she

was suffering, and give people an

insight on what it is like for

parents who have children who suffer

with mental health. I did the video

thinking maybe a couple of hundred

people would watch it, and every

couple of days it would go up more

and more.

I have some messages.

There is one I have left over there

from a young woman called Georgina,

who is 21. She talked about being

diagnosed with mental health

issues... I can't find it. I have

just printed it out... It is so

pertinent to you. Let me find it.

I would like to share my

experiences. I'm 21, diagnosed with

clinical depression at 13 after a

series of self harm issues. After

visiting my school nurse and GP, it

took eight months for me to be

referred to talking therapy with a

child and adolescent mental health

service. The quality of the therapy

was so poor it worse and my mental

health and I was under the age of 18

I was refused any appropriate

medication. I was patronised and

dismissed by the person I was told

to speak to.

Discharged and then relapsed, it

took a further five months to get an

appointment with a psychologist. It

was only when I reached 18 and 20

university I receive treatment I

needed. I have been on medication

for over three years now and I am

better than ever. Some of that, you

can relate to?

Terrible. I can

totally relate to that.

That is what

struck us, it was not an isolated

case, we knew that, but we did not

realise just how many people are

just like us and it gave us hope as

well.

Why don't you explain what

this is, Sherry? Such a wonderful

idea, you send this out to people

who are feeling like nobody cares.

On our website, we have at the

bottom of the page a button that

says, apply for a recovery box. I

make them myself from scratch,

handmade. I do absolutely

everything.

everything. There is a little

inventory slip and a message that is

always personalised, a poem, some

sweet treats, a diary for thoughts,

colouring, for destruction, stressed

toys -- colouring for distraction,

stress toys.

This is going to a girl

in Essex.

Yes.

Age?

We're not sure.

The Government promised in 2015 £1.4

billion over five years to transform

child and adolescent mental health

services and they are committed to

employing more therapists and

supervisors, what do you say?

A

little bit too late, really. The

help needs to happen now, it is

disgusting, when you look at primary

school, you can start to see

patterns of children's behaviour, we

are talking about as young as year

three, four, five, and, really, for

us, it is not websites that are

needed, paper information, ring this

number, it is face to face. People

need early intervention. Schools

need to have a person, whether a

specialist teacher or another type

of classroom assistant, that is

trained in recognising early-onset

adolescent mental health issues.

Because if Sherry had received the

help at 11, just before crossing

over to senior school, then she

would have been on the right track

and we may not have gone down the

road of self harm and all of the

other stuff. Actually, research

shows, self harm is a cry because

they get so far with their mental

health, there is nowhere to go in

their head, nowhere to go, and then

you get self harm. We have heard

stories of parents being given safe

self harming kits, that is

ludicrous. I do not understand, why

would we be reactive sea society

when we should be proactive and that

means getting children the help they

desperately need -- a reactive

society. We are working so hard to

help other parents, we have a secret

group for parents, carers, foster

carers, adoptive parents, whoever is

caring for a young person, and we

help them with different topics,

Q&As weekly, they can ask whatever

they like, we're not experts, we do

not claim to be experts, but what we

are is we are experienced in this

through our own experience. If we

can help, which they say we are

helping, it does not feel like we

are, but they say massively we are

helping, and if we can help one set

of parents, then, great. And Sherry

has come on board with the campaign

recently and she does more live

things on the site and interacts

with her audience and stuff like

that. That has been really positive

as well.

Thank you. Well done. Thank

you very much for being on the

programme. If you want help or

advice on mental health issues,

please go to the BBC action line

website and I have got some messages

from you and a lot of love for you

as well, Sherry. I will read some of

those through the programme.

Still to come...

It's seven years since

the war in Syria began.

We'll speak to people living

through the conflict.

And could more than 100 homeless

people seeking shelter

in an empty commercial building

in central London be

forced to leave?

Time for the latest news.

Here's Annita.

The BBC News

headlines this morning.

The White House has given

its backing to Britain's

decision to expel Russian diplomats

in retaliation for the nerve

agent attack on Sergei

Skripal and his daughter.

The US said it was a just response

and America stood in solidarity

with its closest ally.

And in a hardening of

President Trump's tone on Russia,

his spokeswoman accused it

of undermining the security

of countries worldwide.

23 staff at the Russian embassy

in London have been given

a week to leave the UK.

However, the Kremlin continues

to deny any involvement

in the attempted murder.

The labratory

where scientists helped identify

the nerve agent used in Salisbury

is to get more funding from

the Government as part of a defence

modernisation programme.

An extra £48 million

for a new Chemical Weapons Defence

Centre at Porton Down

will be announced by Gavin

Williamson in his first major speech

as Defence Secretary later today.

The investigation into the fire

at Grenfell Tower has

found the fire doors may not have

been as effective as they

were supposed to be.

The Metropolitan Police tested

a door designed to resist

fire for half an hour and found

that it only lasted 15 minutes.

The investigation is ongoing.

The Brexit Secretary, David Davis,

has said he's prepared

to accept the EU's offer

of a shortened transition period,

after the UK leaves

the European Union in March, 2019.

He said he would agree to a call

for the transition to end

in December, 2020, if that

helped to secure a deal at

next week's EU summit.

The World Health Organization

is to carry out

a review of the potential impact

of plastic on human health.

It follows the release

of a new study by US researchers -

the largest of its kind -

which discovered plastic particles

in popular brands of bottled water.

Scientists say that there is no

evidence yet to suggest

it is a cause for concern.

In the past three years,

parents across England and Wales

have been fined about £24 million

for failing to send

their children to school.

A BBC investigation also shows some

councils are issuing

penalties at rates five times higher

than the average.

Some parents say they now actively

budget for the cost of fines

when planning holidays.

While some councils admit

they have become stricter,

they say they are protecting

the education of children.

That's a summary of

the latest BBC News.

We will bring you more detail on the

story reported on them, the flat

doors in Grenfell Tower could only

hold back a blaze for half the time

they were supposed to, according to

investigators. Messages from Europe

at the interview with Sherry, Marine

A says, I'm so pleased she is

receiving the treatment she

deserves. Incredibly brave. From an

18-year-old who does not wish us to

use her name, I'm 18, struggling

with depression and an eating

disorder after turning 16, in my

area, the way to be seen by a mental

health specialist was just under

three months. For someone struggling

a lot. But someone struggling a lot,

this time period was extensive and

unsuitable. Once I was finally seen,

it was difficult not to feel guilty

because you were constantly told how

many children were on waiting lists.

I felt like saying, you may as well

give it to them if they needed than

me. When I turned 18, I was going to

be discharged from the service. I

was at my worst in terms of my

mental state. Because of me becoming

an adult, it was overnight by mental

health team were no longer

interested in treating me. I had to

wait a further eight weeks to be

reviewed by a and adult dental

health team -- by an adult mental

health team.

Here's some sport now.

Chelsea were the latest British

team to be knocked out

of the Champions League last night

after a 3-0 defeat

awat at Barcelona.

Lionel Messi scored

twice on the night.

It means Manchester City

and Liverpool are the only domestic

sides in the hat for

Friday's quarterfinal draw.

Good news for Arsenal fans -

the club secured its first piece

of silverware this season

as they shocked Manchester City

to win the Continental Tyres Cup -

it finished 1-0 thanks

to Vivienne Miedema's winner.

The Cheltenham Festival's all-time

leading rider Ruby Walsh will miss

the rest of this week's

event after a fall.

Walsh has a suspected leg fracture

to the same leg with which he has

just spent four months away from the

sport with injury. Great Britain

cannot win a medal in the wheelchair

curling. Defeat to South Korea

earlier and Norway's victory over

Slovakia means the Brits cannot

reach the medal play-offs. More

sport in the next hour.

Seven years ago today, the first

deaths happened in what has

become the war in Syria.

It started as a peaceful uprising,

and no-one expected the full-scale

conflict that unfolded.

Since then, more than half

a million have been killed.

6 million people have been forced

to leave their homes.

And 13 million have

needed humanitarian aid.

It's a conflict that has

demonstrated both the best

and the worst of humanity.

Allegations of a leader using

chemical weapons on his own people

and starvation and malnutrition

in the harsh winter conditions.

The Syrian people remain caught

in an international power struggle

between those that support and those

that oppose President

Bashar Al-Assad.

This film is a snapshot of where

we are today in Syria's history.

It's complicated, so

you might want to sit

down and take it all in.

Syria has now been at

war for seven years.

And if anything, it's getting worse.

Peaceful protests turned

into a civil war, but,

and this is the key to understanding

what's really going on,

that civil war has now morphed

into something else,

a conflict of global dimensions

playing out within Syria.

In a second, we'll explore why,

but first, who is involved?

Well, you've still got the forces

of President Bashar al-Assad.

He's backed up by Russia,

as well as Iran and various

powerful Shia militias.

Then you've got the rebels.

Now, they've been taking

an absolute battering,

but they are still fighting on.

Two of the biggest are called Jaysh

al-Islam and Ahrar al-Sham.

Up in the north are the Kurds.

They're an ethnic group that

are spread right across the region,

and now hold large areas

of the north of the country.

They're allies of the US.

There's also Turkey,

which is fighting Kurdish forces.

And Israel, which is launching air

strikes in the South.

And finally, the Islamic State

group, the fanatical jihadists

who took over large parts of Syria

and Iraq, grabbing the world's

attention with their brutality.

They've lost almost

all their territory,

but they are still a threat.

But if you really want to understand

what's going on in Syria,

you need to know why

people are fighting.

Since the very start,

President Assad has had one

objective - staying in power.

And he's been prepared to do pretty

much anything to achieve it.

Although he denies it, the West has

accused him of war crimes.

From indiscriminate bombing,

to using chemical weapons,

his forces are thought to have been

responsible for most

of the conflict's deaths.

Assad's main target has always been

the groups that he calls terrorists,

but most others call rebels.

They share one aim -

to overthrow him.

But in truth, that's

really all they have

in common in many cases.

They started fighting

after the government's brutal

crackdown on peaceful protests

back in 2011.

And at first, they included army

defectors, members of civil society.

But as the war has ground

on and got more brutal,

many of them have been pushed

out or killed.

Lots of the groups still fighting

are now hardline Islamists.

Finally, as I mentioned before,

you've got the Kurds in the north.

There is more than 20 million

of them across the region,

but they've never had

their own state.

Understanding that is crucial

to understanding the Kurds.

Soon after the start of the war,

Kurdish forces took control

of the area they call Rojava.

That's after the

government pulled out.

Their main fight is for

autonomy and against IS.

But one of the reasons

Syria is such a mess

is because it's become a proxy war

for international powers.

So why did they get involved?

Well, President Assad is Russia's

closest ally in the region.

If he fell, Russia would lose

its key foothold in the Middle East.

It would also lose Tartus,

its only Mediterranean port.

It could not let that happen.

For Iran, this was partly

about supporting an old ally,

but more than that,

it was about countering

the influence of their regional

rivals, Saudi Arabia,

and spreading their own

influence across the region.

The consensus is that

in achieving their goals,

both Russia and Iran have

outplayed everyone else.

While the US, Turkey and the Gulf

states offered some support

to various rebel groups,

Russia and Iran decided not only

that they wanted Assad to win,

but that they would make

sure he did.

Against Russian air power

and Iranian-backed militias,

the rebels have been badly

outmatched.

Now no one is seriously

talking about Assad being

forced to give up power.

The US always said it

wanted him to leave,

but never took decisive action

to actually make it happen.

Maybe as it feared

what would replace him.

The rise of IS, with their gruesome

propaganda, was a far more

straightforward enemy,

and became the focus.

The US worked with, trained

and armed a group called

The Syrian Democratic Forces.

Although they're mostly made up

of Kurdish fighters called the YPG.

They were crucial in driving IS out

of north-eastern Syria.

One of Turkey's main roles has been

giving shelter to millions

of Syrians fleeing the conflict,

but they've also supported

the rebel group called

the Free Syrian Army,

and are accused

of funding jihadists.

Turkey also fears Kurdish autonomy

in Syria, as it thinks it would fuel

separatism in Turkey.

And so it's launched

a war against the YPG,

who it says are terrorists.

Although remember, the YPG

are the same fighters who are armed

by and allied with the US.

As a consequence, Turkey,

a member of Nato, is now working

closely with Russia.

Down south, Israel's main concern

has been the growing

influence of its arch foe,

Iran, and high-tech weaponry getting

in the hands of Hezbollah.

And so a global conflict plays out

within Syria's borders,

with Russia now calling the shots.

The war in Syria is as complicated

and bloody as ever.

People are still dying.

Lives are still being torn apart.

And the nation, global powers

and, most importantly,

the people of Syria,

are being drawn further

into a situation that it's hard

to see a way out of.

Let's talk now to Ishmael Hamoud.

He is the first unaccompanied child

to enter the UK under

the Dubs Amendment -

that's a tweak to a piece of EU law

which means a number of children

with no family in the UK have been

able to come here to live.

Ahmad Khanshour lives

in Eastern Ghouta where thousands

of people have been killed over

the past three weeks.

Lina Shamy left Eastern Aleppo

during the violence

with her husband.

Bissan Fakih is a human rights

activist - she escaped from Syria

to neighbouring Lebanon.

Thank you for talking to us. We

spoke to you a couple of weeks ago

in Eastern Ghouta, and our audience

knows it has been bombarded by your

government. What's it been like

since then?

Good morning, and thank

you for having me again.

you for having me again. Assad

exaggerates his violence, using

another attempt, and his friends

have made it clear they disrespect

the whole world and international

community. 600 civilians have been

killed since the resolution in the

UN was passed. I can read to your

message from a doctor in a recently

surrounded town in Eastern Ghouta.

We heard last from him yesterday and

nobody knows what has happened there

since. He says, this town is being

eliminated. The regime army has

entered the town from the East. I

tried to flee out but couldn't. Our

whole family was killed in front of

me by an air strike. I returned my

children to the shelter and came out

alone to tell our story. The army is

advancing from different points.

Tens of people have been killed,

more than 5000 people in the town

are threatened with elimination.

Please send our message to the rest

of the world. This may be the last

message I can send. The wounded are

on the streets and cannot be

transferred. They are targeting any

moving object. Families are trying

to flee under shelling. We don't

know what has happened to them. The

regime army is shelling the town

with all sorts of weapons and we

don't know what happened to the

family that fled under the shelling.

There are many casualties on the

streets, nobody is aiding them.

Their fate is unknown. We don't know

what will happen to us. There are

machine guns, artillery shelling and

air strikes targeting people who are

trying to flee. Please help the town

by bringing our voices to the world.

We know we only have God, and this

might be the last message from me

and people in this town.

And you

don't know if the man who posted

that message is alive or dead?

No,

we have no news about 5000 people in

that town from last night. We hear

all kinds of weapons are used there.

It's very close to us but surrounded

by the regime army. We are expecting

the worst.

the worst.

Lina, you got out of

Syria. What do you remember about

the conflict beginning?

Hello and

thank you for having me here. First,

let me put things in context. The

situation in Syria is compensated

just as the international community

wants it to be complicated. -- is

complicated. What happened was a

revolution against the dictatorship.

It's a brutal dictatorship, like

Nazis in the Middle East.

Nazis in the Middle East. The world

and international community wants it

to stay. What happened in Syria was

a revolution against this

dictatorship who is exterminating

its people, doing a war against them

with the help of the Russians and

Iran, the help of Iranians militias,

underground. And also with the help

of the silence of the international

community. These terrorist

countries, Russia, the Assad regime,

and Iran, were violating the

international community resolutions.

All these seven years. And there was

no action at all. This is why the

international community contributed

in killing the Syrian people and

violence, the depths of thousands

and thousands of civilians, millions

of them.

of them.

Let me ask for a reaction

to that. Lina is right, the

international community has past few

resolutions and hasn't done a thing.

This is the pattern we have seen

since the absolute beginning of the

uprising. Activists from the first

day were risking their lives, images

of the beautiful protest they were

holding. They were disappeared for

trying to communicate to the outside

world that they were protesting for

freedom and being shot at. The

international community has shown so

much indifference. You are right in

saying earlier that this is the best

and worst of humanity we are seeing

in Syria. We have witnessed people

fending for each other in the

country. We have witnessed

protesters risking their lives to

tell the truth. We have witnessed

doctors trying to treat patients

under the lights of flashlights

because there is no electricity. We

have witnessed White helmets saving

civilians from bombs. All this time

we have known exactly what is

happening because people risk their

lives to show us, but we have let

them down miserably. The

international community has had

absolutely no backbone and frankly

we should be ashamed, particularly

compared to the stunning bravery

shown by the Syrian people in the

last few years.

How long do you

think this war will go on for?

Thank

you for having me here. This war,

after seven years of fighting and

killing and the conflict in Syria,

we hope it will finish soon, as soon

as is because the international

community should now move and work

together. We want to build hope,

British, French and American people,

should try to stop the war there

because Russia, the first

responsible country of what is

happening in the Syria now, with the

support of the Iranians people, it's

eight criminal and chemical

government.

You were 11 when the

conflict started and you are now a

young man. The conflict continues,

despite your president crossing what

was called a red line by then US

president Obama by using chemical

weapons against his people. What

should happen?

They should work

together. Russia has used its vote

more than ten times in the UN

Security Council, creating problems

for the Syrian people. They built

their hope on the western war.

Thank

you so much for coming on the

programme. We appreciate it, and

will continue to report on it. We

will see how and when it ends.

We will bring you the latest news

and sport in a moment.

In the past half hour,

we've had an update

from the Metropolitan Police

about the Grenfell

Tower fire last June.

Our correspondent,

Lucinda Adam, is here.

Tell us what they have told us.

Witnesses to the Grenfell Tower Fire

and emergency services were shocked

by how quickly the fire spread

around the building. We know 71

people died and dozens were injured

when the fire happened last June in

a tower block. Now a door from the

Grenfell Tower, it has been found it

could only hold backfire for half

the time it was meant to. The

Metropolitan Police told us that

this morning. They have done tests

on the door, it was designed to hold

back a fire for 30 minutes, but

after expert tests, they found it

only held it back for 15 minutes,

and the Metropolitan Police describe

it as a much shorter period than

expected.

How does this lead into

the wider enquiries as to how the

fire happened and how it spread so

rapidly?

The Metropolitan Police are

still in the middle of looking at

that, carrying out forensic

examinations at the scene and also

expert tests off-site. They say they

will not say at the moment whether

any test results will have any

implications on an overall criminal

investigation, but they have said

that officers have shared their

findings with the Ministry of

Housing and Department for

Communities and Local Government,

for them to take any action

required.

Housing Secretary Sajid

Javid is going to make a statement

on the subject from 11:30am which

people can watch here on BBC news.

No information yet on who made the

doors, who manufactured them, who

supplied them and who put them into

Grenfell Tower. The news and sport

is coming up at 10am.

Let's get the latest

weather update with Alina.

I thought I would start with some

sunshine, there has been some around

today. For large parts of the

country it has looks like this, a

lot of rain around. Northern Ireland

has seen 50 millimetres in the last

24 hours with more to come. Rain in

the short-term, but over the next

24-48 hours it will turn colder.

Picking up an easterly wind, and it

will feed into some snow across the

weekend. The band of rain this

afternoon clearing away eventually

in Northern Ireland and its way

north east across northern ingot and

south-west Scotland. North-east

Scotland will stay largely dry but

it's very windy with wind extending

down the east coast. Some rain

showers could be heavily heavy and

thundery. We will keep the strength

of the wind. Snow over higher ground

in Scotland. Another band of showery

rain pushing in from the south-west

affecting parts of England and Wales

and temperatures overnight between

three and seven Celsius. Colder air

coming into Scotland could see icy

stretches tomorrow morning and

further snow, both the other high

ground but extending to lower parts

in northern England. Sunshine and

showers in the south, but they could

be heavy and thundery with some hail

thrown in. Mild across central and

southern England but colder further

north and a sign of what's to come

over the weekend because we will

once again pick up an easterly wind.

The blue colours indicating the cold

temperatures, not as cold as earlier

in the month, but a dip in

temperature and a sharp shock to the

system on Saturday. We could see

snow overnight. Sunny spells and

snow showers. Adding on the strength

of the wind and it will feel

bitterly cold. Temperatures dropping

in places by 8-10d. The monitor

might read 2 degrees, but given the

strength of the wind it will be

bitterly cold. On Sunday, this

feature will be pushing up from the

south and it could potentially bring

some significant snow to parts of

southern England and Wales. In

uncertainty to the timings but we

will likely see some snow around on

Sunday and it will feel really cold

with temperatures struggling to get

above freezing. Adding on the

strength of the wind and it will

feel subzero.

Hello, it's 10am, I'm

Victoria Derbyshire.

President Trump comes out in support

of the UK's decision to expel 23

Russian diplomats from Britain

after the nerve agent

attack in Salisbury.

The United States stands in absolute

solidarity with Great Britain.

The United States

believes that Russia

is responsible for the attack on two

people in the United Kingdom, using

a military grade nerve agent.

We will get reaction.

Also coming up on the programme...

Sherry Denness was 17

when she attempted to take her own

life nine times in ten

days at the end of last

year - before she got

the help she needed.

She told us about the problems

she and her family faced

in getting the right support.

I have been dealt with a lot in

hospitals, paediatric wards, and it

is just... There is this massive to

do about it and no one wants to talk

about it, no one wants to help. One

viewer says the entire mental health

system in our country needs a

complete overhaul and it is not fit

for purpose in its current state.

More messages from you so why will

read those in the next hour. Also...

Working repeated shifts for free -

and with no offer

of a job at the end.

As calls to ban the practice

of unpaid trial shifts are debated

in Parliament, do let us

know your experiences.

And we'll hear about the latest

fitness craze - beer yoga -

where you can enjoy sipping a nice

cold lager while doing

the downward dog.

Good morning.

Here's Annita McVeigh

in the BBC Newsroom

with a summary of today's news.

Good morning.

The White House has

given its backing to Britain's

decision to expel Russian diplomats

in retaliation for the nerve

agent attack on Sergei

Skripal and his daughter.

The US said it was a just response

and America stood in solidarity

with its closest ally.

Russia says it is working

on retaliatory measures

after 23 of its diplomats

were expelled from Britain.

The labratory where scientists

helped identify the nerve agent used

in Salisbury is to get more

funding from the Government

as part of a defence

modernisation programme.

An extra £48 million

for a new Chemical Weapons Defence

Centre at Porton Down

will be announced by Gavin

Williamson in his first major speech

as Defence Secretary later today.

The investigation into the fire

at Grenfell Tower has

found the fire doors may not have

been as effective as they

were supposed to be.

The Metropolitan Police tested

a door designed to resist fire

for half an hour and found that it

only lasted 15 minutes.

The investigation is ongoing.

The Brexit Secretary,

David Davis, has said he's prepared

to accept the EU's offer

of a shortened transition period,

after the UK leaves

the European Union in March, 2019.

He said he would agree to a call

for the transition to end

in December, 2020, if that

helped to secure a deal at

next week's EU summit.

The World Health Organization

is to carry out a review

of the potential impact

of plastic on human health.

It follows the release

of a new study by US researchers -

the largest of its kind -

which discovered plastic particles

in popular brands of bottled water.

Scientists say there is no evidence

yet to suggest it is a cause for

concern.

A 20-year-old woman has been

jailed for six months

in the American state of Minnesota

for fatally shooting her boyfriend

in a botched YouTube video

they hoped would go viral.

Pedro Ruiz convinced Monalisa Perez

to shoot him at close range

with a powerful pistol,

believing that a thick

book he held in front

of his chest would shield him.

He died at the scene.

In the past three years, parents

across England and Wales have been

fined around £24 million for failing

to send their children to school. A

BBC investigation shows some

councils are you issuing penalties

at rates five times higher than the

average and some parents say they

now actively budget for the cost of

fines when planning holidays. Some

councils admit they have become

stricter but they say they are

protecting the education of

children. Some MPs and lawyers have

called for a blanket ban on page

shiftwork. Companies currently

invite prospective employees to do

trial shifts. But there has been a

sixfold increase over three years in

complaints about unpaid shifts

according to the trade union Unite.

On Friday a Private Members' Bill

seeking to make unpaid trials

illegal will get its second

parliamentary reading.

That's a summary of

the latest BBC News.

More at 10.30am.

This tweet, I have borderline

personality disorder, I often

describe it as the angel on one

shoulder, the devil on the other. I

eventually received the right

treatment. I hope the beautiful

young woman on your programme today,

Sherry, gets the right help.

Caroline says, I was 45 and had of

short-term psychotic breakdown. My

brother-in-law took me to A&E with

hallucinations and flashing lights

at 3:30am, I asked her sleeping

tablets, they sent me home with

nothing. At 9pm the next night, I

attempted to take my own life. A&E

have failed me. There are a number

of those which I will read through

the next hour of the programme. If

you want to send us an e-mail, you

do not have to use your name, you

can use Twitter, and if you text,

you will be charged that the

standard network rate.

Here's some sport now with Hugh.

Well, we knew it was a sizeable

task for Chelsea in

the Champions League,

away at Spanish League leaders

Barcelona, and as some may have

predicted, a great performance

from five-time Ballon D'or winner

Lionel Messi was the difference.

He scored two and set the other

up in their 3-0 win.

The first came after just

a couple of minutes,

deceiving Thibaut Courtois

in the Chelsea goal,

before his second -

different end, different

foot, same result.

A 4-1 aggregate win for Messi

and Barca which means

Liverpool and Manchester City

will be the two British

clubs in the quarterfinal

draw tomorrow.

Our start was terrible, to concede a

goal after only two minutes, but

after this, I think we tried to play

football. For a long time, we

dominated, we created chances to

score.

There were better scenes

for Arsenal's Women last night.

They stunned favourites

Manchester City to win

the Continental Tyres Cup

for a record fifth time

1-0, thanks to Vivianne

Miedema's goal.

England Rugby Union head coach

Eddie Jones has apologised

for making derogatory comments

regarding Ireland and Wales.

At a sponsors' talk last summer,

it's emerged he described the Irish

as "scummy" and Wales as, well,

not a very nice little

place, shall we say?

Well, Jones has apologised

unreservedly, adding, "No excuses,

I shouldn't have said what I did."

England host Ireland

in the Six Nations at

Twickenham on Saturday.

It's day three of the Cheltenham

Festival but it'll be missing one

of racing's biggest stars.

That's after a serious injury

to jockey Ruby Walsh yesterday.

He went to hospital with a suspected

broken leg when he fell

at the second last fence.

He broke the same leg four months

ago and had only just

made his return to racing.

Now he'll miss the rest

of the festival, including

Friday's Gold Cup.

But on a difficult day

for the Walsh family,

there was some success

for Ruby's sister, Katy.

She won on board the

25-to-1 shot Relegate

in the final race of the day.

The big race of the day, though,

was the Queen Mother Champion Chase.

It was billed as a straight fight

between the British trained Altior

and Irish horse Douvan.

But after Douvan fell

with four fences to jump,

the evens favourite Altior ridden

by Nico de Boinville easily came

home first in the end.

And Great Britain can't win a medal

in the wheelchair curling

at the Winter Parlympics.

Earlier they lost to hosts Korea

in their penultimate

round-robin match.

That result meant they had to rely

on others to see if they could make

the medal playoffs.

But in the afternoon session,

Norway's victory over Slovakia means

that Britain are out,

even if they win their final pool

match against China.

More sport later on. Thank you.

The United States says it stands

in solidarity with the UK

following the Prime Minister's

decision to expel 23 Russian

diplomats after Moscow refused

to explain how a Russian-made nerve

agent was used in a murder

attempt on a former spy.

Theresa May has also

revoked an invitation

to Russia's foreign minister

and said the royal family would not

attend the Fifa World

Cup later this year.

The Russian Embassy

said the expulsions

were "unacceptable,

unjustified and short-sighted".

In a hardening of President Trump's

tone on Russia, his spokeswoman

accused it of undermining

the security of countries worldwide.

The White House's comment

were echoed by the US

Ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley,

during an emergency meeting

of the Security Council.

The United States stands in absolute

solidarity with Great Britain. The

United States believes Russia is

responsible for the attack on two

people in the UK using a military

grade nerve agent but this is not an

isolated incident. The assassination

attempt in Salisbury is part of an

alarming increase in the use of

chemical weapons. Russia must fully

cooperate with the UK's

investigation and come clean about

its own chemical weapons programme.

Russia is a permanent member of the

Security Council. It is entrusted in

the United Nations Charter with

upholding international peace and