08/03/2018 BBC News at One


08/03/2018

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The Home Secretary says

the attempted murder of a former

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Russian spy using nerve gas

is an outrageous crime.

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Amber Rudd told Parliament Sergei

and Yulia Skripal remain

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in a critical condition in hospital,

and the police officer

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who went to their aid

is in a serious condition.

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The use of a nerve agent on UK soil

is a brazen and reckless act.

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This was attempted

murder in the most

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cruel and public way.

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We'll have the latest

on the counter-terrorism

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investigation into where the nerve

agent came from.

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Also this lunchtime...

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A passenger tells a court

how her hair caught fire when a bomb

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went off on a London underground

train last September.

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Domestic abusers could be

electronically tagged or banned

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from drinking alcohol,

in a new crackdown proposed

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by the Government.

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Longer waits in A&E and fewer

non-urgent operations -

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new figures make grim

reading for the NHS.

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And, going for gold -

Britain is hoping for a record medal

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haul at the Winter Paralympics.

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And coming up in the

sport on BBC News...

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Eddie Jones makes three changes

for England's Six Nations clash

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with France this weekend.

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Captain Dylan Hartley

misses out through injury.

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Good afternoon and welcome

to the BBC News at One.

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The Home Secretary has described

the attempted murder of a former

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Russian spy and his daughter

as an outrageous crime.

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Speaking in the House of Commons,

Amber Rudd said the use of a nerve

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agent on UK soil was a brazen

and wreckless act.

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She also said it was highly likely

that the police officer

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taken ill at the scene

in Salisbury was exposed

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to the same nerve agent

as Sergei and Yulia Skripal.

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Counter terrorism officers

are trying to identify

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the source of the toxin.

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Richard Galpin reports.

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Much of the investigation now is

focusing on who carried out the

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attempted murder here in Salisbury

last Sunday. In which the Russian

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double agent Sergei Skripal and his

daughter Yulia ingested deadly nerve

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agent. But at the local hospital, it

is now clear the policeman who was

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also contaminated after rushing to

help them when they collapsed is

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recovering.

The police are working

closely...

In Parliament this

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morning the Government promised a

robust response once it is clear who

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was behind the attack.

The use of a

nerve agent on UK soil is a brazen

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and reckless act. This was attempted

murder in the most cruel and public

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way. People are right to want to

know who to hold to account. But if

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we are to be rigorous in this

investigation, we must avoid

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speculation and allow the police to

carry on their investigation.

The

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horrifying effects of a nerve agents

have been seen in several parts of

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the world in recent years, even

though their use is banned. Hundreds

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suffocated to death in this sarin

gas attack in the rebel held areas

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of Syria in 2013. Last year another

nerve agent, VX, was used by the

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Korean regime. Generally it is only

governments which develop and store

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nerve agents.

Making nerve agents is

not the sort of stuff you can knock

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up in your back shed, it needs a

sophisticated laboratory, highly

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trained and experienced scientists

that only we really find in

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state-run institutions.

So for those

investigating the attack in

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Salisbury, the range of likely

culprits has narrowed significantly,

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with Russia probably now the prime

suspect.

The British authorities

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will be looking for substantive

proof of a link between the use of

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this agent and the Russians in

particular. It's not only

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governments who use this sort of

thing, sarin was

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thing, sarin was used in the Tokyo

Metro a few years ago, nevertheless

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the high probability is it is the

Russians.

There is much still to be

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uncovered in the investigation, but

for the family... Sergei Skripal's

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brother died in Russia and the

family believe the deaths are

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suspicious.

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Our Home Affairs Correspondent Leila

Nathoo is outside Sergei Skripal's

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house in Salisbury.

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I am at Sergei Skripal's house and

there has been a flurry of activity

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in the last hour or so, the most

activity we have seen to days. We

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had a number of ambulances turning

up here, and an incident response

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team. Police have set up a large

tent here, there are also tends in

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the driveway and back garden too so

it looks like there will be a

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lengthy operation here. As far as

Salisbury city centre goes, there

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Salisbury city centre goes, there is

a police tent near the bench where

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Sergei Skripal and his daughter was

found, Zizzi restaurant is cordoned

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off, so a number of sites of

interest here. Wiltshire Police is

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saying the officer who was

hospitalised after being one of the

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first on the scene to response to

the call-out, he is now described as

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being in a serious but stable

condition. He is conscious, talking

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and engaging. Sergei Skripal and

Yulia are said to be critical but

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stable. The police are putting a

timeline together of their

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movements, having lunch at Zizzi

restaurant at 1:30pm, then going

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into the pub, later found slumped

and collapsed on the bench. When did

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they get exposed to this nerve

agent? How was it ingested, was it

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airborne? Who was administered by?

And how did it get into Salisbury

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city centre the country?

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Our Science Editor

David Shukman is here.

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In terms of the substance, what are

investigators looking for, David?

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There is a huge amount we don't know

but the phrase nerve agent covers a

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lot of possibilities. It points to

the fact this was manufactured

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probably in some state institution.

These are not something you can cook

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up in the kitchen. In Japan some

people succeeded but it took a long

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time and it is hazardous. We also

know nerve agents attacks the

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nervous system by definition, that

is what they do, and the symptoms

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eyewitnesses describe match that,

namely convulsions, difficulty

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breathing, frothing at the mouth,

all pointing to the use of these

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nerve agents. I think beyond that,

we are into a phase where there is

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detective work into trying to find

out where the substance came from.

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There is a rather weird branch of

science that does this, looking for

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what they called markers in the

chemical, little clues that might

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indicate where the substance was

made. There are clues that can be

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found that point to a particular

government or a particular source.

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Whether they can do that this time,

I don't know.

OK, for now thank you.

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Our Chief Political Correspondent

Vicki Young is in Westminster.

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We heard strong words from the Home

Secretary, will we have more than

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words at any point?

That was

certainly what MPs were calling for.

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It was striking the difference in

tone from Amber Rudd today to that

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of Boris Johnson a few days ago when

he spoke directly about Russia

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saying they were a malign and

disruptive force. Amber Rudd being

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more careful with her language, she

was keen to say that if there was

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evidence and proof Russia was behind

this, then the UK would be ready to

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act. When pushed on this, she said

in other cases the UK has been

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outspoken in its criticism of Russia

and will go further if we need to do

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so, which begs the question what

exactly might she be thinking about?

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Where were outspoken words from a

Conservative MP who said what was

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going on here was a brazen act of

war by Russia, he said it was

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humiliating our country. There are

many people who agree with that but

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it is much more likely we will see

an extension of sanctions, of

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stopping visas for some people come

into this country, freezing of

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assets. The likelihood of cutting

off diplomatic ties though, I don't

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think that will happen.

Thank you.

The rest of the day's news now.

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A commuter has been describing

to a court how her hair caught fire

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when a bomb went off on a London

underground train last September.

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Ahmed Hassan, who's 18,

denies attempted murder and causing

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an explosion likely to endanger

life, at Parsons Green station.

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June Kelly is at the Old Bailey.

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Some very dramatic and distressing

evidence here at the Old Bailey this

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morning as passengers who were on

that train last September describe

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what happened. The first witness we

heard from gave her evidence from

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behind a screen and she is remaining

anonymous. She was badly burned, she

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suffered burns to her face, hands

and legs, and she said that during

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her evidence that her coat was

burning and her tights actually

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melted. She broke down in tears

during her evidence and had to pause

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at one point. She said she had seen

the defendants a short time before

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on the train and seen this bag he

had with him which she thought

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looked odd. The prosecution say that

in that bag was born with a bucket.

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Another witness called Amy Colville

described how her hair caught fire.

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She said, there was a loud, cracking

bang, then a wall of glass came past

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me, and flames were passing over

her. Another witness was very upset,

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she sobbed throughout her evidence.

She said her hair was coming out in

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chunks and her face was burning.

Another witness said his face was

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burned and he lost his eyebrows and

eyelashes. Throughout all of this

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evidence the defendant sat in the

dock with his eyes closed and his

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head down.

Thank you.

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Two 17-year-old boys have died

and seven people have been injured

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in an accident involving three cars

near Thirsk in North Yorkshire.

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Police say the vehicles

collided on the A61 shortly

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before 9.30pm last night.

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Five adults and two children

were taken to hospital.

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Police have appealed for anyone who

saw what happened to contact them.

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Two 18-year-old men have been

arrested, after a student

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at Nottingham Trent University said

she was subjected to racist abuse

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through the door of her room.

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Rufaro Chisango said people chanted

"we hate the blacks"

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and she posted a video

of what happened on social media.

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Suspected domestic abusers could be

electronically tagged or banned

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from drinking alcohol,

under new Government proposals

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for England and Wales.

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Draft legislation has been put out

for public consultation,

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as Lucinda Adam reports.

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Euleen Hope suffered a decade of

abuse at the hands of her

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ex-partner, emotional but also

physical. She ended up in hospital

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more than a dozen times. She says

she used to grow her fringe long to

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cover her black eyes.

Some people

say to me, why didn't you get out

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sooner? If you leave a relationship,

do you want to be looking over your

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shoulder? That person could be still

after you because he already told

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me, he will say when it is over.

Then he

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threatened me and told me he would

organise for someone to throw acid

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in my face.

In 2015 the man was

eventually jailed for grievous

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bodily harm and assault after her

sister called the police. Today the

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Prime Minister and Home Secretary

met just a few of the 2 million

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people, mostly women, who suffer

domestic abuse each year.

What we

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are proposing today is a really

ambitious sea change in people's

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approach to domestic abuse, really

bringing it out from where it has

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been hidden. This is not just about

the really nasty attacks that take

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place but it's about building on the

work we have already done on

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coercive control and introducing new

forms of abuse to be considered by

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the judges.

Among the proposals,

broadening the legal definition of

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domestic abuse to include physical,

psychological, sexual and emotional

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but also economic abuse. Tougher

sentences the cases involving

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children, and protection orders that

could see abuses electronically

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tagged or banned from drinking

alcohol.

We are pleased to see the

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spotlight on financial and economic

abuse, this can be anything from

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having your wages taken away from

you by your partner to committing

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benefit fraud in your name.

The

consultation period for the proposed

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new laws will last 12 weeks.

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More people in England had

non-urgent operations postponed

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by the NHS in January compared

to the same period last year.

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Waiting time performance in A&E

departments has also hit its lowest

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level since targets were introduced.

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Our health correspondent

Adina Campbell is with me.

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Talk us through the figures.

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We all know that the winter period

puts more pressure on the NHS but it

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is now clear just how much of an

impact it has had on routine

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operations so if we take a look at

the number of routine operations

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which had to be postponed in January

this year, that was down by 23,000

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compared to the same period last

year. Why is this happening? There

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are number of reasons, we've got to

take into account the cold weather

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but also things like flu and

norovirus as as the ongoing

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pressures such as social care with

some older patients stock in beds in

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hospital rather than getting the

right kind of care at home. We've

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also had figures through for A&E

performance in England as well and

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that is at its lowest level for 14

years. The target is 95% of patients

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being seen in A&E within four hours

but in February this year that was

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down by 85%, the lowest on record.

We have seen the pictures of

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patients being left in corridors

waiting to be seen and the pressures

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on Ambulance Services as well so

this combined with an ageing

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population, staff shortages, as well

as our own lifestyle choices with

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things like our diet and smoking,

all of this puts the NHS under

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incredible pressure.

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Our top story this lunchtime:

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The Home Secretary says

the attempted murder of a former

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Russian spy and his daughter

using a nerve agent

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is an outrageous crime.

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And still to come:

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Why the recent freezing weather

means drivers will have to contend

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with even more potholes.

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Coming up in sport:

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"I thought I was in trouble."

0:16:040:16:06

Snowboarder Owen Pick says "it's

amazing" after being named

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as Paralympics GB flagbearer

for the opening ceremony

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in South Korea on Friday.

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Brexit is distracting the Government

from making changes needed

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to help boost the economy -

that's a warning from business

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leaders, as they gather

at the annual British Chambers

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of Commerce conference.

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The group's Chairman says

the government can do more

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than one thing at once,

and has called for

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stronger leadership.

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Nina Warhurst has been visiting

companies in Staffordshire,

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where voters overwhelmingly

backed Brexit.

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Staffordshire is home

to a million people,

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for the manufacturers,

the service industries

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and the trades men and women,

the Brexit count down is on.

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A drop in the pound has

brought a big boost

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for export sales in Hixon.

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Two thirds of electrics they build

and the metal they shape go abroad.

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But that could change.

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This piece of machinery puts

all the safety edges

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on and the folds very

consistently very quickly.

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Do they stay mainly in the UK?

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Yes, absolutely.

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Talk of tariffs means they're

building their British client-base

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and mass production for the eurozone

will be made in Romania.

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Fewer borders means more

predictable profits.

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Those changes, are they as a result

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of Brexit directly?

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No, I wouldn't say directly.

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We have been sort

of doing this anyway.

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What this has allowed us to do

with the uncertainty of Brexit

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is focus our mind a bit more

in transferring goods.

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So Brexit has made you think

in a different way would you say?

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Absolutely.

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Staffordshire is a county

with a rich industrial heritage

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and you look to the future

and the Chamber of Commerce says

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they can grow the local

economy here by 50% over

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the next three years.

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But some businesses say

it is impossible to make any

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predictions until they know

the exact terms of the Brexit deals.

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We head south to Weeping Cross,

a community which relies

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heavily on this business.

0:18:050:18:10

Here they say a fluctuating pound

and not knowing the final deal makes

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importing uncertain.

0:18:130:18:17

It can mean that patients

go without medication.

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You would say that has happened,

because of Brexit someone has gone

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without their medication?

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I can't necessarily link it

to Brexit, but it does have a link

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to currency fluctuations.

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And do you worry that

because of that ambiguity,

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we will see a time where you can't

be certain with patients

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about the supply of medication?

0:18:330:18:34

Very much so.

0:18:340:18:36

One county, 33,000 businesses -

Staffordshire is edging closer

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to seeing how their past decision

will impact their financial future.

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Nina Warhurst, BBC News.

0:18:430:18:48

John Lewis staff will see

their bonus cut for the fifth

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consecutive year, after the retail

chain revealed a fall in profits.

0:18:500:18:54

The John Lewis Partnership -

which is owned by John Lewis

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and Waitrose employees -

announced that this year's bonus

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will be 5% of annual salary,

down from 6% last year,

0:18:590:19:02

with 85,000 staff sharing

a pot worth £74 million.

0:19:020:19:10

The public spending watchdog has

warned that many councils in England

0:19:150:19:18

face becoming financially

unsustainable because of the

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increasing demands of social care.

0:19:190:19:21

The National Audit Office calculates

that the money local authorities

0:19:210:19:23

receive from central government has

been cut by nearly 50% since 2010.

0:19:230:19:26

Alison Holt reports.

0:19:260:19:33

It is lunch time at think day centre

in Surrey. Here, people with brain

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injuries and other conditions can

socialise and take part in

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activities. Many have their care

paid for by the county down till. --

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council.

We like its legs. The legs

are brilliant.

The report says local

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authorities now spend more than half

of their budgets on providing social

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care. Sue, who has multiple

sclerosis, describes the centre as a

0:19:580:20:02

lifeline.

I come here only twice a

week. I would come more if there was

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the funding for it. But apart from

that, it is amazing.

Councils like

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Surrey have duty to support people

who are older and disabled as well

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as providing children's services.

Across the board, demand is

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increasing. But the National Audit

Office report says 2010 the money

0:20:290:20:36

English councils have got from

central Government has been cut by

0:20:360:20:41

nearly 50%. Services like bin

collections and roads and libraries

0:20:410:20:44

have had funding reduced by nearly a

third over the same time. And with

0:20:440:20:48

councils using their savings to

balance the books, one in ten will

0:20:480:20:54

have exhausted their reserves within

three years.

We are calling for a

0:20:540:20:59

plan for the long-term financial

sustainability of sector. What we

0:20:590:21:03

want local Government to do and fund

them for that or make funding

0:21:030:21:06

available. Alongside that social

care needs a funding solution as

0:21:060:21:10

well.

In Surrey, one of wealthiest

parts of country, as well as raising

0:21:100:21:18

Council Tax and making more cuts to

services like bins and roads, the

0:21:180:21:22

local authority is dipping into its

reserves again.

You see what the

0:21:220:21:26

snow has done. The council leaderer

knows they have to change. It has

0:21:260:21:32

been difficult to make sure we could

come in this year with a budget with

0:21:320:21:39

the minimum tax level increases that

we had to do. We had have to use 24

0:21:390:21:45

million of our reserves and 15

million of our capital receipts to

0:21:450:21:49

help. The Government said a new

council funding settlement has been

0:21:490:21:56

approved to help keep services

running and that will mean a real

0:21:560:22:00

terms increase in the money they

get.

0:22:000:22:03

The recent cold weather will lead

to an increase in potholes,

0:22:030:22:06

according to motoring experts.

0:22:060:22:07

The RAC say pressures on council

spending means roads

0:22:070:22:09

across the country were already

plagued by potholes

0:22:090:22:11

and that freezing water in road

cracks has accentuated the problem.

0:22:110:22:14

Charlotte Gallagher reports.

0:22:140:22:21

The severe weather over the past

week has been causing misery for

0:22:240:22:29

drivers. And the bad news is the

elements are now causing even more

0:22:290:22:34

problems. The RAC is warning the

freezing weather is leading to more

0:22:340:22:42

potholes on your roads. Some

campaigners have had enough and are

0:22:420:22:46

taking matters into their own hands.

In Oxfordshire some residents are

0:22:460:22:53

planting flowers in potholes to

raise awareness.

We have had a lot

0:22:530:22:57

of people doing it. Loads of

comments on Facebook. And there has

0:22:570:23:00

been a couple that have been filled

in. Badly but they have been filled

0:23:000:23:05

in.

The cold weather makes potholes

even worse. Because water gets into

0:23:050:23:11

the cracks on the road, freezes and

then expands, further weakening the

0:23:110:23:16

road surface. The Department for

Transport says knows people are

0:23:160:23:22

concerned about it giving councils

just under £300 million to fix

0:23:220:23:27

potholes. And the rise in potholes

is bad for drivers' wallets too with

0:23:270:23:35

bills runs to hundreds of pounds.

Tyres, broken wheels, in some cases

0:23:350:23:44

broken wish bones, parts on cars

that have been forced back because

0:23:440:23:47

of the impact and in some cases it

is written cars off.

The RAC warns

0:23:470:23:54

the problem isn't going away.

A bad

impact, but we feel it will get

0:23:540:24:00

worse and we may see more potholes

in spring than daffodils.

The local

0:24:000:24:09

Government said councils are fixing

a pothole every 19 seconds. The cold

0:24:090:24:14

snap will make that job even harder.

0:24:140:24:21

After Team GB's most successful

Winter Olympics ever,

0:24:220:24:24

attention now turns to Paralympians

as the games get

0:24:240:24:26

underway in Pyeongchang.

0:24:260:24:27

The British team will be led

at tomorrow's opening ceremony

0:24:270:24:31

by their flagbearer,

the Snowboarder Owen Pick -

0:24:310:24:33

who lost his leg while serving

with the army in Afghanistan.

0:24:330:24:35

Kate Grey has been speaking to him.

0:24:350:24:39

Soldier turned snowboarder,

Owen Pick is familiar

0:24:390:24:41

with the prestige of

carrying his country's flag.

0:24:410:24:47

After losing his leg in Afghanistan,

he has been on quite

0:24:470:24:50

a journey to now lead his country

at a Paralympic Games.

0:24:500:24:52

I didn't expect it, it was very

much a surprise to me.

0:24:520:24:56

And, yeah, it does mean a lot,

obviously the flag and victory's

0:24:560:24:58

super-important us to.

0:24:580:25:00

So it is nice to be given

the opportunity to carry

0:25:000:25:02

it out here.

0:25:020:25:05

Owen is one of three

snowboarders who will be

0:25:050:25:07

representing Britain

at the Paralympics for

0:25:070:25:08

the first time ever.

0:25:080:25:10

And for the IPC President,

Andrew Parsons, it will be his

0:25:100:25:13

first games in charge.

0:25:130:25:15

One of his biggest challenges has

been dealing with the

0:25:150:25:17

Russian doping scandal.

0:25:170:25:19

So the situation has

changed, has progressed,

0:25:190:25:22

we are now in the situation

where we can say with a

0:25:220:25:24

degree of confidence

that those who are competing

0:25:240:25:26

here are as clean as any athlete.

0:25:260:25:29

So it is difficult, but you know

taking it seriously in a very

0:25:290:25:32

consistent way, open with dialogue,

it makes a little less difficult.

0:25:320:25:38

And the weather is another

thing to overcome.

0:25:380:25:42

During the Olympics,

it was high speed winds and freezing

0:25:420:25:45

temperatures.

0:25:450:25:46

Now it's the unusually snowy

conditions which could

0:25:460:25:48

prove disruptive.

0:25:480:25:51

We are not worried.

0:25:510:25:52

Of course we have

Plans B and C, so we

0:25:520:25:54

have different scenarios.

0:25:540:25:57

We have a lot of snow

today and probably this

0:25:570:26:00

evening, so we had to see how this

affects the opening ceremony for

0:26:000:26:03

example, which is in

an outdoor stadium.

0:26:030:26:06

In the last few days some training

has been cancelled as a

0:26:060:26:08

result of snow.

0:26:080:26:16

Regardless of the conditions,

the British team believe

0:26:160:26:18

they're the prepared ever been ahead

of a Winter Paralympics,

0:26:180:26:20

with 17 athletes set to compete

across five sports.

0:26:200:26:22

All hoping to turn the years

of planning and preparation into

0:26:220:26:25

Paralympic glory.

0:26:250:26:31

It is just after 10am and the snow

has eased off. In the last hour we

0:26:310:26:36

have received news from the

international Paralympic committee

0:26:360:26:39

that after long negotiations, the

decision has been made that North

0:26:390:26:44

Korea and South Korea will march

separately at the opening ceremony.

0:26:440:26:54

The IPC suggested was because it was

North Korea's first Paralympics. The

0:26:540:26:59

IPC respect the decision made by the

North and South Korean delegations.

0:26:590:27:06

Thank you very much. Enjoy the

competition.

0:27:060:27:10

One of Paralympics GB's

big hopes for the games

0:27:100:27:13

is the wheelchair curling team.

0:27:130:27:14

Nikki Fox went to the

national curling centre

0:27:140:27:16

in Stirling to meet them.

0:27:160:27:24

Final day of training before

heading to South Korea.

0:27:250:27:30

It's not the team's first

Winter Paralympics - four of the

0:27:300:27:32

five members won bronze

in Sochi four years ago.

0:27:320:27:35

But it's all new for Hugh,

or Shugg as his team-mates

0:27:350:27:37

like to call him.

0:27:370:27:38

He is making his Paralympic debut.

0:27:380:27:40

He was 24 when he was diagnosed

with multiple sclerosis.

0:27:400:27:44

When I got diagnosed with MS

and you start losing your

0:27:440:27:48

functions and your abilities,

your confidence goes and I became

0:27:480:27:51

more or less house-bound.

0:27:510:27:53

Getting into curling,

confidence just grew and

0:27:530:27:55

putting everything into it

and just going for it.

0:27:550:27:59

It's taken some adjustment

for Hugh to get this far.

0:27:590:28:01

His first sport was rugby.

0:28:010:28:04

I'd stepped back

before my diagnosis, I

0:28:040:28:05

wasn't playing as much, but I always

had it in my mind that I could

0:28:050:28:09

go back.

0:28:090:28:10

In my mind, I was like,

I could be the greatest!

0:28:100:28:13

Mentally it is very much

more demanding, you're

0:28:130:28:16

constantly thinking and looking

for different shots,

0:28:160:28:17

different angles the whole time.

0:28:170:28:19

Can I have a go?

0:28:190:28:21

How do you actually direct it?

0:28:210:28:22

How do you get it in

the right position?

0:28:220:28:27

So ideally you're pointing your cue,

the delivery stick, but also the

0:28:270:28:30

head that's on this cue

helps with rotation.

0:28:300:28:36

We don't have the use of sweepers,

once we let the stone go,

0:28:360:28:40

there is nothing we can

do to influence it.

0:28:400:28:42

It's going off to the right.

0:28:420:28:43

This is very difficult.

0:28:430:28:44

This is so difficult.

0:28:440:28:47

Fire away.

0:28:470:28:48

Ooh!

0:28:480:28:50

Although it is not

an easy sport, it is one

0:28:500:28:52

of people of any age

and any

0:28:520:28:55

disability to get into.

0:28:550:28:57

The team hopes that

its performance in

0:28:570:28:58

Pyeongchang will inspire

others to take it up.

0:28:580:29:00

Sign me up now!

0:29:000:29:02

Curling is more about

inclusion than exclusion.

0:29:020:29:05

All disabilities are

able to play the sport.

0:29:050:29:08

Do you feel like

ambassadors for the sport?

0:29:080:29:12

Definitely feel proud to be part

of the British squad.

0:29:120:29:14

For me, it's excitement

and looking forward to

0:29:140:29:16

getting out there.

0:29:160:29:17

We have been watching

the member and the women

0:29:170:29:20

and that inspires us and we are just

keen to get out there on the

0:29:200:29:23

ice ourself.

0:29:230:29:25

The team is aiming to win every

game, but the initial focus is

0:29:250:29:28

the round robin stage,

with the first match

0:29:280:29:30

against Norway on Saturday.

0:29:300:29:31

Nicky Fox, BBC News, Stirling.

0:29:310:29:37

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have

been visiting Birmingham,

0:29:370:29:39

to launch a project to mark

International Women's Day,

0:29:390:29:42

aimed at inspiring female students

to take up careers in science,

0:29:420:29:44

technology and

engineering industries.

0:29:440:29:48

The royal couple spoke

to crowds outside the event -

0:29:480:29:50

some of whom had waited for several

hours to see them on the latest leg

0:29:500:29:54

of their tour of the country,

in advance of their wedding in May.

0:29:540:30:02

Now the weather forecast again. Snow

again for some people?

0:30:040:30:11

Now the weather forecast again. Snow

again for some people? No it won't

0:30:110:30:13

leave us. This is a weather watcher

scene in Yorkshire, which was badly

0:30:130:30:20

hit with several centimetres of snow

causing disruption. Other areas

0:30:200:30:25

started the day milder with sunshine

and a few rain showers. For the rest

0:30:250:30:30

of today, it is an improving

picture, certainly in the north-east

0:30:300:30:34

of the country. The snow and the

rain clearing off into the North Sea

0:30:340:30:38

A lot of sunshine for many places

this afternoon. Lighter winds in the

0:30:380:30:42

south. But still gusty in East

Anglia for a while. Temperatures up

0:30:420:30:48

to 10 degrees. And there will be

further showers in Scotland, these

0:30:480:30:52

falling as snow over the hills.

Further showers in western areas

0:30:520:30:56

tonight and the odd heavy one. But

most places will be dry with clear

0:30:560:31:01

skies and it will be another cold

one with some frost and ice where we

0:31:010:31:05

have had showers and some freezing

fog patches. The far south-west of

0:31:050:31:09

England, thicker cloud and

temperatures falling no lower than

0:31:090:31:15

four or five. We have low pressure

coming from the south-west bringing

0:31:150:31:21

milder air and strengthening winds.

We start off with a chilly note.

0:31:210:31:26

Some sunshine around. Northern

Ireland and central and southern

0:31:260:31:30

Scotland and northern and central

England. Some showers in northern

0:31:300:31:34

Scotland. Further south it will be

turning wet we are the rain pushing

0:31:340:31:39

through the south and into parts of

Wales as well. But the temperatures

0:31:390:31:43

will be coming up as the rain moves

north. It bill a wet weekend at

0:31:430:31:50

times and there is likely to be some

snow on the leading edge of the

0:31:500:31:55

front during Friday night and

Saturday across Scotland. Elsewhere

0:31:550:32:00

it will be wet, but given some

sunshine following behind in the

0:32:000:32:04

south, we could see temperatures up

to 14 or 15 Celsius. That is much

0:32:040:32:10

milder than what we have been used

to. That weather front continues to

0:32:100:32:16

move north on Sunday. You can see

this feature on the east coast, it

0:32:160:32:19

may bring some rain. But we have

another area of low pressure moving

0:32:190:32:28

into the south. Elsewhere apart from

some cloud we should see some

0:32:280:32:31

sunshine and it should be dry.

Milder further north into Scotland,

0:32:310:32:36

ten degrees there through the

central belt. But given sunshine in

0:32:360:32:38

the south we could see 14 degrees

again. Good news for those fed up

0:32:380:32:46

with the cold. Thank you.

0:32:460:32:47

again. Good news for those fed up

with the cold. Thank you. Raise

0:32:470:32:50

A reminder of our main

story this lunchtime.

0:32:500:32:52

The Home Secretary says

the attempted murder of a former

0:32:520:32:54

Russian spy and his daughter

using a nerve agent

0:32:540:32:56

is an outrageous crime.

0:32:560:33:01

The use of a nerve agent is a brazen

and reckless act. This was a

0:33:010:33:07

attempted murder in the most cruel

and public way.

0:33:070:33:12

That's all from the BBC News at One

so it's goodbye from me -

0:33:120:33:15

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