15/11/2017 Breakfast

Hello, this is Breakfast,

with Dan Walker and Louise Minchin.

Gunfire and explosions

on the streets of Zimbabwe,

but the military deny

they have staged a coup.

Soldiers have taken over the state

television building,

and in a broadcast, they said

President Robert Mugabe is safe.

Good morning, it is

Wednesday 15 November.

Also this morning: Boris Johnson

is to meet the husband of a British

woman being held in an Iranian jail,

after the Foreign Secretary

was accused of making

her situation worse.

A warning that millions of lives

in Yemen are at risk,

as the United Nations says

the situation is getting worse.

Good morning. Can the latest

technology help us get more out of

our workers and businesses?

Productivity problems are a big

issue for the Chancellor in next

week's budget, so I am at this trade

fair show of innovation this morning

to see if I can find any solutions.

In sport: Delight for Denmark,

but despair for the Republic

of Ireland, beaten in their World

Cup qualifying playoff.

And Carol has the weather.

A very good morning.

Good morning.

It is a fairly cloudy start across

England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

We have also got some patchy mist

and fog and some rain and drizzle.

The brightest skies today are going

to be across Scotland. I will have

more in 15 minutes.

Good morning.

First, our main story: Soldiers

in Zimbabwe have broadcast a message

on state-run television,

after shooting and explosions

were heard in the capital, Harare.

Military officers have denied

the move amounted to a coup,

and say President Mugabe

and his family are safe.

Our correspondent

Jon Donnison has more.

Could Zimbabwe be on the verge of a

coup? An increase in military

vehicles and soldiers on the

outskirts of the capital yesterday

of first raised alarm. Overnight,

soldiers took control of the

country's state roared caster. But,

in a televised address, the military

denied a coup was taking place,

insisting President Mugabe was safe.

We are only targeting criminals

around him who are committing crimes

that are causing social and economic

suffering in the country, in order

to bring them to justice.

But it

came just days after the head of the

Armed Forces had threatened to take

action over the sacking of a senior

politician.

We must demand those

behind the current treacherous

shenanigans that, when it comes to

matters of protecting our country,

the military will step in.

The

general was referring to President

Mugabe's sacking of his number two,

Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa.

Once seen as a loyal deputy, his

dismissal was seen as a move by

President Mugabe to hand power to

his wife, Grace. But on the streets

of Harare, some welcomed the

possible intervention by the

military to block such a move.

What

is needed right now is to remove

this Mugabe family in power.

If

there is this implosion, the

implosion is good for the citizens

of Zimbabwe.

At 93, Robert Mugabe is

the world's oldest head of state, in

power since 1980. His political

downfall has been predicted many

times before, and he is still

standing. The question: for how

long?

Our reporter Shingai Nyoka

is in the Zimbabwean capital,

Harare.

Thank you very much for joining us.

What is the latest situation where

you are?

Well, the latest situation

is that the capital appears to have

returned to normal. It is quieter

than usual, but there is no sense of

panic or fear among the people who

have left their homes, that are

going to work, or whose children are

going to school. Now, the military

took power under the cover of

nights, and there was gunfire and

there was an explosion, especially

near the state broadcaster. Also

near where President Mugabe lives.

It is not clear how many people

died, and as you mentioned, in a TV

broadcast by the military at 4am

local time this morning, they said

that this was not a coup and that

President Mugabe and his family are

safe, and that he remains the head

of state. They say that normalcy

will... That it will return to

normal when the mission is

accomplished. We understand that

several senior politicians were

arrested overnight, and there are

still reports that the airport has

tight security, soldiers and tanks

are -- that were camped at major

intersections appear to have

retreated.

The charity Save the Children warns

130 children are dying every day

in Yemen because of

malnutrition and disease.

The UN has described

the situation as the world's

worst humanitarian crisis.

An estimated 12,000 people have died

as a result of a two-year conflict

between Houthi rebels, backed

by Iran, and a Saudi-led coalition.

And we will get the latest

on the situation in Yemen

when we talk to Save

the Children after 6:30am.

The Foreign Secretary,

Boris Johnson, will meet

Richard Ratcliffe later to discuss

efforts by the UK Government

to secure the release of his wife,

who is in prison in Iran.

Mr Johnson apologised

after mistakenly claiming

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe had been

training journalists in the country,

a comment her family fear

could result in another five years

on her sentence.

Our political correspondent

Iain Watson is in Westminster

for us this morning.

Good morning to you. What exactly do

we think Boris Johnson will be able

to do here?

He has already done the

first thing, I think, as you have

suggested, he said to a committee of

MPs that he thought that Nazanin

Zaghari-Ratcliffe was training

journalist is when she was in Iran.

Earlier this week, in the Commons,

under some pressure, he made it very

clear that he was wrong to say that.

The government's edition is very

clear that she was on holiday at the

time. When Richard Ratcliffe meets

the Foreign Secretary today he will

be pushing or as Johnson to extend

what is called diplomatic protection

to his wife. That is not diplomatic

immunity, it doesn't let her off any

political charges, but it escalates

the dispute with to a formal

international legal dispute, and he

is hoping that would put some

pressure on the Arabian regime.

Downing Street have indicated that

that is an option, but what they

want to make sure is that what they

are doing would actually help

matters Zaghari-Ratcliffe, and not

affect her case -- Iranian. And the

other thing that Richard Ratcliffe

will want to do is a company Boris

Johnson on a visit to Iran later

this year.

The Government has defeated several

amendments by MPs on the first day

of debate of its key

Brexit legislation.

However, some Tory backbenchers

are lining up with opposition

parties to demand further changes,

as the EU withdrawal bill

continues its passage

through the Commons.

Our political correspondent

Leila Nathoo reports.

Now is the chance for Parliament to

have its say over what kind of

Brexit we get, a key piece of the

government's Brexit legislation has

returned to the Commons, and MPs are

trying to tinker with it to

influence ministers' approach.

European Union withdraw bill.

Yesterday MPs began considering some

of the proposed changes. The

government saw off exposed

challenges but the debate exposed

divisions on the Tory backbenchers,

with some Tory MPs minded to rebel.

Everybody has got more and more

brittle, more and more unwilling to

listen, more and more persuaded that

every suggestion that has been made

is in some way a form of treason.

This morning, they have been

labelled by one newspaper as the

Brexit mutineers. A number of them

are siding with Labour to oppose the

government's plan to write the

Brexit date into law, concerned that

raises the chance of Britain

crashing out of the EU without a

deal.

If negotiations go to the

wire, both we and the EU 27 might

recognise the need for an extra

week.

We are going to go through the

process of making sure, as a

responsible government, that our

country is ready to leave the

European Union without a deal, if

that proves necessary.

Brexiteers,

though, see this as the chance to

finally take back control.

Millions

of people who died in those world

wars died for a reason. It was to do

with sustaining the freedom and

democracy of this house.

The ayes to

the right, 318...

There will be

further votes down the line. With

tensions running high, the

government's authority is sure to be

tested.

The UK's highest court will decide

later whether Scotland can finally

enforce its policy of a minimum

pricing for alcohol.

Legislation was approved

by the Scottish Parliament five

years ago, but has been tied up

in court challenges,

amid claims it

breaches European law.

Ministers say a 50p-per-unit minimum

would help tackle what they called

Scotland's unhealthy

relationship with drink.

James Shaw reports.

It was five years ago that the

Scottish Parliament voted in favour

of a minimum price per unit of

alcohol. Since then, it has been

opposed every step of the way by the

Scotch Whisky Association, which

represents producers, including big

multinationals. It argues that the

law is anti-competitive, because it

would restrict free trade within the

European Union. Supporters of

minimum pricing say it has the

potential to seriously reduced the

harm done by misuse of alcohol. The

main aim of the policy is to

increase the price of the cheapest

alcoholic drinks, to reduce their

consumption. A two litre bottle of

dry cider would cost at least £4.20,

but it would also mean the normal

strength bottle of wine would be no

less than about £4.70, and a bottle

of whiskey at least £14.

The

researchers who have done all the

modelling show that a moderate

drinker would pay an extra £2.25 per

year under a minimum unit pricing.

That seems a very small price to pay

for massive health benefits, the

saving of 60 lives a year. I think

probably most moderate drinkers

would be happy with that.

This

decision doesn't just a matter in

Scotland. Wales is also planning a

minimum price per alcohol, and

pressure is mounting in England, as

well.

The family of the British explorer

Benedict Allen says he has gone

missing during an expedition

to Papua New Guinea.

His wife says he missed his flights

home, and that she hasn't heard

from him for three weeks.

Mr Allen, who has made

numerous series for the BBC,

had been trying to track

down an indigenous tribe

for a documentary.

You might remember yesterday we were

talking about that whopping great

diamond.

A necklace featuring one

of the biggest diamonds ever offered

at auction has been sold for more

than £25 million in Geneva.

The colourless gem,

which is a whopping 163 carats,

has been described as the most

beautiful diamond in the world.

The finished necklace,

which is made from white gold,

emeralds, and even more diamonds,

took more than 1,700 hours to make.

The buyer's identity

hasn't been revealed.

I expect if you were wearing it, it

is quite obvious.

Maybe they are

planning a surprise for their

partner.

What did you do at work

today?

Got you this.

That would go

down quite well until you discover

that was 25 million quid. If you

have it knocking around... Good

morning. Did anyone notice Roy

Keane's body language last night,

watching the Republic of Ireland?

Frustrated, angry?

All of the above.

They started well.

It is so

disappointing for them.

In the sports news this morning:

Ireland's World Cup dreams

are shattered, as dreadful

defending and a hat-trick

from Christian Eriksen sees them

demolished by Denmark in Dublin.

Martin O'Neill's side had scored

first, but were beaten 5-1

on the night.

No such drama at Wembley,

as England's youngsters played out

a second consecutive 0-0 draw,

this time against Brazil.

Wales also blooded their youngsters,

in what could be Chris Coleman's

final game in charge.

Tom Lawrence's goal

was the highlight,

although they conceded a late goal

to draw with Panama.

And Roger Federer cruises

into the semi-finals of the ATP

World Tour Finals in London,

beating a battling Alexander Zverev.

Well held, Sally.

I wasn't going to

tell anyone.

It is the silent

sneeze!

It was happening during the

sport.

You control it over the

years, you can just sneeze and no

noise.

Like a cat, have you ever

seen a cat sneeze? It is the same

thing.

What a lovely description.

You do sneeze like a cat, in the

nicest possible way!

I think it is a

skill I have developed over many

years. Carroll, very good morning.

Lovely to see you.

Lovely to see you

as well, good morning, everyone.

Lovely to see you.

Lovely to see you

as well, good morning, everyone. We

have some mist and fog around, but

later on it will brighten up. The

exception to that is if you are

across Scotland, northern England

and parts of Northern Ireland, where

it will be a bright start from the

word go. We have some clearer skies

so it is nippy here. A lot of cloud

through the south-east, through the

Midlands, heading down across the

south of England, some patchy rain,

so mist and fog, and the same across

southern counties of England

generally. Channel Islands off to a

largely dry and bright start and as

we push into the south-west is

murkier for you. Again, a fair bit

of cloud around, some misty

conditions, some dampness, drizzle

and hill fog as well. Wednesday, a

similar story, not as cold. 10

degrees in Aberystwyth. For Northern

Ireland, some fog for you as well,

the cloud continuing to break later

on. In the North of Scotland, clear

skies already. Here it is chilly,

some showers in the north, and the

same in Scotland and the far north

of northern England. A chilly start

it will be a bright one and there

will be some sunshine as we go

through the course of the day. So,

speaking of through the course of

the day, the mist and fog will

slowly lift but we will hang on to

the greyer skies across parts of

Lincolnshire, the Midlands and East

Anglia, for example, through the

day. Out into the west, some

brighter skies coming in but by the

end of the day, some rain showing

its hand across the north-west of

Scotland, and here as well the wind

will strengthen, not just across the

north-west but the northern mainland

and the Outer Hebrides. That

continues through the course of the

night. Through the course of the

night, the weather front producing

that rain continues to sink steadily

south eastwards. Ahead of it, some

dampness in the air. There will also

be a fair bit of cloud and one or

two clear spells. Temperatures

holding on in Wales and south-west

England at ten or 11, but clearer

conditions following on behind this

weather front, which is a cold

front. By tomorrow it will continue

its descent across the country,

bringing heavy rain across Cumbria

and south-west Scotland, for

example, but as it pushes down

towards the south-east to rain and

it will be lighter. On either side

of it we have some sunshine.

Brighter skies in the south tomorrow

compared with today. Noting the

temperatures, seven to ten in the

north, milder conditions further

south, at 13 or 14. As we head on

into Friday we have another band of

wet and windy weather across the far

north of Scotland. The rest of the

UK there will be some cloud around,

it will be bright, and there will be

some sunshine in the south. We are

hanging onto a bit of cloud and have

done for a couple of days.

Temperatures are going down, though.

Seven or eight will be familiar

territory in the north but they are

spreading further south as we head

into Friday. And then, for Saturday,

there will be some sunny spells.

There will also be some showers

around, and it will feel a bit the

nippy side, with a chilly wind.

Sunday's forecast at the moment is a

little bit uncertain in terms of

timing, but it looks as if some of

us at least will see some rain.

You're watching

Breakfast from BBC News.

The main stories this morning:

Soldiers have taken over the state

broadcaster in Zimbabwe

but the military insists

it is not a coup and that

President Mugabe is safe.

The Foreign Secretary,

Boris Johnson, is to hold his first

face-to-face meeting today

with the husband of a British woman

being held in an Iranian jail.

Shall we have a look at the papers?

Lest a comparison. Brexit mutineers

is how the Daily Telegraph have

written it up. They have done

this... It's a gallery, they have

written it up as if it were a

rogues' gallery. I was going to

compare it to another gallery, which

is the Daily Mirror, I'm A

Celebrities starting shortly, lots

of the papers talking about that

already.

I played a crucial role in

that in handing it to you. Half of

pensioners are taking at least five

drugs a day. We mentioned this story

in our headlines, TV explorer

vanishes searching for lost tribe of

headhunters, Benedict Allen, he

missed his flight home. A few more

details on that later on. Let's have

a look at this one.

The front page

of the Times. I don't know if you

saw this yesterday but Mo Farah is

now Sir Mo, he had his moment

yesterday and received his

knighthood from the Queen. Of Lee

pictures, maybe we will see them

later. -- lovely pictures.

I haven't

even spoken yet!

On this other

story, Theresa May was talking about

this, Russian Twitter accounts

posted almost 45,000 messages about

Brexit in the 48 hours in the run-up

to the referendum in a co-ordinated

attempt to sow discord.

Remember the

Westminster Bridge attack and the

picture of the Muslim woman on her

phone?

I remember that.

That was

from a Russian bot as well.

They

took the photo and they said that

she was ignoring people but that

wasn't the case at all.

It wasn't

even a proper user.

Sally is

interested! The back page of the

Daily Express, lots of talk about

Ireland in the papers, this is what

the Express have gone with. Inside

they go into more detail, basically

saying they should start practising

the penalties now. A couple of 0-0

draws. Against Germany and Brazil.

You are more optimistic.

If you draw

those games... That is a point in a

World Cup group.

You don't draw your

way to a World Cup final, do you?

Do

you?

You can scab your way through

and win on a penalty shootout!

Really quickly, this is after Sergio

Aguero, there was a scare last

night, he fainted in the dressing

room at half-time when Argentina

played their friendly against

Nigeria. He's OK but he had a

disease there, expelling the

dressing room and had a full checkup

at hospital -- disease fell in the

dressing room.

Radio 4 listeners

starting an angry conversation about

words. -- disease spell. John

Humphrys blaming bumbling academics.

Who is at fault? Radio 4 listeners

are very upset.

People starting a

sentence with soap. Win you

interview somebody who is in the

world of PR -- with so -- win you

interview. They could -- when you

interview. I have one story for you

as well. It is in the Daily Mirror,

searching for my lost sweetheart. A

gentleman called Peter, he has put

up this sign because in his teenage

years and in his 20s, he fell in

love with this girl from Saint

Georges Park. This is in Lytham

Saint Anne is.

She might be out

there.

He went away and got married

to someone else, didn't work out,

and he put this sign up because he

wants to redefine his childhood

sweetheart. The slight issue is he

can't remember her name. -- find

again.

Thinks it might be Sarah. Is

called Peter and this is his

picture. Mystery Sarah, if you are

out there, he is looking for a girl

-- he's called Peter. She might be

called Sarah. He said he would love

to reignite their relationship and

he wants to look after her in her

old age. If anyone thinks that they

might want to be looked after by

Pete, let him know, searching for

his lost sweetheart.

The romance!

It's the main thing. Sometimes over

the years you forget crucial

details!

Thanks very much, Sally,

see you later.

To purchase a new home in England,

people can expect to pay on average

more than 7.5 times

their annual earnings.

According to the government,

hundreds of thousands of affordable

homes need to be built each year

in order to meet demand,

that's a rate not

seen since the 1960s.

In an effort to help

solve the housing crisis,

some cities are attempting to breath

new life into old homes

by selling them off for just £1.

Frankie McCamley has been

to Stoke-on-Trent to find out more.

A normal street in Stoke-on-Trent

with a very unusual way of solving

the housing crisis. Thanks to a

project by the local council, it

costs just £1 to get a key to one of

these front doors.

What did you have

to do here?

In here it was the same

again, had to get all the

flooring...

Gavin took up the offer

and bought his first home after the

council spent £35,000 partially

renovating it, he had to do the

rest.

It was a shock when you came

in first because it was plastered

everywhere and I had to get friends

and family to come in and help.

Putting in all the flooring, all the

lights, appliances, furniture, that

kind of thing. He has to pay the

money the council spent back but

says he would never have been able

to afford the property by himself. A

lot of friends were quite jealous

because they bought houses in a more

traditional way, it's taken a lot

longer and a lot more expensive to

get something of the same calibre.

OK, this is one of the properties

for the new scheme...

After the success of the first

round, Stoke-on-Trent City Council

is launching the scheme again,

offering up to 25 homes in the same

area.

We want to help this

community, we want to improve the

area. The other thing is the City

Council have got real commitment to

improving housing, areas where there

is high private rented top,

properties.

Anyone that want to take

part in the second phase of the

scheme there's going to be a very

strict selection process. People

need to either live, work or have a

very strong connection to the city,

earn a certain amount of money and

they must not own a property

already. The scheme is one of many

across the country trying to tackle

the UK's affordable housing

shortage. But how much of a

difference would it really make?

Schemes of this kind are really

interesting because they show how

the problems differ so much around

the country and the we need

different solutions for them. We do

have a massive problem on our hands

that's been years in the making and

it'll take us years to get out of it

as well. We need around 250,000 new

homes a year to meet need.

In the last year, 40,000 more

affordable homes were made available

in England and the year before but

the government still has a long way

to go to meet its overall target of

1 million houses by 2020. So while a

scheme like this one won't solve the

problem alone, it's a creative part

of the puzzle. Frankie McCamley, BBC

News, in Stoke-on-Trent.

You're watching Breakfast.

Still to come this morning:

Improving productivity is a key

priority ahead of Brexit.

We've sent Sean to Liverpool to find

out what's being done

to help British businesses work

harder, faster and smarter.

Good morning.

Good morning. I'm

mainly hanging out with very

hypnotic robots or cobots, they are

robots that can work alongside

people in factory floors and offices

and they will be teaching me how to

do something later. All morning we

are looking at how businesses and

workers can get more out of each

other are effectively, not just with

equipment like robots, people are

using VR a lot more now, we seem

much more of that lately. Also go to

the factory floor, still lots to be

done to improve productivity. This

machine automatically checks every

single label and bottle in a very

different way to the past. During

the morning we will see how much

this kind of stuff can help the

productivity problem we have in the

UK. It's a big issue. It should help

improve living standards. I'll find

out if it

in half an hour.

Now, though, it's back

to Louise and Dan.

Bye for now.

Hello, this is Breakfast,

with Dan Walker and Louise Minchin.

It is 6:30am.

We will bring you all the latest

news and sport in a moment.

But also on Breakfast:

It is Saturday morning, and I am

just so uncomfortable. I am feeling

sick and I am starting to feel a bit

emotional, as well. Just a bit sad

today.

After spending £50,000 on seven

rounds of IVF, CNN newsreader

Hannah Vaughan Jones is waiting

to find out if her latest

treatment has worked.

She will be here as we discuss why

IVF continues to fail

in 70% of cases.

All these species are endangered,

but could they be saved by the most

ambitious conservation programme

ever carried out in England?

We will be speaking to one

of the people behind the project.

With every step forward, there are

always a few... Still trying to

catch up.

And from conservation to evolution.

We travel back in time to Early Man,

to find out about the latest

offering from the makers

of Wallace & Gromit.

The military in Zimbabwe has denied

it is attempting to overthrow

President Robert Mugabe,

despite taking over

the state broadcaster.

Soldiers have broadcast

a message on television,

after shooting and explosions

were heard in the capital,

Harare.

Tensions have been growing

between the military

and the President, who is 93,

over who will succeed him.

His Excellency, the president of the

Republic of Zimbabwe, and Commander

in Chief of the defence forces, and

his family, are safe and sound, and

their security is guaranteed.

The Foreign Secretary,

Boris Johnson, will meet

Richard Ratcliffe later to discuss

Iran's continued imprisonment

of his wife.

Mr Johnson apologised

after mistakenly claiming

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe had been

training journalists

when she was arrested in Tehran

in April of last year.

Her family says the comments

could result in another five years

added to her jail term.

The meeting will focus on the UK

Government's efforts

to secure her release

on humanitarian grounds.

The Government has defeated several

amendments by MPs on the first day

of debate of its key

Brexit legislation.

However, some Tory backbenchers

are lining up with opposition

parties to demand further changes,

as the EU withdrawal bill

continues its passage

through the Commons.

More contentious votes are expected

in the coming weeks,

relating to ministerial powers,

and enshrining the date

for Brexit in law.

Australians have overwhelmingly

backed legalising same-sex marriage,

in an historic poll.

People took to the streets

to celebrate the result,

after more than 60% voted in favour

of allowing same-sex couples to wed.

More than 12.7 million people took

part in the non-binding referendum.

The government says it will aim

to change the law before Christmas.

The family of the British explorer

Benedict Allen say he has gone

missing during an expedition

to Papua New Guinea.

His wife says he missed his flight

home, and hasn't been heard

from in three weeks.

Mr Allen, who has made numerous

documentaries for the BBC,

had been trying to track

down an indigenous tribe

for a new programme.

Sally is looking at all the sport

for us this morning, and one of

those mornings for Republic of

Ireland fans. Their dreams to scroat

Mac destroyed by Denmark. -- their

dreams destroyed by Denmark. They

won't be joining England at the

World Cup next summer.

They lost the second leg

of their play-off 5-1 to Denmark.

It was goalless from the first leg,

so things looked good

for Martin O'Neill's side

when Shane Duffy put them

ahead early on.

But a combination of Irish mistakes

and Danish class decided things.

A hat-trick for Spurs midfielder

Christian Eriksen meant the Danes

were celebrating at

the end of the night.

Really disappointed, obviously, and

well beaten in the end. After a

really good start, had a good chance

to maybe make it 2-0. Probably would

have needed that. But the two goals

we considered in the space of a

couple of minutes just knocked us

for six, really.

It was less samba and more

of a slumber at Wembley.

England played out their second

goalless draw in four days,

this time against Brazil.

Gareth Southgate again chose

to field an inexperienced side,

but they held off the likes

of Neymar, Coutinho,

and this man, Fernandinho.

There weren't many chances

for England, but Liverpool striker

Dominic Solanke came close

to having a dream debut

in the closing seconds.

They had control of the game

tonight, no question about that, and

they were the most dangerous team.

But we have limited both teams to

very few clear-cut chances. And, you

know, would have probably been an

injustice, but could have pinched

the game tonight with the chances at

the end.

Wales won't be at the World Cup,

but they too were in friendly

action against Panama.

It finished 1-1 in Cardiff.

In what could be Chris Coleman's

last game in charge of Wales,

he gave his youngsters the chance,

and Derby's Tom Lawrence

repaid his faith.

But Panama, who will be heading

to the World Cup next summer,

equalised in injury-time,

Armando Cooper with their goal

in the 94th minute.

We are playing against a team that,

you know, they have qualified for

the World Cup, so we have got to

give them some credit. And we found

it difficult to break them down. But

I thought that the guys... Great

experience, I have got to say a huge

thank you to the fans who came out

tonight, and those are our core

supporters, and they are absolutely

magnificent.

With Rafa Nadal no longer involved,

top seed Roger Federer moved

through to the semi-finals

of the ATP Tour Finals

at London's O2 Arena,

beating Alexander Zverev

in three sets.

It wasn't easy for Federer,

who took the first set

on a tie-break, before 20-year-old

Zverev came back to take the match

into a decider.

But the six-time champion

showed his class to seal

the victory, winning

the third set 6-1.

The start of the men's Ashes series

is now just eight days away,

and England are gearing up

for the defence of the urn by taking

on a Cricket Australia 11

in their final warm-up match.

Chris Woakes has taken six wickets

and a couple for Craig Overton, who

is trying to get a starting place in

the team. They are currently 216-8.

And finally, everyone is pretty

desperate to reach the World Cup.

We've seen what it means

to nations when they miss out.

But

what lengths will the Peruvians go

to reach their first

finals since 1982?

Here is a group of Shaman

performing a ritual they hope

will see their country reach

the finals for the first time in 36

years, while at the same time trying

to curse their opponents,

New Zealand, who are trying to make

the finals for a third time.

The two meet in the early hours

of Thursday morning.

Peru will need all the help they can

muster, because they have already

travelled to New Zealand and back,

so they have some mighty jetlag to

deal with.

He seems to be waving the

snake at both pictures. I am not

sure the detail of the ritual.

Sorry, we are at surmising too much

into the retail of the ritual. Mac

sorry, we inferring too much into

the detail of the ritual.

There is lots of stuff going on this

morning, all different shapes and

sizes. These little tanks helping

people understand how processors

work. All morning we will be talking

about productivity processes,

improving them. Because

productivity, what is it? It is

effectively how much bang we get for

our buck. How much output do we get

out of all workers and businesses,

everything we put it across the

country. We have had a real issue

with it in the UK. It is going to be

an even bigger issue next week when

Philip Hammond sits down does that

budget. Lots of things businesses

can do about it, though. They can

invest in skills. We have seen this

picture, a lot more, of people with

headsets on learning about things,

looking into... I am not even sure

he knows we are near him. Looking

into in-depth manufacturing issues

they have. Seamus is from Sage, one

of our biggest software companies.

We are looking at productivity this

morning, and we have these figures

out at 9:30am this morning which

show how productive we are. Why is

it so important?

Productivity is

really, really important, and we

have the privilege of serving 1

million businesses in the UK. We

worked recently with Nestor to

examine productivity gaps in SMEs in

the UK. 73% of the jobs created

since 2010 were created by Sage. Mac

SMEs.

Why do we care so much about

productivity?

Productivity is so

important, SME turnover per employee

is going backwards, that is putting

a disadvantage compared to European

and other competitors, and it is

critical that productivity improves,

driving income growth, wealth

growth, job creation, and it is

better for the economy.

We will have

a wander over to a brand spanking

new bottle labelling machine. David,

you know exactly what is going on

here. It looks like... We see this

very often on Breakfast, a

manufacturing factory floor,

bottles, something, on a conveyor

belt. What is different about this

that you have here?

What is

different is the automated system is

fully inspecting the bottles, 360

degrees, any orientation, 40,000

bottles per hour, so it is doing a

full quality inspection on bottle

without human interaction, rejecting

the poor quality.

And that is the

key bit, without human interaction.

That is what that box is doing. I

will let you get back to it. When

you see all of the things on display

here, how easy is it for a business

which is a manufacturer to really

improve your productivity, get more

out of your workers, by spending

some cash on these machines?

Yes, we

are a small business, we started

from humble roots, myself and a

kitchen table. Now we have a

manufacturing plant, 20 staff. But

it is all the IT technology for us

which really helps, because things

which would have taken him and ours

we can now automate and do in

minutes. So that has been really

useful.

Does that mean you can pay

your staff more?

Yes, it means

better quality jobs. If one person

can do a job that used to take five

people, it means we can pay that

person more, which creates more work

and more jobs on the production

line.

That is the crux of it, if

businesses can be more productive,

can we then pay our staff more? Can

we then improve living standards?

Does that mean we may not have as

many jobs? We will have some robots

we are looking at later, trying to

teach me to do something, and I will

try and teach them to do something I

want them to do.

What started as a civil war two

years ago has now claimed more

than 12,000 lives and displaced

millions of people in

the Middle East's

poorest country, Yemen.

The conflict started

in 2015 when Houthi rebels,

backed by Iran, overthrew

the country's president.

Since then, a coalition

led by Saudi Arabia has been trying

to drive the rebels out.

But airstrikes and blockades have

left an estimated 80%

of the population in desperate need

of humanitarian aid.

With 130 children a day dying

from malnutrition and disease,

the charity Save the Children

believes 50,000 more could perish

this year alone if the situation

does not improve.

Caroline Anning is the charity's

Senior Advisor on Yemen.

Good morning to you. We have just

looked a little bit at the scale of

what is going on there. Give us your

assessment of situation.

Well, what

our teams on the ground are telling

us is they are seeing a catastrophic

humanitarian crisis, large parts of

Yemen under the brink. Mac -- on the

brink of famine. Our health teams

have estimated there are about 130

children every single day who are

dying because they are acutely

malnourished, either as a result of

disease or hunger, or usually a

combination of both, and because of

the conflict, because of the

struggles we are having getting into

the country, we can't reach all of

those children. And as a result,

children are losing their lives,

parents are grieving over their

children, day in, day out. That is

the situation now on the ground.

Unfortunately, as a result of the

change last week, when a complete

lock aid was imposed by Yemen's

neighbours, Saudi Arabia, on all

land, air and sea ports to Yemen,

the situation has just got a lot

worse. So that figure of 50,000

children who could die by the end of

the year, are estimated to die by

the end of the year, we expect to

increase significant Lee of the

situation we are seeing now

continues.

So the aid is nearly

there, but you just can't get it

into the country. -- can

efficiently. What needs to be said

to Saudi Arabia?

It is a really

shocking situation, considering it

is the world's largest Unitarian

crisis, when we are seeing children

coming in every day with acute

malnutrition, on the verge of death,

UN aid ships are being turned away,

they turned up the port and were

sent back again. Our staff have not

been able to get in, our goods are

trapped in warehouses. We are still

able to respond because we have

stockpiled, but it is very, very

quickly going to become catastrophic

when supplies start to run out in

the next few weeks. So our message

to Saudi Arabia, but also to the UK

government, which is a key ally of

Saudi Arabia, we have sold billions

of pounds worth of weapons which are

being used in this war, that this

has two end, the boarders have to be

opened up, and we would ask the UK,

the Foreign Secretary, Boris

Johnson, if he is watching over his

cornflakes this morning, to really

prioritise this and step up and

speak out. Our stuff on the ground,

including UK -- our staff on the

ground, including UK officers, say

this is going to be a catastrophe

within weeks, went food and aid runs

out.

We seen pictures from Clive Myrie of

so many people displaced as well? --

we've seen.

The reason Yemen doesn't

get the international profile of

other situations is everyone is

displaced within the country, they

aren't refugees fleeing, but

millions have had to leave their

homes and in addition to the last

week's blockade there's been an

increase in violence. People are

fleeing with nothing but the clothes

on their backs but the violence is

making it difficult for our teams to

reach them. It's brilliant the BBC

got into show what was happening but

few people are getting in to see

what is happening on the ground.

Caroline and ink from Save the

Children, thank you, we will have

more from Clive Myrie at 7:20am. --

Anning.

Here's Carol with a look

at this morning's weather.

Mixed

Mixed fortunes today because for

some it's a cloudy, murky start with

some mist and fog, brightening

later, but for others, clear skies

to start the day, especially in

parts of Scotland and northern

England. That's representative in

the temperatures, southern Scotland,

-1, three in Edinburgh under clear

skies, more cloudy and murky

conditions mean the temperatures are

a bit higher. Insulin or in the

south-west, 13, 14 degrees

difference in the temperature. You

can see the difference on the chart.

-- insulin. Some mist and fog. In

the Midlands, East Anglia,

Lancashire, some of that is locally

dense. In southern counties, murky

start, a lot of cloud with light

rain and drizzle, hill fog as well

and the same can be said of Wales

but look at the temperatures again,

at 8am, ten and 11. In Northern

Ireland, patchy missed. A fair bit

of cloud, breaking up and where the

cloud has broken, that's where the

temperatures are lowest. In much of

Scotland, dry and cold start, in

sheltered rural areas we're looking

at a touch of frost. One or two

showers blurting off the north coast

of Scotland. Through the day the

mist and fog will slowly lift,

although in parts of the

south-eastern corner, we hang on to

great conditions and the odd spot of

light rain or drizzle coming out of

the cloud. Out to the west, it

brightens up. By the end of the

afternoon we already have more rain

coming into the north-west of

Scotland and that will be

accompanied by stronger winds.

Through this evening and overnight

that rain will slowly push

southwards, again quite a bit of

cloud ahead of it with one or two

breaks but you can see we've also

got some showers and behind it, this

is a cold front and the air will

turn that bit colder, so some

showers on the hills in the north

will be wintry. Tomorrow our weather

front continues its descent pushing

steadily south, it will bring heavy

bursts of rain across Cumbria,

south-west Scotland for example as

it pushes south, but as it does get

into the south that band of rain

will be lighter and there will be a

lot of cloud associated with it.

Still in milder conditions in the

south and brighter skies than today,

and behind it there will also be

some sunshine and a peppering of

showers, but cooler conditions

filtering further south. As we head

into Friday, bright in the south,

still bits and pieces of cloud

around but you'll notice the

temperatures, the cooler air is

filtering down to the south. Still a

lot of showers in the north and

north-west of Scotland accompanied

by gusty winds. As we head into

Saturday, well, we're looking at

sunny spells, a few showers and also

a chilly wind. By Sunday, a bit more

uncertainty in the forecast. Some

rain, however, coming in from the

Atlantic but it's the timing of the

rain that is uncertain.

Do you know

a number of people came up to me

yesterday and said they were amazed

by your explanation of why the tree

wasn't wonky, these Zverev

collaboration, user educated the

nation! -- the spherical aberration

-- use educated the nation.

What was

it?

The wide angled lens. -- use

educated the nation. As you go to

the side rather than being straight

it bends away -- use educated the

nation. -- use educated.

Who has ever heard about Spirig all

aberrations before?

Let us know! --

spherical aberrations.

What words come to mind

when I say the North?

Inventive?

Pioneering?

Wet perhaps?

Well, an exhibition

about the North has opened

in the South.

Breakfast's very own Liver bird,

Jayne McCubbin went along

for a look.

The North, discuss.

First time I

went up there I was really amazed.

It was exotic in the way that

darkest Africa would have been

exotic.

Because it was so different

to the south?

It was so different

and the people were extraordinary to

look at and wonderful.

Not Africa

but Nelson in Lancashire in the

1960s, images so powerful they've

shaped our perception of the North

ever since. John Ballmer was the

first photo journalist to capture

the North in colour. Well, almost

colour.

I deliberately chose to

shoot in the winter and often in

rain or fog or missed to try and

give it a softer and more subtle

approach. Photojournalism had been a

black and white thing and the north

of England particularly had been

considered a black-and-white

subject. The directness and the

humanity, and even now if you go up

and wander into a hotel in the

north, you get a human response from

the people much more than you do in

other parts of the world.

This

exhibition is all about the spirit

of the North, its identity, how it

was shaped them and how it is seen

now.

It's a bit like Rio or Paris,

if you've never been there you have

this idea of what it looks like, you

picture the streets and the people

and the sounds and that's what we're

trying to get to the root of within

this exhibition.

In art, Northern

men have been bold and boisterous.

Women, strong mothers, wives and

friends. Some images are built to

last, but as new northern images

erupted, so they're in the spread.

If you want to know how far, you'll

see it in the trainers sold around

the world named after Northern icons

or northern towns. It's the Paul

Smith collection inspired by

Manchester but sold only in Japan.

It's a lot of work done by people

based in the north but have never

lived there who are influenced by

it. It filters around the world and

that's crucial to acknowledge, it

still has this power and people

still want to engage with it.

But

bring two northerners to this

exhibition, two old Durham miners,

and it is the old imagery which has

the lasting power. None of this a

cliche to be shaken off. Instead

heritage to evoke pride.

That wasn't

life in my communities, it was

vibrant, harsh environment but you

enjoyed yourself.

It was a hard life

but people enjoy themselves as well

with little money.

As a northerner,

when you look around something like

this and you see how these images

are still relevant today...

I'm

proud of them.

You're proud?

I'm

proud of them.

They are good times,

they should be remembered for what

they are and people shouldn't look

down and steer at us, they were good

times and we are good people and we

still are good people.

You can't say

fairer than that.

Absolutely --

sneer at us.

There was a pride that

was built in the North and stayed in

the North even after the North

stopped building other things, and

its influence continues to spread

around the world. Jayne McCubbin,

BBC News.

The exhibition North:

Fashioning Identity

is at Somerset House

on the Strand in central London.

I liked the way we put where it is.

In London upon Thames! Let's look at

some of the newspapers. We will

speak to the culture Secretary later

on and I will mention this to her

later, the front page of the Daily

Telegraph, the Brexit mutineers,

they rebel against Theresa May's

rule to enshrine in law the Tate

Britain leave the EU. They are in

various shades of blue. And

editorial take from the Daily

Telegraph this morning, I wonder

what Karen Bradley thinks that, she

was a Remainer and now she is toeing

the party line. They in the second

day discussions about the bill at

the moment.

It will take many hours

of Parliamentary work. A different

kind of gallery on the front page of

the Mirror, lots of papers talking

about the start of I'm A Celebrity.

The Times, what Theresa May was

talking about yesterday and Russia

are disrupting different societies,

Russian Twitter accounts posted

45,000 social media messages in 48

hours during last year's Brexit

referendum. They've done an

investigation and they looked that

the number of times those tweets

were look that, many thousands. And

arise now Sir Mo Farah, he went to

the palace and received his

knighthood from the police -- were

looked at. Delighted he was! -- from

the palace.

I wanted to show you, we

were looking at some of the back

pages with Sally earlier, do you

want to do that one?

The Mail, they

are talking about pensioners taking

so many drugs, five drugs a day, a

worrying sign of the medicalisation

of the elderly. A study found the

numbers quadrupled in two decades.

This is Benedict Allen, an explorer,

he went missing, didn't catch his

flight home from Papua New Guinea

and his family are concerned about

his whereabouts.

Sally will have all

the sport later on this morning, but

the back pages all about football.

The mixed emotions, England Roaring

0-0 with Brazil after drawing with

Germany a few days ago and Christian

Eriksen, he scored against Republic

of Ireland with a hat-trick and they

will be going to the World Cup

instead of Ireland -- England

Roaring. Radio 4 listeners were very

upset with people starting sentences

with words like so -- England

Roaring.

Every Australian Sports

Medal in the history of the world,

every question they ask, they say,

oh, look -- every Australian Sports

Medal. ... Mark Inglis into the

docking

in half an hour.

Plenty more on our website

at the usual address.

Now, though, it's back

to Louise and Dan.

Bye for now.

Hello, this is Breakfast,

with Dan Walker and Louise Minchin.

Gunfire and explosions

on the streets of Zimbabwe,

but the military deny

they have staged a coup.

Soldiers have taken over the state

television building,

and in a broadcast they say

President Robert Mugabe is safe.

Good morning, it is

Wednesday 15 November.

Also this morning: Boris Johnson

is to meet the husband of a British

woman being held in an Iranian jail,

after the Foreign Secretary

was accused of making

her situation worse.

Could the latest technology help us

get more out of our businesses and

our workers? Productivity is the

issue for the Chancellor. I am at an

innovation fair in Liverpool to see

if I can find any solutions.

In sport: Delight for Denmark,

but despair for the Republic

of Ireland, beaten in their World

Cup qualifying playoff.

And Carol has the weather.

Good morning, it is a fairly cloudy

start across England, Wales and

Northern Ireland. Some dampness in

the air, some light rain and

drizzle, and some patchy mist and

fog. It will brighten up for some in

the west later. For Scotland,

clearer skies as you have across the

north of England, and some sunshine

to look forward to. But here it will

feel cooler, and I will have more in

15 minutes.

Good morning.

First: The military in Zimbabwe

is denying it is attempting

to overthrow President Robert

Mugabe, despite taking over

the state broadcaster.

Soldiers in Zimbabwe have broadcast

a message on television,

after shooting and explosions

were heard in the capital,

Harare.

Our correspondent

Jon Donnison has more.

Could Zimbabwe be on

the verge of a coup?

An increase in military vehicles

and soldiers on the outskirts

of the capital yesterday

first raised alarm.

Overnight, soldiers took control

of the country's state broadcaster.

But, in a televised address,

the military denied a coup

was taking place, insisting

President Mugabe was safe.

We are only targeting

criminals around him,

who are committing crimes that

are causing social and economic

suffering in the country,

in order to bring them to justice.

But it came just days after the head

of the armed forces had threatened

to take action over the sacking

of a senior politician.

We must demand those behind

the current treacherous shenanigans

that, when it comes to matters

of protecting our revolution,

the military will not

hesitate to step in.

The general was referring

to President Mugabe's sacking

of his number two, vice

president Emmerson Mnangagwa.

Once seen as a loyal deputy,

his dismissal was seen as a move

by President Mugabe to hand

power to his wife, Grace.

But, on the streets of Harare,

some welcomed the possible

intervention by the military

to block such a move.

What is needed right now

is to remove this Mugabe

family in power.

If there is this implosion,

the implosion is good

for the citizens of Zimbabwe.

At 93, Robert Mugabe is the world's

oldest head of state,

in power since 1980.

His political downfall has been

predicted many times before,

and he is still standing.

The question - for how long?

Our reporter Shingai Nyoka

is in the Zimbabwean capital,

Harare.

Good morning to you, and just tell

us, what is the latest situation

they are?

Well, there is a marked

contrast between the gunfire, the

explosions, the reports of tanks

patrolling Harare that we heard last

night to the scenes this morning

outside of the city centre. It is

quieter than usual. Several people

have decided to go to work and to

allow their children to go to

school, and there is in that sense

of fear or panic, despite the fact

that the military have said they

have taken over. In the central

business district, though, there is

a high security presence, there are

military checkpoints that have been

installed near the President's

offers, as well as at other

strategic locations such as the

Supreme Court and the Reserve Bank.

Overnight we understand that several

senior party politicians were

arrested, and these are believed to

be allied to the first lady and the

ruling party.

And shortly we will be

speaking to Fergal Keane, reported a

lot from Zimbabwe for Panorama.

The charity Save the Children warns

130 children are dying every day

in Yemen because of

malnutrition and disease.

The UN has described

the situation as the world's

worst humanitarian crisis.

An estimated 12,000 people have died

as a result of a two-year conflict

between Houthi rebels, backed

by Iran, and a Saudi-led coalition.

We will be speaking to somebody from

Save the Children later on.

The Foreign Secretary,

Boris Johnson, will meet

Richard Ratcliffe later to discuss

Iran's continued imprisonment

of his wife.

Mr Johnson apologised

after mistakenly claiming

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe had been

training journalists in the country,

a comment her family fear

could result in another five years

added to her jail term.

Our political correspondent

Iain Watson is in Westminster

for us this morning.

Boris Johnson and Richard Ratcliffe

spoke on the phone a few days ago.

This is a face-to-face meeting. The

significance of that, and where it

goes from here, I suppose, is the

question this morning.

I think it is

significant. I think it wouldn't

have come about if Boris Johnson had

not, as it were, Ms spoken to a

committee of MPs a couple of weeks

ago. He suggested that Nazanin

Zaghari-Ratcliffe had perhaps been

training journalists when she was in

Iran. That is why there were fears

about her sentence being extended.

He has, of course, since apologised,

telling MPs under some pressure that

it was wrong to say so, earlier this

week. He now gets a face-to-face

meeting with Richard Ratcliffe, and

he will be pushing for two things.

He wants to accompany Boris Johnson

when the Foreign Secretary visits

Iran in the next two weeks, but

significantly, he wants the Foreign

Secretary to extend a dramatic

protection to his wife. It is not

diplomatic immunity, it would not

exclude her from these charges but

it would enter the UK and Iran into

a legal wrangle. Downing Street has

suggested that could well be an

option, but what it wants to

consider is what is in her best

interests, what will help her get

out as quickly as possible, so it is

not quite clear yet whether that

particular demand will be satisfied

at today's meeting.

The Government has defeated several

amendments by MPs on the first day

of debate of its key

Brexit legislation.

However, some Tory backbenchers

are lining up with opposition

parties to demand further changes

as the EU withdrawal bill

continues its passage

through the Commons.

Our political correspondent

Leila Nathoo reports.

We will speak to the culture

secretary about this later.

The UK's highest court will decide

later whether Scotland can finally

enforce its policy of a minimum

pricing for alcohol.

Legislation was approved

by the Scottish Parliament five

years ago, but has been tied up

in court challenges amid claims it

breaches European law.

Ministers say a 50p-per-unit minimum

would help tackle what they called

Scotland's unhealthy

relationship with drink.

James Shaw reports.

We were showing you on the front

page of the papers a few moments ago

this story.

The family of the British explorer,

Benedict Allen, say he has gone

missing during an expedition

to Papua New Guinea.

His wife says he missed his flight

home and hasn't been heard

from in three weeks.

Mr Allen, who has made numerous

documentaries for the BBC,

had been trying to track

down an indigenous tribe

for a new programme.

A necklace featuring one

of the biggest diamonds ever

auctioned has sold for more

than £25 million in Geneva.

The colourless gem,

which is a whopping 163 carats,

has been described as the most

beautiful diamond in the world.

The necklace, made from white gold,

emeralds, and even more diamonds,

took more than 1,700 hours to make.

The buyer's identity

has not been revealed.

Fewer people are taking their own

life on the railways.

The reduction is thought to be

at least in part down to the fact

rail staff and Transport Police

are being trained on what to do

if they spot someone

looking vulnerable.

Now, passengers are being encouraged

to be more vigilant,

too, and spark a conversation

which could save a life.

Breakfast's Tim Muffett has been

finding out what people think

of the new campaign video.

We know that there was one

individual involved. She was

28-year-old Sarah Wilson.

I thought it was very moving. It is

very British do not talk to anyone

around you, and keep to yourself.

It

is highlighting the

around you, and keep to yourself.

It

is highlighting the need to talk

isn't it? If you talk to someone,

someone can help you.

I have a son who has trouble is, and

sometimes that's all it takes. I

talk to strangers all the time. It's

surprising how eager they are to

open up to someone, if they just

take the time to be noticed.

That a

little small talk can be all it

takes to help start someone on a

journey to recovery.

It is a pretty

sobering thought, really.

Going up

and talking to strangers, that is

not always an easy thing to do.

People might get the wrong idea.

Exactly, we have our heads in our

mobile phones and it is not

something we do these days.

Is that

something you think people will

realistically do?

It is not that

easy sometimes. People want to talk,

but they don't have the courage.

easy sometimes. People want to talk,

but they don't have the courage.

It is very impactful, isn't it?

We are joined now by psychology

professor Lisa Marzano,

who specialises in suicide research

at Middlesex University,

and Network Rail employees

David Cairns and Rob Marsh,

who together managed to talk a man

out of taking his own life.

I will come to you in a moment,

because you have an amazing story to

tell, the pair of you. First of all,

what this is about is about enabling

all of us to feel brave enough,

isn't it, too if we see somebody

vulnerable, maybe do something or

say something. What should we be

doing and looking out for?

A key

message of that campaign is really

simple. We can all play a part in

preventing suicide, suicide is

preventable, and sometimes something

as small as making literally small

talk, asking about the weather,

asking about a train being delayed,

or saying are you OK, do you need

any help? It can actually just be

enough to disrupt somebody for a

minute, interrupt them, delay, and

potentially save a life.

I suppose

it is about being aware of what is

going on around you, and sometimes I

suppose a simple hello can make a

difference.

Exactly, and we know

that suicidal thoughts are

temporary, so interrupting someone's

thoughts can make a difference but

if someone is feeling isolated,

hopeless or in despair, reaching out

to them and making some contacts,

effectively just making some contact

with them, it could be enough. We

are not saying it is going to fix

everything, but it could be a good

start. It could save a life, and

there is no evidence that it is

going to make things worse.

You two

essentially helped save someone. You

saw someone on the tracks, didn't

you? Just explain the scene.

Yes, we

went out on Monday, and just saw

somebody... It didn't look right,

what he was doing. He was walking up

and down and shouting, and I said I

had better get the train stopped. So

I rang the signal box. Explain what

was happening, managed to get all

the train stopped in the area we

were in, and then I rang the police,

and luckily they were in the area,

because somebody was reported

standing on the bridge, so in two

minutes they came straight around. I

showed the police that all the

trains were blocked, and Rob went

down onto the track. I was directing

staff from the bridge, and Rob went

out and talked to him.

or did you say to them?

It's a

tricky situation, if there's anyone

on the track British Transport

Police can't go down.

-- what did

you say to them? I asked a female

officer and she said she couldn't

tell me to go down but if I wanted

to I could.

There was already a

train between signals.

I went down and asked his name, kept

repeating his name and asked him the

problem, he said I needed help. I

follow closely behind him and

carried on talking, saying nothing

is worth doing this, things get

better. I hope his life has got

better.

Did you have any training

about what to do in that situation?

Did the instinct takeover?

Just

instinct. You only get one chance at

this, don't you? To give that person

a restart or an interruption of the

thought process to stop them doing

something. I knew straightaway when

the police got to him that you could

tell he was comforted by the fact

people were there and he knew he was

going to get some help.

Makes you

quite emotional listening to you

guys talking about it to be honest.

It is a brave thing to do as well in

some respect from your point of

view?

I've been advised by some

people not to go down there, at the

end of the day there was a train

coming. If I was working in that

section of track for the next four

weeks as well, so if someone had

died there I knew it was within my

control to prevent it, I didn't care

what he wanted to do when he saw me,

I just wanted to know he was OK.

How

did he feel afterwards?

Had about

three packets of sweets and a couple

of coffees!

Is that because he was

fired up?

Really fired up, me and

Dave got back into the van, I looked

at him and said, that was a bit

strange.

Not a normal day, though,

is it?

I've been on a railway for 16

years and it's the first time I've

ever been in that kind of situation.

Somebody down there like that.

You

were saying that Samaritans run

courses and you have done the

course?

I did the course two years