16/03/2018 Breakfast

Hello.

This is Breakfast,

with Charlie Stayt and Steph

McGovern.

Jeremy Corbyn warns against drifting

into a "new Cold War."

He talks of a fevered atmosphere at

Westminster.

The Labour leader is resisting

growing pressure from Labour

backbenchers to unequivocally

blame the Russian state

for the Salisbury attack.

Good morning.

It's Friday the 16th of March.

Also this morning:

At least four people have died

after a newly built bridge collapsed

onto a busy motorway in Miami.

They made my skin itch, they dulled

all my senses.

The human cost of England's

painkiller addiction.

BBC News discovers almost 3,000

are prescribed every hour.

Good morning. The number of tourists

coming to the UK hit a new record

last year. And that is good news for

places like this. This morning we

are at the National Museum in

Edinburgh to find out what it means

for the local economy.

Good morning

from a rather wet Cheltenham on Gold

Cup Day. The Irish trainer is in so

much good form. We will see what

happens later.

What is it like in

the rest of

happens later.

What is it like in

the rest of the country? Good

morning. I have the

morning. I have the details on board

HMS Belfast this morning,

celebrating 80 years since her

launch. Rain at times turning to

snow. I will have the full details

in 15 minutes.

snow. I will have the full details

in 15 minutes.

Good morning.

First our main story.

Jeremy Corbyn has again questioned

whether the Russian state was behind

the nerve agent attack in Salisbury.

In an article in The Guardian,

the Labour leader calls on people

not to rush to judgement.

Our political correspondent,

Ben Wright, joins us from

Westminster.

What is Jeremy Corbyn saying?

Jeremy

Corbyn is doubling down on the

position he took in the House of

Commons on Wednesday, a couple of

days ago. That was when Theresa May

said clearly as far as the

government is concerned the Russian

state is culpable for this attack.

She listed the measures the

government was taking, kicking out

diplomats and imposing new

sanctions. Jeremy Corbyn raised

questions about the reliability of

the intelligence used, questioning

whether the state of Russia was

involved. He repeated those

arguments for the article in The

Guardian. He says the attack is

barbaric and beyond reckless. He

says there are two possibilities, it

is either the Russian state, or the

nerve agent has fallen into the

criminal underworld, gangsters, and

could be used by them. He is holding

back from pointing the finger of

blame at the Kremlin. He is also

seen let's not manufacture a

division over Russia where none

exists. He is squeamish and

concerned about, you know, going

after the Russian state in the way

the government has done. He also

raises previous criticisms he made

about British intelligence

gathering, talking about the dossier

which took Britain into the conflict

in Iraq. There is a lot on this

article. He talks about Saudi

Arabia, Donald Trump, and broader

British policy. He has critics in

his backbench, Labour MPs are

comfortable with how he is

approaching this. The fact he is not

blaming Russia directly. But he does

not deviate from his argument in

this piece, sticking to its line

there are legitimate questions for

him to be asking.

For the moment,

thank you. We will speak

thank you. We will speak to a former

British ambassador to Russia at

around ten past eight this morning.

At least four people have been

killed after a newly built bridge

collapsed onto a major

road in Miami.

Eight cars waiting at traffic

lights below were crushed.

Rescue teams are still

searching for suvivors.

Marta Newman reports.

The bridge at FIU just collapsed out

of nowhere. There are cars stuck

under there.

It was designed to last

100 years and withstand Category 5

hurricane winds. But instead, 950

tons of this newly installed

pedestrian bridge crashed down a

busy Miami motorway below. Witnesses

spoke of terror as the enormous

structure flattened cars waiting

below for the traffic lights to

change.

We tried to get people out

and we couldn't. They were stuck.

Construction workers fell from the

drain. It was a disaster. -- crane.

Before bridge was only put in place

a week ago, taking just six hours to

complete. It was built using a

technique called accelerated bridge

construction, or accelerated bridge.

Because of its collapse remains

unclear.

We deserve to know and the

public deserves to know and the

families of those who have been hurt

and lost their lives deserve to know

what went wrong. People can be rest

assured, the people doing these

engineering studies will tell us

what went wrong.

As relatives and

friends of victims search for

answers, investigators from the

National Transportation Safety Board

will now conduct the investigation.

MCM at the family owned contract

which helped build the bridge, says

it will co-operate fully. -- MCM,.

BBC News.

One in four council-run secondary

schools in England is running

at a loss, leading to fears of staff

cuts and larger class sizes.

New research by the Education Policy

Institute found that number

of schools in deficit has nearly

trebled in the last four years.

Helena Lee reports.

It is no secret that some schools

are struggling financially. This

study will no doubt add to concerns.

Researchers looked at budgets and

balances of local authorities and

secondaries in England over the last

seven years. The report does not

include academies which make up

about 2% of secondary schools and

20% of primary is. In 2013 - 2014,

8% were in the red. That rose to

just over 26% in 2016 - 2017. Those

in the south-west were most likely

to be in deficit. Let parents will

naturally be concerned about the

pressures on school budgets. --

Parents.

It will mean cuts to

teachers and assistants which could

mean increased class sizes and a

reduction in classes on offer.

Earlier this month, the Education

Secretary acknowledge that school

funding was tight. The liberal

government association says this

research shows the government should

revive additional funding, and if

they do not, councils may not be

able to meet their duties. --

provide. BBC News.

The government says it does not

recognise the findings of the report

and is putting an extra £1.3 million

in the schools.

A report into the failure

of Northamptonshire County Council

has recommended that the authority

be scrapped after widespread

financial and management failures.

Government-appointed investigators

said the problems at the council,

which last month announced £40

million worth of cuts,

were so deep-rooted

that it was impossible to rescue it

in its current form.

The leader of the council

has now resigned.

Four African countries

with the world's largest elephant

populations are expected to call

on Britain and the European Union

to ban the legal sale

of antique ivory today.

Ministers will sign a petition

at a wildlife summit in Botswana

urging European countries to follow

China's lead in outlawing the sale

of all ivory products.

Alistair Leithead reports.

Africa's elephants are still

severely under threat, with less

animals being born and the number

killed by poachers every year

increasing. Here in Botswana, the

last true sanctuary for elephants on

the continent, scientists and

conservationists are meeting to stop

the ivory trade. Techniques used for

counter-terrorism are now being used

to stop poaching and catch the

culprits. And they are being

showcased at the Giants Club summit,

which aims to stop poaching by 2020.

They are also talking about the

illegal ivory trade in Britain and

the rest of Europe.

The UK and the

EU are the biggest exporters of

legal antique ivory. We have seen

China has banned their trade. Hong

Kong is saying they are doing a

similar thing. The African leaders

meeting here are hoping the EU and

the UK could do likewise and could

stop this trade in antique ivory.

It

might send a strong message to try

to reduce the demand for ivory.

Alastair Leithead, BBC News, in

Botswana.

MPs from Egypt are travelling

to the UK today to monitor

investigations into the death of

an Egyptian student in Nottingham.

18-year-old Mariam Moustafa died

on Wednesday, three weeks

after being attacked by a group

of women outside a shopping centre.

Police say they are keeping an "open

mind" about whether the assault

was a hate crime.

Fashion retailer, Topman,

are coming under pressure

to withdraw a shirt that some

people believe refers

to the Hillsborough disaster.

The red shirt with a large number 96

is being seen by some Liverpool fans

as a reference to the club's kit

and number of victims killed

in the 1989 disaster.

Topman are yet to say anything

about the shirt but there is no

suggestion of a

deliberate reference.

The singer, Rihanna,

has accused Snapchat

of "intentionally" shaming

victims of domestic abuse.

An advert for a game on the social

media platform asked users

if they would "rather slap Rihanna

or punch Chris Brown."

It appears to refer to Brown's

conviction for assaulting Rihanna

in 2009 while they were dating.

A spokesperson for the company said

the ad was "disgusting" and "should

never have appeared."

Britain's first polar bear cub

for 25 years has been filmed

for the first time after

being born in December.

Channel 4 and STV Productions have

been granted unprecedented

and exclusive access to document

the breeding and birth of the first

polar bear cub to be born

in the UK for 25 years.

A unique hour-long documentary,

Britain's Polar Bear Cub filmed over

two years by STV Productions

for Channel 4, will follow

the pioneering polar

bear breeding programme

at the Royal Zoological Society

of Scotland Highland Wildlife Park.

That is so cute.

It's Gold Cup day in Cheltenham,

one of the highlights

of the jumpracing calendar.

Mike is there this morning.

Good morning.

Good morning.

It is

cold

cold enough for polar bears here

this morning. The sun is expected

later. Raining overnight. It is no

surprise the ground is even wetter.

They have done a good job patching

it up. They are saying it will save

the Irish horses. They have been so

dominant this week. The same in the

rugby.

Yesterday's big winner was Penhill,

ridden by Paul Townend.

The 12-to-1 shot saw off

the challenge of Supasundae

to become the sixth win at this

year's Festival for trainer Willie

Mullins.

Remember, Mullins has never won big

at the Gold Cup.

On the day he was recalled

to the England squad,

Danny Welbeck scored twice

for Arsenal as they beat AC Milan

to reach the quarter finals

of the Europa League.

Tiger Woods and his impressive

return to form continues, getting a

68 at the Arnold

68 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational

in Orlando. Four shots behind Henrik

Stenson, eight under par. There is

more to come with the Paralympics

later on with Kate. It is hard to

see past the Irish trainers here.

The other big question is Nicky

Henderson. He could become the first

ever trainer in a week to win all

three, hat-trick, the champion race,

the Champion

the Champion Hurdle, and the Gold

Cup, the "Greatest Show on Turf." We

will see you later.

We are blessed with our outdoor

locations today.

The museum ship, HMS Belfast,

has been a landmark on the Thames

in Central London since 1971.

Today, she celebrates her 80th

birthday, so we've sent Matt

to have a look.

Good morning. We are aboard HMS

Belfast this morning. Launched in

1938 by the wife of then PM Neville

Chamberlain, immediately providing a

blockade against Germany. Since then

it has taken part in action on the

Arctic

Arctic Circle, the D-Day landings,

and before being scrapped, it was

saved by the Imperial War Museum,

put on display in 1971. We will look

inside later on in the programme.

This is the forecast.

inside later on in the programme.

This is the forecast. Not bad.

Things will get much more cold this

weekend. A bitter wind. Temperatures

plummeting with snow on the way. The

snow is limited to parts of

Scotland, mainly on the hills in the

Grampians. Elsewhere in eastern

Scotland and south-east Scotland,

outbreaks of rain at times. Rain

through Northern Ireland this

morning. Developing through the day.

A dry spell across parts of northern

England. At the moment in Wales, the

Midlands, East Anglia, clearing to

allow some sunshine. Sunny spells

already developing in southern

counties of England and Wales. Here

is where we will see showers

gradually develop. Does showers will

become heavy and perhaps thundery in

the afternoon. -- those showers. The

wind will be like compared to

further north. -- lighter.

North-east England will be rather

wet with snow coming down to lower

levels through the day. Temperatures

in northern Scotland today, three

degrees. We could again get into the

mid-teens in southern England and

Wales. Yesterday, we hit 16.

Tonight, what you will notice is the

rain starts to increase in turn to

snow. It will all shift south once

again as strong gale force winds

become dominant. Some snow here and

there. Especially in the north of

the UK into Saturday morning. The

far south and south-west of UK is

the only place that will avoid the

frost. You are in for a big shock

for tomorrow morning as far as

temperatures are concerned compared

to this morning. Saturday, snow

flurries everywhere, just about. The

only place immune will be the far

north of Scotland. Yorkshire, watch

that area. Sunshine in between. That

raw wind is blowing away, keeping

temperatures a few degrees above

freezing. There will be and icy wind

chill until Sunday. Just about

anywhere could wake up to a coating

of snow. A fair few centimetres here

and there. Turning more dry and more

bright from the east through the

day. Wherever you are, feeling cold,

sub-zero. Some temperatures stay

below freezing through the day.

below freezing through the day. The

mini-Beast of the east is back.

Those guns fire showers 12 miles,

from here to Watford. Back to you.

The Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn,

has repeated his caution

about making hasty judgements over

Russia's involvement in the nerve

agent attack on a former spy.

An footbridge in Miami, Florida has

collapsed crushing eight cars

underneath. We will look at some

front pages. The Daily Telegraph,

events relating to the nerve attack

in Salusbury very much dominating

the headlines this morning.

The

Telegraph is putting a new theory

forward that the nerve agent that

poisoned Sergei Skripal and his

daughter had been planted in his

daughter's suitcase before they left

Moscow and brought over to the UK.

They are quoting sources telling

them they are convinced the nerve

agent was hidden somehow in the

luggage and maybe on an item of

clothing or some cosmetics which

then she arrived in her father's

house in Salusbury.

Of course, it

still dominating a lot of the

papers. The Express is talking about

the World Cup which will be in

Russia. Pressure was growing last

night for a mass World Cup boycott

in retaliation for the Salusbury

nerve agent outrage.

The Times, a

bit more on the diplomacy around

this. That joint statement featuring

the West uniting against Vladimir

Putin's regime. That's to do with

allegations of meddling in the US

elections. An unequivocal

condemnation after the chemical

attack.

The Daily Mirror has a

different front page on it's talking

about Poppy Worthington, the 13

-month-old who died. It is saying

the father will not be charged over

her death.

The Guardian, the lead

story. Theresa May visited Salusbury

yesterday, meeting people there but

Jeremy Corbyn has been talking to

the Guardian and reiterating some of

the warnings mentioned previously

and he has warned of rushing ahead

and a fevered atmosphere. We will be

speaking a bit more about Jeremy

Corbyn's comments later on and

suggestions from him that neither

justice nor national security is

being well served by the atmosphere

around the events at the moment.

So

this is a story about twins,

identical twins, and one of them as

an astronaut who went off to space

and has now returned. Scott Kelly.

He has come back and scientists have

analysed is genetic make-up.

Apparently his DNA is changed by 7%.

It's an extraordinary story. The

pair of them came into BBC Breakfast

in November of last year and when

they came in, there was a slight

height difference. The differences

had changed a bit. Now the evidence

is that the make-up of the

astronauts has changed

significantly.

It's fascinating.

Rescriptions for powerful

painkillers like morphine,

tramadol and fentanyl have risen

by almost 80% in England over

the past decade.

Nearly 24 million opioids

were prescribed in 2017,

despite warnings about the risks of

long-term use and rising addiction.

Tim Muffett has been to Manchester's

integrated drug and alcohol service

to find out more.

It's easy to get caught, just one

more, just one more, just one more.

Prescribed by doctors to numb pain,

Sophie and Carroll save opioids also

numbed their minds and ruined their

lives.

My joints snapped. I had an

operation in the end and then I just

got prescribed them all the time.

Taking that much painkillers, like,

I wasn't doing the school run

anything. I was that result, I

couldn't move.

They were prescribed

to me the five years ago. You can't

get off them and I've tried for help

for years and years.

Under

supervision, Sophie and Carroll have

stopped taking opioids. They sought

help from Manchester's integrated

drug and alcohol service.

We have

seen an increase in numbers. The

increase has been going on for a few

years and seeing more and more

people.

You can come here and talk

to anyone.

The numbers we are seeing

is nowhere compared to what the

extent of the problem. The reason

why people probably don't seek help

is because they feel substance

misuse services are set up other

drugs, harder drugs like heroin and

crack cocaine.

Hope prescriptions in

England have risen by almost 80% in

the last decade. Nearly 24 million

were issued last year. While the

latest data shows the overall figure

has

has stabilised, for some drugs,

numbers are still going up. Over the

past five years, morphing

prescriptions have risen by more

than 50%. Codeine, by a third.

Opioids can be effective for

short-term acute pain but the longer

term chronic conditions it is widely

accepted that they are unsuitable.

They can be highly addictive with

devastating side-effects. Breeding

difficulties, nausea and

hallucinations are amongst possible

long-term side-effects. In America

in 2016, more than 42,000 people

died from opioids related overdoses.

The US and Canada are number one and

number two in the world for their

use of opiates. We are not careful

we will end up in the same place,

that's unacceptable. We need to find

ways to reduce the use of these

drugs.

Take a deep breath in through

the nose.

At the University of

Warwick a two-year title is about to

begin hoping to do just that.

We

want to help people live data

without pain without relying on

strong like opioids. Things like

mindfulness, relaxation, movement,

being aware of posture.

Both Dawn

and just insane long-term opioid use

brought terrible side-effects.

They

made me sick, they made my skin

each, they dulled all my senses.

I

had hallucinations, lost my job, not

able to hold down job.

It's been

complete and utter hell. The

government has ordered an

independent review into prescription

drug addiction. Its recommendations

are due to be announced early next

year. NHS England said GPs and

hospitals are working to ensure

every prescription is both safe and

effective. This two-year trial hopes

to show with other pain relief

options a viable alternative. Tim

Moffitt, BBC News.

If you have thoughts on it, let us

know before we talk to an expert

later.

Then is at the home of two of the

UK's most visited attractions

outside London.

Good morning. We get to come to some

pretty amazing places before they

are open to the public and today is

no exception. Look at this. This is

the National Museum of Scotland,

opened originally in 1866 in this

part of has gone through a massive

refurbishment. They are pretty happy

with it and visitors are happy with

it too. We are talking about the

number of tourists. More visitors

from overseas. Particularly places

like China. Europe has been a big

source of visitors to the country.

Let me run you through some of the

details because ads you'd expect,,

some of the biggest responses from

those in the capital. The British

Museum famous for all the money is

and all the ancient Egyptian

artefacts that are there. There is

also Tate modern, home to all sorts

of new art down on the Southbank in

London but then there is the

National Gallery as well so some

more traditional art making up the

top three but here in Scotland, the

most popular attractions are this

place, the National Gallery of

Scotland or the National Museum of

Scotland in just over the way from

here, Edinburgh Castle as you would

expect. It's really important these

tourist attractions are doing well

because it means visitors are still

coming. 40 million people visited

the UK from overseas and between

them, they brought in a staggering

£26 billion, up by 14% on the year

before. I'm going to show you around

this place later. Some great

exhibits for us to look at. I will

show you around and we will meet the

boss of this place why they spend so

much money attracting

in half an hour.

Plenty more on our website

at the usual address.

Hello.

This is Breakfast,

with Charlie Stayt and Steph

McGovern.

It's Friday the 16th of March.

We'll have the latest news

and sport in just a moment.

But coming up later

in the programme.

The illegal ivory trade continues

to claim the lives of tens

of thousands of

elephants every year.

Now, leaders of African nations

are calling on the UK government

to follow America and China

in banning the sale

of legal antique ivory.

As punters around the world brace

themselves for one of the highlights

of the jump racing season,

the Cheltenham Gold Cup,

Mike has been to meet some

of the other riders benefiting

from the facilities

at the famous racecourse.

And two weeks ago, The Beast

from the East stopped

Radio One's Greg James

as he attempted to climb three

of the highest peaks in the UK

and cycle between them

for Sport Relief, but now,

the weather has cleared and he's

back on his bike.

We'll catch up with him

as he begins his ascent of Ben

Nevis.

Good morning.

Here's a summary of today's main

stories from BBC News.

Jeremy Corbyn has again questioned

whether the Russian state was behind

the nerve agent attack

against a former spy

and his daughter in Salisbury.

Writing in The Guardian,

the Labour leader cautioned

against rushing to a "hasty

judgement" despite criticism

from some in his party

over his approach.

At least four people have been

killed after a newly built bridge

collapsed onto a major

road in Miami.

Eight cars waiting at traffic

lights below were crushed.

The footbridge was put in place

less than a week ago.

Investigators from the National

Transportation Safety Board say

they will now conduct

a full investigation.

Once we have completed search and

rescue operations, we will remain on

the scene and help with recovery

efforts

the scene and help with recovery

efforts as well. This has been an

incredibly tragic event and our

hearts go out to the families of the

victims.

Syrian activists say nearly 20,000

civilians have fled rebel held areas

of Eastern Ghouta, as government

forces continue their advance.

It is the biggest exodus

from the enclave since the military

stepped up an offensive

to retake it last month.

The seven-year conflict is thought

to have claimed more than 400,000

lives and lead to 11 million

people being displaced.

A report into the failure

of Northamptonshire County Council

has recommended that the authority

be scrapped after widespread

financial and management failures.

Government-appointed investigators

said the problems at the council,

which last month announced £40

million worth of cuts,

were so deep-rooted

that it was impossible to rescue it

in its current form.

The leader of the council

has now resigned.

MPs haven't been able to find

appropriate technology operating

anywhere in the world that

would allow an invisible border

to continue between Northern Ireland

and the Irish Republic after Brexit.

The Northern Ireland Affairs

Committee is asking the government

to give more details on how it

will manage the movement of people

and goods across the Irish border.

It's also warned that,

without a transition period,

there won't be time to put

new arrangements in place by the end

of March next year.

Four African countries

with the world's largest elephant

populations are expected to call

on Britain and the European Union

to ban the legal sale

of antique ivory today.

Ministers will sign a petition

at a wildlife summit in Botswana

urging European countries to follow

China's lead in outlawing the sale

of all ivory products.

MPs from Egypt are travelling

to the UK today to monitor

investigations into the death of

an Egyptian student in Nottingham.

18-year-old, Mariam Moustafa,

died on Wednesday, three weeks

after being attacked by a group

of women outside a shopping centre.

Police say they are keeping an "open

mind" about whether the assault

was a hate crime.

She was always so kind and always

wanted to help people out. I do not

know why they would do that to her.

She was a hard worker. She always

put all her effort in. I feel like

she is around me and she is going to

come knocking on the door, but that

is not happening.

Fashion retailer, Topman,

are coming under pressure

to withdraw a shirt that some

people believe refers

to the Hillsborough disaster.

The red shirt with a large number 96

is being seen by some Liverpool fans

as a reference to the club's kit

and number of victims killed

in the 1989 disaster.

Topman are yet to say anything

about the shirt but there is no

suggestion of a

deliberate reference.

The singer, Rihanna,

has accused Snapchat

of intentionally shaming

victims of domestic abuse.

An advert for a game on the social

media platform asked users

if they would "rather slap Rihanna

or punch Chris Brown."

It appears to refer to Brown's

conviction for assaulting Rihanna

in 2009 while they were dating.

A spokesperson for the company said

the ad was "disgusting" and "should

never have appeared."

Those are the main stories this

morning.

We're off to the races now.

Mike is in Cheltenham

on Gold Cup day taking a look

at the runners and riders.

I was on the track but I thought we

would give you a glimpse before the

horses come out. Nothing is

happening at the moment so we should

come to be winner's enclosure

outside. 3:45, that's when the

winner will parade that famous

trophy in front of 70,000 fans. Will

be Irish continue dominating? Will

Nicky

Nicky Henderson shake them off? The

greatest show on turf, they call it.

Why the Irish so dominant at this

festival? Is because the rain

favours Irish horses?

In a nutshell,

Ireland has the two most

Ireland has the two most powerful

stables, Willy Mullens and Gordon.

Amazing firepower and courses.

Amazing firepower and courses. They

and their owners dominate most

races. That has translated to the

greatest, the Cheltenham Festival.

Of those 15 Irish winners, 13 have

come from two trainers. And does two

on Wednesday and most of Thursday,

nine consecutive races between them.

-- those. I cannot remember such

domination.

Either holding

domination.

Either holding onto

their horses more now than in the

past, selling them on previously to

British trainers.

In the past, the

best horses got sold to powerful

British people. That is no longer

the case. There is real strength in

Irish racing. More than that, when

you look at some of these Irish

trained winners, they are owned by

British owners, who recognised... I

mean, Gordon Elliot, Willie Mullins,

they have immense talent. That is

not to say there is no enormous

talent in British training,

including Nicky Henderson, who could

become the first ever to win the

Champion Hurdle, the champion chase,

and the Gold Cup.

Can he do it?

The greatest danger will be Mike,

who has a lot of character. In the

junior gold cup, he jumped the final

fence and then

fence and then decided to stop and

wait for another horse, then went

again and got the race back on the

line.

Apparently he gets distracted

by the beer tents. You do not win

the gold cup by going in getting a

pint of Guinness. He has been better

behaved, but

behaved, but there is a nugget of

doubt after so much richness and

drama. Weirdly, Willie Mullins, for

all his wins here, he

all his wins here, he has never got

the Gold Cup. Will he set the record

straight today?

He wants to win this

more than any other, the greatest

horse race there is. Jump racing is

more popular than flat racing. He

almost did not want to talk about it

all week. It is hanging over him. A

number of chances. Without his main

jockey, Ruby Walsh, injured during

the week, it will be difficult.

My

tip

tip is going to River. Trained by

Collins. Ridden by Richard Johnson.

He loves the mud and it definitely

is muddy. It is very cold, but even

colder in Pyeongchang. Let's get the

latest on the slalom.

Lock on to a

very snowy Pyeongchang. The main

attraction is being the

snowboarding. It is the first time

that the slalom has been included in

the Paralympics. Britain had three

racers in action, all going for

medals. They get three runs down the

course and they take the best time

out of those three. Great Britain,

all three athletes were

all three athletes were outside the

medals going into their final run. A

lot of pressure to get a fast final

run, but unfortunately, they all

stumbled on the third, meaning they

finished outside of the medals and

will not get one at the Paralympics.

It is disappointing because they

came here hoping for medals. It is

the first time grow Britain was

represented in snowboarding at a

Paralympic Games. Unfortunately they

will not get a medal at Pyeongchang.

That makes it difficult to get to

the medal target of between 6- 12

for Britain. Pressure will be on the

skiers in the next few days.

Thank

you, Kate. Fantastic. Thank you for

the update and good luck to the

British team. And now for the rest

of the sport.

Away from Cheltenham,

Arsenal are in the hat for today's

Europa League quarter-final draw,

after beating AC Milan

3-1 last night.

The Gunners actually went behind

but recovered to score three times,

Danny Wellbeck got two of them,

and they won the tie 5-1 overall.

Just a few sound problems with Mike.

We will be back with him later

looking at the races.

In the facilities behind them, some

people are learning to ride. We have

a piece on that. The main stories

for you this morning. Jeremy Corbyn

has repeated his caution about

making hasty judgements over the

involvement of Russia in the nerve

agent attack on a former spy. A new

footbridge has collapsed in Florida

killing eight people. The cars

beneath were crushed. We have lots

of the team out and about today. It

is great. We are at a London

landmark with Matt turning 80 this

weekend. Look at that. A gorgeous

view. Matt is inside the ship. Good

morning.

We have come inside. Good

morning. We are inside HMS Belfast,

celebrating 80 years since its

launch this weekend. We are in the

captain's ridge. It was equipped

with some of the most advanced radar

at the time of -- bridge. It is

fairly calm on the River Thames.

Hard to imagine open war. It was

involved in many battles, thinking

many German battleships. It was one

of the first

of the first ships to fire a shot in

the D-Day landings as well. An

esteemed history.

the D-Day landings as well. An

esteemed history. It came here and

was opened to the public in 1971 on

the Thames. People are invited to

celebrate it this weekend. A look at

the forecast.

Relatively calm in

London at the moment. Sunshine

breaking through the cloud. Not the

same everywhere. Heads up for the

weekend. Turning increasingly cold

with a bitter wind and a chance of

snow in many parts of the country.

20 centimetres of fresh snow is

possible in Scotland. It could turn

wintry over the Pennines. Reasonably

dry in Northern Ireland to begin

with. Rain in parts of North Wales

and the Midlands and East Anglia

going north through this morning.

Allowing sunshine to break through

as we can see in southern counties

of England and towards southern

parts of Wales. With that, showers

late in the day. Light winds,

slow-moving showers. You will see it

developed through the day. Rain

through north Midlands continuing in

the north England. Rain into

Northern Ireland later on. Joining

forces in north England. A grim day.

Fairly windy. Cold as well.

Temperatures in north Scotland

limited to three degrees. Further

south, the sunshine, avoiding

showers which could be heavy and

thundery. Peaking in the teens.

Yesterday, 16 degrees in Wales.

Forget temperatures like that on the

weekend. Through the night, the

easterly wind picks up. Hill snow

going south once again. That will go

to lower levels with a slight

covering of snow for Saturday

morning. Widespread frost as well.

Temperatures away from the south,

below freezing. A much colder start

to tomorrow. Bitterly cold wind

going with that. Adding to the

windchill. Snow far as possible

anywhere through the day. Nothing

significant. Heavy snow around,

perhaps in Lincolnshire, the

Yorkshire area will have to keep a

close eye on things. Sunshine in

between that. Not making a

difference to the temperatures. A

few degrees above freezing. Feeling

colder than that in the wind.

Saturday night into Sunday, a spell

of heavy snow pushing across England

and Wales in particular. That will

mean many of you wake up to a

covering of snow on Sunday. The snow

will become confined to the west.

Isolated showers in the east. Dry

and sunny through the day. A cold

wind. Dry and sunny on the weekend.

Temperatures continuing to stay just

above freezing with a sub-zero

windchill. If you are not enjoying

the cold spell, this time it only

last a few days. Next week, dry and

slightly less cold.

How

How tempted are you to get in the

captain 's seat and have a go? I

have already been in. I love it. Set

with a cheeky smile.

with a cheeky smile. We are in

Edinburgh.

Speak to yourself. I mean

geographically, obviously.

geographically, obviously.

Good

morning, welcome to Edinburgh. Were

at the National Museum of Scotland.

This one, voted the number one

attraction outside a long London.

Opened in 1866, renovated just a

couple of years ago. It's clearly

paying off. Edinburgh Castle, just

over the way. Congratulations,

testament to all the work you put in

just explained was what you have

done.

This is quite a lot of work.

It's an £80 million project and we

have been renovating the whole

museum. We've now done 26 new

galleries in most capital cities in

the world, you would have to go to

four or even five museums to get the

experience you get here under one

roof in this magnificent building.

When you talk about spending that

much money, it's not just about one

museum. Pulling together to get

people to come as one destination.

It's been part of a transformation

and that's involved everything from

the airport expanding enormously

when only yesterday, we have the

first direct flights to China

announced. More and more people are

coming from across the world.

Who is

coming here? How long of stay in?

And how much they spend. All of

those things. More people come for

weekend breaks. Hopefully, also

spending more. We will talk a little

bit later.

bit later. That is why Edinburgh has

topped the list outside London,

bringing people together. We heard

from Gordon. It's all about getting

everybody to work together.

Edinburgh seems to be doing pretty

well. Where coming from.

They are

coming from all over. An increased

number of international is coming

from the air routes. A lot more

domestic visitors, Scottish visitors

moving around Scotland and people

from Scotland travelling around all

geographic regions of Scotland.

It's

pretty appropriate we are surrounded

by planes, the announcement there

will be direct flights from

Edinburgh airport to China and back

again to the first time, what

difference will that make? It's a

fantastic result. Some of which

started from the destination leaders

programme. In conjunction with

Scottish enterprise.

Scottish enterprise. Extend their

stay. Not just the Edinburgh but the

benefit of the wider country. It

makes a pretty attractive the

Chinese people to come here because

they have more money. That is

applicable to a lot of different

country.

Visitor attractions of a

kind of place that they come to stay

in the first place. If they extend

the stay and there is a repeat

visit, you have employment and

products and services.

products and services.

Not just

coming to museums and things like

this, hotels, restaurants, taxis and

airlines. It has a real impact on

the local economy. It has a

wonderful view from the museum. But

there is one thing you can't

guarantee when you come to Scotland.

And that is the weather. It is

pretty wild and went up there. I

will take you up and show you that

view a little later.

Get your coat on and get out there,

love. Come on.

Get out there,

absolutely, go for it. Just a

reminder. We are talking about

tourism attractions. If you have a

favourite spot in the UK, send it

in.

You can send those pictures to us.

It's always nice finding out about

people's favourite places because

there are so many places you have

perhaps never heard of or visited

and it gives you a

perhaps never heard of or visited

and it gives you a good sense of way

you might one to plan for a visit.

And I always say, feel free to go to

a different place other than the

conventional attractions.

It might

not be your favourite place or

conventional.

And it can be quite a

sometimes, which is nice.

We are

going to take it to live shot from

Cheltenham today. It is of course

the Gold cup today. Try to get a

sense of the weather this morning.

Mike has been saying it was raining.

I'm going to use my racing

terminology.

If you know your horse

racing, that is what they are

saying. Be warned. We will be

chatting to M a little later this

morning.

The course is also home to one

of the biggest riding therapy

centres in the UK, hosting more

than 200 riders every week

with disabilities or

learning difficulties.

Mike's been to have a look.

On this famous courseware legends

have been made, another young jockey

is getting the winning feeling at

Cheltenham and this isn't a race,

it's about using the power of the

horse to help Jamie in this case

with his learning difficulties. Sir

Jamie, I ask all the famous jockeys

who pass the winning post at

Cheltenham, what did it feel like?

Amazing. It helps your confidence to

ride ponies and horses. And do other

things.

Cheltenham is home to one of

the biggest centres for the riding

for the disabled Association. Three

quarters of the people that come

here have some sort of learning

difficulty and it's not just about

riding the horse is, there is mutual

affection and important grooming to

be done. Before then, climbing on

board and riding away. Whether on a

real horse or even on the new

simulator here.

I suffer with

seizures. I don't get them when I'm

around horses. I think animals have

something that humans can't give.

Like a special kind of calm --

calming feeling.

Ages range from

four to 76. For little Amelia Rose,

it's a chance for freedom.

We are

all about to indulge ourselves in

world-class sport. Obviously our

ponies aren't the thoroughbreds --

thoroughbreds but it's a different

way to put something back using

horses. It is magic, what happens.

You see people who have mobility

issues.

Actually, the pony then

spend their legs. They've been using

horses departs for the lives of 33

years now and every week over 200

riders of all abilities saddle up

here with the help of 160

volunteers. The association is

helped by the Jockey club which

charges than £1 a year to be here

but with so many courses to keep, it

still requires a lot of fundraising

and volunteering. The National

governing body did a four-year study

into the impact forces can have on

the riders here. Over two thirds

showed a greater ability to

communicate with others. More than

that, have greater confidence, 76%

showed physical improvement, and

again, more than that had an

improved ability to form

relationships and most importantly

of all, 76% felt it gave them

greater enjoyment in life.

Being

able to build a relationship with a

horse actually then extends out, not

just at home but at school, at work

and into the wider community.

Even

those celebrating picking the winner

of the Gold Cup today will find it

hard to match the smiles on the

other side of the course.

It is absolutely wonderful seeing

that, the impact, the contact with

the animal.

I remember meeting a

lady who runs a charity for autistic

children, they run a farm and it's

amazing how much difference it can

make to the children's lives in an

apparent as well.

We will be back

with M a little later on who was at

Cheltenham.

Also this morning, we

are at HMS Belfast a little later. A

wonderful view from the ship this

morning. It looks a bit fake, that

picture. We need something to go

past it.

past it.

We have that dark gloomy

weather over the skyline of London.

Expected to get very cold over the

weekend. Matchwood tell you exactly

when and where.

in half an hour.

Plenty more on our website

at the usual address.

Hello.

This is Breakfast,

with Charlie Stayt and Steph

McGovern.

Jeremy Corbyn warns against drifting

into a "new Cold War."

He talks of a fevered

atmosphere at Westminster.

The Labour leader is resisting

growing pressure from Labour

backbenchers to unequivocally

blame the Russian state

for the Salisbury attack.

Good morning.

It's Friday the 16th of March.

Also this morning:

At least four people have died

after a newly built bridge collapsed

onto a busy motorway in Miami.

They made my skin itch, they dulled

all my senses.

Good morning.

The number of tourists

coming to the UK hit

a new record last year.

This morning we are at

the National Museum in Edinburgh

to find out what it means

for the local economy.

Good morning from Cheltenham on Gold

Cup Day. 70,000 tourists here today.

Can Nicky Henderson make it an

historic treble at the Greatest Show

on Turf? And the weather.

Good

morning.

morning. Captain Matt reporting from

the HMS Belfast, 80 years since its

launch. The sun is out in London and

Cheltenham, but elsewhere, it is

called. Ran turns to snow this

weekend. -- cold. -- rain. I will

have all the details and 15 minutes.

Good morning.

First our main story.

Jeremy Corbyn has again questioned

whether the Russian state was behind

the nerve agent attack in Salisbury.

In an article in The Guardian,

the Labour leader calls on people

not to rush to judgement.

Our political correspondent,

Ben Wright, joins us from

Westminster.

Take us through the main points of

what Jeremy Corbyn said.

Good

morning. All week, Jeremy Corbyn has

refused to echo, endorse, the view

of the government the Russian state

is responsible for the Salisbury

attack. That has caused some anger,

it must be said, among some of his

backbench MPs who believe the

response from him has been misjudged

at best. But Jeremy Corbyn is not

bending and it is doubling down on

that view in the article he wrote

for the Guardian. He said the use of

the nerve agent was barbaric and

reckless and condemns it, but he

says the possibility remains open

this nerve agent fell out of the

hands of the Russian state and they

lost control of it and it ended up

in the hands of mafia style gangster

groups in the UK. He said there is a

possibility of that. He says there

needs to be a calm and measured

response from politicians and they

should not rush to judgement. He

joins a link to Iraq, something he

completely opposed, saying that was

a reliance on flawed intelligence.

He is saying because there is

evidence now of Russian culpability,

that may not be the end of the

story. He is urging caution and is

asking parliamentarians to think. He

is unapologetic about his dance,

saying it is right for the

opposition to ask questions about

the strategy. -- stance. This will

do nothing to calm down Labour MPs

who believe he has his tone wrong,

especially after the joint

declaration by the US, France, and

the UK, saying that Russia was

behind the attack.

Thank you. We

will speak to a former British

ambassador to Russia at around 8:10

this morning.

At least four people have been

killed after a newly built bridge

collapsed onto a major

road in Miami.

Eight cars waiting at traffic

lights below were crushed.

Rescue teams are still

searching for suvivors.

Marta Newman reports.

The bridge at FIU just

collapsed out of nowhere.

There's cars stuck under there.

It was designed to last 100 years

and withstand Category

5 hurricane winds.

But instead, 950 tons of this newly

installed pedestrian bridge crashed

down a busy Miami motorway below.

Witnesses spoke of scenes of terror

as the enormous structure flattened

cars waiting below for

the traffic lights to change.

We tried to get people

out but we couldn't.

They were all stuck.

Two construction workers also

fell from the crane.

It was horrible, it was a disaster.

The footbridge was only put

in place a week ago,

taking just six hours to complete.

It was built using a technique

called "Accelerated Bridge

Construction," or "Instant Bridge."

The cause of its collapse

remains unclear.

We deserve to know and the public

deserves to know and the families

of those who have been hurt

and lost their lives deserve to know

what went wrong.

People can be rest assured,

the people doing these engineering

studies will tell us

what went wrong.

As relatives and friends

of victims search for answers,

investigators from the National

Transportation Safety Board will now

conduct the investigation.

MCM, the family-owned contractor

that helped build the bridge,

says it will co-operate fully.

Marta Newman, BBC News.

Egypt is sending a delegation of MPs

to the UK to monitor investigations

into the death of an Egyptian

student in Nottingham.

Mariam Moustafa died on Wednesday,

three weeks after being attacked

by a group outside

a shopping centre.

Jeremy Ball reports.

A teenager whose future looks so

bright, whose family is now in

mourning. They brought her to

Britain for an education, and now

she is gone.

She was amazing. I feel

like I have lost my other half. She

was so kind and always wanted to

help people out. I do not know why

they would do that to her, why her?

She was attacked outside the

Victoria shopping centre on February

20. People saw a group of women

punching her in following her onto a

bus. On Wednesday she died in

hospital. The Egyptian agency said

this. It is supporting the grieving

family of Mariam Moustafa. At

Nottingham college where she was

studying engineering, they described

her death as shocking, saying she

was keen and able and well liked.

She was a hard worker, she always

put all her effort in to be an

engineer.

They say her death is

being treated seriously by the

police. A 17-year-old girl is being

questioned on suspicion of

assaulting her. They are keeping an

open mind on whether it was a hate

crime. BBC News, Nottingham.

Four African countries

with the world's largest elephant

populations are expected to call

on Britain and the European Union

to ban the legal sale

of antique ivory today.

Ministers will sign a petition

at a wildlife summit in Botswana

urging European countries to follow

China's lead in outlawing the sale

of all ivory products.

Alistair Leithead reports.

Africa's elephants are still

severely under threat,

with less animals being born

than the number killed every year

year by poachers.

Here in Botswana, the last true

sanctuary for elephants

on the continent, politicians,

scientists and conservationists

are again meeting to try

to stop the ivory trade.

Techniques used for

counter-terrorism are now being used

to stop poaching and

catch the culprits.

And they're being showcased

at the Giants Club Summit,

which aims to protect half

of Africa's elephants

and their habitat by 2020.

But they are also talking

about the illegal ivory trade

in Britain and the rest of Europe.

The UK and the EU are the biggest

exporters of legal antique ivory.

They are permitted around the world.

Now, we have seen China has

banned their trade in ivory.

Hong Kong is saying

they are doing a similar thing.

The African leaders meeting

here are hoping the EU and the UK

could do likewise and could stop

this trade in antique ivory.

It won't stop the poachers targeting

these elephants for their tusks

across Africa, but it will send

a strong message

to try to reduce

the demand for ivory.

Alastair Leithead,

BBC News, in Botswana.

Syrian activists say nearly 20,000

civilians have fled rebel held areas

of Eastern Ghouta, as government

forces continue their advance.

It is the biggest exodus

from the enclave since the military

stepped up an offensive

to retake it last month.

The seven-year conflict is thought

to have claimed more than 400,000

lives and lead to 11 million

people being displaced.

A report into the failure

of Northamptonshire County Council

has recommended that the authority

be scrapped after widespread

financial and management failures.

Government-appointed investigators

said the problems at the council,

which last month announced £40

million worth of cuts,

were so deep-rooted

that it was impossible to rescue it

in its current form.

The leader of the council

has now resigned.

The first polar bear cub born

in Britain for a quarter

of a century has been

filmed for the first time

after being born in December.

As you can see, mum

and cub are doing well.

The footage was captured by remote

cameras for a Channel 4 documentary.

Highland Wildlife Park is yet

to find out if the cub is a boy

or a girl but, it's already

proving to be a confident

and curious little character.

Yeah, definitely cute. There you go.

The first pictures.

The number of prescriptions

for powerful painkillers

like morphine, tramadol,

and fentanil, has risen by almost

80% in England over the last decade.

Nearly 24 million opioid

prescriptions were issued last year.

And while the latest data shows

the overall figure has stabilised,

for some drugs, the numbers

are still going up.

Over the last five years,

the number of morphine prescriptions

has risen by more than 50%,

and codeine by a third.

Long-term opiod users say they have

experienced terrible side effects.

They made my skin itch, they dulled

all my senses.

There were

hallucinations. I lost my job. I

have not been able to hold down a

job. It has been complete and utter

hell.

We're joined now by Dr Yasir Abbasi,

Clinical Director for

Addiction Services at

Mersey Care NHS Trust.

And we are also joined

by GP, Barbara Murray.

You may be familiar with her, she is

often on the sofa with us.

often on the sofa with us. Doctor,

first of all, give us an idea of the

sense of the problems. When you hear

the statistics and the leap of

painkillers in the past year, it's

alarming.

Not enough attention has

been paid to it. So many are on

these medications without realising

the potential for addiction and

other dangerous side-effects. As

research and evidence has shown, the

use of these painkillers for chronic

pain is not really very efficient.

So there needs to be more effort in

trying to make sure it is

controlled.

There is an obvious

point, it is not the job of the

patients to know all of the

side-effects of something

prescribed, it is the job of the

clinician and to monitor whether

they should take the painkiller.

That is where the problem lies.

There needs to be an understanding

in the overall usefulness of the

drug everywhere, both within the

public domain and also within the

medical community. There needs to be

a collaborative approach in terms of

how to manage this. When someone

comes in with difficult to manage

pain, the easiest option is to give

them tablets. There are... There are

not that many services out there

available, or alternative treatments

available, for doctors to refer

patients to.

You have been a GP for

a long time, 20 years. What you

think what he is saying?

We do have

to take a certain amount of

responsibility because we are

writing prescriptions for these

patients. Often the options are

limited. Over the last few years, I

was trying to think why would it be

opioid medications are being

prescribed more in the last decade.

We have had a few different types of

medication withdrawn from the market

because of side-effects, cardiac

problems, that kind of thing. The

options are quite minimal. As he was

saying, there is nowhere else to

refer people to if they have chronic

pain, apart from perhaps a hospital

pains in -- pain clinic. They are

overwhelmed and have no resources.

You try to do the best for a

patient. They have had terrible

pain, perhaps surgery, starting on

morphine after surgery, they cannot

come off it, and the GP has to take

them off the medication slowly, ween

them, over months. There are no

resources in general practice and

you have to make a regime for them

and bring them back every week and

put them on weekly descriptions. The

fact surgeries are crammed, they get

lost to the service. They go to a

doctor and the doctor does not know

the history. They continue the

prescription. It is complex.

We expect these days to live without

any pain at all. And come to that

acceptance that we have to try and

manage the pain in a different way.

I think that's the stage where at

now.

Let's talk about the risks

people are taking! Long-term, what

are the risks?

If you been taking

opiates painkillers for a long

time...

A long time is what?

Chronic

pain would be described as pain

experienced repeatedly and taking a

medication for longer than six

months so if you've been taking

opiates painkillers for that amount

of time or longer, it has an effect

on your mood, it can make you feel

anxious, it can have an effect on

your immune system, it has an effect

on your sexual health. But also the

fact that that the American

psychiatry Association predictive

medicine suggests when you get

addicted or dependent to

painkillers, that forms a gateway to

more hardcore drugs.

more hardcore drugs. And I have seen

patients slowly reduced the

medication and they are buying it

over the counter and they were

buying around 120 tablets every day.

Taking them every day? 16 in the

morning, 16 in the evening.

Are you

familiar with that? I suspect

virtually every GP will have to or

three patients who are doing that.

They go to different pharmacists and

getting recognised and then judged

and labelled and stigmatised. It's a

downward spiral of depression.

downward spiral of depression. And

it isn't their fault at all. We have

a responsibility to recognise that

and try do something to help them.

Thank you very much the time this

morning.

The museum ship HMS Belfast has been

a landmark on the Thames in central

London since 1971 -

today she celebrates her 80th

birthday so we've sent

Matt to have a look.

Just walking through into the

captain 's Bridge. The operations

room were all the main radar was in

place. This is the comfort -- the

compass platform as well. It was

launched in 1938. As Steph said,

1971, it came through the Thames.

Eight years since that launch. A

fascinating ship. It weighs over

11,000 tons and the length of it is

as long as to Big Ben is laid one

next to the other. We will be taking

a further look around. Let's get on

with the weather. It's not too bad

outside.

Here and across the rest of the UK,

a big shock away. After seeing

temperatures, 16 degrees in parts of

Wales, some will struggle to get

above freezing. Today, Snow Ltd are

the hills of the Grampians in

Central Southern Highlands,

particularly eastern hills. Rain

around, showers in Northern Ireland

to go through the morning. Areas of

rain across northern England, the

North Midlands and East Anglia.

We'll see what to showers towards

the far south of Wales will the

Bristol channel over the next hour

or two. They will drift northwards

and through the day, sunny spells

across the south. Nice in the sun is

out but that will set off a few more

showers and some of those could

become heavy and Bunbury. Northern

England, fairly cloudy, as will

Northern Ireland. North-east England

and parts of Scotland with more snow

to come in the hills. Tebbit 's only

three degrees in the north. Further

south across the country with those

sunny spells between the showers, we

could get up to around 14, 15

degrees in one of two spots.

Tonight, what shall all of a sudden

that rain and snow mix across

Scotland and north-east England

pushes its way to the south. A few

snow flurries anywhere. Temperatures

really start to drop. Many below

freezing as we start tomorrow

morning. A cold day, a windy day

tomorrow with an icy wind chill.

Snow flurries possible just about

anywhere. We could see some longer

spells of snow across parts of

Lincolnshire in Yorkshire. Snow

blowing around in the strong winds

as well. Really fine, dry snow.

Parts of northern Scotland will stay

dry throughout but all, it will be a

very, very chilly day. Temperatures

in the teams this week but very few

will get much above around two,

three degrees. Saturday night in the

Sunday, a spell of more significant

snow pushing across. It looks like

England and Wales. The forecast

could change. Clearing to sunshine

and showers later on but even on

Sunday, the icy wind will be making

itself known. Temperatures staying

below freezing all day long. A big

change on the way compare to what we

have seen so far this week but a

fairly short-lived icy blast,

temperatures slowly, slowly climbing

as we go into next week as high

pressure gradually builds.

as we go into next week as high

pressure gradually builds. A short

icy blast.

It may come as a shock to discover

that the UK is the biggest exporter

of legal ivory in the world,

with antique carvings,

jewellery and ornaments often

fetching thousands of pounds

in antique sales.

But four African countries

with the largest remaining elephant

populations are now calling

on the UK and European countries

to follow China's example and stop

all forms of ivory trading.

Joining us now from Botswana

is our Africa correspondent Alastair

Leithead.

Joining us -- tell is a bit about

what is happening there.

The president of Botswana is

speaking to the various dignitaries

and experts in Botswana to talk

about the issues affecting elephants

and their habitats across Africa.

One issue is that of trade in ivory.

And that legal trade in ivory in

Europe is something they are hoping

to try and stop. There was a big UK

government consultation. The

Minister to Africa is here and

certainly says the government is

working towards it. As things stand,

the emphasis is on the fact that

although poaching has dropped

slightly across Africa, still the

really big problem. More elephants

are killed by... Every year... That

is... Alistair, thank you very much.

James Lewis, the first auctioneer to

ban legal ivory at his auction

house.

When do you make that

decision? Just over two years ago.

What was the thinking? I'd be a

patron of Born Free to 15 years.

Animals are my main love, my

passion, I've been to Africa three

times a year and I have seen the

elephants out there, worked with the

ivory sniffer dogs at Nairobi

airport tracing that ivory from the

fields of tenure right the way

through to the Oriental carving

Ivory workshops.

Other people are

free to go to other houses, auction

houses. Would it be the correct

thing to say no, this stuff cannot

be sold here. Unless we decide

unilaterally, it can't happen.

We've

got to be very careful because what

we don't want to do is cause one

problem by trying to solve another.