hello. good morning, it is wednesday, it's 9am. i'm victoria derbyshire. 72 dead, 20 of them children in a suspected chemical attack in north—west syria. the pictures of dead and dying children are almost impossible to look at. what can be done, if anything? i lost my son, my children, my neighbours, my daughter. they're all gone. i only have got left... we will be live on the ground where it happened and we'll ask whether the attack was carried out on the orders of the syrian president? also on the programme, in an exclusive interview a mum whose violent and abusive ex is subject to the first ever court orderforcing him to is subject to the first ever court order forcing him to tell authorities if he gets a new girlfriend tells us she hopes it will protect other women. no matter how much fear you have and no match how much fear you have and no match how much fear you have and no match how much blackmailing and

intimidation you go for it, because if peoplejudge you intimidation you go for it, because if people judge you and you keep believing what your abuser is saying, at the end you're going to lose yourself and somehow, you can lose yourself and somehow, you can lose yourself and somehow, you can lose your life. we will bring you the full exclusive interview shortly. an investigation by this programme and the asian network discover the muslim women paying to marry, have sex with and then divorce a stranger so that they can get with their first husband. then divorce a stranger so that they can get with their first husbandm is very, very regularment so all the time. a lot of people are under the impression that the marriage is over. so as far as impression that the marriage is over. 50 as far as are' impression that the marriage is over. so as far as are' concerned it is against the religion? it is forbidden. hello and welcome to the programme. we're live until iiam. a really busy programme today. we'll bring you the latest breaking news and developing stories. a little later we'll hear how

various politicians are working together to try and stop benefit changes which will leave some bereaved spouses and children worse off. it follows our interview with a man called alan yesterday who has terminal cancer and weeks to live. he told us his wife would be better off if he died today instead of tomorrow. do get in touch on all the stories we're talking about this morning — use the hashtag victoria live and if you text, you will be charged at the standard network rate. our top story today. the un security council will hold an emergency session later to discuss a suspected chemical attack in syria which is reported to have killed at least 72 people, many of them children. the us has accused the assad regime of "barbarism" and joined britain and france in calling on the united nations to order a full investigation. the syrian government denies using chemical weapons and russia claims that a rebel arms store was hit.

you may find images in sarah corker‘s report upsetting. hundreds of innocent syrians, including many children, struggling to breathe after a suspected chemical attack in idlib province. distressing images and evidence that will no doubt dominate emergency talks held by the un security council later today. global leaders have called for a rapid investigation into what happened here. some of the injured were treated across the border in turkey. medics wore face masks to protect themselves from the toxic gases. translation: we were affected by the gas. we couldn't stand up. i felt dizzy and sick. i suffered from shortness of breath. i couldn't breathe. this apparent chemical strike on a rebel held town has brought furious international reaction. the us, britain and france have all blamed the syrian government for the attack.

i'm appalled by the reports that there's been a chemical weapons and attack on a town south of idlib, allegedly by the syrian regime. we condemn the use of chemical weapons in all circumstances. if proven, this will be further evidence of the barbarism of the syrian regime. using chemical weapons is a war crime. president assad's regime denied launching tuesday's attack, echoing denials it has made over the course of syria's six year civil war. and just as doctors were treating those who survived, the hospital was hit by an airstrike. the attack will overshadow an international conference in brussels later, discussing aid effort in syria. thousands of civilians are still trapped by fighting. what effective action can the international community now take to prevent a repeat of this? lyse doucet is in brussels.

what can the international community do? well, this is a summit that was called to focus as the title says on the future of syria, but time and again these world leaders are being forced to the very punishing present reality of the syrian conflict and right behind me in the last hour, one after another, world leaders went by issuing a strongly worded condemnation of this latest atrocity in syria and another alleged war crime. and warning of a price to pay, but as always, what will be the price when the foreign secretary borisjohnson price when the foreign secretary boris johnson passed price when the foreign secretary borisjohnson passed by here, i asked him for his reaction to the alleged war crime. i have seen nothing to suggest or rather to lead us to think that it

is anything but the regime and all the evidence i have and there maybe more to come out of this by the way, all the evidence i have seen reporter: what have you seen? all the evidence that i have seen suggests that this was the assad regime who did it in the full knowledge that they were using illegal weapons in a barbaric attack on their own people. i would like to see those culpable pay a price for this. reporter: what is the price? that's been said time and time again.|j certainly do not see how a government like that can continue to have any kind of legitimate administration of the people of syria. thank you very much. another warning of a price to pay, but it is syrian civilians, including syrian children, who are

paying the heaviest price of all in this conflict. the arguments about who carried out the attack and today and later today in new york, world powers will argue about what is to be done. when the un secretary general went by i asked him whether it was a defining moment for the international community. he has called it a moment of truth. the last time there was a big chemical attack on syrian civilians, the then president of the us, president 0bama, called it a red line. it wasn't, nothing really happened to president assad. so, practically, what could be done? is it simply diplomatic sanctions? is it simply diplomatic sanctions? is it economic sanctions? what? well we'll just it economic sanctions? what? well we'lljust go back to the summer of 2013 when the british parliament voted not to take military action in syria and that played a role in then president 0bama's decision also not to use military strikes in order to

punish president assad for the chemical attack in 2013 which let's remind our viewers killed 1,000 people and was confirmed to be the use of the illegal chemical which is sarin gas so we're back at the same place again with the world community discussing whether another red line has been crossed. nobody, no country, wants to including britain, wa nts to country, wants to including britain, wants to send more forces to fight another war in syria. so they have to look at what kind of military pressure is possible, what kind of sanctions are available, but first of all, they have to conclude, give decisive proof as to who carried out this attack, what were the consequences of it, and what within all the tools available to the international community can be the consequences for those who carried it out? and this is a big attack, but i have come back from spending two weeks in syria and on an almost daily basis there are accusations

that a use of chemicals or chancellor reen gas is used somewhere at chancellor reen gas is used somewhere at some chancellor reen gas is used somewhere at some time in syria. sometimes we notice them and sometimes we don't and today we're noticing them. thank you very much lyse. joanna is in the bbc newsroom with a summary of the rest of the day s news. good morning. a woman whose former partner has been convicted of domestic violence offences and has been ordered to inform police about every new relationship he enters into hopes that the court order will help future victims. under the seven—year criminal behaviour 0rder, kylle godfrey must inform police if he is in a relationship for more than 1a days. scotland yard says it's the first time that a court order has been used to protect victims of domestic abuse. this programme will be speaking exclusively to kylle's former partner, shira. a number of online services are charging "divorced" muslim women

thousands of pounds to take part in so—called "halala" islamic marriages — an investigation by this programme and the asian network has found in reality they are sham marriage where women pay to marry, have sex with and then divorce a stranger, so they can get back with their first husbands — often leaving women open to financial exploitation, blackmail and even sexual abuse. a child has suffered life—threatening injuries after being bitten by a dog in kent. the attack happened in chatham yesterday afternoon. two people have been arrested over the incident and the dog was shot dead by police. the prime minister has indicated that free movement of eu citizens across british frontiers may need to continue in some form after brexit. theresa may explained that while immigration would be under british control from the moment the uk left the eu, there would need to be a period of implementation. the european parliament will vote later today on a resolution laying out the terms it believes the eu must demand during

brexit negotiations. it says the uk must honour its financial liabilities and abide by eu standards if it wants to maintain a close trading relationship with the bloc. within the past few minutes, nigel farage has been addressing members of the european parliament where he was quickly reprimanded for his language. you're behaving like the mafia. you think we're a hostage. we're not. we're free to go. 85, no, i know, i know, i do understand... ido know, i do understand... i do understand... translation: sorry mr farage. listen, i will try and give you the chance to speak and say everything you want to say. if you talk about the mafia and say this parliament is behaving like the mafia, that's not acceptable. applause

no, i downed stand... i do understand, sir, mr president, i do understand, sir, mr president, i do understand national sensitivities and i'll change it to gangsters, all right? and that is how, that is how we're being treated. that's a summary of the latest bbc news — more at 9.30am. let's get some sport withjessica. manchester united are still unbeaten, but they'll be worried about finishing in the top four now. they drew 1—1 with everton at old trafford. i'm sure fans will be worried about that. here is one of the goals that you don't expect to see from an everton defender. philjagielka look at this touch to put them 1—0 up. ashley williams was given a red card for handball. manchester united equalised by a

penalty. for manchester united fans i guess it is whether you consider your glass half empty or half full. half the matches have been draws and they are four points off fourth place, and they will be worried about the fourth qualification spot for the champions league. what's the latest with david moyes and sunderland after controversial comments earlier this week to a female reporter. he threatened to slap a female reporter during an interview. the fa chairman greg clarke has come out to criticise david moyes. clarke said it was regrettable and distasful and showed a complete lack of respect. he said it is doubly bad to use such a term to a woman because there is a lot of violence against women in society and terms like thatjust aren't disrespectful. this comes after david moyes was backed by sunderland and problems for sunderland and problems for sunderland and problems for sunderland and david moyes continued on the pitch. they lost 2—0 at leicester. they're rooted to the

bottom of the premier league table and still eight points from safety. republic of ireland's women's football team have threatened to go on strike, what's happened? this centres around player treatment. now a group of the players have come out publicly and decided to speak out on the lack of support, the lack of finance, and the kind of lack of organisation as pa rt the kind of lack of organisation as part of that team. the players have said that some of them en route to matches have had to change in public to i lets. matches have had to change in public toilets. no way for, you know, an elite training environment to take place and they've refused to train today unless the governing body, the fai hold talks with their representatives. the fai have said they're disappointed representatives. the fai have said they‘ re disappointed that representatives. the fai have said they're disappointed that players would threaten to strike and refuse to play for their country and they've made repeated attempts at payment and compensation. now, the players, the team, have a match

against slovakia on monday, but it will be interesting to see if that goes ahead at all victoria with a breakdown of communication between the two at the moment. ok, the two at the moment. 0k, thank you very much, jess. all this morning — an exclusive interview with the mum of two whose violent ex partner is believed to be the first person in england and wales to be subject to a court order which means he must tell police if he gets a new girlfriend. it's intended to protect future victims. under the seven—year criminal behaviour order, kylle godfrey must inform police if he is in a relationship for more than 1a days, officers can then tell new partners about his previous violent behaviour under the domestic violence disclosure scheme. you in an exclusive interview, his former partner shira — who was subjected to brutal attacks and controlling behaviourfrom him over a period of 6 years — told us she hopes the order will protect other women in the future. the 33 year old — who doesn't want us to herfull name —

moved to this country from the philippines about 8 years ago. she has two children with godfrey, aged 3 and 4. in her only broadcast interview she began by giving her ina way, in a way, they said that it would be a bit difficult to get it. -- before we got the order, by the way. because we have not got it before. but having the order now, it makes me feel more safe and i feel that other women would also be protected by this order because basically if he will inform the police if he has a new girlfriend, the police would be able to speak to that woman, and i think be able to speak to that woman, and ithinka be able to speak to that woman, and i think a lot of women out there, not just i think a lot of women out there, notjust me, will be protected from domestic violence in the future. but it will be up to him to report himself to the police to let them

know he is in a relationship. yes, it would be up to him but the police said that if he was with someone and he did not record it, and the woman called police on him, like i used to do before, i used to call the police him numerous times, but i did not go to court or press charges, because i kept going back to him. this time, they say that they can't prosecute him straightaway for just breaching that order. i understand that you we re that order. i understand that you were with kyle godfrey for six yea rs. were with kyle godfrey for six years. he regularly would he attack or beat you? —— how regularly. the first two years of our relationship, it happened may be for a longer period, for example 1—4 months or 1-6 period, for example 1—4 months or 1—6 months. period, for example 1—4 months or 1-6 months. it depended on his mood

or if there was a problem that arise to. but in the latter part of the relationship, it was getting more frequent, and i can see that he is getting out of control, so i can't monitor it any more, or do not know how frequent it is any more. all i remember is that sometimes even little things would actually trigger him, and he could just throw something on my face. like if he feels like unhappy, if i may say, so thatis feels like unhappy, if i may say, so that is how it is. but with a six—year relationship, there were a few times where i was really injured, and he destroyed my staff, leaving me with nothing. can i ask what kind of things he did to you?

punching. he normally punched my chest or the side of my body. sometimes i feel like it is bullying as well because sometimes he would do some things in front of me that actually scare me, like lighting a lighter with spray, or turning a cooker, and when the alarm goes off in the house, i get scared because the cooker gets really hot. 0r flicking a cigarette in front of me. 0r flicking a cigarette in front of me. or even sometimes it went really bad when one time he actually hit me, slapped me really hard and i lost consciousness. and instead of him getting me up, he poured cold water on me, so i would wake up. and there was an occasion, i think, where he

smashed your head against the floor. yes. that was actually the calling that i had because i felt like at that i had because i felt like at that moment, when i was dragged into the kitchen and he was smashing my head on the floor, like four or five times, i can't remember, but that was when i realised, i thought i was going to die that time, to be honest with you, victoria, because no one was helping me and he cannot control himself any more. so ijust had a little prey and i realised that not one deserves to be in that position, and my life is more important than this. i feel like if and my life is more important than this. ifeel like if i am going to die here, what are people going to say? die here, what are people going to 7 i die here, what are people going to say? i lost my life with this horrible man? i also thought about my family back home, if something

happened to me no one would even know. goodness, that is such a sad thought that if something happened to you, you feel your family would not find out what he had done to you. yes, because that's how he makes me feel sometimes. even though i have been in the uk for a few yea rs i have been in the uk for a few years now, and i have children with him, it is like i am still a foreigner. it's just sad. him, it is like i am still a foreigner. it'sjust sad. women like me, women out there that are still suffering from domestic violence, you only realise when you are in a life or death situation. i am here to tell children that they are that they should not have to wait to get to that moment because you might not be lucky enough to survive it. because that time, when he saw me bleeding, he just stood because that time, when he saw me bleeding, hejust stood up because that time, when he saw me bleeding, he just stood up and realised what he had done. but what if the person will not wake up, or

will not stop, and then you end up being dead? was changed in the end? why did you work with the police to bring this man to justice? because i felt like even though i was the victim, i felt like felt like even though i was the victim, ifelt like i was felt like even though i was the victim, i felt like i was the one running away from the police, because there are so many things that have been stuck in my mind, being ina that have been stuck in my mind, being in a domestic relationship actually takes away your power. at some point you just believe whatever he says, what ever your ex would say to you. when there are so many factors, like everything that surrounds you, you feel like you should not be doing it, and sometimes you feel like you are going to be the bad person, you are going to be the bad person, you are going to be the bad mother, and you do not want to do that. thankfully i had a very persistent police officer, and she never gave up on

me. she kept on pushing me, encouragingly, and of course the co nsta nt encouragingly, and of course the constant calls encouragingly, and of course the co nsta nt calls a nd encouragingly, and of course the constant calls and letters and e—mails that i received, plus i have family support, like my cousin came over, so i have a bit more of that push to go to court. in february this year, godfrey was jailed for three years for his violence against you and another woman whilst he was on bail. how do you feel about that sentence? well, that sentence, when they did the sentencing i felt relief, because i feel like this is it, you know, iwas relief, because i feel like this is it, you know, i was able to go to the end part. and now i canjust concentrate on moving on. in regards to the other matter, his issues with

other exes that he has, i cannot really comment about it. but for whatever reason, i thinkjust as a woman like me, sometimes you go to feel like it is too much and for you it is too enough, and you have to do what you have to do, which is to stand yourself. -- stand up for yourself. when he is released from jail, if he ends up in another relationship is supposed to tell the police about it, that is the condition of the order. do you have faith that he will actually do that? ido faith that he will actually do that? i do not think he will do that. but i think he will be more cautious about it and this order, i hope, will also give him some thinking before he comes —— goes into a relationship. he will have to think that him, or even other men, if you cannot treat the woman right and you

cannot treat the woman right and you cannot cope with yourself with a person rightfully and humanely, then don't go for it. there are other ways for them to go out with a woman. but i have experienced being in an intimate relationship triggers these issues, and domestic issues, that result in violence, then don't go for it. because now the law has improved in terms of protecting women. but my faith with him, i don't think he will report it, but i think he will think about it first. you have said that you felt at times that you could not escape the relationship with him. i wonder if this order had been imposed when he had met you, how would it have protected you and your children? well, if this order was placed

before me, then i would of course, if the police had talked to me about it, how serious it was before, then maybe it would change more of my life now. but in terms of being in a domestic relationship, sometimes even for myself i cannot explain how i stayed with him that long. even though there are some people out there like his family, who told me about what happened in his previous relationships, but still you feel like you are in love with the person and the person will change. what would your message be two other victims of domestic abuse who might be watching this interview right now, who may be trapped in such a relationship, frightened to speak out? what would you say to them? well, i just want to tell them that

there is was away to get out of it. it is not going to be easy because at the end of the day you feel like you are out of it, but somehow you we re you are out of it, but somehow you were trapped with the memories and the pain that you have gone through. ati the pain that you have gone through. at i hope that they will not wait for them to waste their lives for so many years being with someone that they do not deserve. no one deserves to be in domestic violence. no matter what race you are, where you come from, no matter how long you have been in the country. no one deserves to be in that relationship, especially women with children. they do not deserve to see domestic violence, and i hope that they will come out and stand for it. no matter

how much you have and how much intimidation you get, you go for it because at the end of the day, if peoplejudge you because at the end of the day, if people judge you and if you keep believing what europe user is saying, at the end you are going to lose yourself and somehow you can lose yourself and somehow you can lose yourself and somehow you can lose your life. all you have to do is just lose your life. all you have to do isjust one lose your life. all you have to do is just one day wake up and have the strength to run away or turn your back. and just think of the next step, once you are out of the relationship. and don't go back. if you turn your back, don't keep coming back, because the more you come back, the more you put yourself at risk. and you can lose a lot. you can lose your children, you can lose your life, you can lose yourself. even the smile on your face. that is what i want to tell other women out there. that is such a powerful

message from you. do you feel free now? yes. i am sorry for crying. i have not tried for so long, in terms of like emotionally. i used to cry when i was with kyle and now sometimes, i am when i was with kyle and now sometimes, iam mostly when i was with kyle and now sometimes, i am mostly happy now and iam more sometimes, i am mostly happy now and i am more peaceful. victoria, ijust wa nt to i am more peaceful. victoria, ijust want to get this opportunity to tell also people in the position, or people who can actually help these women like i have experienced. please, we have to help women, not just talking and stuff. we need to push them out of this, they need support. the government should support. the government should support women, because it was really hard. sometimes you want to come out but you cannot even go to a refuge, especially like people's corners,

because they are not going to respect you if you do not have access to public funds or if you are not a british citizen. regardless, the government should give more support to women out there so they can go to court and end the proceedings and once and for all move on with their lives. her ex—partner in is injail. he is believed to be the first person in england and wales to be sub to a court order which means he must tell the police if he gets a new girlfriend. if you want to find out help, you can by contacting the bbc‘s actionline. let me read some comments from you. audrey says,

"bravo to this young lady to help bring this animal to justice." a viewer says, "i experienced domestic violence for 18 years. i'm glad the help is out there for men and women so they don't have to stay with an abuserment i'm so proud of this lady speaking out and i hope it will help others suffering to take back control of their lives." the women who pay thousands to marry, have sex with and then divorce a stranger, so that they can get back with their first husband. after our interview yesterday with alan — a father of two with terminal cancer — church leaders and politicians have united to say they are going to fight the government's cuts to support for bereaved parents which come in tomorrow. we'll speak to three of them just after 10am. here'sjoanna in the bbc newsroom with a summary of today's news. the un security council is to hold emergency talks

following a suspected chemical attack in syria — which has left at least 58 people dead, including a number of children. the assad regime denies using chemical weapons. russia has blamed the poisoning on the rebels. a woman whose former partner has been convicted of domestic violence offences, and has been ordered to inform police about every new relationship he enters into hopes that the court order will help future victims. under the seven—year criminal behaviour order, kylle godfrey must inform police if he is in a relationship for more than 11l days. scotland yard says it's the first time that a court order has been used to protect victims of domestic abuse. a child has suffered life—threatening injuries after being bitten by a dog in kent. the attack happened in chatham

yesterday afternoon. two people have been arrested over the incident and the dog was shot dead by police. the duke and duchess of cambridge will attend what's being called "a service of hope and reconciliation later", for the victims of the westminster attack. around two thousand people are expected to attend the event at westminster abbey. families of the victims, faith leaders and representatives from the emergency services will be among the guests. that's a summary of the latest bbc news. more at 10am. here's some sport now withjess. manchester united left it late to earn a draw in last night's premier league match at home to everton. the visitors scored in the first—half, but zlatan ibrahimovic scored a 94th minute penalty. united are now unbeaten in 20 games but have drawn nine of their home matches. the football association chairman greg clarke has reportedly described david moyes' comments to a bbc reporter as "regrettable" and "distasteful".

sunderland remain bottom of the premier league table after a 2—0 loss last night to a resurgent leicester. defending champion heather watson wasted two match points before eventually winning in three sets at the monterrey 0pen against serbia's nina stojanovic. the masters gets underway tomorrow and danny willett hopes a return to augusta can spark a return to form. he has failed to win a tournament since donning the green jacket last year. that's your headlines. i will be back at 10am. an investigation by this programme and the asian network has found that a number of online services are charging "divorced" muslim women thousands of pounds to take part in what's known as "halala" islamic marriages. in reality they are a sham marriage where women pay to marry, have sex with and then divorce a stranger, so they can get back with their first husbands, often leaving women open

to financial exploitation, blackmail and even sexual abuse. the controversial practice is believed, by a very small minority of muslims, to be the only way a divorced woman can get back with her husband after what's known as a triple talaq — that's an instant divorce where a man just needs to say talaq three times to his wife in order to divorce her. this can even be done by text. athar ahmad has been investigating for us. it's an easy moneymaking scheme. i mean, you get £1,000 for sleeping with a woman in one night. this is adultery. this is infidelity. this is prostitution. we can go to a hotel or something, and complete that thing. and then... as in sleep together, sort of thing? yeah. ok. i remember crying all day long, not eating. even suicidal. it is forbidden.

there is no stronger word i can use. it is absolutely forbidden. three words in a single text message changed her life forever. after being introduced to a potential partner by a family friend when she was in her 20s, she decided to get to know him better. a few months later the couple were married and planning a future together. we have changed her name to protect her identity. what was your relationship with your husband like when you first got married? in the beginning we were struggling to get along with each other and settle in. especially for me. after my marriage, my in—laws decided i would have to stop work as well. so the first year was hard, considerably. she had children with her husband soon after, but then the abuse began.

the first time he was abusive was over money. my parents gave me a lump sum as a wedding present, and he and his parents decided that they wanted it from me, and i refused to give it. what would he do? well, on that occasion he dragged me by my hair through two rooms and tried to throw me out of the house. he would just go crazy. he has thrown things at me, pulled me by my hair, slammed me against the wall. slamming me against the wall became so constant, it became a norm. he strangled me. she hoped things would change. her husband's behaviour, though, became increasingly unpredictable. talk me through what happened on the day he divorced you. so i was at home with the children and he was at work, and during a discussion he sent a text, "talaq, talaq, talaq."

he divorced you ? yeah, he divorced me. my dad said, "your marriage is over, you cannot go back to him." it's a little—known phrase, triple talaq. if the man says that three times in a row, some muslims believe that means the marriage is finished, there and then. it's banned in most muslim countries, but still happens, though it is impossible to know how many women are divorced like this in the uk. men sometimes give a triple talaq during an argument or a fight, like in this case, and then later regret it. if you believe in it, it is possible you will also believe in halala. a small minority think it is the only way a divorced couple are allowed to get back together. halala meets the woman must marry someone else, consummate the marriage and then get a divorce before she is able to remarry her husband. but arranging a halala marriage is something the vast majority of muslims are strongly against.

most imams and clerics said the practice is down to people misunderstanding the laws around divorce and it has nothing to do with their religion. the islamic sharia council regularly have women dropping in, asking about the finer points of an islamic divorce. a triple talaq, is that something you accept at the sharia council? no, we make it clear that it is not accepted. how often do you see it? it is a weekly issue, all the time. a lot of people are under the impression the marriage is over, they have to separate immediately. halala is against the religion? it is harm, it is forbidden, there is no stronger word, it is absolutely forbidden. but she believes some muslims have got the wrong idea about divorce, and in particular halala. if you are told by your parents, by your imam or your community

that the triple talaq is valid, there is no other option. and you have been told the only way you can get back together is through halala, they feel they have no choice. but there are those who are exploiting women's desperation, pushing out halala as a genuine solution, and now it has become a business. so i have come across a number of different facebook pages which are advertising halala services. most say they will supply a man who is willing to marry a woman, have sex with her and then give her a divorce so she can get back with her husband. so this is from someone who says he is happy to come to the uk and pay for his flights, accommodation and service fees. this other one is asking for our address and how old we are. we then find a uk—based halala service, which says it arranges temporary marriages, and to message them privately for more details. we get in touch with them over facebook.

an undercover reporter posing as a divorced muslim woman who is looking to get back with her husband. after weeks of talking over facebook, we finally managed to arrange a meeting and sent our undercover reporter with a hidden camera. at this stage we have no idea who the person behind the facebook account is. it could be someone messing around online, or it could be someone with more—sinister intentions. the man behind the account turns up, tells us he has been busy laying the groundwork. he has a number of other men working with him, all of whom carry out the halala service for a fee. how are you? i am very good, thank you. for you, i contacted three guys, in their 40s. they will take 5,000, and they want to keep it for six months to one year.

keep what? keep the marriage. mosque is cheaper. do you have an idea of which mosque in the uk? i will go and see the people, see a few imams, who will do it easily. the man then offers to carry out the halala service himself, claiming it would be cheaper and safer. if i paid 500, what would i get? 2,500. what would i get for that money? if you want to get it done in a hotel or something. the imam's costs, the witnesses' costs, we have to pay for the certificate and all that. and for sex, if you want to enjoy it properly... you can go to a hotel or something, complete that thing... as in sleep together?

yes. ok. he brings up other women he has helped in the past and how much they have paid to go through with the halala marriage. one of them was in a hotel, but she also paid a lot. she gave £6,000. that was for three months as well. some women who go through a triple talaq become desperate and will do anything to try to save their marriage, including considering going through halala. i was absolutely distraught. i remember crying all day long, not eating, even suicidal. my kids kept me going. and even though he was abusive and divorced you over text, you still wanted to get back together with him? he was the love of my life.

when i married him, i imagined forever. did he regret divorcing you? he did. my ex—husband was so desperate, we were both desperate to get back together, we knew halala was the only option. how did you first hear about halala? so i did a lot of research online in regards to the halala. i started ringing around and through a couple of people i found out that there are certain individuals, imams even, who offer paid services of halala. ifound it would cost between 500 to £2,000. i was so in love with him, i was willing to do anything to get back with him. you were willing to marry a stranger, have sex with him and then divorce him? as awful as that sounds, yes, i was willing to do that. going through halala comes with its risks. the man behind the facebook account tells us he has had other men working with him, one who refused to divorce a woman after carrying out the service.

after one month, i asked him to divorce. he said, "no, i want to stay for six months." i said, "no, she does not want to, you have to finish it." so what happened? i paid him extra money. who did? idid. how do i know you would do that to me? it's all fate. it is a sham marriage, it is misunderstanding the concept of talaq, and the other danger is that this second husband decides, "i have married her now, i have a legitimate marriage certificate, lam not going to divorce her," so she may be stuck with a man that she does not want to be married to. this is adultery, infidelity, prostitution. because halala is such a secretive issue, it is hard to know how widespread

it is, with women often scared their families will find out. it can leave them open to blackmail, financial exploitation and even sexual abuse. you wouldn't really speak about these things to your parents, your siblings, anyone, because if even one person accidentally mentions it, that is it for you. do you have any idea about who was offering the halala service? i heard about certain mosques in the uk containing certain imams who were offering their services for a certain amount of money. so i knew of girls who had gone behind family's backs and had it done and been used for months. i heard of this one woman who paid for the service, probably lied to her parents and said she was going away for a weekend or a day or a night, went to the mosque — there was apparently a designated room

where they did this stuff, and had it done. the imam or whoever offered these services slept with her and allowed other men to sleep with her too. i would call it rape. it is not consensual sex. it is a horrific experience for the woman to have to sleep with someone she does not love or find someone because her husband decided to say three words that should never have been said. and it's notjust ordinary men who are offering these halala services. this advert on gumtree is from someone who claims to be a mufti, a muslim legal expert who gives rulings on religious matters. he says he is offering a private and confidential service. once again, we pose as a woman who has gone through a divorce and get in touch with him.

he gets back within hours, saying he has helped women before and he can arrange a temporary marriage, sex and then a divorce, all within 48 hours. and sex is sold as being an important part of the halala process. he wraps up the meeting by saying he will start looking into arrangements for the wedding, but does not want to put a limit on how long the marriage will last. or how many times our reporter would have to sleep with him. there's nothing to suggest this man

is doing anything illegal. we contacted him after the meeting. he rejects any allegations against him, claiming he has never carried out or been involved in a halala marriage and he made the facebook account for fun as part of a social experiment. he says he encouraged our reporter to tell other members of her family about the situation and that he had no intention of taking it any further. i wanted to see what the islamic sharia council made of the footage. this is the secret film we have recorded. i will show it to you now. having seen the footage, what did

you make of that conversation? does it shock you to see someone offering to marry someone, sleep with them and divorce them for thousands of pounds? i'm just lost for words. this is somebody's sister, daughter, that you are talking to. the basic core values of islam is where you are decent. this is nasty, this is about making money, abusing vulnerable people. what do you think about someone who claims to be able to find imams, find mosques who are willing to carry out these halala marriages? if it is true that these imams know the intention behind this, that it is a halala marriage, then those imams need to be punished. they are selling their faith, they are the worst possible people you can think of.

there are worse stories than i had. farah eventually decided against getting back with her husband and the risk of going through a halala marriage, but she warns there are other women out there like her who are desperate for a solution. it's an easy moneymaking scheme, £1,000 to sleep with a woman for one night. i realised my ex—husband wasn't going to change, he very nearly killed me and if i had gone back, he probably would have succeeded. unless you are in that situation where you are divorced and feeling the pain i felt, nobody will understand the desperation some women feel. later in the programme we'll be talking to a charity which helps women who've been through such attacks. and you can find out more on the story on asian network throughout the day today. coming up, mel b gets a restraining order against her husband stephen belafonte — alleging he beat her, throughout their ten year marriage.

we take a look at the claims. next the situation in syria — we're going to show you some disturbing images which show the horror of the reality of what is happening in the north west province of idlib. these images show children struggling to breathe after a suspected chemical attack which has left 72 dead — many of them children. the un security council will meet in an emergency session this afternoon to discuss the attack. the united states, britain and france have proposed a un resolution condemning the attack, which they blame on the syrian president, basharalassad. in this morning that all evidence points to president assad's forces being behind this attack. boris johnson said this morning. syria denies using chemical weapons. hours after the initial attack, air strikes also hit a hospital in the town where doctors were treating victims, bringing down rubble on medics as they worked.

let's get the latest now from idlib province. abdul aziz ajini is the media officer at the opposition—run idlib health directorate, and dr abdulhay tennari, a lung doctor who treated the injured from a field hospital in sarmin in idlib province. and in paris, 0le solvang is a director with human rights watch. he has been investigating the attack to get to the bottom of what actually killed the 72 people on tuesday. dr abdulhay tennari, you are a lung doctor and treated some of the affected in idlib province, can you walk us through what you saw? yesterday at 6am, i was south of

idlib. many people died immediately and around 500 people immediately became sick. the syrian defence started to evacuate them. to secure them. so there were different cases, depending on the amount of gas they had inhaled, and where the rocket exploded. i saw many children sick and many children who had died. 20 children died approximately and 21 women. the rest were men. they were suffering from difficulties breathing, and they had specific signs, which was a constricted breathing. when we see the signs, it is serious. it is similar with the

signs of sarin gas, nerve agent that produces severe secretions in the lungs. the patient suffocates because they are respiratory system is full of secretions. so we started to treat them based on these symptoms and we tried to find the antidote. after giving the antidote, there was a very good response, which made us think it was definitely sarin gas. abdul aziz ajini is the media officer at the opposition—run idlib health directorate. is it clear to you that this was sarin gas? well, when we first got

information about the suspected chemical attack, we went to hospitals and met doctors there and had some photos and videos of people being carried out. and they told us that this was something new, it was not like previous chlorine attacks. in terms of the symptoms and the respiratory systems, in terms of the nerve systems, there was much difference between the syndrome is of quarrying and maybe other poisonous gases. “— of quarrying and maybe other poisonous gases. —— the symptoms of chlorine. that is why we started thinking about other agents like sarin gas or organic phosphorus. 0le solvang, who do you think is

behind this and why? there is no doubt that hundreds of people were exposed to these conditions. the deadliness of the exposure is more deadly than we have seen with other chlorine gas attacks. some of the pupils of the victims pointed towards a nerve agent like sarin gas. it is impossible to conclude for sure exactly what chemical was used without laboratory tests of the soil or of the victims. but we do not that these people were exposed to some sort of chemical. the other thing that we do now is that the syrian government forces were conducting attacks in this area at the time, when these people were

exposed. what we are trying to figure out and to conclude is what is the relationship between these warplanes and the exposure. there are warplanes and the exposure. there a re two warplanes and the exposure. there are two main theories. 0ne warplanes and the exposure. there are two main theories. one is that the syrian government warplanes dropped the chemicals, which then exposed the people. the other theory is that a bomb hit chemicals on the ground and affected lot of people that way. no matter which one of these theories is the right one, what is clear is that chemical attacks in syria continue and the government continues conducting them. human rights watch has documented numerous chemical attacks by the government and the problem is really that the security council has failed to really impose any sort of consequences for that. in february, russia and china vetoed a resolution imposing sanctions on the government

for chemical attacks and it seems obvious that combatants, forces on the ground had taken those vetoes as a green light to continue carrying out chemical attacks. gentlemen, thank you for your time. the un security council meeting today, of course, and we will see what comes out of that if anything. we appreciate your time. in a couple of minutes, the latest news and sport and a full weather forecast. let's have a quick look. also, senior labourfigures have a quick look. also, senior labour figures criticise the party for not expelling ken livingstone over his claims that hitler supported zionism. time for the latest weather. this morning, there has been a chilly start to the day for some parts of england and wales. the temperatures are picking up nicely. for most of us, the forecast is mainly dry. what is happening, we have high pressure firmly in charge

of our weather. the wind across the far north of scotland and the northern isles is tending to ease. after a sunny start, we will notice more cloud moving in from the north west. most of us will miss these. equally, we will see some cloud and sunny spells. starting the forecast for this afternoon in the north of england, you can see the extent of the cloud. in the north—east, there will be some sunshine. equally, in scotla nd will be some sunshine. equally, in scotland there will be some sunshine but towards the west at times, there will be a bit more cloud and some showers. some showers already for northern ireland. a few remaining across the coast. any sunshine will be limited. quite a cloudy afternoon. for wales the cloud will continue to build. south wales seeing sunshine and in cardiff, we could see 17 celsius today. south west england also seeing sunshine. but as we move towards the midlands, heading into east anglia, there will be more cloud for southern counties.

again, we will hang onto that sunshine. temperature wise, 11—17 generally, particularly if you are away from the cloud. cardiff, maybe slightly more, 16, the same across certain parts of england and scotland. edinburgh may reach 15 as we go through the afternoon. it will bea we go through the afternoon. it will be a cold night with a touch of frost and high pressure still firmly in charge during thursday and friday. largely dry with sunny spells and variable cloud. heading into the weekend, that is when the high pressure really comes in across our shores. settled conditions except for the north—west where it will be breezy. the weather front will be breezy. the weather front will see a bit more cloud around. and also, splashes of rain. 0ne will see a bit more cloud around. and also, splashes of rain. one last thing i want to show you is the temperature. somewhere across central, eastern or southern england, it could hit 23 but under the influence of the weather front, in the north—west and will be a fresher 13. this is adultery,

infidelity, prostitution. hello. it's wednesday. i'm victoria derbyshire. our top story today — many dead — 20 of them children in a suspected chemical attack in north west syria. as the eu and un meet today to discuss what can be done, a doctor tells us what he saw.|j a doctor tells us what he saw. i saw many children and many children died and 21 women and the remaining are men. in an exclusive interview we heard from a mother whose violent and abusive former partner has been subject to the first ever court order forcing him to tell authorities if he gets a new girlfriend. she says she thinks it will help and urges women in a similar relationship to find the strength to walk away. you can lose a lot. you can lose your children. you can lose your life. you can lose yourself. even

the smile on your face. so many of you respond to go that interview. this texter says, "what an amazing, clearand interview. this texter says, "what an amazing, clear and inspiring message today. please make sure you pass on our huge gratitude for her speaking out." church leaders and politicians from all sides say they are planning to fight government cuts to support for bereaved parents. it follow our interview with, "alan "a terminally—ill fatheried. it follow our interview with, "alan "a terminally-ill fatheried. at this point you're contemplating death and you want to go out of this world with dignity, with some grace, with some peace of mind. not full of financial anxiety and feeling as if the government has just taken money away from you. the new system of support comes into force at midnight tonight. we will under speaking to some

politicians who are vowing to fight them. joanna is in the bbc newsroom with a summary of the rest of the day s news. the un security council is to hold emergency talks following a suspected chemical attack in syria which has left at least 72 people dead including a number of children. the assad regime denies using chemical weapons. syria's ally, russia, has blamed the poisoning on the rebels — accusing them of storing toxic agents in a factory which was hit by a syrian airstrike. the foreign secretary, borisjohnson, says all evidence points to assad forces being behind the attack. i have seen absolutely nothing to suggest or, rather, to lead us to think that it is anything but the regime. all the evidence i have, and there may be more to come out on this... reporter: what have you seen? all the evidence i have

seen suggests that this was the assad regime who did it in the full knowledge that they were using illegal weapons in a barbaric attack on their own people. i would like to see those culpable pay a price for this. a woman whose former partner has been convicted of domestic violence offences and has been ordered to inform police about every new relationship he enters into, hopes that the court order will help future victims. under the seven—year criminal behaviour 0rder, kylle godfrey must inform police if he is in a relationship for more than 11l days. scotland yard says it's the first time that a court order has been used to protect victims of domestic abuse. a child has suffered serious injuries after being bitten by a dog in kent. the attack happened in chatham yesterday afternoon. two people have been arrested over the incident and the dog was shot dead by police. the european parliament will vote later today on a resolution laying out the terms it believes the eu must demand during brexit negotiations.

it says the uk must honour its financial liabilities and abide by eu standards if it wants to maintain a close trading relationship with the bloc. the eu's chief brexit negotiator issued a warning to the uk over its approach to leaving the european union. the uk letter makes clear that the uk government will push for negotiations and the withdrawal and the future relations. this is a very risky approach. to succeed we need on the contrary to devolve the first phase of the negotiations exclusively to reachen agreement and the principles of the exit. that's a summary of the latest bbc news. more at 10.30am. thank you for your comments about the interview. emily says, "i would like to say thanks to sharia. i'm in

a controlling relationship and married with two kids. it isn't violent, but i found myself getting depressed in this relationship. i tried to end the relationship, but he always says he will do better. because i don't want our children to lose their father i keep trying, but i'm at the point where i don't know what is the truth anymore because he tells me that i'm the manipulative one and he is the victim. i'm looking for solutions and seeking help. this interview made me more determined. " please contact actionline and they can point you in the right direction. lin isa the right direction. lin is a on e—mail, "what a brave young woman. having never been in a vicious violent relationship it is heartbreaking to listen to the years of torment three went through. she is young and so very wise. let's hope her life has turned around for good." gayle says, "i feel compelled to comment. it was the most soulful and honest and brave dialogue on the

personal subject of domestic abuse. i hope she feels free to enjoy her life and children as she is entitled to andi life and children as she is entitled to and i hope she doesn't feel alone and estranged in this country." this person doesn't leave their name. "just been listening to that lovely lady talking about domestic. i was crying along with her. i was a victim a long time ago and i know how difficult it is to escape. i would like to say thank you to her, she has probably given courage to women today." "i am a man who was subject to domestic violence from my ex—wife, but being a man, i wasn't ever able to get support." asi ever able to get support." as i say, whether you're male for female go to actionline and they will be able to give you advice on domestic abuse and violence. if you wa nt to domestic abuse and violence. if you want to read more about this story and it is clear you do, then go to the bbc news website and you'll find more details there. here's some sport now withjess.

manchester united manager jose mourinho continued his criticism of his defender luke shaw. united rescued a point against everton to extend their unbeaten run to 20 games. but half of those have been draws, and fourth place now looks increasingly unlikely. everton took the lead in the first half. defender philjagielka with the deft touch of a striker. it was manchester united's mr reliable, zlatan ibrahimovic, who equalised with a penalty, in the 94th minute. here's mourinho after the match, on substitute shaw. for me his performance was good, but the performance was good because he was on my side and i was thinking for him. if he is on the other side, it wouldn't be the same. that's not possible at this level. he has to grow up. he has to mature and understand the game betterment he

has to be more focussed. the chairman of the english football association greg clarke has reportedly commented on sunderland manager david moyes, over his remarks to a woman bbc reporter. clarke's been quoted as saying, "it was regrettable, it was distasteful and showed a complete lack of respect". yesterday sunderland publicly backed moyes, but on the field his side are still struggling. they lost 2—0 at leicester last night and remain rooted to the foot of the premier league table. they're eight points from safety. 0lympic showjumping champion nick skelton has announced his retirement from the sport. skelton, who is 59, won gold at the rio games last summer on his horse big star. four years earlier at london 2012, he helped great britain to a team gold medal. in a statement skelton said the sport has given him more than he could have hoped for over the past 43 years. all the best to nick in his retirement. that's all the sport for now, i will have the headlines at

10.30am. at midnight tonight, cuts are coming in which will leave some bereaved spouses and children worse off. since we interviewed alan on our programme yesterday, a father of two with incurable cancer who has weeks to live. church leaders and politicians have united to say they are going to fight the government's cuts to support for bereaved parents. if alan , which isn't his real name, died today, he's calculated his wife and children would receive up to £60,000 in bereavement payments. if he dies on thursday, when government reforms to these benefits come in, he says his family would get up to £6,000. on our programme yesterday alan described the cuts as savage and draconian. the government says it's modernising an outdated system while increasing the initial lump sum for bereaved spouses, and anyone on the payments now will continue to receive them. listening to alan's story was a conservative former work and pensions minister who described the cuts as "unfair",

"wrong" and "callous" and promised she would take action. here's what alan had to say yesterday. i was shocked that the system of benefits that has been in place, as i understand, for 70 years, since 1916, although it's been renamed, the essence of this support is that when somebody is widowed, there is financial support available for young children up to the age of 19 and 20. and the fact that that's being taken away seems utterly callous and savage. i'm going to explain to our audience on your behalf, if it's all right, alan, that the reason that it's difficult for you to talk is because you have cancer which, as i understand it, started in your tonsils before spreading to your lungs and chest.

and last december, you were given between one and five months to live. that's correct. and it essentially means, therefore, that if i were to have died, or still do, in the next couple of days, my family would benefit from the current support system. two days later, we lose £50,000. what conversations have you had with your family about this? i've explained the situation to them. i've said in some ways that it wouldn't be a bad thing if they lost me a couple of days early, because at least there would be more financial support available. of course, even talking in those terms is very, very upsetting. and how do they react

when you say that? well, they're very shocked that the government which, as far as we all understand, talks a good story about being caring and compassionate, but in actual fact has deemed arbitrarily that the period of bereavement, which for 70 years has been set by the government as children up to the age of 19 or 20, suddenly, the whole process of bereavement is no different, for some unknown and unexplained reason. and theresa may, even yesterday, supported the theory, no support for it whatsoever, that you can acceptably brief for 18 months.

bereave for 18 months. and then suddenly, all is well. we have all had people, known people, who have had losses. and the losses, and the pain and the anguish, don't suddenly turn off like a tap at month 18. so it was perhaps one of the most naive things someone senior has ever said. at this point in one's life, you're contemplating death. and you want to go out of this world with some dignity, with some grace, with some peace of mind. not full of financial anxiety, feeling as if the government has just taken money away from you that you had earned legitimately. so i would call upon the lords, the second chamber, to step up now,

and call the government to account, because i think they can and should mount a cross—party initiative to stop this terrible situation. alan? hello. i commit to you to try to speak to the other parties across the house, to see if there's anything we can do to extend the period of support for widowed parents, because i'm really upset by the way in which this is being done, and the way it is being presented. because it is about saving money, and it is about giving more money to parents who are widowed — partners who are widowed, without families. and it is not recognising the devastation that it can cause

to parents with young children. so i will have discussions with members across the house of lords in all parties, and see if there is anything we can do to encourage the government to extend the support for parents. thank you. since that interview baroness altman has pledged to raise the issue in the house of lords in an urgent question tomorrow — where a minister is expected to have to respond. we can now speak to baroness hollis, the labour politician who oversaw the introduction of the current bereavement support system twenty years ago. this was just a year after losing her own husband. she was a department for work and pensions minister for eight years under labour. the also dr alan smith, the bishop of st albans, who wants the government to think again. and finally lord german, a lib dem member of the house of lords who is working with other party's to reverse the changes. to say to our audience, baroness

hollis, you are frustrated listening to some of that because you were saying that it is too late. —— i have to say to our audience. it is too late because it is now law. we have had instruments supported in the house of lords in february, and it has gone through the commons and ta kes it has gone through the commons and takes effect tomorrow. it is too late. were able to put a pause button on tax credits 18 months ago because it had not become law but this now has become law. the only way forward, it will not happen in the house of lords because brexit will take the oxygen out of primary legislation, which would be the normal way that the house of lords would have a change of mind. i would urge people, bereaved parents and theirfamilies, they urge people, bereaved parents and their families, they should urge people, bereaved parents and theirfamilies, they should go through to their mps, especially if they have a conservative mp, because they have a conservative mp, because the secretary of state is a good man and i'm sure he's the one who could mitigate this is possible. those changes have to come down the other edifices of financial measures. lord

german, you can do nothing according to baroness hollis? we are in a position now where the revelations have been made but that does not mean that we should not try to get the government to change its mind. and to build of steam on this matter, it is important that people from all sides of the house joined together to work together and try to mitigate what is both cruel and harsh, andl mitigate what is both cruel and harsh, and i would like to see a change. i want to see the government changed its mind but the only way we can achieve that is by making sure that sufficient pressure is put on the government, that they see this cause publicly and in parliament in a way which will make them change their mind. and if there was enough pressure and damian green, the work and pensions secretary, listens, despite the fact that it is law, he could extend it from 18 months to five years? he could introduce new legislation. the thing about regulations, it is a fix which can be put in place for a period of

time. the government can alter them. they can put in changes to make them happen. he could come back next year with new regulations extending it to three years or seven for the sheltered, to mitigate the pressure and give bereaved parents time in which to come to terms with their family's situation and their finances. but the point i want to make is that it makes me really angry, because it is not only indecent, it is also unnecessary. 7596 indecent, it is also unnecessary. 75% of bereaved parents are going to be worse off as a result of george 0sborne's cuts, yet two thirds, well over half will go back into work within 18 months. you do not need to whip them. but the ones who are not ready to go back to work and who will be hurt, they are to matt crooks, those with young children who are badly distressed, having nightmares, bedwetting, not wanting to go to school, and the mother

feels she needs to be around to attend to them. to avoid mental health issues later, you need to give them extra care. and the government is saying you cannot have it. if it is so important to you as a labour peer, why did your own leader not bother to turn up to vote against this in march? jeremy corbyn? yes. i don't know. you must have an opinion about that?” corbyn? yes. i don't know. you must have an opinion about that? i don't know what he was doing. i cannot be accountable to him. but you are his labour colleagues. i am responsible for policy development in the lords, and in the lords, we have been putting in some of these delays and changes. the crucial thing is how that we now get mitigation and changes, and that is to put pressure on damian green through tory backbenchers down the other end, to introduce new regulations. every family of every bereaved parent

should now be putting pressure on conservative mps. let's bring in doctor alan smith. thank you for talking to us. the bishop of st albans. you talking to us. the bishop of st alba ns. you know talking to us. the bishop of st albans. you know what the government is arguing? it says that we are updating a really old—fashioned system which is decades old. we are focusing the most financial support in the immediate period of bereavements, and increased lump sum and payments, tax—free, for the first 18 months. patently right. and of course it is to be welcomed, the lump sum slightly increasing. but whilst the system may be opened, what has not changed is all the research and all our knowledge on what happens when people are bereaved, that children very often need extra time, extra support. and of course if money is not available, it is much more likely that the remaining parent is going to have to

go back to work to increase their hours much earlier. they will not be able to give the time and attention to the young children. and this is a crucial thing about investing for them. as we have heard, after bereavement children are very often ina bereavement children are very often in a terrible state and need much more support. it is going to be very important that we mobilise people at every level to start talking to members of parliament about this change, which must be mitigated in some way. and do you believe that general taxpayers will think that this is their to provide support for a longer period of time than 18 months? i think the crucial issue is trauma that children go through when they lose a parent. it is notjust short—term. it can emerge later in life, it can emerge in teenage life, and really it is a very difficult time. you have to provide that support. i think if you asked the

public, do you think we should provide support in order to mitigate the trauma that these children are going to have, i am pretty sure that they would say yes. and in fact, the extension, through school life, of support, is not actually a huge amount of money in the big scale of things. and i think it is something that people will say is the right thing to do. it is up to us to build up thing to do. it is up to us to build up this head of steam across our house and the public, in order to get the public to change their mind. isaid in get the public to change their mind. i said in the introduction that you lost your husband one year before you saw the bereavement payments coming in. you experienced grief. do you still experience that now? of course. but my sons were grown up. but it is not about me. my situation was relatively supported at the time under the old system. the problem

now is that lone parents are being whipped into work as a result of these benefits and cuts, when some of them, particularly as michael was saying, with very desperate, distressed, needy children, that deeply, deeply need their parents with them. and the government is whipping them into work and treating them as though they do not know what is best for their family and that is indecent and wrong and unnecessary. they can get back to work as soon as they are ready but they are ready when their children are stronger and more able to face the crisis that they have experienced. thank you all very much. 0bviously, they have experienced. thank you all very much. obviously, we will continue to report on this and see what happens next. of course we asked with an interview with anybody from the department of work and pensions and they said no. but they stressed in a statement that the new system is simpler, tax—free, easier to understand and does not affect other benefits so families can access wider welfare support. people managing on low income at the end of

their bereavement benefit claim could receive means tested benefits. we will bring you more on this tomorrow when the changes come in. thank you very much to baroness hollis, lord german, and doctor alan smith, the bishop of st albans. today marks two weeks since the terror attack in westminster which saw four people killed and at least 50 injured. at 2.40pm, attacker khalid masood drove a car over westminster bridge, ploughing into pedestrians at more than 70mph. armed with a knife, he then ran towards parliament and stabbed to death policeman pc keith palmer, before being shot dead. the attack lasted only 82 seconds, but changed lives forever. this afternoon, relatives of the victims will gather in westminster abbey for a service of hope — alongside survivors, witnesses and members of the police, fire, ambulance services who attended the scene.

prince harry and the duke and duchess of cambridge will also be there. here's a reminder of what happened that day. we have details of a potentially serious incident coming to us from various news agencies, of two people shot outside of the westminster parliament. the building is a p pa re ntly parliament. the building is apparently in lockdown. go, go, go! gets to cover now! police are currently evacuating the streets outside parliament. after reports that someone has been shot. there was blood everywhere. people have been shot or stabbed all over the place. i am now going to suspend the sitting of the house. this house is

now suspended but please wait here. we heard gunshots, what we thought we re we heard gunshots, what we thought were gunshots. we turned around and were gunshots. we turned around and we saw the car had ploughed into a lady. i think it was a lady, i am not 100% sure but she was underneath the wheel and i could hear screams. 0n the other side of the road of was a body and when i looked further up the was another body. when i looked over the side of the bridge, there appeared to be a body in the water as well. there were bodies literally... ten, lying in different places. they had been shot. we declared this as a terrorist incident and the counterterrorism command is carrying out a full—scale investigation into the events today. we will all move forward together.

never giving in to terror. and never allowing the voices of hate and evil to drive us apart. we can now speak exclusively to john—joe flynn — a student from edge hill university in lancashire who was visiting the houses of parliament when the attack happened. two of his friends were badly injured. this is his first interview since the attack. good morning. thank you for talking to us. as a group of politics students, some of you went to westminster, some went to the bridge, and you chose to go to westminster. when were you aware of what had happened? basically we were just leaving the palace of westminster and we had previously been up to westminster bridge the night before, so we decided to go and see westminster abbey. when the

attack unfolded we were walking away from the palace of westminster. and when were you aware that something had gone wrong? it was when the shots were fired. we turned around because we had our backs to the palace of westminster. and then it was within minutes, the police were rushing in, with fans, and we were being told to move out, get back. when did it become clear that two of your friends had been when did it become clear that two of yourfriends had been injured on the bridge? we were standing over by the abbey at this stage behind the police cordons and i received a message on social media from travis, one of the people injured, saying that he was hurt. i then tried to ring him. it was only on for a few seconds and cut off. after that, we couldn't get in contact with him, but on social media we saw a photo of him posted by a journalist, him

and another classmate lying on westminster bridge. how are they both now? good. iwill see westminster bridge. how are they both now? good. i will see travis later on at the service of hope and i saw 0wen on friday in our politics lecture. what injuries did they sustain? owen had a head injury and travis, i believe, it was a wrist and his leg. i'm guessing, i don't know, most of you are still in shock though? yes. but the university have been so supportive. 0ffering different services, even the lectures just speaking to us personally, but yes, everyone is still quite shocked and i think it has brought us together though as a group because we've come through something like this, but yes, it is still, it is deeply shocking. are you able to rationalise what happened or not? itjust all

happened or not? itjust all happened so fast. i had taken a photo outside the palace of westminster and a few minutes later the next photo on my phone was us behind police cordons. it wasjust, it was mayhem. we were just, behind police cordons. it wasjust, it was mayhem. we werejust, we didn't know what was happening. we we re didn't know what was happening. we were separated. half of our group we re were separated. half of our group were on the bridge. half of of us we we re were on the bridge. half of of us we were outside the palace of wem and our lecturer was inside, so it was just the kind of confusion, we're not from london. i personally am from northern irelandmed we don't know the area. so it was basically that and trying to get in contact as it was breaking news with our familiesjust to it was breaking news with our families just to say we were all right, but we didn't know what was happening. why is it important for you to be at the service of hope today?|j why is it important for you to be at

the service of hope today? i think it's important just, just the service of hope today? i think it's importantjust, just to mark the event as we saw it unfold and it is basically everyone coming out the other side sticking together and looking forward and learning from this kind of thing. what do you think we can learn?” think we can just kind what do you think we can learn?” think we canjust kind of what do you think we can learn?” think we can just kind ofjust to lick stick together. it was, i noticed even after the attack we went to a cafe and it was the kind of comradery of the londoners, people have this vision of londoners, but everyone was so welcoming. i had to charge my phone. someone offered the socket, a simple act like that because i wanted to keepin act like that because i wanted to keep in contact with my parents. it's learning from that and actually saying thank you to the people for

being so welcoming because it was utter confusion for us. thank you very muchjohn—joe. john—joe flynn. the service of hope attended by the duke and duchess of cambridge is live from westminster abbey on bbc one this morning at 11.30am. here'sjoanna in the bbc newsroom with a summary of today's news. the un security council is to hold emergency talks following a suspected chemical attack in syria which has left at least 72 people dead including children. the assad regime denies using chemical weapons. syria's ally russia has blamed the rebels, accusing them of storing toxic agents in a factory which was hit by a syrian airstrike. the foreign secretary, borisjohnson, says all evidence points to assad forces being behind the attack. i have seen absolutely nothing to suggest that or rather to lead us to

think that it is anything, but the regime and all the evidence i have and there maybe more to come out of this by the way, all the evidence i have seen reporter: such as? there maybe more to come out. reporter: what have you seen? all the evidence i have seen suggests that this was the assad regime who did it in the full knowledge that they were using illegal weapons in a barbaric attack on their own people. a woman whose former partner has been convicted of domestic violence offences, and has been ordered to inform police about every new relationship he enters into, hopes that the court order will help future victims. kylle godfrey must inform police if he is in a relationship for more than 11l days. scotland yard says it's the first time that a court order has been used to protect victims of domestic abuse. there have been sharp exchanges in the european parliament over britain's exit from the eu, before a non—binding vote on the eu's negotiating terms. the eu's lead negotiator michel barnier, said britain's

demand for parallel talks on withdrawal and a new trade deal was risky. the ukip mep nigel farage, who led the brexit campaign, was reprimanded after accusing the parliament of treating britain like a mafia hostage. that's a summary of the latest news, join me for bbc newsroom live at 11am. here's some sport now withjess. manchester united left it late to earn a draw in last night's premier league match at home to everton. the visitors scored in the first half, but zlatan ibrahimovic scored a 94th minute penalty. united are now unbeaten in 20 games but have drawn nine of their home matches. the football association chairman greg clarke has reportedly described david moyes' comments to a bbc reporter as "regrettable" and "distasteful". sunderland remain bottom of the premier league table after a 2—0 loss last night to a resurgent leicester. and british olympic showjumping champion nick skelton has

announced his retirement from the sport. skelton won gold at the rio games last summer on his horse big star. that's all the sport for now. next the situation in syria — we're going to show you some disturbing images — which show the horror of what has happened in the north—west province of idlib. these pictures of children struggling for breath are almost impossible to look at. many are gasping for air. they've been stripped of their clothes — contaminated by whatever chemical was released in the attack in syria yesterday. the british—based syrian 0bservatory for human rights says at least 72 people died, 20 of them children. the un security council will meet in emergency session today to discuss yesterday's suspected chemical attack in the province of idlib. the united states, britain and france have proposed a resolution condemning the attack which the international community has blamed on the syrian president, bashar al assad. this next film contains graphic and distressing images of children in the aftermath of the attack.

it lasts about three minutes. we have had serious gas attacks today. today is llth april 2017. these patients have got clear signs of a phosphate chemical attack. the patients keep flooding in from this chemical attack.

it's a disaster, i think. all the world is watching us, they are supporting assad. we condemn the use of chemical weapons in all circumstances. if proven, this will be further evidence of the barbarism of the syrian regime. more coverage on this throughout the day. lyse doucet will be reporting later on. dozens of labour mps have openly criticised the party's decision to only suspend ken livingstone for another 12 months instead of expelling him. an independent panel issued the former london mayor with a two—year suspension from standing for office or representing the party at any level for two years. he has already served one

year of that suspension and he remains a party member. the suspension is over these comments he made linking hitler with zionism. this is what mr livingston actually said on bbc radio london last september while defending a colleague against allegations of anti—semitism. let's remember when hitler won his election in 1932 his policy then was thatjews should be moved to israel. he was supporting zionism before he went mad and ended up killing six millionjews. he then attempted to defend them on this programme the next day while he was being interviewed about the labour mp keith vaz. there are of dozen and dozens of books by academics looking at the fa ct books by academics looking at the fact that hitler signed a deal and worked with the zionist movement throughout the 1930s, i have not even criticised that. the zionist movement had to deal with the fact that hitler was running germany and if they were going to try and save jews they had to do a deal with him. are you not bothered by hurting

jewish people by repeating your views? i said at the time if anybody has been offended by what i said, i am truly sorry about that, but i have been struck by the number of people who came up to me on the street saying, "i'm jewish. i people who came up to me on the street saying, "i'mjewish. i know what you are said is true. don't give into the bullying." the chief rabbi, ephraim mirvis, has accused labour of failing thejewish community by not expelling ken livingstone from the party. ellie price has been monitoring reaction at westminster. in the last few minutes, deputy leader tom watson has spoken out. that's right. plenty of reaction. we have had statement from the deputy leader tom watson who says i find it incomprehensible that elected members found ken livingstone guilty and then concluded that he could remaina and then concluded that he could remain a member of the labour party. he goes on, "i am ashamed that we have allowed ken livingstone to cause such distress. this shames us all and

cause such distress. this shames us alland i'm cause such distress. this shames us all and i'm deeply saddened by t my party is not living up to its commitment to have zero tolerance approach to anti—semitism, i will continue to fight to ensure that it does. and i will press my colleagues to do so." there has been plenty reaction too from some of his parliamentary colleagues on twitter. 0vernight we have heard from yvette cooper who said it is not enough to say the words zero tolerance on anti—semitism, labour has not put them into practise, a shameful decision. lucy powell agreed she agreed with her colleague. she said, "an appalling decision. why is anti—semitism being treated differently from any form of racism?"john woodcock differently from any form of racism?" john woodcock said, "labour members do we stand for decency against this or are we part of the decay?" and anna turlye, "the ken

ban shows that labour can look at itself in more difficult times, however painful." she expected more ofa however painful." she expected more of a strong reaction than that. it is worth saying there are some supporters of ken livingstone even in thejewish supporters of ken livingstone even in the jewish community supporters of ken livingstone even in thejewish community who say it is an issue of freedom of speech and last night he said that he stood by his comments and he said that the hearing had been something out of north korea. again, last night, he was back on the airwaves. if he said he was a zionist, who would not have just apologised, i would not have just apologised, i would have asked my doctor if it was the first sign of dementia. he did a deal with zionists, and i did not criticise the deal because 66,000 germans moved to palestine and if they have not, they would have died

in the gas chambers. launching labour's local election campaign today, we are talking about ken's bizarre fascination with the 1930s. it is damaging the labour party's reputation. ken has form, go and read back to his second term as mayor of london, whether it was suggesting dues were not voting labour any more because they had become wealthy and has formed when it comes to making ill considered and incendiary remarks that offends the jewish community. ten years after finishing as mayor of london, his name comes up on the doorstep in my constituency because he brings the labour party into disrepute. he undermines our claims. why did you ask me to come and campaign for you in the general election then? we we re in the general election then? we were walking around your constituency together. he did not come anywhere near my constituency during the election and you would never be welcome. no words so far from jeremy corbyn. although he has a lwa ys from jeremy corbyn. although he has always said that the labour party

stands against all forms of anti—semitism. a joint investigation by this programme and the asian network has exclusively found online services charging divorced muslim women thousands of pounds to take part in sham islamic marriages. we play to the full report earlier and we are going to show you a short extra ct and we are going to show you a short extract right now before we have a conversation about it. —— we played you. we have changed farah's named to protect her identity. he tried to throw me out of the house. he dragged me by the hair. farah's husband's behaviour became increasingly unpredictable.” husband's behaviour became increasingly unpredictable. i was at home with the children and he was at work. during a heated discussion, he sent me a text saying that our

marriage was over. he divorced me. triple talaq is when a man says divorce to his wife three times over. then sometimes give a triple ta laq over. then sometimes give a triple talaq during an argument or a fight and later regret it. a small minority think that the only way a couple divorced like this is allowed to get back together is through halala. halala means that a woman must marry someone halala. halala means that a woman must marry someone else, can't you make the marriage and then get a divorce before she is able to marry her husband. it is something the vast majority of models are strongly against. most say it has nothing to do with religion, as it was something that farah considered. there are concerns that women are at risk because of making that decision. i have come across a number of different places that offer hala la number of different places that offer halala services. most say that they will send a man to marry her,

kodjia make the marriage and then get a divorce. the man behind this account tells our reporter that the hala la account tells our reporter that the halala service will cost several thousand pounds. he then tells our reporter that he has other men working with him. one who refused to divorced woman after carrying out the service. —— divorced the woman after carrying out the service. there is nothing to suggest the man our reporter meets is doing anything illegal. we contacted him after the meeting. he rejects any allegations against him, claiming he has never

carried out or been involved in a halala marriage and he made the facebook account for fun as part of a social experiment. and that he had no intention of taking it any further. i wanted to see what the islamic sharia council made of the footage. i'm just lost for words. this is somebody's sister, daughter, that you are talking to. the basic core values of islam is where you are decent. this is nasty, this is about making money, abusing vulnerable people. farah eventually decided against getting back with her husband and the risk of going through a halala marriage, but she warns there are other women out there like her who are desperate for a solution. unless you are in that situation where you are divorced and feeling the pain i felt, nobody will understand the desperation some women feel. let's talk now to huda jawad who works for a domestic violence charity and campaigns on womens rights issues. nusrat siddiqui runs a facebook page

for single muslim mums — she wants muslim women to know their rights when it comes to divorce. and dr amra bone is a lecturer in islamic law who was the first woman in the uk to serve in a sharia court. nusrat siddiqui, your reaction to this investigation? i think it is discussing what goes on. i feel that most men feel that because they can issue the taraq three times in one go in the marriage is over, they can target the most vulnerable women and they are left standing there not knowing what to do. i think a lot of awareness needs to be brought up about this, and their rights. and then, going on, saying that we can get back together by doing halala, which there is no concept of in islam. it is completely made up. the

concept of three talaqs is misunderstood. men can initiate a divorce proceeding and so can a woman. when a man initiates the proceedings, in the next three months they could get back together without remarriage. they have that time period. similarly, if there is another divorce, another period of three cycles where they can decide to get back together without actually having a new contract, unless that period lapses, the problem is that people think they canjust say problem is that people think they can just say those in one problem is that people think they canjust say those in one setting. the koran lays out beautifully that there is a time period, that people can actually have a time to negotiate, to come to terms with issues and problems. but unfortunately, seeing it in one sitting, there is some opinion that even though it is sinful and wrong, it is valid. hence people have this use this. —— have misused this. but

the men are supposed to become when they speak this word, because if you speak this word it is such a serious word in islam, you are not supposed to alter it here and there. going onto the words halala, there was no mention of that word within the koranic scripture or tradition. why are and women not using british divorce law? to reiterate that this isa divorce law? to reiterate that this is a really abusive practice, this is a really abusive practice, this is another example of domestic abuse that happens. —— why are muslim women. abusers will use whatever is available to them to control and exert power over their partners. i think for people of different faith backgrounds and cultures, they want permission from their own traditions of their status, whether it is marriage or divorce or having a child or the rights of death or

birth. i think there is a need for people of different faith backgrounds and ethnic community is to have that recognition. that is why we use it. but the clear message todayis why we use it. but the clear message today is please recognise that there is no such thing as halala. it is important that the way it is understood, it cannot be preplanned. in the koran, is there —— if there has been three divorces, a man cannot marry his ex—wife unless she happens to marry somebody else and then there is a natural divorce. then they may marry again. so it is organic. it is against the teachings of the permanence of marriage. that isa very of the permanence of marriage. that is a very patriarchal interpretation ofa is a very patriarchal interpretation of a particular teaching or tradition that goes against the spirit ofjustice tradition that goes against the spirit of justice and tradition that goes against the spirit ofjustice and equality that the koran talks about. the koran talks about compassion and mercy and

at the core of islamic law is being compassionate and merciful towards each other. that is in fact not what you see. thank you very much for your patience. next. former spice girl mel b has filed a restraining order against her former husband stephen belafonte, claiming that he emotionally and physically abused her throughout much of their ten year marriage. he denies any wrongdoing. 0ur reporter anisa kadri can tell us more. what are the allegations? in these court papers there is a lot of shocking detail. mel b claims that stephen belafonte emotionally and physically abused her throughout most of their marriage. let me tell you a little bit more about the marriage. they have a daughter together and mel b has children from previous relationships as well. in happier times, they were pictured on the red carpet, and belafonte denies

that he has abused and sexually exploited his wife. mel b has now been granted a restraining order after listing some of the following allegations against them. physical assault and battery. verbal threats, stalking and surveying. and she says that this carried on throughout most of her marriage. surveying? related to stalking. that is one of the allegations. anyway, you may ask why did she not leave him if this was going on throughout the marriage?” would not have asked that. indeed, but she says she tried to many times but she says she tried to many times but that he threatened her with violence and said that he would leak sex tapes to the media if she left. and she talks about being the main earner in these papers file. indeed.

she says that mel b did not have steady employment and he wanted control over her finances. he access millions of dollars through a joint bank account. and what has stephen belafo nte bank account. and what has stephen belafonte said to these allegations? the celebrity sites tmc put some allegations to him on monday and he said that somebody had set him up to look like the bad guy. —— the celebrity site tmz. i have some quotes from a film they recorded with him and in it he says that on allegations that she became —— he became very jealous would allegations that she became —— he became veryjealous would not be working with usher, demanding that she had sex with him another women, he said, i'm distraught how this is going to affect our children. i am shocked by the allegations and that is what it is. and now mel b has filed for divorce last month, citing irreconcilable differences. she has

been granted a restraining order and a full hearing will be heard later this month. thank you very much and thank you for your very many m essa g es thank you for your very many messages about our interview with which we began the programme. you can see the interview again on our programme page. 0n the programme tomorrow, 0lympic silver and bronze medallist lutalo mummmed reports for us on how to turn your life round after defeat. join us then. that process will continue. the best of the sunshine as we see it at the moment. you would expect temperatures to be quite high. 16 or so in the sunshine. but a cooler day with the north—westerly breeze easing down. the north—westerly air stays with us overnight. there will be some breaks in the cloud and where we see those breaks, it will be on the chilly side. seven or eight in towns and cities. cooler than that out and about. almost a repeat performance

for many of us tomorrow with the weather is set fair for the week. this is bbc news and these are the top stories. britain dismisses russian claims that chemical gas which killed more than 70 people in syria came from a rebel ammunition store. all the evidence i have seen and suggest it is the president assad regime that didn't live a full knowledge that they were using

illegal weapons. the eu's chief negotiator tells the european parliament that no deal on brexit would have very serious consequences for britain — and also for the european union. i'm simon mccoy live from westminster abbey, where the duke and duchess of cambridge will attend a "service of hope", remembering the victims of last month's attack in westminster.