hello it's tuesday, it's 9 o'clock, i'm victoria derbyshire, welcome to the programme. 21—year—old james casling moved so many of you to tears last month as he described how football saved his life. he plays for qprs mental health team and this morning we've taken him to train and meet with some of their first team players. do say tuned for that — and keen to hear your stories this morning. did you find something — or someone — in life which helped you deal with mental illness? also on the programme — the american state of arkansas has killed two convicted murderers by lethal injection, the first double execution on the same day in the us for seventeen years. and sir eltonjohn is recovering

from a bacterial infection he picked up on tour. — he spent two nights in intensive care. we'll bring you the details. hello. welcome to the programme, we're live until 11. throughout the morning — we ll bring you the latest breaking news — and at 10 o clock we'll hear from labour who're setting out their brexit policy...and a little later we'll talk about the rise in food banks.

as always — really keen to hearfrom you — 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. labour is to set out its policy on brexit, saying that the party would guarantee the rights of eu citizens living in the uk on day one of taking power. sir keir starmer, the shadow brexit secretary, will also say retaining the benefits of the single market would become top priority in brexit talks. he'll stress that labour wouldn't accept negotiations ending without a deal, and will promise to give parliament a meaningful vote on the final agreement. here's our political correspondent, eleanor garnier. the ayes to the right. 498. the noes to the left, 114. when it came to a vote, labour supported legislation giving theresa may the power to trigger the start of negotiations

to leave the eu. but so far, labour has struggled to present its own clear message on brexit. now the party's shadow brexit secretary will attempt to clarify their position. sir keir starmer will say today a labour government would unilaterally guarantee the rights of eu citizens in the uk on day one of taking power. and sir keir will also promised to prioritise the economy in negotiations, aiming to keep the benefits of the single market and the customs union. he will say that labour will reject the conservatives‘ repeal bill and bring in new legislation to transfer relevant eu laws to britain, to protect employment and consumer rights as well as environmental regulations. when it comes to negotiating with other eu leaders, a labour government, sir keir starmer will say, will build a close relationship with the european union, not as members, but as partners.

but out campaigning later today, theresa may will again stress leave the strong leadership to see the country through brexit to see the country through brexit and beyond. our political guru norman smith is in westminster for us this morning. what other differences between labour and the conservatives and brexit? it's a massive day for labour because they have taken such an unclear position, people are not sure if they are forward or against it. it is notjust their critics who say that, some of their top people say that, some of their top people say it, tony blair said at the weekend that he did not understand the party's position this is what peter mandelson said last night when he was asked if he understood the party ‘s position on brexit. search me. i think you need to wait for the manifesto. the problem for the labour party in this election on brexit is very clear, and that is that they are not,

i'm afraid, differentiating their position and their policies sufficiently from the government, and haven't done so up until now, which they needed to do if they were going to offer the voters a clear choice. but i hope that that will come out in the wash. i hope in the coming days and weeks, we will see a clearer, rather more robust approach from the labour party on this, because labour party supporters and voters and members right across the country are looking for leadership on brexit, rather than an equivocal, rather more fence—sitting position and approach we've had to date. labour are trying to get off the fence, they say that they accept brexit, they do want to guarantee the rights of eu international is to remain pure from day one and they wa nt to ta ke remain pure from day one and they want to take away this idea of walking away from the table without

a deal. but in terms of what they might negotiate, the labour party brexit package, it is still a bit vague. they say they want to retain the benefits of the single market but that could mean all sorts of things and significantly they don't mention immigration or freedom things and significantly they don't mention immigration orfreedom of movement or the role of the european court ofjustice. what they seem to be doing is changing the tone of the negotiations in the hope that they will at least be able to cut a better deal. at least that is what they're brexit spokesman said keir starmer said on the radio today. you have to accept the referendum result, i passionately campaigned to stay, i wanted us to stay in and i to run the country campaigning for us to run the country campaigning for us to remain but we lost the referendums are we need to shape the future and identify what sort of uk we wa nt future and identify what sort of uk we want in europe. and what the labour party says is that we want

wa nt to labour party says is that we want want to negotiate a relationship of our eu partners which is based on collaboration and collaboration. but here is the rub. theresa may is a pretty clear position on brexit which is no to the single market, no to freedom of movement, no to the european court of justice. to freedom of movement, no to the european court ofjustice. the labour stance is more complicated. in the heat and fury of an election campaign, will that message cut through? we will see. let us know what you think of the brexit policy from labour. we will be hearing from shadow brexit secretary sir keir starmer as he gives his speech live at 10am today so have a watch and let us know what you think. i am sure you can do nuanced! joanna is in the bbc newsroom with a summary of the rest of the day's news. two convicted murderers have been executed in the american state of arkansas — the first double execution in the us for 17 years. jack jones and marcel williams were among eight inmates scheduled to be put to death over the course of 11 days.

the timetable was determined by the imminent expiry date of the state's supplies of one of the three drugs required for lethal injections. the french anti—eu anti—immigration presidential candidate marine le pen is to step down as leader of the french national front party to focus on her campaign. the move comes just a day after she reached the second round of the french election, where she will face the centrist emmanuel macron. she told french tv that she needed to be above party politics. sir eltonjohn has cancelled a series of shows in america afterfalling ill with what's been described as a "potentially deadly bacterial infection". the singer, who's 70, spent 2 nights in intensive care after contracting the illness while on tour in chile earlier this month. he's now out of hospital and recovering at home, as simon clemison reports. ever the showman, sir eltonjohn has instead been in the hands of doctors over the last fortnight, having been taken seriously ill.

he was on his way back from chile when he was struck down by what his medical team quickly identified as a rare and potentially deadly bacterial infection. he was admitted to hospital in the uk, where he spent two nights in intensive care. sir elton, who's 70, wasn't able to go home for some time, but it's emerged he was discharged a few days ago. it's meant he has had to cancel tour dates at caesar's palace in las vegas. in a statement, the star spoke of how he was fortunate to have the most loyal fans, and he apologised for disappointing them. he said he was extremely grateful to his medical team for their excellence in looking after him so well. # it's a little bit funny... the singer is expected to make a full recovery, and is already planning a return to the stage injune. until then, the rocket man will be taking it easy. simon clemison, bbc news. a record number of almost 1.2 million emergency supplies were given out at food banks in the past year, according to new statistics.

the trussell trust said food banks in areas where the new universal credit benefit had been introduced saw an average increase in referrals for emergency food of almost 17% — more than double the national average. the charity said the effect of a six—week waiting period for a first universal credit payment could be serious, leading to debt and rent arrears. ivanka trump will embark on her first official trip today in her official role as assistant to the president, she will be in berlin at a summit of meeting of women from different economies at the invitation of the german chancellor. that's a summary of the news, back to you. we'll bring you an update with james castling shortly, he was on the programme last month talking in moving and courageous terms about

his struggles with mental health after his father took his own life whenjames after his father took his own life when james was 15. after his father took his own life whenjames was 15. it after his father took his own life when james was 15. it touched after his father took his own life whenjames was 15. it touched a chord with you and that is an understatement. we have an update with him in the next few minutes, we'll bring you that film at about quarter past nine. already you say this, one person says, a football clu b this, one person says, a football club is much more than 90 minutes on saturday as qpr demonstrates every day they are at the heart of the community. this tweet from paul, james is brave and will back him and we are proud of the club and the players for doing things the james. another comment says, it is things like this that makes me proud of my club. another says, such a brave young man, my best wishes to him. we'll be taking james to train with some members of qpr shortly. do get in touch, use the hashtag if you text you will be charged at the standard network rate. now time

for a look at the sports news. let's get some sport now with tim, and some strong words from serena wiliams following ilie nastase's comments about her unborn child.. yes, serena williams says that the recent comments that he made about her unborn child are racist and has given herfull backing her unborn child are racist and has given her full backing to a full investigation. he made these comments before his team played with great britain in the federation cup and ask if serena's child would be chocolate with milk. these comments we re chocolate with milk. these comments were followed by an outburst of abuse towards johanna were followed by an outburst of abuse towardsjohanna konta to which left her in tears. serena williams has responded on instagram. she says, it disappoints me to note that we live in a society where people like ilie nastase can make racist comments towards myself and my unborn child and sexist comets against my bs. is that it once and i'll say it again, this world has come far and yet we have some are ago. we have broken down many barriers yet there are a plethora

more to go. i will continue to take a lead and stand up for what is right. i humbly thank the international tennis federation of any consideration given to all the fa cts any consideration given to all the facts in this case. there will have my full support. newcastle are back in the premier league, some of my best friends are newcastle supporters, that is why i'm cheering them. only one season for them in them. only one season for them in the championship after their victory over preston north end 4—1 last night, setting them up with brighton, who are already promoted. it was a tense evening. perhaps some of your friends when the crowd. newcastle went 2—1 up at half—time to make things a bit less stressful and the nerves was settled when paul gallagher of preston was sent off for handling on the line. look at that, playing goalkeeper! the resulting penalty was scored this promotion isjust for resulting penalty was scored this promotion is just for manager rafa benitez who was expected to leave

last may when they were relegated but instead was brought in to save them. he signed a three—year contract and his loyalty has been repaid. he had been manager of real madrid earlier last season so it was quite a coup to get him in the first place for newcastle. and finally more about this picture from the zlata n more about this picture from the zlatan ibrahimovic? you mean his legs! use of and knee ligament damage ina legs! use of and knee ligament damage in a match last thursday and while many say this is the end for zlata n while many say this is the end for zlatan who has been brilliant with 28 goals, although his legs do seem to have a lot of veins. he wrote on instagram, below his legs that he will come back even stronger and says, i will be out for a while but giving up is not an option. thank you very much. much more sport throughout the morning. on this programme, as i hope you know by now, we are really very committed to covering the issue of mental health. and that's because you tell us it's a massive issue for you, our audience.

last month we introduced you to 21—year—old james casling. he moved many of you to tears. james has struggled since the age of 15, when his dad killed himself. james tried to take his own life on more than one occasion in the years that followed. but he told us that playing football gave him a reason to live — with the queens park rangers' mental health team. we keep in touch with james. and on the englsh football league's community day of action, he's been to train with three members of the qpr first team. it was like my whole world had just disappeared. at 18, i was ready to die and had made many attempts on my own life. if i had carried on that path, i wouldn't be here today. every time i put on the kit, i wasn't this ill boy

any more, i was james. i was free from my demons. i wish i could predict the future, but obviously, we can't. but it's looking a lot more brighter than it was. commentator: what an inspiration he has been to queens park rangers! we can never stop people getting mentally unwell, but we can help them recover with the use of football. it worked for me and many others that i've played for, against and played with. football saved my life. when i put on the kit and i play with my friends,

it feels like we're not friends, we're family. crowd sing. they're currently warming up, preparing for their training session. the idea of the sessions is tojust get people interacting socially and playing football. we feel it's really important at the club that the pressure is not on them to be the best footballers they can be, but to just exercise and get health and socialise through football. we accept anyone who feels

like they want tojoin in, all mental healths, they're all welcome to come and play. james is a character, to say the least. he's a great guy. he's always bubbly, always smiling, very loud, and he's just a privilege as a person to know and to work with. james had a really tough upbringing. he's been in and out of hospitals and infirmaries since he was about 15. so since he's been at qpr, yeah, i'd say his mental health has really improved. i'd say his personality and who he is has grown so much since when i first met him. he's notjust got friends down here, he's got family, he's got people that he gets on really well with on a personal level. forjames to have that safety net within football, i think that's really helped him. 0k, boys, we've got three very important guests this morning. they've come to look at your session and join in with you. they've been training very hard

all morning and they've taken the time to see you. we've got matt smith, ryan manning and nedum 0nuoha. let's take another look at the star players on today's qpr team sheet. forward matt smith has made an impressive start since signing in january. he'll be hoping to continue his good run of form today. expect nothing less than a solid defensive performance from club captain nedum 0nuoha. ryan manning, at the heart of midfield, has proved to be a popular choice among fans in his breakthrough season. and james casling has been qpr healthy kickers' top scorerfor three seasons running and is always a danger in front of goal. let's join them on the field. well done.

so james, how did it feel today, playing alongside three of the greatest footballers that have ever been seen at queens park rangers? it's an amazing experience. to do that and have people like yourselves come and experience it and realise that there's more to a club than just the first team, i think that's what gets lost in people's minds. they get so agitated with the team losing and all this of stuff that they forget about this stuff that goes on behind the scenes and the actual people who help other people, sort of like coaches that come to schools and come to hospitals and all that sort of stuff and actually make a difference to someone's life. people think football's life and death, when actually, it's not. it's more than that.

for me, it saved my life. it's not taken it away or anything like that, it's making my life liveable and it's making me still be here, because i know without football, i wouldn't... um... it's just about what. .. without football at my feet and the kit on my body... it's sad to say, but i think... people would be having to come to a grave to see me instead. football just. .. people underestimate the power of football. and when people like yourselves come along and actually experience it and see... that...

it makes people feel good because you're taking time out of your day. it's funny you should say that, because for the three of us today, today was a long training day, but being here has been more of a highlight than the training session itself. that made our day. what you say, i think as players, we can echo as well. once you start training every day and playing games, it is a release and you forget about the troubles in the world. everyone's a human being at the end of the day. we have our ups and downs and everyone has their own personal issues and battles that they're fighting. but i completely take what you say. i think we could probably all say the same thing. once you step out there, you forget about it and you're focused on football and enjoying yourself, and it is a release. what's this that we're about to see? basically, i went on victoria derbyshire on 8th march about how football saved my life.

shall we press play on it, yeah? how lost were you when your dad died, when your dad took his own life? i've always wondered why he would do it, and why my love for him wasn't enough. but then i realised, if someone's like that, i couldn't have saved him. i think that hurts a lot more to know there was nothing i could have done to stop it. it's like your whole world gets turned upside down and then... i can't explain it. yeah. you're a brave guy, james. very brave guy. it takes a lot of guts to talk

about stuff like that, especially to a lot of people. but i hope that that can inspire other people that are not feeling great about things to come forward and to talk about it, because the development from what i've seen there to you out there today is night and day. i saw a guy out there laughing, joking, scoring goals, tackling, energy. it's unbelievable to see, and it shows the power of football. and i think that video there just highlights to me what a gutsy guy you are. i'm hoping that that can inspire others to follow your example. you've inspired me. you've inspired me more than i've inspired you. i enjoy coming to these things because i see the effect it has on the people who part. on the people who take part. you feel like it's life and death on a saturday, but then you come to something like this, and saturday is now so far in the past because this is the more important thing for me now, seeing and hoping that i can

have a positive effect on the people who i'm going to encounter today. and if they go away feeling 1% better about themselves from me just being there, then i feel like i've really brought something to the table. so how does being a professional footballer affect your mental health? i thnk for me, you go through different stages with it all. when i was younger, maybe ryan's age, when i first started to play, i was really nervous going into games. i always felt like i was being judged by everybody in the stadium, whether i was at home or away. i never really felt like i'd made it. i was always trying to impress people. and when you go into games with that sort of nervous energy, if something doesn't go right, then you feel a lot of strain on yourself and you start to doubt yourself. when i was really young, we were playing in derby games and if we didn't win on the saturday, i would stay in my house until the following saturday. i would really fear going out and being seen because i thought people would ridicule me, which was difficult.

but now i'm 30 years of age and hundreds of games later, you appreciate that there's more to life than what happens on a saturday. it's yourjob and it's very important and so on, but the fact is, i have a daughter now, and knowing that i can go home to her takes away all the stress that i feel. i'm very new to it. i've only played 15 games or so. the big thing for me is getting used to it and being able to block out all the abuse you get from opposing fans and stuff like that. there were times when i was younger when my parents would travel the scale of the country to come and see me play and i would lose and i wouldn't talk to them after the game. i would think they'd just done 300 miles in the car, and they're not even able to talk to me after the game, whereas now, i've learned how to ride the highs and lows so that you keep level—headed, which is really important. it's one of those things. footballers have lots of ups and downs, and it's difficult at times because you're judged as a product, so to speak.

you are the product as a player. it's difficult not to take things personally when someone tells you this, that or the other. nine times out of ten, players are going to have significantly more lows than they will highs in their careers, so it boils down to mentality and how you can tackle those lows. i hope people will see that even though it can be dark, there's always going to be light. you've just got to fight through it. it would be a lie to say it's easy, because it's not. but three years later, i'm still alive and after struggling with all that and having spent two years in hospital and being on medication and stuff, it's going to be a long battle and everyone has their own battles, whether they're short or long. you just can't give up, because something amazing could happen tomorrow, but you've decided that

because of your struggles, you've said you're not doing this any more. you don't know what tomorrow brings. just make sure you're there to see it, that's all i can say. that was james training with qpr captain nedum 0nuoha, matt smith and ryan manning. thank you to those players. jamie says, "an incredibly up toing story on your programme today. there is more to football than what's on the pitch. "tweet from susan, "well done to qpr for championing young people." roy says, "i'm choked up. well done to qpr." another viewer says, "depression is a horrible thing. don't blame yourself for your dad. you are an inspiration, bud."

we'll pass on all your messages to james. and you can watch and share that full film on our programme page bbc.co.uk/victoria queens park rangers and other clubs with the english football league spend about £50 million on projects in the community this season. as part of today's community day of action, they're showcasing the kind of work they do in the community — including projects like the mental health football team that james plays for. still to come: we speak to a reporter in arkansas who witnessed america's first double execution in seventeen years — and a campaignerfor the death penalty. and being the first daughter, ivanka trump, attends a summit for women in germany on herfirst international trip as the official assistant to the us president. here'sjoanna in the bbc newsroom with a summary of today 5 news. labour will set out its brexit

policy today, saying that the party would guarantee the rights of eu citizens living in the uk on day one of taking power. it's promising to scrap the government's negotiating plans and press for a deal that it says will retain the benefits of the single market and protect jobs and the economy. the shadow brexit secretary sir keir starmer says labour would fight for the best possible relationship with the eu. we have to accept the referendum result. i passionately campaigned to stay in, i really wanted us to stay in. i went across the country campaigning to stay in, but we lost the referendum and therefore, we need to shape the future. we need to identify what sort of uk we want in europe, and what the labour party is saying is, we want to negotiate a relationship with our eu partners which is based on collaboration and cooperation. it's just after it 1130 when sir keir starmer will be joining it's just after it 1130 when sir keir starmer will bejoining us to

a nswer keir starmer will bejoining us to answer your questions. two convicted murderers have been executed in the american state of arkansas, the first double execution in the us for 17 years. jack jones and marcel williams were among eight inmates scheduled to be put to death over the course of 11 days. the timetable was determined by the imminent expiry date of the state's supplies of one of the three drugs required for lethal injections. more about that in just a moment. the french anti—eu anti—immigration presidential candidate marine le pen is to step down as leader of the french national front party to focus on her campaign. the move comes just a day after she reached the second round of the french election, where she will face the centrist emmanuel macron. she told french tv that she needed to be above party politics. sir eltonjohn has cancelled a series of shows in america afterfalling ill with what's been described as a "potentially deadly bacterial infection". the singer — who's 70 —

spent 2 nights in intensive care after contracting the illness while on tour in chile earlier this month. his management team says he's now resting at home and is expected to make a full recovery. a record number of almost 1.2 million emergency supplies were given out at food banks in the past year, according to new statistics. the trussell trust said food banks in areas where the new universal credit benefit had been introduced saw an average increase in referrals for emergency food of almost 17% — more than double the national average. the charity said the effect of a six—week waiting period for a first universal credit payment could be serious, leading to debt and rent arrears. that's a summary of the latest bbc news — more at 10.00. and the text from mark, there are so many about james, saying, and the text from mark, there are so many aboutjames, saying, massive respect to james and the football clu b respect to james and the football club for what they are doing. now more sport with tim. newcastle united will play premier league football next season, they have secured promotion at the first

attempt. christian atsu scored the pick of the goals for rafa benitez‘s side last night as they beat preston in front of more than 50,000 at st james's park. serena williams says ilie nastase's comments about her unborn child are racist. there are many and federation cup captain has been provisionally suspended by the tennis association since making verbally abusive remarks about serena williams and verbally abusing johanna konta tear at the weekend. serena says the comments disappoint her. marco fu beat australia's neil robertson 13—11 to reach the last eight where he will play defending champion mark selby. ronnie 0'sullivan starts his quarterfinal against ding junhui shortly, and liam stewart, the son of sir rod stewart, scored for great britain last night as the hockey team won 5-1 last night as the hockey team won 5—1 against estonia in the world championship group match. the first

packis championship group match. the first pack is the deepest and all that! thank you! the american state of arkansas has executed two prisoners on death row after the supreme court rejected their last—minute appeals. it is the first double execution on the same day in the us for seventeen years. the convicted men, jackjones and marcel williams, were both sentenced to death for rapes and murders committed in the 1990s. jackjones was convicted in 1996 of raping and strangling a woman called mary phillips and attempting to murder her 11—year—old daughter. her widowerjames phillips says he has no sympathy for him. it don't matter if they suffered a bit as far as i'm concerned, because my wife suffered big time. i said "go down to on your three wheeler, see if she had

a flat or something. but don't go out on the highway, it's about three miles to the highway". so he does that, comes back and i said "well, just stay in the house and she'll be home after a while". so about 11 o'clock, mrjolly called me, who was the coach at that time. darla was spending the night with him. and he said "you need to get home, something has happened". so i pack up my bags at the hotel, call my supervisor and say i've got to go home. so i drove 500 miles knowing nothing of what happened. she was sexually abused in every way possible. and then as she was suffering,

he took a cord off a coffee pot and strangled her. i don't know how much meaner a man can get to do something like that. i know a lot of people have forgiven him and all that kind of stuff, but that's my business if i do it. so they can protest all they want, it don't matter. did they marry their high school sweetheart? what would they do, how would they feel if it happened to their family? would they still be defending somebody like this? i don't think they would. arkansas initially planned to execute eight inmates in eleven days this month, because its supply of one of the drugs used in the lethal injection cocktail expires at the end of april. four of the planned executions have been put on hold by court order. the first one was carried out last week. we can speak now tojessi turnure,

a journalist in arkansas who was a witness at last night's executions. and jeff rosenzweig, a lawyer who represents a number of death row inmates in arkansas. and we hope to speak to a republican politician in the arkansas ‘s house of representatives called rebecca petey whose12—year—old daughter was murdered in 1996 and the man who killed that girl is still on death row. jessi, can you describe to our british audience what you witnessed? it turned into quite a long process. witnesses were selected, when it was time they drove us to where the execution chamber was and we had to wait ina execution chamber was and we had to wait in a van for a long time. when we we re wait in a van for a long time. when we were finally brought into the chamber we could watch, you walk in and there are four rows of chairs, and there are four rows of chairs, and in front of you you are just

seeing for large windows, a black curtain covering where mr williams or curtain covering where mr williams oer curtain covering where mr williams or mrjones would have been, preparing for the execution. 0nce they are ready, again this is a lengthy process but to sum it up once they are ready and the curtains open, you see williams lying on a gurney, we saw that two ivys were in his right arm and he was strapped down from his chest to his head so he was looking straight at the ceiling so he didn't look at us, he didn't have any last words so they started the process and his eyes closed very slowly and then his just started moving very quickly, —— has just started moving. so to abbreviate the process after that happened we slowly watched him falling asleep, slowly watched him stop breathing, and then after 1a

minutes the coroner declared that he was dead. what effect was at having on you, watching him dying? that was something i thought i could prepare for but i don't think anyone could really prepare for that. my journalistic instinct kicked in over my human instinct. it was my responsibility and also the law that i was supposed to be there to watch, so i was supposed to be there to watch, soi i was supposed to be there to watch, so i was just taking notes very quickly, since we were the ones giving the information to the other journalists it was important. i was reminding myself of what a colleague told me, you are here to watch this man die, you are here because he took another life and ourjustice system says this is the way this man should be punished. chav, let me bring you in, you are a lawyerfor

some of these men on death row and you tried to block these executions and appeal against them on what grounds? and if iraq in the case of jackjones, several grounds. first was the issue of the use of this substance in order to induce anaesthesia. the problem specifically with this substance midazolam is that it is not usually sufficient to avoid pain and torture when used with the other drugs. and we don't know if it worked that way or not in mrjones's case. another reason of course is that the execution of the death sentence is often imposed

arbitrarily and capriciously. in mr jones's case in particular, the arkansas supreme court had analysed a particular issue in his case differently and to the detriment of mrjones. differently differently and to the detriment of mr jones. differently than differently and to the detriment of mrjones. differently than it had donein mrjones. differently than it had done in similar cases with the same issue. i would get into the specifics of it but mrjones's case deviates from the way the arkansas supreme court has analysed a particular issue involving contradictory findings by the jury or inconsistent findings by the jury. but we were never able to convince the court that that was wrong. i do have to say that mr jones often and repeatedly expressed his remorse for his involvement in the death of ms phillips and the

other injuries that were suffered by everyone , other injuries that were suffered by everyone, but physical injuries and psychological injuries. right. and would expressing remorse mean that occasionally inmates have been removed from death row or not? remorse by itself generally doesn't have that effect, at least, that's been my experience, it was something that mrjones did repeatedly express, both years ago, this was long before i began representing him, but also recently. 0k. thank you both. we appreciate your time. thank you for talking to our british audience. we were trying to get hold of rebecca petey, a republican politician whose12—year—old daughter was killed in 1999 and the

man who killed that little girl is still on death row, perhaps we can speak to her later. coming up: labour say they would scrap theresa may‘s brexit plans if they win power — so what would they do instead? stay with us as their brexit spokesman, sir keir starmer, sets out his ideas after 10am. we willdip into we will dip into that speech feel. —— foryou. donald trump's daughter ivanka trump is making herfirst officialforeign trip as a presidential adviser today. she's been invited by the german chancellor angela merkel to attend a summit in berlin on women and entrepreneurship. it's been a startling rise to the world stage for the daughter of america's first billionaire president. she styled herself as a businesswoman with a jewellery and clothing range after graduating from business school and modelling for the likes of versace. when donald trump was accused of sexism when he ran for president, it was ivanka who worked to woo female voters. though it's fair to say she's found herself in some fairly awkward situations with him. if ivanka weren't my daughter perhaps i would be dating her. stop it! it's so weird. is that terrible? who are you, woody allen?

did your daughter get breast implants? no. you mean that? no. she didn't. i would know if she did. why did she look a little more fat? she looks more voluptuous than ever and she got thinner. she has always been very voluptuous. she is almost six—feet tall. she is some catch. what do you say to those women who are fearful? i say, give my father a chance. i say, what he has shown his entire life is his support and advocacy of women. ivanka, what's the favourite thing you have in common with your father? either real estate or golf. donald, with your daughter? well, i was going to say sex. i'm still my father's daughter. to me, this particular title was about giving critics the comfort

that i'm holding myself to that highest ethical standard, but i'll weigh in with my father, and the on the issues i feel strongly about. people talk about gender equality, but do they actually live it? my father has. he believes in equality amongst the genders, economically, politically, socially. my father has empowered women including me his whole life. and now she has the job of first daughter and assistant to the president, described as her father's "eyes and ears". but what's she really like? we can speak now to shannon coulter who set up the campaign to boycott ivanka trump's clothing line. katrin pribyl, the uk correspondent for several german newspapers and tim teeman, senior editor at the daily beast in new york who met ivanka at trump tower. what did you think of her, tim? extremely self controlled. this was giving president trump's

presidential campaign. very self controlled and very much in charge of herself and very much in charge of herself and very much in charge of the brand evan ka and in charge of the brand evan ka and in charge of the brand trump and very, very loyal to her father, although of the brand trump and very, very loyal to herfather, although that at that time although he hasn't reached peak trump, she was gearing up reached peak trump, she was gearing upfora rough reached peak trump, she was gearing up for a rough presidential campaign which came to be and she was beginning to thread a delicate line that she is continuing to thread. some would say as well as she can and some would say not very well at all given the mounting criticism of her by various groups in america. why do you think that angela merkel extend this personal invitation to eva n extend this personal invitation to evan ka trump? ivanka trump? when

they've met last month during her visit in washington ijust think, you know, by chance they were sitting next to each other. ivanka trump switched so she could switch next to angela merkel. merkel seemed irritated in the beginning, but then there was a friendly atmosphere,‘ friendly conversation so i think for her, it's quite a diplomatic move. an opportunity to strengthen relations between germany and the us? and to find access to donald trump via his daughter. donald trump said he and angela merkel had unbelievable chemistry? it sounded differently last year when he called her insane for ruining the country. i don't think he had met her then. no. shannon, tell us why you set-up

the campaign to boycott ivanka trump's products? the boycott is of the retailers that carry trump products including ivanka trump, donald trump and trump products so we've dropped 23 companies from the list and 5a remain. the boycott was born in the wake of the release of the access hollywood tapes so it was, you know, a response to that. but layers of meaning have come into the boycott since then. we have seen a great deal of activity around it during the attempted muslim ban for instance, during the rescinding of basic bathroom protections for transgender studentsment people are turning to this as a way to peacefully protest the president. do you think it is having any impact on people like ivanka trump who clearly has influence on her dad?” people like ivanka trump who clearly has influence on her dad? i don't know whether it is having influence on ivanka trump, but i know it is having influence on companies and their ability to consider their core customer base which is in this case

women. and in cases like, you know, breitbart which has seen 11100 advertisers plus drop them over the course of the last six months, i think it is encouraging, a move towards more moderate rhetoric. we we re towards more moderate rhetoric. we were active as protesters in the recent story. this is encouraging departure from extremism. right. breitbart is the website that people say is a right—wing website. are people right to think that ivanka trump is the sort of calming moderate influence on herfather? trump is the sort of calming moderate influence on her father?|j think moderate influence on her father?” think certainly when i spoke to her in november 2015 there was that element to be fair. she did, and she was that. i think as time has gun on, it's hard tore desaoufor. there have been various attacks on lgbt groups in america, and ivanka trump

at that point, the question was where was ivanka trump? if there was in influence on her father, where was it evident? that's why the boycott. the brand is still selling. there was a story yesterday that you may have seen, a company has been putting other labels on her clothes to sell at discount stores. no suggestion she had anything to do with that. her name isn't as toxic as her father's. she still commands some kind of mystery or some kind of questioning for those on the left. people will be interested, i think, to see what level of influence she brings to bear in germany at this co nfe re nce brings to bear in germany at this conference that chancellor merkel is holding. do the german know ivanka trump? what do they think of this visit? are they bothered? well, it's a big deal today and they expect to see protests as well actually. i feel the audience is still not sure what

to make of the first daughter. there is lots of fear and suspicion about the us presidency and i do sense that people hope she is the moderate political force on her father, but people just don't know. we will see. yeah, we will see. thank you. next this morning, syrian refugees in lebanon tell us their camps are infested with rats, attracted by bags of waste that are rarely collected. agencies working in the camps fear it's a health risk. the lebanese government admits public services are struggling to cope. because of its size and proximity, the country's taken in more syrians per head than anywhere else in the world. 0ur reporter benjames has been to a camp in the bekaa valley, close to the syrian border. these kids have escaped from the war in syria, but they still have sleepless nights. their refugee camps got

a problem with rats. crawled over your face last night? really? did it wake you up? his name is ali. he says a rat crawled over his eye and then ran off. and he's not the only one. sheha is a granny from aleppo. she shows us into the kitchen, where the rats come every night. and this is her grandson, ahmed. translation: i was sleeping on the cushions with my granny when i felt the rat on my face. he bit me here on my face and then ran away. i was scared. i couldn't sleep after that. i thought he might come back and bite me again. when it walks, it goes like this, because it's so big. azeez‘s daughter shema also got bitten. translation: my daughter was sleeping and it was dark. i heard her crying and then i saw her face was covered in blood.

i saw she was bitten here on her lip. it came back another time and bit her brother. another time, it bit her here, on her cheek. the rats come all the time. it's the most important problem that needs solving so that our children can sleep safely at night. all of the kids here have a story to tell about the rats. what noise do they make? children hiss. but this is also a story about the strain on a country that's taken in up to 1.5 million refugees from the war next door. there are simply not enough rubbish bins here for a population of 700 people. they're only collected once a month as well. all of that means the rubbish collects by this standing water, this ditch that goes down the side of the camp. what the people who live here tell me is that that's why they are plagued by rats.

it's the local council's job to collect the rubbish around here, so why can't they do it more often? partly because they say their population of 5,000 has been overwhelmed. translation: there are between 10,000 and 15,000 syrian refugees living in houses and makeshift camps in this district. we do have the manpower to collect garbage. the problem is that we don't have a truck and we don't have resources and money to buy one. collecting rubbish is a big political issue in lebanon. when a landfill closed in 2015, rubbish piled up in the streets and there were protests across the country. but when you live in a tent, the consequences are worse. it's a common problem in camps across lebanon. some organisations see the need for education. this one is running classes to help sheha and her neighbours resist the rats.

they get advice on how to store their food and waste and keep things clean. when he was asking for international help recently, lebanon's prime minister said public services aren't designed for this influx, something that's pretty obvious around here. there is more on the bbc news site. thank you very much for your m essa 9 es thank you very much for your messages about james and the update we brought you earlier. he was on our programme last month and he talked about his struggles with mental health issues after his father killed himself onjames ‘15th birthday. james found... found help through playing football, playing for the mental health team at qpr and we featured him today as he met some of his qpr idols. this texter says, "i've just watched james. when

he said! says, "i've just watched james. when he said i couldn't understand why his love for his dad was not enough, he related to that. my mum was an alcoholic since i was the age of six andi alcoholic since i was the age of six and i could never understand why my love was not enough. i used to beg her to stop drinking. i'm nearly 55 andi her to stop drinking. i'm nearly 55 and i still can't get over it." mrs w, "well done, james. my daughter plays with a mental health football tea m plays with a mental health football team locally. she used to play high level football before her mental health struggles took overment to have this release from the torture and torment going on in their heads is amazing. thank you to all the volu nteers is amazing. thank you to all the volunteers throughout the country who helped make this happen." sam on facebook, "i am a qpr fan, i've had cancer twice in my short life. i'm 23. i have been in some very dark places, but football, like james, just makes me happy and i love qpr so just makes me happy and i love qpr so much " thank you for those. keep them coming in. if you're watching on bbc two, in a moment world championship snooker. to continue watching our programme

turn over to the bbc news channel — where coming up in the next half hour, one of the biggest food bank providers says areas where the new universal credit benefit has been introduced has seen the use of its foodbanks double compared with other areas, we've a special report. and sir eltonjohn cancels his us tour and is recovering at home after suffering what's been described as a "potentially deadly" bacterial virus. let's get the latest weather update with carol. some of us have seen snow this morning. you can tell from our weather watchers pictures in aviemore or indeed hail as we have got from aberdeenshire. so there is a real wintery mix in the showers, but others of us waking up to sunshine. there is quite a bit of sunshine. there is quite a bit of sunshine around. we have got a lot of showers coming in on a strong northerly wind across the north of

the country as we come further, look how well spaced the isobars are. if you are out of the breeze in the south, it will feel pleasant. but if anything the showers will get going through the morning and into the afternoon. still a wintry component to them. we are looking at rain, sleet, hail, and also some snow. 0on at lower levels, but we don't expect the snow to settle at lower levels. in the wind, it will feel cold. aberdeen six, london 13 celsius. it will feel more like freezing in aberdeen if you're in the wind and around about nine or ten celsius in london. as we head on through the evening and overnight, we hang on to that gusty wind and it will be particularly gusty around the showers, but then a ridge of high pressure starts to build in from the west so that will kill off the showers and although there will be some around the coasts and we will hang on to some across central and eastern and northern areas. still wintry in nature too. away from the showers, there will be a lot of dry weather and clear skies. so there will be a widespread frost and there is the risk of ice on untreated

surfaces. tomorrow, here is the high pressure building in from the west. the wind around it coming from the north—west, so it won't feel as cold across north—west scotland, but if you're in the south east, the winds will come from a northerly direction. if you're in it, it will feel nippier and still the potential for the showers across central and eastern areas to have a wintry mix. through the course of the day, the cloud is going to thicken across scotla nd cloud is going to thicken across scotland and also northern ireland. heralding the arrival of our next system which is going to produce some patchy rain. but in between, there will be some sunshine. temperatures tomorrow, around about nine celsius in stornoway and further south, a hello it's tuesday april 25th, it's10am, i'm victoria derbyshire. welcome to our programme. last month we introduced you to 21—year—old james casling, who moved many of you to tears when he described how the joy of playing football effectively stopped him taking his own life. we keep in touch with james and have now taken him to train with the first team of the club he supports, qpr. without football at my feet and a

kid on my body, —— and a football kit on my body, it's sad to say but i think people would be coming to a grave to see me instead. thank you to the many of you who have got in touch about james with your own stories. be talking to some of you before 11am. also on the programme. # it's a little bit funny... sir eltonjohn cancels a series of concerts in america after being taken to hospital with a potentially deadly bacterial infection. he's now recovering at home — we'll bring you more. and labour says it will scrap theresa may's brexit plans and guarantee the rights of eu citizens living in the uk if it wins the election — this is the scene live in central

london where the party's brexit spokesman keir starmer is due to speak soon. we will bring you some of the speech live. time for the latest bbc news withjoanna. labour will set out its brexit policy shortly, saying that the party would guarantee the rights of eu citizens living in the uk on day one of taking power. it's promising to scrap the government's negotiating plans and press for a deal that it says will retain the benefits of the single market and protect jobs and the economy. the shadow brexit secretary sir keir starmer says labour would fight for the best possible relationship with the eu. we have to accept the referendum result. i passionately campaigned to stay in, i really wanted us to stay in. i went across the country campaigning to stay in, but we lost the referendum and therefore, we need to shape the future. we need to identify what sort of uk we want in europe, and what the labour party is saying is that we want to negotiate a relationship with our eu partners which is based on collaboration and cooperation. this is the scene live in central

london where we should shortly see the shadow brexit secretary getting to speak on the labour party ‘s plans. and just after 11.30 on the bbc news channel sir keir starmer will bejoining us to answer your questions. you text us on 61124 or use the hashtag bbcaskthis. two convicted murderers have been executed in the american state of arkansas, the first double execution in the us for 17 years. jack jones and marcel williams were among eight inmates scheduled to be put to death over the course of 11 days. the timetable was determined by the imminent expiry date of the state's supplies of one of the three drugs required for lethal injections. french president francois hollande and presidential candidates emmanuel macron and marine le pen are attending a commemoration ceremony for the policeman killed in an attack last week in paris. it comes as marine le pen has announced she is to step down as leader

of the french national front party to focus on her campaign and be "above party politics. " sir eltonjohn has cancelled a series of shows in america afterfalling ill with what's been described as a "potentially deadly bacterial infection". the singer — who's 70 — spent 2 nights in intensive care after contracting the illness while on tour in chile earlier this month. his management team says he's now resting at home and is expected to make a full recovery. a record number of almost 1.2 million emergency supplies were given out at food banks in the past year, according to new statistics. the trussell trust said food banks in areas where the new universal credit benefit had been introduced saw an average increase in referrals for emergency food of almost 17% — more than double the national average. the charity said the effect of a six—week waiting period for a first universal credit payment could be serious, leading to debt and rent arrears. that's a summary of the latest bbc news — more at 10.30. a quick e—mail from mayoress,

a quick e—mailfrom mayoress, what a quick e—mail from mayoress, what a moving film with james casling. thank you for doing it, i learned something from you, james, it was so brave of you to make this film. we have had several messages from people describing who they turned to or what they turned to to help them when they had mental health issues. we would talk to some of you before the end of the programme so stay tuned for that. now the sport at him. thank you. newcastle have made an immediate return to the premier league, they beat preston north end 4—1 last night in front of more than 50,000 people. newcastle needed to win to follow brighton and secure promotion. christian atsu gave them a 2—1 lead before the break and the task was made easier when paul gallagher of preston handled the on the line commie was sent off and the resulting penalty was scored. peres

added his second to complete the win and get promotion and the first time of asking for rafa ibanez. the championship is so physical, you play several times in a week sometimes and you have to recover and people come back from injuries, people don't realise, the division is totally different, you have to change off of your squad. so to do all those things and perform and win and keep the fans behind the team, think it's been a fantastic season. england have named their one—day squad for a series with ireland and south africa in the subsequent icc champions trophy beginning onjune one. there's a place for mark wood the durham bowler who had to said at the durham bowler who had to said at the winter games after three ankle surgeries. he's back now, jos buttler and chris woa kes surgeries. he's back now, jos buttler and chris woakes will return after missing the first couple of

games against ireland because they are playing in the indian premier league. serena williams says ilie nastase's comets on her unborn child racist. there romanian federation cup captain has been provisionally suspended by the international tennis federation since his abusive remarks about williams and verbally abusing players including johanna konta. williams said, it disappoints me to know that we live in a society where people like ilie nastase can make such racist comments to myself and my unborn child and sexist comments against my fellow players. red britain's ice hockey players on the second game in the world championship game, beating bolton last night where liam stewart, the son of sir rod stewart scored his first international goal. britain joinjapan and first international goal. britain join japan and lithuania first international goal. britain joinjapan and lithuania at the top of the table on six points. great britain hope to eventually make the top tier of the world championships. the quarterfinals are almost underway at the world snooker

championship in sheffield, five—time champion ronnie 0'sullivan is about to start his match with ding junhui of china. there he is. just about to come out to see the crowd at the crucible. karen wilson takes onjohn higgins on the other table. watch the action on bbc2— cairo and wilson. stay with us until 11am if you can. victoria. thank you. we are expecting the labour party's shadow brexit secretary sir keir starmer to speak any day now. labour is setting out its brexit policy before the general election. he'sjust out its brexit policy before the general election. he's just being introduced byjenny chapman, one of the parties spokespersons on brexit. we're waiting for sir keir starmer, who is due to appear on stage in the next minute or so and will be on the bbc news channel at 11:30am and is questions about the labour party's

brexit policy. send in your questions with our hashtag. sir eltonjohn has cancelled concerts in america after suffering a potentially deadly bacterial infection. he contracted it during a tour of south america. just before christmas he spoke to us and talked about the fight against aids. in america because of the election you are going to worry about what will happen there. we can't passed judgment on it yet... with the president—elect? judgment on it yet... with the president-elect? you don't know how much of the progress that has been made will be reversed so that is scary. we live in scary times. it's a dangerous thing about this disease because we have to be consistent in what we do going forward, people have to be tested, go on the medication and stay with it for it to be effective. if we stigmatise

people and make it harder for them to get medicines and take away subsidies we will go backwards and have an alarming spike in new infections. and we have come so far. the end is in sight. if governments around the world take their foot off the accelerator and stop funding we will never beat the disease and it will never beat the disease and it will balloon again and become another catastrophe. it already is and it will get worse like it was 20 yea rs and it will get worse like it was 20 years ago. so we need government dexter to keep their mandate about aids, keep their money coming for aids, keep their money coming for aids because we can cure this. we can solve this. you can't say this about any other disease at the moment. we can stop this disease from spreading. when will you speak to president putin about his approach to gay rights in russia?” don't know. as soon as we can get together in the same place at the same time. i'm hopeful it will happen but he's a busy man than i am! what will you say to him? give

us am! what will you say to him? give us gets! laughter -- give us a kiss. what do we know about elton ‘s condition? -- give us a kiss. what do we know about elton 's condition? we know that on his way back from a tour in south america, specifically chile, he was violently ill on the aeroplane. his medical team identified that he was ill and as soon as identified that he was ill and as soon as he landed in the uk he was taken to hospital, where he spent two days in intensive care. they described it as a potentially deadly bacterial infection. that is what we know so far. he is at home resting. he's over the worst of it. he's cancelled some tour dates, he'd be back on form in the summer. i've got tickets to take my boys to see him into twickenham in june, tickets to take my boys to see him into twickenham injune, will he be playing in the uk? june the 3rd? that's the date when he has said he will be back performing. he's had to cancel his million—dollar piano at the coliseum in las vegas, his

cancelled a cup of — a couple of tour dates in california as well. i'm so sorry that i will have to stop you there, thank you for talking to us, now we are going to hear the labour pa rty‘s talking to us, now we are going to hear the labour party's brexit spokesman, sir keir starmer, on the party ‘s policy on brexit. labour's approach will be based on our values. let me set the z because they are values of international is. of they are values of international is. of being outward looking. 0f they are values of international is. of being outward looking. of a belief that we achieve more together than we do alone. fundamental belief that internationally we should face challenges together with other countries, and take advantages and opportunities with other countries. now asjenny opportunities with other countries. now as jenny has opportunities with other countries. now asjenny has said, we accept that things will have to change, our

relationship with the eu is going to change. but we do not accept, we do not accept that brexit has to mean whatever theresa may says it means! we do not accept that there has to bea we do not accept that there has to be a reckless tory brexit. and that isa be a reckless tory brexit. and that is a fundamental issue in this election. a fundamental is you for everybody who will be voting. we don't believe that if you are a citizen of the world you are a citizen of the world you are a citizen of the world you are a citizen of nowhere. 0f citizen of the world you are a citizen of nowhere. of course we recognise and accept that immigration rules are going to have to change when we leave the eu. let me say that again, we accept that immigration rules are going to have to change when we leave the eu. but we do not accept that immigration should be the only overarching priority, the only red line. nor do we believe that leaving the eu means

that we have to sever all of our ties with europe. that brexit means weakening workers' rights, environmental protection is all that it must entail slashing corporate taxes. we have a very different vision. a vision about how brexit can work for britain and the eu. and at its heart, at its heart, is a belief that we need to build a close collaborative future relationship with the eu. changed relationship but a relationship and a future relationship. not members but genuine partners going forward. wherejobs, the genuine partners going forward. where jobs, the economy and retailing the benefits of the single market and customs union are the priority. where hard—fought

workplace rights and environmental protections are protected. where we are truly an open outward looking country. and where eu nationals living here are guaranteed their rights and can live in certainty that brexit will not affect them. brexit that brings the country together, that radically devolve power and supports all regions and of the uk, and that is the approach to brexit that i want to set up briefly this morning. but let me deal with this head on and summarise the key differences. the prime minister has adopted an ideological lea p minister has adopted an ideological leap approached view of brexit and where has it led her? it has let her down the slippery slope, nothing to down the slippery slope, nothing to do with the single market —— ideological leap approached view. nothing to do with the customs union, the european court or any court. nothing to do with the very

many agencies that do such fantastic collaborative work that is so important to all of us. 0ut collaborative work that is so important to all of us. out of all of those, an approach that has led her to that place and what does that mean? talking up no deal as if that's acceptable. some people say well that's a clear approach, it's a rigid approach. it is removing options before we've started. and it's a reckless approach. what labour will do is to scrap the brexit white paper and draw up new negotiating objectives. we will on day one unilaterally grn tee the rights of eu citizens in this country. and work... applause

and of course, fight for the rights of uk citizens across europe. we will scrap the great repeal bill and replace it with what it should be, an eu rights and protections bill. we will give a proper role to parliament in the process, not sideline it and treat all challenge as frustration or decent. and we will, of course, rebuild britain by investing in people in a future that is fairerfor all. so let me deal first with the white paper and the negotiating priorities. labour's white paper will have a strong emphasis on retaung the benefits of the single market and customs union vital as they are to protecting our economy. 0ur they are to protecting our economy. our paper will make crystal clear

thejobs and our paper will make crystal clear the jobs and the economy are labour's priority throughout. and that means that we will seek continued tariff—free access between the uk and the eu, that we will seek no new non tariff customs burdens, that we will ensure align, regulatory alignment and that we will remain competitive in services as well as goods. retaining the all important threshold of workplace rights so that there is no race to the bottom as we go forward. now i have been all over the country talking to businesses, large and small, communities large and small, trade unionists and all of them saying with one voice on the need for these benefits to be the central pa rt for these benefits to be the central part of the negotiations. now, whether this is best achieved

through reformed membership of the single market and the customs union or via some bespoke trading arrangement is secondary to the outcold. what matters —— jouleth scrout come, what matters is we retain the benefits that really matter. let me tell you, what cannot be negotiated because these negotiations are not going to be easy, what cannot be negotiated, we will replicate back here in the uk. and let me give you an example. regulatory alignment, we will fight hard, fight hard for our businesses, and the people who work in those businesses to ensure that there are no empedestrianments going forwardment we want businesses to succeed in the future in the way they have succeeded in the past. and if we can't get the regulatory alignment we need through negotiations in brussels, we will achieve it back at home by primary legislation. if there is any issue

on workplace rights in the negotiation, we will achieve it back home through primary legislation, what matters is when the end arrangement, the end pack ableg is met, we've met the commitment of the same benefits of the single market and the customs union so important are they. so that means we need to focus. not on hypothetical trade deals with other countries, but on strong trading arrangements with the eu. after all, the eu accounts for 44% of our exports. by far and away the most important trading partner. it is extraordinary that the first act of the prime minister was to give up on the single market and the customs union, even before negotiations had begun and it was received very badly by our eu partners as a message as to how far outside any collaborative future relationship she wanted to be. but not only that, she has spoken up,

talked up the chances of no deal being reached. she said repeatedly no deal is better than a bad deal. no deal is better than a bad deal? labour are very clear that no deal is the worst possible deal. it would cause huge damage to our businesses, to our trade, the examples just make that absolutely clear the tariffs, if no deal of 30% to 40% on dairy and meat products. 10% on cars. and and meat products. 10% on cars. and a loss of passporting rights for the financial services. i was at vauxhall yesterday and the anxiety about that outcome is etched on the face of everybody who works there and everybody who works in so many of our businesses across the country. no wonder the cb iflt have called it a recipe for chaos. a labour approach will be clear and to

end this reckless approach and we will be clear that we need to negotiate strong transitional arrangements as we leave the eu, and ensure there is no cliff edge for our economy. so reject no deal as a viable option and introduce and fight for transitional arrangements from the start. but we will also approach the task differently. theresa may wants to close down scrutiny and challenge. in truth, that lies partly behind her decision to call an election. the idea that she should be challenged or questioned in parliament in a meaningful way is something she cannot have, she will not have. she wa nts to cannot have, she will not have. she wants to knock that out of the way and everybody knows that strong leaders and strong decisions welcome

scrutiny and accountability and welcome challenge, that's how the right decisions are arrived at. and these decisions are so important. we cannot duck this issue. so labour will take a different approach. we will take a different approach. we will work with parliament, not against parliament, we will legislate to ensure there is a meaningful vote at the end of the exercise. something the prime minister refused to do and of course, we will insist on putting place regular reporting back through the process, so we can get the views of part, so that we can be challenged and so we can ensure that we are on the right track and parliament has played its role throughout the process. process. studio: sir keir starmer. norman smith has been listening. he says jobs are the priority. he says, but we a cce pt jobs are the priority. he says, but

we accept that i will gration rules are going to have to change when we leave ? are going to have to change when we leave? he did, vic, but the problem is we don't quite know how the rules are going to chake and that seems to me the weakness in what we're hearing. we heard sir keir starmer setting ot the differences with mrs may's approach to brexit. he said she had a rigid ideological approach and ruled out options such as staying in the single market, and being part of the customs union, keeping a role for the european court ofjustice, keeping certain key eu agencies in brib, all those have been wiped off the table. that was a ridge i had, inflexible approve, but when you move on to the labour approach, we got some clarity. sir keir starmer wants to rule out the idea ofjust accepting no dealment he said that's the worst possible option. he also guaranteed that eu nationals would get their rights to stay in britain from day one of a labour government, but in terms of the sort of deal that labour would negotiate, we're

slightly scrabbling around. he wa nted slightly scrabbling around. he wanted to maintain the benefits of the customs union. but we don't really know what that means and we don't know what it means in terms of immigration. labour will say this is because we're entering negotiation, it isa because we're entering negotiation, it is a fluid situation, it will be more nuanced, but the difficulty is we are in the heat and battle of an election campaign and in that sort of cal pain to cut through you need simple, clear, easy to understand m essa g es simple, clear, easy to understand messages and the daiker for labour is this rather more nuanced message fails to resonate with voters. thank you very much, norman. and just after 11.30am on the bbc news channel — labour's brexit secretary, sir keir starmer will be answering questions on the party's brexit strategy — you can start by sending your question in now by text. they've been called a national disgrace and new figures show a record number of almost

1.2 million emergency supplies were handed out at food banks in the past year. one of the biggest food bank providers says areas where the new universal credit benefit has been introduced has seen double the rise of use of food banks than other areas. universal credit is a new benefit which replaces six other benefits, including income support and housing benefit — there's a six week waiting period for the first payment. our reporter ashleyjohn baptiste has been to visit one food bank which has seen a rise in demand. five years ago, it seemed nobody talked about food banks, but now an estimated half a million people use them every year. the trussell trust is the largest network of food banks across the uk. they have 425 member food banks like this one. let's go inside. in the last seven years,

we've seen a dramatic rise in people coming to food banks. the first year, we had about 1,000 beneficiaries. this past year, it's well over 6,000 men, women and children who've received our food parcels. i started using a food bank because my other half got sacked unfairly from work. and we were paying full rent and it took some time for the benefits to come through, so we had to come here because we also had bills to pay and it's only after you've paid for everything that you don't have enough for food. so i always make sure my son is fed, but sometimes there isn't enough for me. i survive on cups of coffee, sometimes for up to four days, just on cups of coffee. people are really struggling to make ends meet. the benefits system is causing a massive problem from what we're hearing from clients, universal credit in particular. most people have to wait at least six weeks for their first payment to come through. many have to wait six, eight,

sometimes even 12 weeks for the first payment to come through. the trussell trust claims in the 28 areas where it operates where universal credit has been rolled out, they've seen a 16% increase in food bank referrals versus the national average ofjust 6%. it's hard, actually, it's hard for me and my volunteers. i mean, iwon't lie, sometimes i go home and i can't stop thinking about people. i had a woman referred to us not that long ago who had a newborn baby. there was a domestic violence incident and she was forced to leave the family home, but she was rehoused in an empty flat and wasn't able to access any of her previously owned furniture and goods, and the baby too. cold, hungry. but she's not the only one. i see people every single week in my food bank. i don't want to tell my family i come here, i can't. i would feel so bad having to ask them for help. it's easier to get a voucher and come here. i'd be so embarrassed if they knew. i'm worried about what they'd say. so hopefully, this is only going to be a short—term solution.

a separate report out today says up to three million children risk going hungry during the school holidays with some existing pretty much only on a diet of crisps. a group of mps says the govt needs to do more to feed hungry children when school canteens are shut. tracey culham ended up having to go to a food bank after it took more than six weeks to receive payments on the two separate occasions she's had to apply for universal credit. lee forrest works for a housing association in the north east of england and has seen increasing problems for its tenants caused by universal credit, with many ending up in rent arrears. alison inglis—jones is a trustee and volunteer with the trussell trust. tracy, you had to apply for

universal credit after you lost your job last year at greggs were you had worked for seven years, why did you end up having financial problems after you had applied for universal credit? could you repeat that please? why did you end up having financial problems when you had applied for universal credit? when i first applied for universal credit was in august last year, i had applied and they had told us that i would have to wait, the pavement that i got was not until november because i had said that the wages that greggs had give us was to live on for all that went in my bank account was 18p. really. so having

to wait until you got the first payment of universal credit, what effect did it have on you?” payment of universal credit, what effect did it have on you? i am still in debt up to my eyes. i owe all my friends and family money. i can't afford... i have had to go, the council had to sort us out a food bank parcel last year and they've had to do it again this year. i went, they've had to do it again this year. iwent, my they've had to do it again this year. i went, my first payment last was november but i had gotten a temporaryjob so i was working right untiljanuary. temporaryjob so i was working right until january. and then temporaryjob so i was working right untiljanuary. and then when i went backin untiljanuary. and then when i went back in to tell them that the temporaryjob had finished in january, they said i wasn't going to get a payment from them until april

17 and that was like just a couple of weeks ago. understood. i can see you are upset when you talk about this, tracy. can you put into words what it is like for you being forced to go toa what it is like for you being forced to go to a food bank? it is degrading. especially when you have worked all your life, and when people have got to come and tell you that they can sort you out a parcel, and they take, i'm sorry about this, you know what it is, i hate talking about this because i think it is the most degrading thing going. and i need to let the nation know what it is like. there is no need to apologise at all, tracey, there really isn't. we are very, very grateful that you have come on our

programme to talk about something that is... they are frightened to tell us in the red office how much rent arrears i am in. tell us in the red office how much rentarrears i am in. —— in the tell us in the red office how much rent arrears i am in. —— in the rent office. and note that i am finally getting my payment sorted, i got my full rent on the 17th, sorting it out, i've got to pay now every month £20 a month out of my money because i've had to wait for it coming through. tracey, i am going to bring in allison, who is in the studio, alison inglis— jones from the trust of trust, they have released figures today about the number of emergency supplies. first your response to what tracey has said this morning?” am really sorry, it is not an unusual story. i volunteer with hammersmith and fulham food bank,

you showed them a while ago, we've seen people coming in in very fragile emotional and mental states because they are in debt. and this six week plus waiting gap is creating huge problems for people across the country. why is it six weeks? we don't know but we are having conversations with the department for work and pensions to see if we can narrow that gap. it is what we'd like to advise because we have seen from tracey's story that this isn't working for a whole range of people. what can we do to narrow that gap. it is a question we would have liked to ask a representative of the department for work and pensions. requested an interview. they gave a statement saying that the reasons for using a food bank complex so it is misleading to link them to one single issue. they say them to one single issue. they say the roll out of universal credit is helping people stay in jobs, employment is the best route out of poverty and then record numbers of

people in work, universal credit people in work, universal credit people are moving into work fast and staying in work longer than under the old system. let me bring in lee. you are a debt adviser in the north—east of england. 25,000 homes, many of your tenants are on universal credit. what impact is that having on them. huge impact. i can throw some light on why people have to wait six weeks for payment. james casling, unlike housing benefit is a monthly benefit, so when you apply there is one month to wait until the money you have been entitled to do in this month is assessed and then you have to wait another month until you get your first payment. that delay is built into every single claim. some people have to wait seven weeks for payment. but is immediately tapping into people's ability to pay the rent, to pay for food, to make sure

there is enough energy on meters and that bills are paid and so forth, so it's having a huge impact. tracey's story is typical of many of our clients. if you were the work and pensions secretary lee could you sort this and make it a shorter time until the first payment came in?” can see no reason why until the first payment came in?” can see no reason why it needs to be paid in arrears. i don't know why somebody can't apply for universal credit and then get an advance on their first payment, perhaps that can be paid back when you move into work. it's an administrative necessity, i think, work. it's an administrative necessity, ithink, part work. it's an administrative necessity, i think, part of the universal credit system, which presumably could be fixed to make it easier for people. allison, is that logic, to you, about the way that it is run at the moment, that you don't get it in advance, you get a monthly

after you have claimed ?” get it in advance, you get a monthly after you have claimed? i can see why they may do that but the problem is that it is causing people, the impact, notjust is that it is causing people, the impact, not just the is that it is causing people, the impact, notjust the immediate impact, notjust the immediate impact on people, the fragility of people's states. it will tip into other things, pressure people's states. it will tip into otherthings, pressure on people's states. it will tip into other things, pressure on the nhs, the pressure on other services, it will only increase. as people have to wait for this period of time. we've seen tracy today. it's not acceptable. we've seen tracy today. it's not acceptable, we've seen tracy today. it's not acceptable. , is we've seen tracy today. it's not acceptable, is it a good idea from lee that you get the first payment in advance and once you get work, which is what you are trying to do, you got temporary work at christmas, you got temporary work at christmas, you pay it back then from your wages. that is what i you pay it back then from your wages. that is what! had you pay it back then from your wages. that is what i had said. you pay it back then from your wages. that is what! had said. i dida wages. that is what! had said. i did a documentary and i said, they give you this money but then they ta ke give you this money but then they take it away from you every month. if you get a job, then pay it back

then. ok. alison, regarding the dwp statement, universal credit people, this is their phrase, they are moving into work fast, staying in work longer than under the old system. is that true? there is no doubt that people coming to food banks, i would say 98% of the people i see want to get back to work and they are the problem is that they have run into debt while waiting for that. and that's the problem. we are talking to the dwp, the secretary of state has opened his doors, the more we can address this together, the better. tracey, there are some lovely messages from people who have been watching you run the country. i'm going to read a couple to you, ifi i'm going to read a couple to you, if i may. riley says, you have worked all your life, and it is degrading for you to go to a food bank and it is brave that you are talking about this. this tweet from

chris says, i hope every conservative mp will be made to watch this and answer the questions raised today because this is shameful treatment of our people. again, angela says, tracey has worked all her life and is getting no help. rodney says, i don't believe food banks should be needed but i understand why they are. it makes me mad when you have people that don't need them who abuse them. a couple i know, this is not about you, tracey, a couple that i know don't

have kids, both smoke, go out three times a week and walk past with packs of beers for home but yet use food banks. seuk—hyun baek everyone who comes to trust will trust food bank has to be referred by social services, a vicar or a school governor. we're not standing in judgment in any way, someone else has made thatjudgment and they come with a voucher and we feed them. we trust the 40,000 plus front line ca re trust the 40,000 plus front line care professionals who are referring, they have made that judgment, people are coming in and we feed them. 0k. judgment, people are coming in and we feed them. ok. i'm going to read you this dwp statement. the reasons for the use of food banks are complex, they cannot be linked to one single issue. the best way out of poverty is employment, people are moving into work faster and staying there longer than under the old system. universal credit is designed to mirror the world of work and given full control over their own finances, the majority of claimants are confident and managing money and we work with local authorities to support those in need extra help, but didn't support, benefit advances and direct payments to landlords are available to those who need them. lee, do you think that people are aware of that? the sort of help available to them? direct payments to landlords, budgeting support, benefit advances? what should happen

when cindy makes a claim for universal credit they should be able to be made aware of any —— they should make vidi wp aware of any health problems that make it difficult for them to pay rent themselves. —— they should make the dwp aware of these. i don't know if this is happening. as much as it should be. that is why people are getting into rent arrears early in the process. and advance payments are discretionary. and also like tracey said, people know that they have to pay them back, so often people are relying on friends and family and ultimately food banks to see them through the first six weeks before payment because they don't wa nt before payment because they don't want to be in further debt when they get subsequent universal credit awards. understood. thank you, legal mack, who works for a housing

association in the north—east of england, tracey, thank you for coming on the programme. tracey went toa coming on the programme. tracey went to a food bank after it took more than six weeks that it took to receive universal credit, and two separate occasions when she has applied for it after losing herjob last year, and alison, from the tussle trust, thank you. "who could ever hate me this much?" the words of chris bonney, a college lecturer and part time dj who suffered a life changing acid attack a year ago. the 30—year—old has no idea who was responsible for it or why. the acid splashed across his face, arms, chest and even his legs leaving him deaf for three months, temporarily blind in one eye and with permanent scarring to much of his skin. but he says the mental scars have been the hardest to recover from. police figures show acid attacks are on the rise in the uk and in his first ever interview, chris bonney tells this programme of his worries that corrosive

liquids are now easier to get hold of than a knife. some of the images we show during this interview are upsetting and you may not want young children to see them. chris started by telling us what happened on the night of the attack. on the 28th february last year, it was about 10.30 in the evening. i was just retiring to go to bed for the night, and the doorbell went. looking through the glass, it looked like the shadow of my neighbour. didn't really think anything of it. it's not a troublesome neighbourhood. ijust opened the door to find two gentlemen stood there. they asked if i was chris. i said "yes, can i help?" and he then apologised and said "i'm ever so sorry", and then threw acid in my face and over the left—hand side of my body. did you know who they were? no, not at all. never seen them before at all. they had london accents. it was completely random. again, i had never seen them before.

yeah, they seriously assaulted me. and the impact of the solution on you, was it immediately clear to you what it was? to start with, it felt like water. it was cold, the first impact to my face. when that happened, i closed my left eye and wiped it with my right hand. and as i did it, i rotated my body to a certain extent. and that was when the second hit from the bottle hit my left arm, and that took quite an impact. the only way i can really describe how it felt was being covered in petrol and set on fire. it was a sensation that, that pain did not subside for hours and hours and hours. it was excruciating pain, and it destroyed everything it touched.

it melted the paint off my front door, burned holes in the carpet, took the paint off walls, burned through radiators, destroyed my sofa, my curtains, everything it touched. wow. we're going to show our audience images of your injuries which you've kindly given to us so that people can see the exact nature of what happened to you. some people may find these photographs distressing, but i think you do feel it's important to show the effects of what turned out to be acid on you. 0h, absolutely, yeah. can you describe the kind of injuries you sustained? so, the injuries that were sustained were chemical burns. it went through the various layers of skin and caused significant scarring. it made my skin very susceptible to infections. in total, it was around nine different infections i had in the nine months that it took

before i was realistically fully out of bandages. the damage that this sort of substance causes to your skin is nothing short of despicable. it's unbearable, really, for me to even look at now. this attack happened 14 months ago, and i still look at those photos and it brings back horrendous memories. we can see on the left side of hur face, beneath your glasses a little bit of red marking and we can see on your left arm, presumably those are the after effects? yeah, so that's the after effects? yeah, so that's the damage that's left on my left arm still. the scarring has eventually, you know, it's fully healed over now. . in the cease of the arm here where it's a moving

part, that took up until november of last year before i was fully out of bandages. i've still scars on my article from here. my left eye is still a bit problematic because my eye lid is fused to my eyebrow. i can't fully close my eye lid which causes me some vision issues. right. that's why i have to wear glasses.” understand. i wonder if you can explain more about how the injuries affect your daily life now? you have talked about the vision in your left eye. how else? day-to-day, if i'm honest, it's more a psychological thing. i deem that people look at me and they are not seeing me as such, they are just sort of seeing scars and thinking what on earth happened there? that's quite hard for me to process on a daily sort of occurrence. as far as physical issues go, the only one that i

really have is with the pain in the joint of this elbow from constantly moving it etcetera because where the scars has taled healed the skin is tight. when i stretch my arm out, it's pulling the skin and that's relatively uncomfortable. the mental scarring, you said psychologically ona scarring, you said psychologically on a day—to—day basis, it is an issue, talk us through the mental side of things? if we go back to last year really and work forwards, initially when it first happened, i was petrified of the dark. i couldn't sleep without a light on. i would, you know, iwould couldn't sleep without a light on. i would, you know, i would cry myself to sleep most nights because i could not process what had happened to me and why it had happened to me. and from then onwards there was elements of depression, post—traumatic stress disorder and anxiety and i had to

seek counselling and psychological help for this. the team at salisbury hospital were outstanding and they worked with me, you know, tirelessly to really help me through this. i still suffer with some elements of anxiety, but i think that's something that i'm going to have to learn to deal with and overcome myself really. i'm lucky i have got a good support network and i have got friends who helped me through all this and psychologically, the element of fear is still there, not knowing why this actually happened to me. i have been to university. i've got a good job. i work hard. i've got a good job. i work hard. i've never been in trouble in my life. it was so random and for me to process what had happened, 14 months later, i still haven't got my head round that. yeah. there are no a nswe rs round that. yeah. there are no answers because the police have not been able to find who is responsible. absolutely not. they sat me down and they said, "we've

interviewed a until of suspects. we have taken character references, witness statements about you as a person and there is no motive. there is no evidence. qflt" there was nothing, no even so much as a fingerprint and that's difficult for me to deal with really. but there is somebody and they may even be watching now who knows who did this? because there were two people there? somebody out there knows. yeah. yeah, somebody knows somewhere. i don't know. one day it may come out andi don't know. one day it may come out and i may get some justice from all of this. but... but this is the first time you have spoken publicly chris. what would you say to either the people who did this to you or to those around them who may have an inkling that they could have been responsible? what can you say? hand

yourself in. how do you sleep at night? yeah, absolutely. i moon, i didn't deserve this to happen to me. the police said whoever it was were clearly pa id to the police said whoever it was were clearly paid to do a job and the jobs has been done. who could ever hate me this much? it'sjust awful. do you have any theory as to why these two people did this to you? there was a few theories, but u nfortu nately there was a few theories, but unfortunately there is no evidence and it would be very unfair of me to say ok, i believe it was this person for this reason because if it wasn't, i would for this reason because if it wasn't, iwould neverforgive myself. recently as you know there have been a series of similar kind of attacks, acid attacks, including one ina —an of attacks, acid attacks, including one in a — an alleged attack in a nightclub one in a — an alleged attack in a nig htclu b recently. one in a — an alleged attack in a nightclub recently. what do you think when you hear about those?” was made of that, i was made aware

of this particular attack last week and for me personally, it shook me to my core. i am a teacher and then at the weekends i do a lot of djing. it is my worst fear that someone would do that sort of attack in a nightclub and for it to happen that night. i reckon i had one or two hours sleep to think that it what happened to other people and for the number of people that it affected, it is truly awful. this substance, it is truly awful. this substance, it is truly awful. this substance, it is readily available. you can buy it is readily available. you can buy it from any good hardware shop. any good supermarket and it does so much damage and there needs to be, how do you police it? how do you police a substance that you use for cleaning drains? there needs to be some form of education that, it is not a cce pta ble of education that, it is not acceptable to use it as a weapon. from a young age, sorry, i was going to say, from a young abling, we've, we educate the knife crime is how

bad it is and gun crime, etcetera, but chelical attacks, substance attacks are becoming more and more frequent now, there needs to be something dub to stop it. is this why it is important for you to speak out publicly finally? absolutely the for the past 14 months, i've focussed on my own recovery as such because i had my own battles, my own physical battles with the scarring on my face and my eye and i didn't want any more attention than i already had sort of locally in my local area, but now with these sort of attacks that are going on, they are more frequent and the fact that it has happened in an environment that i work now, it's time to sort of speak out and say what i've gone through and how i've recovered. it is one of those. i sort of sat back the other day and i

looked at sort of myself in the mirrorandi looked at sort of myself in the mirror and i looked at my injuries andi mirror and i looked at my injuries and i looked at what happened to me and i looked at what happened to me and it thought, "chris, you're a teacherment you lecture in health and safety, you teach the youth of today. if you can educate and help in anyform, today. if you can educate and help in any form, anyway that i can to do worthwhile happened to me, i have got to do it, in whatever way i can. i'm one small voice from a little seaside toub, you know, but it's, something has got to be done, where do you start drawing the line? you wind the clock back ten years when knife cile was on the rise in around the london areas and across the uk. and it's in the news, it's frequently in the news, people are educated on it now, and there is sort of, it's levelled out to a certain degree, but when you look at these acid attacks and the corrosiveness and the dabbling it does, it doesn't matter how big you are, if you get this substance on this scib, you're not fighting back. let's talk to teresa in hatfield who

got in touch with us this morning. good morning. good morning. what did you want to say? as i text in i wa nted you want to say? as i text in i wanted to say really a big thank you to all the volunteers throughout the country that do these for these people because we have a 24—year—old daughter that has border line personality disorder and post—traumatic stress and bipolar. it isa post—traumatic stress and bipolar. it is a complex condition and she used to play football. she started when she was six years old and she wbt on to play very high level football as a goalkeeperment she plays in goalfor local football as a goalkeeperment she plays in goal for local mental health team, and she rooptly came out of hot, she was in there for four—and—a—half months and she kale

out this week and the first thing was to make sheer she was on the tea m was to make sheer she was on the team sheet ready for a tournament next week. so it is a real objective for her to play and it helps herment thank you very much, teresa. thank you very much. we first spoke to him on the programme a month ago and now we've taken him training with qprs' first team as part of the english football league's community day of action. at 18, i was ready to die and had made many attempts on my own life. so james, how did it feel today, playing alongside three of the greatest footballers that have ever been seen at queens park rangers? it's an amazing experience. to do that and have people like yourselves come and experience

it and realise that there's more to a club than just the first team, for me, it saved my life. without football at my feet and the kit on my body... it's sad to say, but i think... people would be having to come to a grave to see me instead. so how does being a professional footballer affect your mental health? footballers have lots of ups and downs, and it's difficult at times because you're judged as a product, so to speak. you are the product as a player. when i was really young we would play in derby games and if we didn't win on saturday, i'd stay in my house until the following saturday. i used to fear going out and being seen because i thought people would ridicule me and so on.

i hope that people can see that even though it can be dark, there is a lwa ys though it can be dark, there is always going to be a light. you've just got to fight through it. three yea rs later just got to fight through it. three years later i'm still alive. we don't know what tomorrow brings. just make sure you're there to see it. that's all i can say really. sue says, "i have been very touched watching james today. i want to touch out and give him comfort and touch out and give him comfort and to say you can get through life after a deaf staying experience. i'm 66, but i was 19 when my father took his own life in 1970. i was an only child and in those days suicide was even more taboo than it is now. i had no one to talk to. i remember feeling so very lonely. i got some help, talking, but much further down the line, i would like to applaud james and all the other people who are now opening up about mental

health." on the programme tomorrow, we take two viewers who don't think politicians make a difference to their lives to spend a day in parliament, meeting mps and decision—makers. thank you watching today. have a good day. good morning. a really cold start as we advertise, but a real contrast in fortunes. glorious weather in some spots. for others, a real taste of winter. a lot of hail around across the north. wintry showers peppering northern and eastern exposures at the moment. as we get on through the day, don't be fooled by that dry, bright start across the heart of england and wales and into the central and southern parts of england. there will be showers here through the afternoon. the heaviest of they will urged on by a cold wind. fully exposed to that northerly

breeze. we keep that going through the course of the night. the showers tending to fade across western parts on what is going to be a really cold night. watch out for ice and frost. the bulk of the showers will be found across central and eastern parts. fewer across western areas and we cloud things up across the north and the west with a wee bit of rain to finish off your day for western scotla nd finish off your day for western scotland and northern ireland. this is bbc news, and these are the top stories developing at 11am: labour sets out its brexit plans if it wins the general election, guaranteeing the rights of eu citizens and promising to protect jobs and the economy.

if theresa may gets another five years in power, she will take it as a green light to sideline parliament, ignore opposition and drive through a reckless tory brexit, brexit, a rigid brexit. theresa may takes her general election campaign to wales, hoping to win seats in traditional labour heartlands. emmanuel macron and marine le pen attend a ceremony for the policeman killed in an attack last week in paris. sir eltonjohn recovers at home after two nights in intensive care with a bacterial infection. he has had to cancel concerts. also