hello it's tuesday, it's 9am, i'm victoria derbyshire, welcome to the programm. our top story today — this programme can reveal that 300 disabled people a day are appealing against cuts to their benefits — to their benefits — and it's costing you £1 million a week. you know i put on a brace face but inside i'm shocked really. i don't want to be a burden on society and take. i didn't ask to be sick, i'm annoyed that i'm sick. our full exclusive story in the next few minutes. also on the programme — a terminally ill man who campaigned on this programme against changes to widowed parent's allowance has died. you're contemplating death and want to go with some dignity, grace and peace of mind, not with financial anxiety, feeling that the government has taken money from you that you have earned legitimately. alan, which isn't his real name,

wants his legacy to be overturning those bereaved payment changes. we'll talk to campaigners before 10am. and — found alive after 32 hours in the sea. the extremely lucky surfer who was rescued off the coast of belfast. hello. welcome to the programme, we're live until 11am. throughout the morning — the latest breaking news and developing stories — and, as always, really keen to hear from you. a little later we'll hear from paula radcliffe who says european athletics proposals which could lead to world records being rewritten are cowardly. the governing body wants to eliminate any doping doubts. it means radcliffe's marathon world

record from 2003 would be wiped out under the plans. do get in touch on all the stories we're talking about this morning — use the hashtag #victorialive and if you text, you will be charged at the standard network rate. our top story today. labour is promising to put 10,000 more police on the streets of england and wales if it wins the election. the party said it would fund the policy by reversing conservative plans for cuts to capital gains tax. the conservatives say the proposal is nonsensical as labour has committed those savings to fund other pledges. 0ur political guru norman smith is at westminster for us this morning. do the sums add up? that has a good question but what strikes me most about today is we get a bit of a cu rve ball about today is we get a bit of a cu rveball from about today is we get a bit of a curveball from jeremy corbyn, change of tack, because in the campaign so far he has stuck to pretty much core, corbyn campaign themes around opposing austerity, more cash for the nhs, fighting back against benefit cuts, though sort of

traditionaljeremy corbyn messages. today he almost takes a leaf out of the tony blair book and goes on crime, not something you have heard jeremy corbyn talk much about, but pledging labour would reverse some of the cuts that they say have been implemented since 2010 with a 20% cut in police budgets, something like 20,000 fewer police officers, and instead they say they would recruit 10,000 more officers to be paid for by reversing some of the changes to capital gains tax. as you suggest, there is a right old tussle on whether the sums add up. diane abbott insisted they did this morning. this morning i am saying specifically that we are committed to spend, i think £300 million, over the 2.7 billion that you get by reversing the capital gains tax cut. we are committing this morning to spending it on 10,000 extremely

needed policemen and women. so why isjeremy needed policemen and women. so why is jeremy corbyn campaigning needed policemen and women. so why isjeremy corbyn campaigning on what would be natural conservative territory? i guess because he knows if he is to have any chance of winning he can't just if he is to have any chance of winning he can'tjust keep banging away on the labour drum, you've got to reach out a bit more. interesting too where he is campaigning today. we have seen mr corbyn so far in pretty traditional labour areas. today he is down in the south of the country in what is not really a labour area, country in what is not really a labourarea, again country in what is not really a labour area, again trying to reach out. because he takes the view that actually the tories should be vulnerable on crime because recorded crime, that's what police officers jot down in their notebooks, has actually gone up and certainly violent crime has gone up quite a lot. so the view in team corbyn is there is a vulnerability here but more and order is traditionally a tory policy. that said the home secretary amber rudd this morning insisted the tories have a good story to tell on crime. the fact is that

crime has fallen by a third since 2010 and you are right there has also been control over budgets and less police officers but we have been investing in the police force in areas we believe they can make good progress with other elements of crime. but the point is what really matters here is the outcomes. we have seen crime falling while budgets have been controlled, which is surely a successful outcome. 0ne of the funny thing is i said at the beginning, taking a leaf out of the tony blair handbook, the difference is that back in 1997 when we remember tough on crime and tough on the causes of crime, crime was right at the top of the election agenda then. now when you look at the polling done about the issues that matter to voters, crime is right down at the bottom, only something like eight or 9% of voters rate it asa like eight or 9% of voters rate it as a really important issue. top of the pile is of course brexit followed by the nhs. thank you, norman. joanna is in the bbc newsroom with a summary of the rest of the day's news.

good morning. senior eu sources have made a series of scathing comments about the government's approach to brexit negotiations, raising the prospect they could fail to reach an agreement. a german newspaper reported that talks got off to a bad start when the prime minister met the president of the european commission, jean—claude juncker. theresa may has dismissed it as "brussels gossip". us president donald trump has said he would be "honoured" to meet north korean leader kimjong—un, in the right circumstances. mr trump made his comments amid continuing tensions surrounding pyongyang's nuclear programme. the white house later said such talks were unlikely in the near future. this programme has learnt that more than 300 people a day are going to court to attempt to overturn decisions to reduce or stop their disability benefits. the government is replacing disability living allowance with pip — or the personal independence payment — which is based on an individual‘s needs. but around 250,000 people have lost money as a result of the change and there has been a sharp rise in legal challenges. we'll have more on that

in a few minutes' time. the parents of a critically ill nine—month—old boy will lodge an appeal today against a ruling that he should be allowed to die. last month a high courtjudge ruled that doctors can withdraw life support from charlie gard, who has a rare genetic condition, against his parents‘ wishes. specialists at great 0rmond street hospital said charlie has irreversible brain damage and should be moved to palliative care. but his parents want to take him to the us for experimental treatment. a surfer who went missing off the scottish coast has been rescued after more than 30 hours clinging to his board. matthew bryce was reported missing by his family when he didn't return from a surfing trip in argyll on sunday afternoon. he was eventually picked up 13 miles off the coast still conscious but suffering from hypothermia. dramatic footage has emerged of a baby being pulled out of a car trapped by floodwaters in texas. the pick—up truck with a father, his baby son and toddler daughter

inside overturned in water near myrtle springs east of dallas, following tornadoes in the area. fellow motorists performed cpr on the children at the scene, who were taken to hospital and are said to be doing well. george osborne starts his newjob as editor of the london newspaper the evening standard today the former chancellor's appointment drew criticism from opposition mps who called on him to quit politics. mr 0sbourne stepped down as conservative mp for tatton in cheshire last month, a seat which is due to be abolished at the next election. he'll edit the paper four days a week. new parents cheryl and liam payne have reportedly named their baby boy — five weeks after his arrival. some of this morning's newspapers are reporting that the couple have named their son bear. they apparently spent a week with the baby before deciding on the name. actresses kate wi nslet and alicia silverstone also both

have sons named bear. a host of celebrities turned out in their finest for what's been described as "the party of the year" — the met gala. the annual charity ball is held at new york's metropolitan museum of art to raise money for the museum's fashion department. it's an exclusive event, with tickets costing tens of thousands of dollars. nader torphichen‘s report contains some flash photography. —— nada tawfik. it is the hottest invite on new york's social calendar, and the biggest night in fashion, that draws out only the stars. stepping onto the met gala red carpet is to enter a runway, but one with a very specific theme. this year, the met costume institute is honouring japanese designer rei kawakubo, who famously blurs the line between fashion and artwork. rei isn't so much out of the box. for rei, there is no box, and she did that so early on. when rei started, you would never believe fashion could be as influential and as powerful as music. well, it is. you know, a lot of people say, like, how do you wear that? you don't wear those clothes,

those clothes wear you. sleeves need not apply, and cotton candy hair and face coverings are just a few of her signatures. and the bravest dress the part. katy perry and pharrell williams along with his wife wore the designer's pieces and rihanna stood out from the crowd with this floral look. of course, if you are a madonna you arrive in camouflage with your own fashion statement. what statement are you making tonight? that we have got to get our act together and start thinking about peace on earth. the irony and stupidity of war. this red-carpet has become one of the mostjudged. social media was quick to play fashion critic. the met ball is not the place to play it safe. and that unspoken rule, combined with this unconventional designer's inspiration, has led to a night of unique looks.

nader torphichen bbc news, at the met gala. that's a summary of the latest bbc news — more at 9.30am. this is to do with personal independence payments. what many people unaffected don't realise about these benefits is that the assessment is not about proving how ill you are, it's a test to see if you can carry out some very basic physical tasks. if you can then this is extrapolated into meaning you are able to do a job. the fact a person can use a able to do a job. the fact a person can use a microwave, able to do a job. the fact a person can use a microwave, for example, does not necessarily mean they are able to work, let alone that they could feed themselves. it's that kind of thinking behind these tests thatis kind of thinking behind these tests that is at fault. kayla on facebook says: my wife has a progressive, relapsing, remitting ms. she's on the high rate of dla, disability

living allowance, we have a wheelchair accessible vehicle but the cloud of waiting for the envelope to drop through the door saying we have to change to pip is a co nsta nt saying we have to change to pip is a constant worry. we have a film coming up in the next few minutes where we reveal that 300 disabled people a day are taking the government to tribunal to try and get the benefit changes overturned. if you have experience get in touch. use the hashtag victoria live and if you text, you will be charged at the standard network rate. let's get some sport now with hugh. it is not hugh! sorry, it is hugh! i do this all the time! it seems that lots of athletics world records set before 2005 could be rewritten, and that could affect some big british names. we should put this into context because it sounds draconian, last yea r‘s because it sounds draconian, last year's mclaren report uncovered widespread doping in the sport and russia as a result are currently banned from athletics. this is a sport with a reputation severely

tainted, so the question now is how to try and fix it. for some desperate times call for these desperate times call for these desperate measures and european athletics have suggested all world records that can't be verified by a series of very strict measures, will simply be rewritten. their president says they are meaningless if people don't really believe them. it would have a huge impact, as you mention, and some famous names who fall outside of those measures simply because they happen before the iaaf stored blood and you're in samples. jonathan edwards's launch of record, not beaten in nearly 22 years since he recorded it in gothenburg in 95, and also paula radcliffe's marathon record. they would remain on an all—time list but not officially recognised as world records. radcliffe particularly upset saying, i'm hurtand radcliffe particularly upset saying, i'm hurt and feel this damage is my reputation and dignity and the governing bodies have once again failed clean athletes. she also revealed this morning she asked the iaaf to store hope doping sample from this day in 2003 in the london

marathon for as long as possible but the cut—off point would be 2005 so if these proposals are adopted she would lose that record. 0ne if these proposals are adopted she would lose that record. one of those people victoria, who would feel fairly maligned this morning. we hope to hear from fairly maligned this morning. we hope to hearfrom her late in the programme. and mark selby is establishing himself as one of snooker‘s great players. yes, he is now a three—time champion at the world snooker in the crucible and he is in factjust the fourth time in the modern era that a man has defended his title at the crucible beating john higgins 18—15. it sounds tight but involved an impressive comeback, he won nine out of ten frames at one point over the last couple of days having been 10—4 down, the biggest comeback since dennis taylor in the famous final with the re—spotted black in 85, in fa ct with the re—spotted black in 85, in fact he was 10—5 down when he won in 2014 so so he is quite the battle, mark selby command as well as the trophy,

money, he remains world number one as well. he's been there for more than two years and gains revenge for defeat to higgins in the 2007 final. higgins thinks selby, who he called his toughest opponent, candela to challenge stephen hendry‘s record of seven titles at the crucible. despite all the attention there was a light—hearted moment in the 20th frame that we are going to show you now where all of the frowns turned to smiles in a couple of minutes, john higgins attempting to get out ofa john higgins attempting to get out of a snooker. that was his first attempt at hitting the red. it failed, in goes the cue ball from the brown, this isn't the same attempt, it is attempt number two. look familiar? the same happened. perhaps the john higgins, look familiar? the same happened. perhaps thejohn higgins, third time lucky. laughter no, in it goes again. eventually after grinning his way through he gets a thumbs up from mark selby to have a fourth attempt, sneaks through to clip the red on the way, just as he'd been trying to do all along and went on to win the frame

too. unfortunately for him, victoria, he did go on to lose the match. what are the odds on that? thank you, i like a light—hearted moment ina game you, i like a light—hearted moment in a game of snooker. this programme can reveal that more than 300 disabled people a day are going to court to overturn a decision to reduce or stop their benefits and it's costing taxpayers around £1 million a week. the government is replacing what it calls the "outdated" disability living allowance with pip or the personal independence payment saying it's a better system based on individual needs. but official figures show that around 250,000 people have lost money in the switch from dla and the number of tribunals for pip or the personal independence payment has risen sharply in the last year. now we've seen leaked letters tojudges suggesting the number of cases will rise again this summer. 0ur reporterjim reed has followed two people as they go through the process of appealing. well, i was scared. why are they doing it?

i'm in shock, really. i didn't want to go to court. i didn't see why i should have to go to court to prove that there's something wrong with me. the courts are extremely overrun. a lot of it's a waiting game. this is what life can be like if your kidneys are slowly failing. all these. all those... debbie neal was diagnosed ten years ago. she takes dozens of pills to manage the symptoms. then five times a day, she does this, empties out excess fluid from a tube in her stomach and replaces it with new liquid from a bag. they say, you know, don't let it affect your life and live your life,

but you can only live your life to a point. i can't even remember what it was like not ever doing it. debbie lives on her own and works part—time as a cleaner. for years she's relied on dla, would disability living allowance, worth £80 a week. but that is slowly being replaced by a new benefit, the personal independence payment or pip. when she was reassessed by a private company, all her payments were stopped completely. what was your reaction when you opened that letter? well, i was scared, you know. i put on a brave face, but inside i'm just... i'm in shock, really. i don't want to be a burden on society and take. we didn't ask to be sick. i'm annoyed that i'm sick.

that morning, debbie is meeting alex powell, from a local charity that helps people with their claims. the government says it is spending more than ever on disability benefits and many have seen their incomes rise since pip was introduced, but more than a quarter of a million people have lost out in the switch from dla. some, like debbie, thought they had that support for life. this benefit doesn't stop because you're at work, it continues. are you all right? i know it's hard. we'll get it all sorted out once and for all. i mean, i didn't ask for this. i know. debbie has already asked for her

case to be reviewed and lost. now she wants to go to tribunal in court, to ask a judge to overturn the decision. that evening, alex is looking over the paperwork at home. these are just some of the files. we've only been going since january, and we're waiting for a lot more paperwork to come through from different clients. i think at the moment we have 150—200 clients that are waiting to go to tribunal, but the courts are overrun. the number taking the government to court over pip has risen sharply, as more are moved onto the new benefit. there are more than 1,500 tribunal cases every week. now, we've seen in leaked letter to all tribunals suggesting the number is expected to rise further. it suggests judges travel outside their normal court area, to help meet demand. how will you react if debbie wins her case on thursday? i'd be elated for her.

i'm always a little nervous when i go in. but i know debbie well, i've spent a lot of time with her. i know how she suffers, so i'd be more than happy when the decision‘s overturned. yeah, i'll be extremely excited for her. you sound confident. iam. two days later, and the morning of the tribunal. i do feel confident. because, you know, iam ill and i've got... i've got to believe it, even though i don't want to. do you worry what they're going to ask you or not really?

yeah, i'mjust, you know... i don't know how i'm going to answer it. the truth, of course, but whether they're going to try and twist things or... debbie, helped by her neighbour roger, is getting ready to go to the new magistrates‘ court in kidderminster. the government says pip is a more effective system, based on individual need, and overall more people now receive the highest rates of support. pip is a better benefit than dla. it serves a wide range of people, with a wider range of conditions better. the statistics show that if you have a mental health condition, you are better served under this benefit. if you have ptsd, if you have dementia, if you have a psychological disorder, if you have a mental health condition.

that is the case, and it's important that people that. debbie's hearing will take about an hour in court number two, in front of a judge, a doctor and a disability specialist. my emotions are all over the place at the moment. i don't want to be wrong. she is being represented by alex, but she'll be questioned directly and in detail by all three of the tribunal members. we are not allowed to film inside the building itself. an hour later, and the decision. of course you can, come here, chick. thank you. it has taken a year, but debbie has won her appeal. most of her payments will now be guaranteed for the next ten years. i think the phrase you may be after... that bit there, "the decision made by secretary of state on 04/11 is set aside".

i think that's the key wording. it's incredible, really. you know, for people who are out there who are honest, that deserve the help, then don't give up. just don't give up. two—thirds of people who take the government to court like this end up winning — higher for pip than almost any other type of benefit. the government says overall just a fraction of cases are overturned at appeal, but new figures seen by this programme suggest pip tribunals like this are costing the government around £1 million a week and rising. it feels like going to court, even if it's not meant to be that... the judges and others who sit on tribunals have to deal with these cases every day. they can be sacked if they speak to the media, so we agreed to hide their identities. as a tribunal member, we often have to start again

when it comes to appeals. we often see people who get nothing at all in the first assessment, then we end up giving them the maximum award possible and just can't understand why they were awarded no points. the people i worry about are those who don't appeal if they get turned down for benefit, because i think appealing is a pretty intimidating process. you need to be fairly courageous, fairly upset, fairly angry and have a great sense of injustice in order to get to that appeal stage. tony edwards is one of those people. for years he ran his own surfing business in cornwall. in 2002, a serious car accident left him in a coma with a broken back and neck. everything's changed. whatever i could do before, i now either have to find a new way of doing it or ijust can't do it at all. so not only have you got no mobility, you've got no life left anyway. like debbie, he thought he was guaranteed benefit payments for life under the old dla scheme. he uses a walker and his health is unlikely to improve.

my whole life has gone downhill. i couldn't work any more. then i got a letter through saying that everything was being changed to pip, and i was told not to worry, what ever i had an dla would be the same on pip, but no, completely different. i loved everything on pip. tony's own gp wrote three different letters on his behalf, saying the assessment company had got it wrong, but it didn't make a difference and the decision stood. you went to tribunal. yeah. were you initially reluctant to go down that route? i didn't want to go to court. i didn't see why i should have to go to court to prove that there's something wrong with me. the government would say the amount we're paying in disability benefits has been going up and up and up. what would your response be to that? there's something seriously wrong with the system. admittedly, yeah, there are people out there that are faking it, are lying, so yeah, i can understand there having to be a way of weaning these people out. but for those that actually...

i even... if i was faking, why would my doctor write a medical note, backing me up? he wouldn't. if someone said to me, right, tomorrow you can have all your health back and be exactly how you were before your accident, but it means you lose everything you've got since the accident, would you do it? in an instant, i wouldn't even think twice. so again, with help from a local group called benefit resolutions, tony did make it to tribunal. it took a year, but he won and all his payments have now been restored. it's hard to explain it. it's almost like them saying to me, "we don't believe there's anything wrong with you, please come here and prove that there is". and that's like, that's an insult in itself. that's what the tribunals are like. the fact you go and sit in the waiting room, you feel like a criminal, you're then called through into what feels like a court and you have to walk in front of a judge. why do i need to stand up in front of a judge and say what's wrong with me?

because i've not broken the law, i've not done anything wrong that i need to be in court for. i do not need to be... calm down. i do not need to be stood in front of a judge, and that annoyed me more than anything else. the government's own independent review has said that cases like this are eroding trust in the whole system. ministers say pip is still much better than the benefit it replaced. for the moment, though, the number of those tribunals likely to keep rising across the country. many comments from you. one viewer says, "i am one of those 300 a day. last tuesday i went to plead with a panel connisting of a doctor, a judge and a disability expert to reinstate the equivalent of pip and my lifetime high rate, mobility component. my mobility is the difference between being housebound and independent. i lost. i lose my

mobility car in three weeks time and can't afford to buy a new one. i'm in co nsta nt can't afford to buy a new one. i'm in constant pain and barely able to walk two steps without it worsening, yet deemed able to walk unaided for 20 to 50 meters. i take medications and i'm still in pain. the expert questioned my ability to make a meal. they could onlyjudge me on how i was last october when i was first assessed for pip not the fact that things are worse and will continue to be until i'm in a wheelchair. i feel like i'm continue to be until i'm in a wheelchair. ifeel like i'm not believed even with all the medical evidence i have and it's wrong." christopher, "dla to pip is a shocking system. my wife had to appeal due to lies misinterpretation and omissions in her original assessment report. a stressful and

upsetting experience." assessment report. a stressful and upsetting experience. " trudy assessment report. a stressful and upsetting experience." trudy says, "having been through three pip assessments it was the most soul destroying experience. i was called a liar. how the government allowed this to carry on is beyond me." g texts, "i was told because i could open a tin of cat food, i was fit for work." linda says, "i have no problem with disability benefits being paid to those who should receive them, but the government has a duty to protect public funds. the blame lies on the shoulders of those who exaggerate their disabilities in order to receive benefits." thank you for those. there are more. keep them coming in. and after 10am, we'll be speaking to a conservative mp who says the system is working. still to come: a terminally ill man who campaigned on this programme against changes to widowed parent's allowance has died. we'll speak to fellow campaigners trying to overturn government reforms before 10am.

sarah says, "thank you for keeping us sarah says, "thank you for keeping us updated on the sad debt of alan. his is one of the stories from your programme that will stick in my mind for a long time. rip alan. also coming up — we'll speak to three women who are calling for a public inquiry after a breast surgeon operated on them unnecessarily after exaggerating or inventing cancer risks here'sjoanna in the bbc newsroom with a summary of today's news. labour is promising to put 10,000 more police on the streets of england and wales if it wins the election. the party said it would fund the policy by reversing conservative plans for cuts to capital gains tax. the conservatives say the proposal is "nonsensical" as labour has committed those savings to fund other pledges. downing street says it will not enter into "a briefing war" with the european commission over the brexit talks. it follows reports of wide differences of view between mrs may and the president of the european commission, jean—claude juncker, at a dinner to discuss brexit last week.

number ten has strongly rejected reports suggesting eu officials believed mrs may was in a different galaxy. us president donald trump has said he would be "honoured" to meet north korean leader kimjong—un, in the right circumstances. mr trump made his comments amid continuing tensions surrounding pyongyang's nuclear programme. the white house later said such talks were unlikely in the near future. this programme has learnt that more than 300 people a day are going to court to attempt to overturn decisions to reduce or stop their disability benefits. the government is replacing disability living allowance with pip — or the personal independence payment — which is based on an individual‘s needs. around 250,000 people have lost money as a result of the change and there has been a sharp rise in legal challenges. we'll have more on that after 10am. the parents of a critically ill nine—month—old boy will lodge an appeal today against a ruling

that he should be allowed to die. last month a high courtjudge ruled that doctors can withdraw life support from charlie gard, who has a rare genetic condition, against his parents‘ wishes. specialists at great 0rmond street hospital said charlie has irreversible brain damage and should be moved to palliative care. his parents want to take him to the us for experimental treatment. we will speak to a human rights lawyer and former neonatal nurse after 10am. a surfer who went missing off the scottish coast has been rescued after more than 30 hours clinging to his board. matthew bryce was reported missing by his family when he didn't return from a surfing trip in argyll on sunday afternoon. he was eventually picked up 13 miles off the coast still conscious celebrities in weird and wonderful fashion have walked the red carpet for the annual met gala in new york. dubbed the oscars of the east coast, the event this year honoured japanese designer rei kawakubo.

the annual charity ball is held at new york's metropolitan museum of art to raise money for the museum's fashion department. that's a summary of the latest bbc news — more at 10:00am. let me read this e—mailfrom christina. i'm going to court tomorrow for pip for my 19—year—old son who has autism who has had his reward stomach award reduced when he was reassessed from dla. the whole system is rigged as it's all about saving money and need is irrelevant. the dwp don't care about my son and his complex condition. this tweet from karen: over three years i faced appeals and won two tribunals. please tell people to appeal, to fight. the latest sports now with hugh. good morning again, mark selby became world snooker champion for the third time in his career, the world number one coming from 10—4 down to beatjohn higgins 18—15 at the crucible becoming only the fourth man in the modern era to successfully defend a world title.

paula radcliffe says her reputation and dignity have been damaged by plans to scrap all athletics world and european record set before 2005 including hers from the 2003 london marathon. the credibility of records has been examined of late following the renovations of widespread doping in the sport. one of the goals of the season from emre can boosts liverpool's chances of qualifying for the champions league. quite an impressive effort from the german international. it was enough to beat watford 1—0. liverpool are three points clear in third having played a game more. and encouraging news for england cricket fans ahead of next month's champions trophy. on his return from injury, ben stokes hit his first t20 century. he conquered cramped as well. helping his team win in the indian premier league. they call him big ben out there. much more after 10am. there are calls this morning for a public inquiry into how a breast surgeon was able to carry out needless operations on hundreds of women for over a decade. ian paterson is due to be sentenced in the next few weeks

after being found guilty of 17 counts of wounding with intent, relating to nine women and one man in the west midlands. up to 350 women are bringing a high court case for compensation for the operations which took place in both nhs and private hospitals. the surgeon, who treated thousands of patients during his career, exaggerated or invented cancer risks and claimed payments for more expensive procedures in some cases. today we can speak to three of those women. paula gelsthorpe who underwent two needless lumpectomies. debbie douglas was one of those women in court — she had an unnecessary mastectomy and chemotherapy. and victoria weaver

who was told by ian paterson that she too had cancer and a lump removed needlessly. you first discovered a lump in 2002, it was removed by ian paterson, again a lump came back in 2009 and was removed. you found out they were completely harmless? that's right. i was called back to the hospital in 2012 to be informed that both of the lumpectomy is were u nsuccessful. that both of the lumpectomy is were unsuccessful. how did you react? i was shocked, a little bit of me was overjoyed because then i realised i hadn't had cancer but i was really angry, very angry. i couldn't understand why, why are? and why did it happen? debra, you had a cancerous tumour and had a mastectomy but didn't need one. that's right, i had a small tumour less than two centimetres and didn't need one and was told it should have been removed with a local incision and had no chemotherapy, just radiotherapy. however, he

immediately told me within 48—hour zoff giving me a needless operation, sorry, i haven't misled you, it's not the lump that has got to come out, the whole breast has got to be removed. he was very blase when he said you will go in with two breasts and, with two breasts and a flat stomach. the surgery was very traumatic. i woke up in a high dependency unit, my kids had to see me like that. and obviously at the time it also affected my stomach muscle because i had a tram flap procedure which entails the stomach muscle being re— routed procedure which entails the stomach muscle being re—routed under the chest wall. i am essentially cut from hip to hip, he removed all of my lymph nodes, cut under the arm andl my lymph nodes, cut under the arm and i have scars under my breast where he operated on me needlessly. unbelievable. yes. astonishing. you

are diagnosed by ian paterson and had a lump removed in 2011 and found out you had no cancer, victoria. what was the impact on you? we were devastated as a family because it doesn'tjust affect you, devastated as a family because it doesn't just affect you, it affects your whole family, my parents were affected, my husband, two small children both on the autistic spectrum, seven and five, and i am panicking that i'm going to die shortly, what do i do? i wonder if you were like paula, when you are told, it was fine. you had needless operations but didn't have cancer, how did you react then? there is a slight bit of distrust because you are not sure who is telling you the truth now. that doesn't go away, even now i will have a dark thought that somebody has got it wrong. he was a nice man and always really kind to me, and was he right? when

this all came out on friday last week that he was guilty it kind of makes you angry and sad, tearful. i've had a weird emotions. people asking me, how are you? and i don't know, i really don't. would you ever have questioned him? would it ever have questioned him? would it ever have occurred to you to question what he said to you? no, his bedside manner was amazing, he was lovely, he was always telling me that he would look out for me, that everything would be ok as long as i ke pt everything would be ok as long as i kept coming back for my checks. but i had got an aggressive form of cancer that would return. it was not if but when. that is exactly what he said to me actually. he tried to keep you in that loop. if you had it -- if keep you in that loop. if you had it —— if stomach it was like he had a sixth sense about you being vulnerable. i had a both parents who

died from cancer. i had boot insurance and blippar insurance was unlimited because i didn't have any preconditions from cancer so it was essentially a licence to print money. —— bupa. essentially a licence to print money. -- bupa. do you think that is what it was about? it was all about money? absolutely. i do believe so. ido money? absolutely. i do believe so. i do think so. like you said, he had a fantastic bedside manner. he used to say, i am going to cure you, this is curable but you then have to go and have a scan, have a check, and come and see me on a regular basis. and every scan costs £1500 which he can invoice the insurance company for. he said you had to have chemotherapy, deborah. that's right. that is dealt with by an oncologist

looking at the pathology report and the pathology report details what is wrong with the tissue removed from new. surely an oncologist would read that and say, hang on a minute, there is no... i don't get this. that is absolutely why i don't believe it'sjust him. the oncologist, i mean i looked at something called the nottinghamshire index and it says if you have a small tumour and a small tumour being less than two centimetres which i had, there is no spread to the lymph nodes, then you don't need chemo. it's all charted, and it is a look—up table, essentially. there is no way i needed therapy. he didn't do the month, multidisciplinary team meetings and if he did it wasjust to discuss it with a very close few people that he worked with on a regular basis. the breast care nurse should have been the patient advocate. she did not speak up once. in fact it was like being sold something that you didn't need

basically. because, iwas something that you didn't need basically. because, i was told six weeks after having major surgery i would be playing a round of golf. this surgery was horrific. i couldn't straighten up, it affected my stomach muscles, and everybody that i know who had this pedicure tram flap surgery which they don't tend to do nowadays really struggled and you are never the same after that. you all think they should be a public inquiry. can i ask each of you why. this needs to not happen everagain to you why. this needs to not happen ever again to anybody. there should not be this amount of women who have had unnecessary surgeries because one man had what seemed like a god complex. he loved the adulation that i gave complex. he loved the adulation that igave him. complex. he loved the adulation that i gave him. because actually i only paid him once, i was transferred to an nhs clinic so i didn't have insurance, we played cash —— paid cash for the surgery. you paid cash even though you were on the nhs? no,

i went privately for the first treatment and then he transferred me to the nhs. but the adulation you talk about. i've been there. absolutely. you cannot thank them enough, they have saved your life. absolutely and he had no qualms in telling me i had had my life saved by him, and my father and telling me i had had my life saved by him, and my fatherand my telling me i had had my life saved by him, and my father and my mother, they came with us and supported me at all of my appointments. and saying i have saved your life. there is no evidence ian paterson acted with anyone else, he is in court and is the man who has been found guilty. explain why you believe a public inquiry is necessary. because i don't think he's the only one. i think there were people who knew about this about what he was doing and they are hiding behind him now and they are hiding behind him now and there should be a public inquiry as well as ian paterson. i saw several other doctors that performed, i had a biopsy,

ultrasound, mammogram. all of these people were involved. it has gone into the thousands. somebody must have known what he was doing. somebody else other than patterson. he absolutely knew what he was doing. in 1996 he almost killed somebody at good hope hospital and was undera somebody at good hope hospital and was under a supervision order. he left that hospital, didn't work his notice, when straight to solihull where he began operating under the nhs and in the private sector. he was a money making machine for those people. they didn't want to know. they covered up information. in 2003 a radiologist actually flagged up, did an audit about the amount of patients that he was seeing that had extra flesh, in other words this skin sparing mastectomy, and he was listened to. and you look at the people who covered this up in the

executive. these people have retired on massive pensions now and earned millions of pounds. we hear what you are saying but there is no evidence of any cover—up. but i understand andi of any cover—up. but i understand and i hearyour of any cover—up. but i understand and i hear your calls for a public inquiry. thank you for coming on the programme. debbie douglas, victoria weaver, and paula —— debbie douglas, thank you for coming on. next this morning, ‘alan', the terminally ill father of two who many of you will remember after he appeared on this programme to campaign against changes to widowed parent's allowance has died. he was 51 and passed away with his wife at his bedside. alan, which isn't his real name, had cancer which started in his tonsils and spread to his lungs and chest. this is him talking to us a month ago. i made a calculation not long ago, regarding how much support would be available to my wife to help raise our young children. under the current system,

as you say, i calculated it would have been a sum of over £50,000. under the new system, it would reduce to £6,000. i was shocked that a system of benefits that has been in place, as i understand, for 70 years, since 1916, although it's been renamed, the essence of this support is that when somebody is widowed, there's financial support available for young children up to the age of 19 or 20. the fact that that's been taken away, seems utterly callous and savage. i've said, in some ways,

it wouldn't be a bad thing if they lost me a couple of days early, because at least there'd be more financial support available. of course, even talking in those terms is very upsetting. you're contemplating death, and you want to go out of this world with some dignity, with some grace, with some peace of mind, not full of financial anxiety, feeling that the government has just taken money away from you — that you've earned legitimately. well, since he appeared on our programme church leaders, campaigners, charities and some politicians joined forces to fight the changes to the money

widowed parents receive. let's now talk to two of those people who are both conservative peers. lord stuart polak who was friends with alan and his family. baroness ros altman is a former minister for the department for work and pensions. can you give us a little bit of an insight into what happened this weekend? yes, alan passed away at 4 o'clock in the morning on sunday and in thejewish tradition we will bury somebody very quickly and he was buried on the same day and what's going on now is that we have a thing called shiver, a week where family and friends come to the home to give some comfort to the mourners, to his wife, and family and that's going on. it's private and yet, it's a community thing that people come together and try to give comfort as much as one can at this period.

when we spoke to you a month ago, the time that we spoke to alan you came off airand the time that we spoke to alan you came off air and you wrote to the work and pensions secretary, damian green two express your concerns about the reforms. have you had a response? well, what i committed to doing on airwas response? well, what i committed to doing on air was to getting a cross party group of peers to ask the government to think again on this issue which is, of course, the role of the house of lords very often. lord polak was involved in that letterment the frontbench for the labour party, the lib dems and the bishops as you say all of us have written to the work and pensions secretary as he was then asking him if he would consider extending the payments for those bereaved families with young children. unfortunately the election has got in the way. we

don't know who the secretary of state for work and pensions will be. but i think we are all determined to get the government to re—think stopping these payments just after 18 months which doesn't seem long enough for parents and children to cope with the dreadful grief of losing a loved one, a parent, in this awful way and what is the welfare state for if it is not to help families in such dreadful circumstances? it is worth reminding our audience as you say the reforms mean new claimants, newly bereaved pa rents mean new claimants, newly bereaved parents such as alan's wife will receive tax—free payments of £9800 in total spread over 18 months. had alan died as he pointed out before 6th april, his family would have

received a tax—free lump sum of £2,000 followed by nearly £6,000 a year before tax for up to 20 years. so, quitea year before tax for up to 20 years. so, quite a big difference. we have a statement from alan which he wa nted a statement from alan which he wanted us to read after his death. it is as follows, "the conservative party manifesto for the june it is as follows, "the conservative party manifesto for thejune general election contained a revised policy for widowed parents allowance either to revert to the pre—6th april policy of up to 20 years support for widows and young children up to the age of 20, or a compromise policy suggested by ros altman of ten years support. prince william indicated his own bereavement lasted 20 years, that's further evidence of the need for the welfare state to replace the current inadequate level of support with something of much greater longevity." what do you say to that? well, i'm, this is such a difficult

area and... why is it a difficult area? because government policy can't be made for individual cases. they have to have a blanket thing. i'm campaigning on this issue because it's a tiny part of the welfare budget itself and as i said in the house of lords after appearing on your programme when baroness altman had a question and i followed up on the thursday and said, "on this issue, if you lose somebody, you can't fake it. it's real. i understand sometimes things are not done in the right way and welfare, cuts are needed to be made and people are perhaps cheating, about if you have been bereaved you can't make it up." i'm keen to continue to try and encourage the government to look at this again in the way that we described in the letter. we, just to let our audience

know, we have tried to find a conservative mp, an elected member, any conservative mp, to come on to the programme to defend this policy. we haven't been able to find anyone. does that suggest this policy is indefensible? no, ithink timing, timing isjust indefensible? no, ithink timing, timing is just unfortunate. indefensible? no, ithink timing, timing isjust unfortunate. a month ago, we tried. we found, we were unable to find anyone. this, i think isaid to unable to find anyone. this, i think i said to you last time, this is a brand—new policy. it just i said to you last time, this is a brand—new policy. itjust started on 6th april and so these things take time to bed down. i was listening to your previous stuff. things take time to bed down and when things are changing they do affect some individuals whereas the vast majority hopefully are receiving the been fits and stuff that they do need. i think it was a bit too early. i think we have the opportunity now, there could be a new secretary of state, there could be new ministers, there could be,

time, after the election, to do this andi time, after the election, to do this and i also... if the conservatives win? if labourwin and i also... if the conservatives win? if labour win they have said they will reverse this. well, they may try, but it's all about finding the money to do these things. yes, of course, it is. it is about the, no, it is about the decisions you take, of course, of course, everything costs money. the same with 10,000 policemen. you can say all sorts of things pre—election. they said they would pay that by reversing capital gains tax as you know. we will see. we have a statement from alan's wife as well which i'd like to read. she has given us a statement. she says, "the government have got this so very badly wrong. alan wanted to speak out for all those that will suffer from this outrageous policy. not just us, his words were intended to inspire action over and above a political discussion. that's the

legacy wanted to leave to have overturned the wrong that has been done to people." i mean, you know, the government says this ant an austerity measure, it is about updating a very old—fashioned system which didn't reflect people's lives today. how do you respond to that?” do agree that the old system needed to be simplified because it was very difficult for people to deal with and understand, but simplification doesn't itself mean that you need to doesn't itself mean that you need to do it in this particular way and i think what i'd like to reassure alan's fally is that there is a really strong sense within the house of lords, within the tory membership of lords, within the tory membership of the house of lords as well as labour and of the house of lords as well as labourand lib dem of the house of lords as well as labour and lib dem and the bishops and across the house that we would like to ask the government to think

again about whether this is the right way to address welfare. i am supportive of the government's position that we must not be irresponsible with welfare payments and that in fact, encouraging people to work is the best way to help them avoid poverty and deal with life. however, there are instances where styles policy changes need to be adjusted. we would very much like whoever the new secretary of state is after the election to have another look at this and as lord polak said, the welfare state needs to help people and support people in tiles of distress and needment that's what it is there for, but also, needs to have the compassion to help peel who are not faking it, who really have suffered a dreadful

life experience and particularly those with young children who as prince harry has explained and prince harry has explained and prince william, can take many, many years to be able to deal with the grief of losing a parent. i think we have 18 months because the payments will carry on for 18 months. so we have a little bit of time to fulfil what alan asked of the government and asked of you and me to try and put right. thank you very much for your time. i have these comments from you. this is from a viewer on twitter, "thank you for sharing alan's sad story today. please send condolence to say his wife and family." stewart says, "umy his wife and family." stewart says, ""my thoughts are with alan and his family at this timement" linda e—mailed scwsmt rip alan, i'm still heartbroken by this story." audrey

says, "i send my con dough labses to alan's family. may he rest in peace. coming up: we'll have the latest on the case of charlie gard, a critically ill nine—month—old boy, his parents say they'll appeal against a ruling that he should be allowed to die. let's get the latest weather from carol. this is fife in scotland. in bridlington, a fair bit of cloud this morning. we will hang on to that. look at the difference. some lovely blue skies and thank you to our weather waffleders for the beautiful pictures. you can see where we have got the cloud on the satellite picture. we have got cloud in central areas, but for most of us, it is a dry start. there is a fair bit of sun sheub around the however, as the breeze picks you, we will more cloud coming in across

eastern england and eastern scotland through the day with showery outbreaks coming from that. that will transfer into central parts of the uk later on. so, west is best once again in terms of sunshinement through the afternoon, south—west england, a lot drier than it was yesterday and the same too for wales. a lot of sunshinement temperatures in cardiff getting up to 17 celsius. yesterday, northern ireland had its warmest day of the year so far. today, we might bejust a degree or so lower than the 20.1 celsius that we hit yesterdayment for scotland too, we had the second warmest day of the year so far yesterday. temperatures down a notch. eastern scotland, eastern england, more cloud. cumbria, lancashire and cheshire, you will have the sunshine. into east anglia and kent and heading towards the midlands, there will be more cloud through the afternoon producing showers which will be hit and miss and in between we will see bright or sunny skies. through this evening and overnight the showers will transfer towards western and eastern parts of wales,

down towards the south—west and fade. then we have got our next system coming in from bringing in more rain and stronger breeze. where we have had clear skies by day the temperature will fall rapidly and it will be cold. so a cold start to the day toll, but there will be a lot of sunshine around. however, in the south—eastern quadrant of the country, more cloud the the rain that we have overnight, turning more showery, but on this brisk breeze, the cloud will drift further westwards. you can see it is just the western fringes of wales and south—west england that hang on to the sunshine. 0nce south—west england that hang on to the sunshine. once again, it is northern england, scotland and northern england, scotland and northern ireland that really see a dry and a sunny pleasant day. if you're thinking of heading down to the seaside because there is going to be quite pleasant in the north, you can see the temperatures that will greet you if you're there. cold in the sea. also as the breeze moves across the north sea, it will bring in coolerairand across the north sea, it will bring in cooler air and cloud for the next few days into eastern coastal counties. morning, it's tuesday, just

after 10am, i'm victoria derbyshire. our top story today — the number of disabled people going to court to fight cuts to their benefit payments is rising rapidly. why do i need to stand up injudge and say what's wrong with me, i've not broken law, i've not done anything wrong in need to be in court for — calm down — i do not need to be in front of a judge and that annoyed me more than anything else. it's all costing the taxpayer £1 million a week. we'll talk to a man with parkinson's who's been through the process. an innocent couple accused of seriously injuring their baby girl are due to be reunited with her in the next few days — nine months after she was taken away. when she said it was all over

it was best feeling in world, it didn't sink in properly. a mountain lifted from our shoulders. we were the first people to shake the judge's hand. the full interview is coming after 10:30am this morning. and it's known as "fashion's biggest night out", the evening when celebrities don't have to play by the rules. this year both elegance and extravagance were on display at the met gala ball in new york. as well as a bit of stupidity. the latest bbc news withjoanna. labour is promising to put 10,000 more police on the streets of england and wales if it wins the election. the party said it would fund the policy by reversing conservative plans for cuts to capital gains tax. the conservatives say the proposal is "nonsensical" as labour has committed those savings to fund other pledges. downing street says it will not enter into "a briefing war" with the european commission over the brexit talks. it follows reports of wide

differences of view between mrs may and the president of the european commission, jean—claude juncker, at a dinner to discuss brexit last week. number ten has strongly rejected reports suggesting eu officials believed mrs may is in a different galaxy. us president donald trump has said he would be "honoured" to meet north korean leader kimjong—un, in the right circumstances. mr trump made his comments amid continuing tensions surrounding pyongyang's nuclear programme. the white house later said such talks were unlikely in the near future. this programme has learned that more than 300 people a day are going to court to attempt to overturn decisions to reduce or stop their disability benefits. the government is replacing disability living allowance with pip — or the personal independence payment — which is based on an individual‘s needs. aaround 250,000 people have lost money as a result of the change and there has been a sharp rise in the number of legal challenges. we'll have more on that shortly.

the parents of a critically ill nine—month—old boy will lodge an appeal today against a ruling that he should be allowed to die. last month a high courtjudge ruled that doctors can withdraw life support from charlie gard, who has a rare genetic condition, against his parents‘ wishes. specialists at great 0rmond street hospital said charlie has irreversible brain damage and should be moved to palliative care. his parents want to take him to the us for experimental treatment. we'll be speaking to a human rights lawyer and a former neonatal nurse shortly. a surfer who went missing off the scottish coast has been rescued after more than 30 hours clinging to his board. matthew bryce was reported missing by his family when he didn't return from a surfing trip in argyll on sunday afternoon. he was eventually picked up 13 miles off the coast still conscious but suffering from hypothermia. dramatic footage has emerged of a baby being pulled out of a car trapped by floodwaters in texas. the pick—up truck with a father, his baby son and toddler daughter inside overturned in water near myrtle springs east of dallas,

following tornadoes in the area. fellow motorists performed cpr on the children at the scene, who were taken to hospital and are said to be doing well. celebrities in weird and wonderful fashion have walked the red carpet for the annual met gala in new york. dubbed the oscars of the east coast, the event this year honoured japanese designer rei kawakubo. the annual charity ball is held at new york's metropolitan museum of art to raise money for the museum's fashion department. that's a summary of the latest bbc news — more at 10:30am. thank you, the latest sport now with hugh. hello again. paula radcliffe says her reputation and dignity have been damaged by proposals that would scrap all athletics world and european records set before 2005. the credibility of records has been examined following revelations of widespread doping in the sport. and plans to wipe the slate clean would mean radcliffe's marathon

record from back in 2003. triple jumper jonathan edwards and hurdler colin jackson would all have their world records re—written. with european athletics insisting they're "meaningless if people don't really believe them". mark selby has joined a rarefied elite in snooker. in winning the world championship for a third time. he's also only the fourth player in the modern era to retain his title. 0nly greats of the game like hendry, davis and 0'sullivan have managed that. and the world number one is becoming something of a comeback king too. selby had been trailing his opponent in the finaljohn higgins 10—4 at one point. but he dominated monday's play winning nine out of ten frames at one point to eventually triumph 18—15 at the crucible. very special. i mean, to get over those two wins and be sitting at three world titles out there on my own is unbelievable. to be one of only four players to defend it is something i can only dream of.

18-15, it something i can only dream of. 18—15, it wasn't that much of a comeback! liverpool's chances of qualifying for the champions league have been boosted by one of the goals of the season by emre can. the midfielder lit up a pretty uninspiring game with this incredible overhead kick at the end of the first half. we will see it again in slo mo, glorious balance, fantastic strike. watford rarely threatened but sebastian prodl missed a chance to snatch a point in stoppage time. he hit the bar. watford stay 13th in the league. liverpool are three points clear in third. ben stokes is in good form with the champions trophy coming up next month. he hit the first t20 century of his careerfor month. he hit the first t20 century of his career for pune supergiants in the ipl. he rescued after a terrible start and took them to victory. all of after suffering from cramp. and finally, two footballers who appeared to forget which sport they were playing. watch as the ball travels towards the halfway line. and a tackle that could be rugby.

maybe even wwe. it happened in the russian premier league yesterday between tom tomsk and zenit st petersburg. afterwards both players only received yellow cards. you shouldn't be sent off or doing something amusing! a lot more later on and headlines at 10:30am. what children! this morning we've revealed that more than 300 disabled people a day go to to court to overturn a decision to reduce or stop their benefits — and it's costing taxpayers around £1 million a week. the government is replacing what it calls the "outdated" disability living allowance with pip or the personal independence payment saying it's a better system based on individual needs. but official figures show that around 250,000 people have lost money in the switch from dla and the number of tribunals for pip has risen sharply in the last year. now, we've seen leaked letters tojudges suggesting the number of cases will rise again this summer. we asked the conservative party of

department for work and pensions for an interview but said no. we can speak to a conservative mp who sits ona speak to a conservative mp who sits on a committee of mps which monitors the department for work and pensions. he voted in favour of the move to personal independence payments. kayley hignell, the head of policy at citizens advice who gave evidence to that group of mps. and tojeffrey sturt, a former civil servant who has parkinson's and has been through the tribunal process. good morning. how do you react to the fact we are reporting this morning 300 disabled people a day are going to court to overturn original decisions? good morning. the important thing is we all want to see the money go to those who need it most and if people in their original application for pip are not getting the right result it's important there is a process where they can appeal, and in some cases they can appeal, and in some cases they are getting the money they deserve. i've gone through this in quite a lot of detail with one of my constituents last friday who was

applying for pip and one of the things that comes out of this is the importance of being able to gather all of the evidence for that original application. a lot of the appeals are all about producing evidence that wasn't produced originally. i think there is a real emphasis on everyone from governments, cavs, to make it clear to people applying to make sure you've got your doctor's letter of support, evidence from people who have known you for a long time and seen your have known you for a long time and seen your condition deteriorate and so seen your condition deteriorate and so on, get ready for the original application. sellers down to the individual claimants? that's the reason, it's their responsibility that they in some cases are being assessed as getting zero points, therefore their original benefit is being reduced. the key is in any system trying to make sure money goes to people who need it most, you've got to have a process for analysing each individual situation, and therefore if people are applying

for it, the original emphasis and the way in which those who are deciding will make their decisions is based on the evidence which is given. you may not have seen our film earlier. we spoke to one man whose doctor wrote three times to the assessors. he had all the evidence. yes, well i the assessors. he had all the evidence. yes, welll can't comment obviously on any individual situation but what i can tell you is in my constituency in gloucester at where there are people who are not getting the benefits they believe they need and deserve, they come to me and then we help them make sure that everything is in line for an appeal and give them the best chance of winning that. quite a lot of those appeals are winning, so that's showing in a sense that the system is functioning. i think the other point to bear in mind about the difference between pip and dla is more than doubled the amount of people getting the top level of benefits under the late are getting them now under pip. let me bring in

jeffrey stu rt, them now under pip. let me bring in jeffrey sturt, a former civil servant who has parkinsonism you've been through the tribunal process but when you are first assessed you scored zero in every field. what was your reaction to that? astonishment. the process is demeaning and stressful, it's time—consuming and fraud on so many levels —— time—consuming and fraud on so many levels — — flawed. time—consuming and fraud on so many levels —— flawed. the score of zero i couldn't cope with the outcome because it was incredible having had the disease, the condition, full four yes, that an assessor could do that. is that the system working as it should? well, i'd have the benefit of working in the civil service with various departments and agencies for a number of years and their contract is and i've been able to say from that experience that the syste m to say from that experience that the system isn't working as it should, and to be quite frank, without that insight and the assistance of parkinsonism uk and the cab, i would

have forked away and i wonder how many people are walking away —— parkinson's uk. do you know how many people are choosing not to appeal because of the stress it involves? that is like asking how many illegal immigrants are here? it is impossible by definition. if there is anyone in that situation i would urge them to contact their mps. 0k, we are stepping down to beat candidates in a day's time but our casework teams are still very much functioning and it's important that mps like me and everyone else knows if somebody is in a really difficult situation. it is also important they go to the cab, i would recommend, as early as possible when applying for pip so they get help in understanding what sort of evidence they can produce to demonstrate the strongest case for their situation.

the government's independent review into pip published just over a month ago said the fact that 65% of people are winning at a tribunal and overturning original decisions is "clea rly overturning original decisions is "clearly eroding the trust of people in the whole system". would you agree? i think when there is an issue, and it would be interesting if jeffrey issue, and it would be interesting ifjeffrey has issue, and it would be interesting if jeffrey has any issue, and it would be interesting ifjeffrey has any thoughts on it, the challenge in many cases is that a lot of people who are in conditions where they want to apply for pip, are not necessarily best able to answer a complicated application form in a relatively short space of time, and probably would benefit from help doing so. i think that is, if you like, and administrative and logistical issue about the process which the dwp does have to tackle and i think they have said they will be looking at this. 0k. jeffrey, how do you respond to that? may i pick up on that, please? please do. my personal case, i was refused, my

claim was refused with an on going complaint that hasn't been resolved with regard to the assessment process and the company that were providing that service. how can you refuse a complaint when there is an outstanding, how can you refuse a claim when there is an outstanding complaint? evidence was provided along the lines that have just been mentioned, but that was ignored. i had doctors letters that were sent to dwp that were referred to, and then they were ignored. the assessor we nt then they were ignored. the assessor went through with closed questions, he didn't probe, he didn't evaluate or quantify and clarify. i personally have the need to wear an alarmed watch to time my medication throughout my day which i take every three—and—a—half hours. i mentioned that to the assessor because that's an aid, permissible under the rules

for pip, he ignored it. he didn't wa nt for pip, he ignored it. he didn't want to know anything about it. it wa nt want to know anything about it. it want recorded on my assessment form. the evidence on my assessment fortunately form from the onset of my claim said that i had, they had received a gp's factual statement. they hadn't received a gp's factual statement. i mentioned it to the assessor, he deferred to the office, i mentioned it the company, communicating with them was trying to knock a brick wall down with a toffee hammer. mr graham, does that sound like the system working as it does to use your phrase from earlier? no, it doesn't. and clearly. . . earlier? no, it doesn't. and clearly... and jeff is not the only one, you'd acknowledge that, yes? i'm sure he is not the only one and where there are issues like that, it is incredibly important that mps ta ke is incredibly important that mps take them up, the dwp is aware of it and whoever they are, they are challenged about how they are going

about their process. is the form too complicated as richard graham saysfl form for disability benefits can be quite long because you are trying to cover a lot of different conditions and support needs. so one form filling that out is a long and complicated process for a lot of people and even myself and other advisors across citizens advice spend many hours helping people with the application forms with gathering the application forms with gathering the medical evidence that's been mentioned and ensuring that they have got everything they can to get through that assessment process and get it right first time. richard graham, is the form deliberately complicated? no, of course, not, but it is designed as the cab mentioned, it is designed as the cab mentioned, it is designed to deal with a wide range of different conditions and that does make it quite hard and complicated and i do think that's something that the dwp has got to look at again and i think they have recognised that in the last session with them in the select committee. there are various charities mr

graham who argue if you have a permanent degenerative condition, such as parkinson's for example, and you've already been assessed and placed on the highest level of support, you should neverface reassessment again. do you agree? i think reassessment again. do you agree? ithink damian reassessment again. do you agree? i think damian green did make a statement specifically on some of thoseissues statement specifically on some of those issues where people had clearly got a long—term degenerative disease and i think some of people are not going through the assessment process. so yes, i would agree with that... there are plenty who are with degenerative conditions? sorry? there are plenty who are still being reassessed with degenerative conditions? some conditions do degenerate, some stabilise and occasionally some do get better. so it isa occasionally some do get better. so it is a mixed situation... so which permanent degenerative condition gets better? victoria, i'm not going

to try and get into an argue the about specific conditions here. to try and get into an argue the about specific conditions harem is not an argumentment you said some get better and i'm asking you which get better and i'm asking you which get better? let's get back also is that because there isn't a permanent degenerative condition that gets better? the key thing about pip is more people are getting the top lel and more of them are getting help with mobility and more are getting help with their daily allowance than used to be the case with the dla, there are problems on it, but to try and make the case that pip is not working for a great deal of people, i think, is over stressing it.” don't think anybody is making that case. the number of appeals is rising. it is costing the taxpayer more than £1 million a week. are you happy with that sth the costs of the tribunals do you mean? yes. or the overall programme? the cost of the

tribunal? clearly, everyone would love to see the cost of the tribunals reduced but to have a stel without try bums would be wrong and it is important we have they will and it is important they do the work they're doing. you can argue about whether the percentage of success means too many of the original assessments are wrong, or whether it means that actually the tribunals are doing theirjob in looking into great deal more detail. either way, it's important that the system works as well as as it can and as i've said the select committee has recommended some improsms to the dwp and they have said... victoria, victoria... jeffrey, go ahead? sorry to interrupt, i apologise. victoria... jeffrey, go ahead? sorry to interrupt, iapologise. it victoria... jeffrey, go ahead? sorry to interrupt, i apologise. it is not a question of what's working, it is a question of what's working, it is a question of the assessments process is not working. the evidence i have for that from my own experience is the fact that the tribunals are working. the assessment process is dwp's responsibility, the tribums are the

chancellor's. when i went to the tribunal they asked open questions, they qualified and clarified and quantified the situation with regards to the example i gave you for the wristwatch, they scored me positively on that. so my question for everybody involved is why did they not score positively on the wristwatch situation in my assessment? the assessment process is flawed. it's not a question of the tribunals so much, if the process was working properly they wouldn't have to go to tribunal. kayleigh, richard graham, points out that under pip more people are receiving the highest rate of support, 26% compared to 15% under the dla system, that's got to be a good thing? we want people to get the support they need the what is crucial is that the been fit is

delivered in a way that gets that right first time. so at citizens advice, it is our biggest enquiry. last year we saw 400,000 enquiries about pip... how many? 400,000 enquiries in 2016. some of that is because it is a new benefit that's being rolled out. peel are confused about thaflt some of it though when we drill down into it, is because there are much needed improvements in the system to make sure people get that assess the right first time. thank you. richard graham who sits on the committee of mps which monitors the department of work and pensionsks and jeffrey, thank you very much for your time, former civil servant who has parkinson's and been true the tribunals service and been true the tribunals service and kayleigh from citizens advice. a viewer says, "i am a serious brain injury victim. i scored 26 points.

all professional medical people say that my medical condition will never get better or improve. about a month ago i had another assessment for pip, i scored zero points. no explanation has been given. because of this my pip has been stopped and the disability payment of my esa has been stopped. it is not approximately £80 per week i'm worse off, it is £143 i am worse off. i simply do not know what i am supposed to do anymore." sue says, "my son has just been through a tribunal he was awarded zero points and then 27 points on appeal. he was so stressed by having to wait for so long that his machinal health got worse and he was a nervous wreck." —— mental health

got worse and he was a nervous wreck." the government has no idea what they are putting people through. he is suffering panic attacks and becoming suicidal. viv says, "i'm watching your programme and i'm getting really angry. i'm having to go go for an assessment. the offices in a pedestrian area. all that involves is stress to plan to get there, to see if i can get there and to see if ican get see if i can get there and to see if i can get back. we've worked hard all our lives even with our disabilities we try to get on, but not having the freedom to get out is daunting to be trapped at home is unthinkable." so many of you getting in touch to share your experience of appealing against your original assessment decision. 0ur reporter jim reed has been following one woman's story as she appealed against that decision. debbie neal was diagnosed ten years

ago with a rare kidney disease. she takes dozens of pills to manage the symptoms. then five times a day, she does this, empties out excess fluid from a tube in her stomach and replaces it with new liquid from a bag. you can only live your life to a point. i can't even remember what it was like not ever doing it. debbie lives on her own and works part—time as a cleaner. for years she's relied on dla, or disability living allowance, worth £80 a week. but that is slowly being replaced by a new benefit, the personal independence payment, or pip. when she was reassessed by a private company, all her payments were stopped completely. well, i was scared, you know. i put on a brave face, but inside i'm just... i'm in shock, really. that morning, debbie is meeting alex powell, from a local charity that helps people with their claims.

the government says it is spending more than ever on disability benefits and many have seen their incomes rise since pip was introduced, but more than a quarter of a million people have lost out in the switch from dla. this benefit doesn't stop because you're at work, it continues. are you all right? i know it's hard. we'll get it all sorted out once and for all. debbie has already asked for her case to be reviewed, and lost. now she wants to go to tribunal in court, to ask a judge to overturn the decision. i do feel confident. because, you know, iam ill and i've got... i've got to believe it, even though i don't want to. debbie's hearing will take

about an hour in court number two, in front of a judge, a doctor and a disability specialist. my emotions are all over the place at the moment. i don't want to be wrong. she is being represented by alex, but she'll be questioned directly and in detail by all three of the tribunal members. an hour later, and the decision. come here, chick. it has taken a year, but debbie has won her appeal. most of her payments will now be guaranteed for the next ten years. that bit there, "the decision made by secretary of state on the 4th of the 11th is set aside."

i think that's the key wording. it's nerve—racking. i was just been honest about how i feel, i couldn't do any more than that. the department of work and pensions told us that decisions are made following all the evidence from the complainedant. we routinely review our work to make sure we focus our resources on the viable ogses and deliver support for the most vulnerable in society. still to come: in theirfirst tv interview we'll speak to the couple who was wrongly accused of seriously injuring their baby girl. they are due to be reunited with her in the next few days — nine months after she was taken away. news and sport in a couple of minutes — but first — it was dresses galore at the met gala in new york. 0ur entertainment reporter sinead garvan is here. who wore the most ridiculous outfit? katie perry we have to talk about

first. the reason she was in one of the more ridiculous ones, she was co—hosting this event. she was covered in like a red veil. this is the sort of outfit you could probably make yourself! laughter she has headwear that has two mirrors, but the close up shots of the mirrors will show the mirrors hadn't been cleaned. they were mucky actually. you would get finger prints on them trying to get them on. she had witnessed written across her forehand. —— forehead. rihanna never fails to impress. she was wearing comme des garcons which this ball was in honour of last night. she said in an interview it was quite easy to put on, just a pair of shorts and then the top bit goes on

but the boots go all the way up to her falla and they took an hour to get on. she's one of the most beautiful women in the world wearing something that looks like it was made in primary school —— the boots go all the way up to her thigh.” don't know if the designer would be happy to hear that. it is a bit more out there, it's not like your average premier, here is pharrell williams and his wife and she can't get her hands out. how should she eat her dinner? that is horrific. he is wearing a designer as well, comme des garcons, but a kind of casual viewer of it. there is a lot of people saying pharrell williams‘s wife, what did she look like? madonna is in full camogie, it looks more army surplus store than perhaps high—end fashion. —— camouflage. we don't know who designed it but she was hanging around withjeremy scott

who is a designer. that looks like a kids have gone down the shop and stuck it together. carol dovi in, very interesting, this silver haired. —— cara delevingne. she shaved her head for a new role she's playing, a year in the life where she plays a dying kid. everyone is talking about the headpiece she has painted on to make it more avant—garde, which is what the event is about. serena williams. she looks beautiful. she really does command having a great time and everyone was congratulating her. that is a moore—taylor outfit compared to what we have seen before. you could see the lady in the background with big cat. there are some more kind of plain addresses like jlo cat. there are some more kind of plain addresses likejlo looking very elegant there —— plain dresses. you want exciting things at the met gala because you want to look at them in the paper the next day. kim kardashian will not wearjewellery now because of the robbery so when

she is at big events she will not have jewellery on and she looked very dressed down and playing for her which was interesting to see. did pharrell williams have something to say? he did indeed. because the night was all in tribute to this designer rei kawakubo. she founded comme des garcons which is a japanese high—end fashion company. she is someone i don't think many of us have heard of. it's not likejohn paul gautier and those sort of things. he talked about how other designers are quite obsessed with her. i think we can hear him now. rei is your favourite designer's favourite designer. i mean, like, herabstract way of thinking just continues to influence so many brands, and four or five years later they'll do something that she's done. and think about it, it's so call it's a woman. it's a woman. it's so warm and that's, like, a woman is the king of fashion. i'm very proud of that. and also it's japanese,

i love japanese culture, i love everything that tokyo has given me personally, you know? so, for me, it's rei kawakubo and nigo. that's it for me. what is interesting about the met ball is nominally people know what it's about, they just see nominally people know what it's about, theyjust see people in these dresses and actually it's just the opening night of fashion exhibition in new york. the metropolitan museum of art, every year they will pay tribute to one fashion house, or one designer, and for that year there will be this amazing exhibition going on there. so this year it is rei, as you heard, rei kawakubo who is the founder of comme des garcons command for the entire year her display will be in this entire museum. do they raise loads of money for charity as well? yes, it's a fundraiser and lots of fun but that's why the outfits tend to be a bit more out there for this because they are trying to pay tribute to

that designer. her catwalks are the type of catwalks that you look and think, who would ever wear that? who would ever wear that? they are the craziest ones. hence why rihanna was wearing that which was from the catwalk by comme des garcons. and probably cost ten grand, 20 grand, 50 grand? probably more! i think there are a few diamonds in there as well so probably even more. thank you forjoining us. we will have the latest news and sport in the moment and the latest on the case of charlie gard. a critically ill nine—month—old boy — whose parents are reported to be lodging an appeal — against a ruling that he should be allowed to die. in what is being described as a car crash interview labour's home affairs spokesman diane abott fails to correctly say how much labour's policy on more police officers will cost. it is 10:35am. with the news here'sjoanna in the bbc newsroom. labour is promising to put 10,000 more police on the streets of england and wales if it wins the election.

the party said it would fund the policy by reversing conservative plans for cuts to capital gains tax. the conservatives say the proposal is "nonsensical" as labour has committed those savings to fund other pledges. downing street says it will not enter into "a briefing war" with the european commission over the brexit talks. it follows reports of wide differences of view between mrs may and the president of the european commission, jean—claude juncker, at a dinner to discuss brexit last week. number ten has strongly rejected reports suggesting eu officials believed mrs may is in a different galaxy. us president donald trump has said he would be "honoured" to meet north korean leader kimjong—un, in the right circumstances. mr trump made his comments amid continuing tensions surrounding

pyongyang's nuclear programme. the white house later said such talks were unlikely in the near future. that is a summary of the latest news. join me for newsroom live from 11am. here is hugh again with the sport. mark selby has become the snooker world champion for a third time. the world number one came back from 10—4 down to beatjohn higgins by 18—15 at the crucible. he becomes only the fourth man in the modern era to successfully defend a world title. paula radcliffe says her reputation and dignity have been damaged by plans to scrap all athletics world and european records set before 2005. which would mean her 2003 marathon world record would be rewritten. the credibility of records has been under scrutiny following revelations of widespread doping in the sport. one of the goals of the season from emre can boosts liverpool's chances of qualifying for the champions league. this stunning strike was enough to beat watford last night. liverpool are three points clear

in third having played a game more. and encouraging news for england cricket fans ahead of next month's champions trophy. on his return from injury, ben stokes hit his first t20 century helping his team win in the indian premier league. the parents of a critically ill nine—month—old boy say they'll appeal against a ruling that he should be allowed to die. charlie gard is currently receiving 24 hour care at great 0rmond street hospital for a genetic condition so rare, he's believed to be only one of 16 people in the whole world to have it. he has an extremely rare muscle wasting condition and severe brain damage. there's no known medical cure for his condition and last month, the high court ruled that charlie should die with dignity and have his life support turned off. his parents, connie yates and chris gard, raised over £1.3 million for their son to have experimental treatment in the united states in a last

attempt to save him. today is the deadline for them to lodge their appeal against the high court's ruling. charlie gard's life support can't be turned off until then. we spoke to connie yates and chris gard earlier this year and they told us why they won't stop fighting for their son. the people that say he is in pain don't spend all day and night with him. and he's not on painkillers, so if they thought he was in pain, he'd be on painkillers. you know, we are there all day, every day. people who wrote the reports for court spent very little time with charlie. so if anyone knows him, obviously they're the experts when it comes to the clinical side of things, but if anyone knows him... do you think if we suspected he was in pain, we'd still be fighting this hard? if we were sitting there thinking he was in pain, we'd have let him go along time ago. you know, he's our boy, we love him, and we're doing all of this for charlie. ijust wish we were trusted to know

what's best for our son. i think we've shown the dedication we've got. we're not keeping him herejust for our benefit, you know, because we can't bear to lose him. as i said, as we were talking about before, he has fought to save, to stay here. as i say, if we feel he's not in pain and suffering, which we don't, because seriously, we would not be doing this, we're not bad parents. wejust want him to be given a chance, and if he's not in pain and not suffering, as we feel he is, then we will fight to the very end to get him the treatment that we would think will work. we're convinced it will work. the parents of charlie gard who spoke to us last month. let's talk now to anna moore who is a human rights solicitor and has represented families in similar cases. lizzie tandy is a former neonatal nurse. good morning to you both. anna, you have acted for family members in cases similar to this one. what kind

of factors can lead to a successful appeal? to bring a successful appeal you would have to convince the appeal court that the judge in the first instance had made a mistake based on the facts or the law. it's quite a difficult thing to do. the reason this case came to court in the first place was because the prospect of another treatment in america which charlie's parents should do not think he should be given the opportunity to have. the court heard evidence of the prospects of the successful treatment and decided it was unlikely, balancing all of the things it has to consider, felt that it would not be in charlie's best interests for him to have the treatment and said it would be in his best interests to allow the trust to stop ventilating him. lyssio as —— lizzie, as a former neonatal nurse, how did doctors reach the decision to withdraw treatment from a child? talk us

through the process. it is not a decision that is taken lightly by any stretch. this is a decision that the paediatric consultants and neonatal consultants will have considered over a relatively long period of time as regards to how will the child is. the multidisciplinary teams will then come together, have a big meeting, discuss the best way forward, the best way for the child and for the parents of the family, for them to be able to grieve and to get closure. but, you know, it's not a decision that is taken lightly. you have to look at every single possible outcome for this child, whichever child, whether it's an extremely premature baby, or if it's somebody like charlie gard, who is now eight or nine months old, and they have to look at what the quality—of—life would be for that child. so it's not a decision that would have been taken lightly. that decision would have been discussed

with the parents as well. which is where the disagreement has arisen in this case. exactly. the parents released a new photograph today which we can show you, with their little boy in great 0rmond street hospital. withdrawing ventilation is the kind of case you come across. what kind of advice do you give to families who might disagree with the opinion of their doctors? the first thing i'll was safe to families is they should seek a second opinion, because there would be no prospect of successfully challenging a decision unless you have another doctor saying treatment should be provided, or they should be some different cause of action has to the one suggested. excuse me, there is never more than one paediatric consultant, there would always be another consultant on a case of this. often i would advise clients to seek an opinion from a doctor working in a different trust. i do

think often the difficulties in this case is one of communication. doctors and other professionals working in these cases do an incredible job, working in these cases do an incrediblejob, in incredibly difficult circumstances. but sometimes there is difficulty in communicating to families about why decisions are being taken and the reasons why, for example in this case, ventilation should be withdrawn. 0ften case, ventilation should be withdrawn. often it takes the issue of court proceedings for the information to come out. but these are the rare cases and not many of these cases reach court, and so the ones you see and that reported are in the minority. thank you both for your time. we appreciate it. lizzie candy, a former neonatal nurse and animal who is a human rights solicitor. diane abbott — labour's spokesperson on home affairs has struggled through an interview this morning as she attempted to explain how much labour's policy of recruiting 10,000 more police officers would cost. back to norman who was listening.

tell us about it. labour were already under enough pressure over their plans to recruit 10,000 more police officers with the tories asking how their sums add up but on lbc radio this morning diane abbott, the shadow home secretary, the woman should, you should have the woman should, you should have the information at her fingertips and should be completely on top of how the sums add up frankly got into the most awful tangle over the numbers and it ended up in what can only be described as a horror show. it was just a real turn curler of an interview. have a listen. so how much would 10,000 police office rs cost so how much would 10,000 police officers cost zm well, if we recruit the 10,000 policemen and women over a four year period we believe it will be about £300,000. £300,000? sorry. for 10,000 police will be about £300,000. £300,000? sorry. for10,000 police officers, what are you paying them? sorry. how much will they cost? they will

cost... they will cost, it will cost... they will cost, it will cost... mm about... about £80 million. £80 million. i heard another radio station say £300 million?” £80 million. i heard another radio station say £300 million? i wish i could give you a clear answer of how much it will cost. they say they will reverse the capital gains cuts and that raises £2.5 billion, but the details of how the numbers work out frankly i'm not sure we're much clearer. and the problem, of course, is elections are often about credibility, they're about competence and they are about do you trust the people who are going to be governing you? when you have that sort of interview it makes people think, hang on a sec, they haven't got a think, hang on a sec, they haven't gota grip think, hang on a sec, they haven't got a grip of those numbers, jeremy corbyn tried to brush it aside and saying he wasn't embarrassed by

diane abbott's interview. have a listen. £300 million. reporter: diane abbott was saying it would be £80 million. she got confused saying £300,000 and £80 million she corrected the figure and it will be paid for by not going ahead with the cuts in capital gains tax. reporter: is it embarrassing that your shadow home secretary got the figures wrong? no, we have corrected the figure and it will be clear now, today and under the manifesto. i'm not embarrassed in the slightest. i'm not sure that diane abbott corrected the figure, certainly not at her first corrected the figure, certainly not at herfirst go corrected the figure, certainly not at her first go when she floated the idea of £80 million to pay for 10,000 police officers, that means the police officers were only getting paid £8,000. listen more to diane abbott. if you divide £80 million by 10,000,

you get £8,000, is that what you're going to pay the policemen and women? no, we're talking about a process over four years.” women? no, we're talking about a process over four years. i don't understand p what is he or she, £80 million, didded by10,000, equals 8,000.50... million, didded by10,000, equals 8,000. so... what are the police officers going to be paid? we will be paying them the average... has this been thought through? of course, it has been thought through. whichever party you're from, you have got to know the numbers because you will be asked what the numbers are. it's great fun, but there is a serious point to it as well. this is a mabelingor policy announcement from labour on crime. they want to show how they can afford to put more bobbies on the beat. this is a key law and order plank which is we will find the money to recruit 10,000

more police officers. only it seems that the woman who is in charge of the policy, either hasn't done her homework and sat down and studied it all, or actually the numbers are a bit flaky and that does matter because at the end of the day it comes down to notjust competence, it comes down to credibility. yes, we can have a laugh and it's great fun and it is a toe curler moment and it will be probably be one of those moments during the election campaign, but there is a serious point too. if you are the person aspiring to run our police force as diane abbott is, then you've got to know how you're going to pay for it and in that interview, frankly diane abbott sounded a bit flaky. thank you, norman. next this morning, an innocent couple accused of seriously injuring their baby girl are due to be reunited with her in the next few days — nine months after she was taken away. 23—year—old craig stillwell and carla andrews were able to prove effie has a rare medical condition which causes easy bruising . her father had been arrested on suspicion of hurting her and both parents were questioned by police.

but after a nine month fight to clear their name she's now being allowed home. her mum and dad describe their experience as every parents worst nightmare. it means they've missed her first christmas, her first teeth growing and her first words. when we took her in, they told us effie had a bleed on the brain, but it wasn't the first one. and from then, they kind of suspected that we had had shaken her. and it was obviously horrific. they called the social and the police. they told us that the social services were going to be involved, but they never mixed anything about the police. why did they think that? i think because obviously in their textbooks, it says that when a baby comes in with the type of injury that effie had, they they have got shaken baby

syndrome. that's what you were suspected of. at what point did you realise you were suspected of actually harolding your little girl? it was when the thames valley police came in and said we have a few questions. how did that make you feel? quite angry to be honest. it was scary because we didn't understand why they were even there in the first place. presumably this was within hours of you getting to the hospital? yeah. i was arrested at 3.15 on suspicion of gbh, carla went in voluntarily and after that, it was a load of court cases. in the meantime what were you saying to the police and to social workers? that we hadn't harmed her. and we knew from day one it was medical, but we just needed that little bit of push. how long has this been going on for? nine months now. can you try and give a little bit of insight into what it's like not to be with your baby girl as she is growing up? it's

horrible. it's one of worst things i think that you can actually go through if you're a parent. what kind of things have you missed while she has been with the foster family? her first christmas. and her teeth growing. her almost, she is almost crawling now and she is saying dadd and mumma and they are the things we've missed out. you are able to see her under supervision. tell us about that? when we first started it was an hour—and—a—half for three day days a week, but now we can see her every day. how is she? she is doing really well and reached most milestones. what's the medical conclusion about what is medically wrong with effie? they said it was most likely to have been caused, the

first bleed she had would have been from birth. so that put pressure on her head and the eds caused a rebleed. it is a collection of inherited conditions affecting connective tissues. it is believed to affect one in every 5,000 births. you have been to the family court and at that hearing the judge said that your little girl should come back to you and that you've experienced unimaginable horror. tell us what you felt when you heard those words? it was, it, when she said that it was all over and effie was coming home, it wasjust probably the best thing in the world. it didn't sink in properly. what about you, craig? it felt like a mountain had been lifted from my shoulders. it was amazing and we're the first people that shook the judge's hand. and when will effie be

home? we're hoping wednesday, but if not, it might be friday. how will you celebrate? just being in our new home and enjoy it as a family. thales valley police said that the decision to arrest the parents of a child that's deemed to be at risk of harm is not one they would take lightly as the head of crime for thames valley police few things make me happier than when the evidence shows that the parents did not contribute to any harm experienced by their child. what do you think about the way the police did treat you? to be honest i think it is all done wrong. ijust you? to be honest i think it is all done wrong. i just think the way they conducted themselves and i think it should have been done properly and the collective tissue disorderfound properly and the collective tissue disorder found out quicker. do you understand why the authorities would have to investigate? understand why the authorities would have to investigate ?” understand why the authorities would have to investigate? i think they we re have to investigate? i think they were just doing what they had to,

but it was mainly the hospital that made us feel uncomfortable. it was the way the hospital, they looked at us as if we've done something and they spoke to us like we'd done something and they didn't give us a chance to prove that we hadn't. craig stillwell and carla andrews. the chief nurse at buckinghamshire healthcare nhs trust has told us in a statement this morning, "we are sorry for the distress and anxiety that the stillwell family have experienced. we take our responsibility for our patients seriously in situations where we have concerns we work with partners to provide appropriate support following agreed multi—agency procedures. we recognise that the past few months must have been difficult for the stillwell family and we would be keen to meet with them to understand and learn from their experience." let's speak now to david niven. he's a child protection expert and the former chair of the british association of social workers.

hejoins us from our bristol newsroom. well, what a remarkable couple. i saw no issues about revenge or getting back at anybodiment they just seem to want to get on with their lives and have their baby back, that's remarkable after what happened to them. it's so difficult in these cases. every day in england there is between 50 and 60,000 children who are deemed to be at risk of the people they're living with or caring for them. making absolutejudgements with or caring for them. making absolute judgements and assessments on every one of the cases is sometimes very difficult. in this case, the police and social services we re case, the police and social services were totally guided as far as i can understand it by the medics. you're to the going to, as a non medical person, disagree with them over that and if they're saying that they strongly suspect that a child has been abused then the chances are that you're not going to err on the side of caution until you've looked into it further. but it has taken nearly nine months for them to be exonerated?” but it has taken nearly nine months for them to be exonerated? i know. i know. i know. it's terrible. this is going to live with them for the rest of their lives. it's great that the babyis of their lives. it's great that the baby is coming home. it is great that they have a presentation about it and they are so even headed about

it, but at the end of the day, you've just got to go with professional advice to some degree and i'm not sure about various other conditions that there are. there are so conditions that there are. there are so many other genetic conditions that cause children to be affected in different ways. i'm thinking of things like pigmentation issues in afro caribbean children by is called mongolian blue spot which is confused with bruising so there is some challenge there of the it is a real nightmare sometimes trying to sort of distinguish between protecting a child and maintaining the integrity of a family. thank you very much for your tile. thank you very much for your tile. thank you. david niven child protection expert and former chair of the british association of social workers. on the programme tomorrow we look at whether new rules which limit the amount of time people can spend on bail to 28 days will actually make any difference in reality. if you want to share our film about personal independence payments and the people who are taking their

initial decisions to tribunal and winning, go to our programme page. thanks for watching. we're back tomorrow at 9am. good morning. a lovely start to tuesday out there for many areas and even where we have seen low cloud, some of that has broken through with the sunshine coming out. we can see the cloud on the horizon. that's affecting central and eastern scotla nd that's affecting central and eastern scotland and north—east england. they will thin and break at tiles, but cloudy day here. elsewhere, cloud amounts will increase through central and eastern england into the afternoon threatening the odd passing shower particularly towards the south east corner, but most will be dry and sunniest in the west

where it will be worldest as well. a few evening showers through the midlands and western england and wales and the south—west. they will fade away, going into tonight, dry with clear skies and the odd mist and fog patchment for parts of rural scotla nd and fog patchment for parts of rural scotland and northern ireland and western parts of wales there could be frost. a windy day to come on wednesdayment cloudy across southern areas, the chance of rain in east anglia and the south east. driest and sunniest to the north and the west the bye for now. you this is bbc news and these are the top stories developing at 11. you developing at 11. labour's leader defends the shadow

home secretary diane abbott as her confusion over how much it would cost to put 10,000 new officers on the streets of england and wales overshadows the policy's launch. if we recruit the 10,000 policemen and women over a four year period, we believe it would be around £300,000. £300,000 for 10,000 police officers? no, sorry. how much will it cost? we have corrected the figure and it will be absolutely clear. a senior conservative source says it will not enter into "a briefing war" with the european commission over the brexit talks,