wow, what an exhilarating way to end this trip to japan. now, you will find loads of extra photos from ourjourney on twitter, @bbcclick. we are also on facebook. thank you so much for watching, and we will see you soon. hello, this is breakfast, with naga munchetty and charlie stayt. tougher sentences to tackle the threat of acid attacks. after a surge in violent crime, the government says anyone repeatedly caught carrying acid could face a minimum of six months injail. good morning, it's saturday 14th october. desperate efforts to tackle

the california wildfires. at least 36 people have now been killed and hundreds more are missing as whole neighbourhoods are reduced to ash. it looks like a bomb was dropped an entire neighbourhoods have gone. thriving neighbourhoods that were active parts of our community. a brexit warning from hillary clinton. she questions britain's ability to do a trade deal with president trump. in sport, two old foes reunited on the pitch this lunchtime. liverpool host manchester united at anfield as the premier league returns after the international break. and darren has the weather. good morning. there's a lot of unusual weather over the coming few days. this weekend and into monday some warm conditions for many of us and by the beginning of the week we've got the arrival of ophelia and some damaging winds. join me laterfor all of the details. thank you.

first, our main story. tougher prison sentences for people repeatedly caught carrying acid or other corrosive substances. the government wants to introduce a minimum six—month jail term in england, wales and scotland, after the number of acid attacks more than doubled in the past five years. convicted this week, two robbers who sprayed chemical on their victims. joshua jordan and sadik kamara were part of the gang that attacked a shop assistant in east london. the woman, in her 50s, was squirted with ammonia at least three times. herface burning, she bravely fought back. later, jordan and kamara sprayed another woman with ammonia. they will be sentenced next month. the government wants to give police greater powers to prevent attacks with substances like ammonia. in future it will be an offence to carry harmful chemicals in public, unless there

is a reasonable explanation. it's really important that we send out a very strong message, that carrying a corrosive substance in a public place, unless you've got a really good reason to have it, is just totally unacceptable. speak to any victim of an acid attack and they'll be living with lifelong scars. under the home office plans on violent crime there will be a four—year maximum prison term for possession of harmful chemicals. people convicted twice or more will face an automatic prison sentence. ministers also want a knife ban in sixth form colleges, further education centres and universities, just as there is in schools. in london, police are being issued with test kits to check the contents of suspicious bottles of liquid. they are also being given protective gloves and water bottles, so they can treat victims quickly. together with the proposed new laws, officers hope it will help

prevent more attacks. we'll be get more detail on those proposals from the home office minister sarah newton at 7:10am. at least 36 people have died in the wildfires that continue to spread in northern california. authorities say 9,000 firefighters are tackling 17 separate wildfires in a wine region to the north of san francisco, which are among the worst in the area's history. three smaller fires have been contained. dave lee reports. sir! you've got to go! this breathtaking footage shows a police officer's view on sunday. he was in the city of santa rosa, helping terrified residents evacuate. the next day, the city looks like this. these fires have choked california, displacing 90,000 people and destroying more than 5,000 buildings. it is burning an area that's almost the size of new york city. as some areas reopen after being deemed safe,

other parts of this region are being told to get ready to get out quickly. there is some good progress being made, however, some of the biggest fires are showing signs of being contained, thanks to the efforts of more than 8,000 firefighters drafted in to help. some have come from as far as australia to offer expertise. but with the weekend upon them, these firefighters are bracing themselves. weather forecasts suggest more high winds are on the way. in areas where the fire has already been and gone, police are also having to deal with looters seeking to capitalise on block after block of empty homes. we walk and see a neighbourhood flattened. it looks like a bomb has gone off in our neighbourhood. it's so heartbreaking. the smoky air can be smelt as far as 100 miles away. in nearby san francisco, air quality has been measured

as the poorest on record — worse than beijing. the strongest theory as to what may have caused this fire points to fallen powerlines. this is already the deadliest wildfire in the state's history and it's not over yet. earlier we spoke to someone whose home was completely destroyed by the flames. it has been a whirlwind. it has been a nightmare. it has been the most surreal experience i've ever been through. we see these things happen on television but we never think they'll happen in our own town, let alone our neighbourhood. it just happened own town, let alone our neighbourhood. itjust happened so fast and going back and looking at it now it looks like a bomb was dropped. entire neighbourhoods are gone, thriving neighbourhoods that we re gone, thriving neighbourhoods that were active parts of our community are gone. hillary clinton says there could be serious disruption for britain

if brexit talks conclude without a deal. she also warned the post brexit talks with the us could be difficult to achieve. she says no deal could see some visitors leaving the uk for europe. there is so much to talk about isn't that? there really is and with hillary clinton in the white house things could be very different. giving us to ta ke could be very different. giving us to take on brexit was one of the many subjects covered. there is more talk of this no deal scenario, where the uk leads the eu without a special specific trading agreement in place. as far as many conservative mps are concerned, that will be just conservative mps are concerned, that will bejust fine. conservative mps are concerned, that will be just fine. the conservative mps are concerned, that will bejust fine. the prime minister herself says no deal is better than a bad deal, at hillary clinton clearly disagrees and says such a situation will be very disruptive for the uk. it could be

a very big disadvantage for britain. it could mean there's more pressure on businesses in britain, if not to leave completely at least two also have sites and employment elsewhere in europe. i think the disruption for britain could be quite serious. as far as britain's future relationship with the us goes, hillary clinton is not particularly optimistic about that, saying donald trump's strategy of putting america first, protecting usjobs and companies, could make it very tricky to get a trade deal between the uk and the us. one that benefits both. you are making a trade deal with someone you are making a trade deal with someone who you are making a trade deal with someone who says you are making a trade deal with someone who says he doesn't believe in trade, so i'm not quite sure how that's going to play out over the next few years. these will have real—world economic consequences. they will have an impact on people's

incomes. donald trump of course these things differently and has talked about a new chapter for stronger trade between the uk and us and is working on a trade deal that could be very big and exciting. talks can't begin on that until the uk formally leaves the eu in march, 2019. thanks very much. talk to you later. you can see that full interview with hillary clinton tomorrow at nine o'clock on bbc one on the andrew marr show. britain has said it will defend the international nuclear deal with iran, after donald trump decided he would no longer endorse it. all of the other signatories including france, china and germany have said they remained committed to the agreement. the us president said tehran had already violated the deal and has threatened to abandon the agreement altogether. as we have seen in north korea, the longer we ignore the threat to worse that threat becomes. it is why we

are determined that the world's leading sponsor of terrorism will never obtain nuclear weapons. the organisers of the oscars are to hold emergency talks later to discuss claims of sexual misconduct against the film producer harvey weinstein. the academy of motion picture arts and sciences, which has awarded 81 oscars to films produced by his company, says the allegations of sexual assault were "repugnant". adina campbell reports. facing possible expulsion from the organisation that catapulted him to stardom, harvey weinstein's future is hanging in the balance. normally known for its glitz and glam, the academy which organises the oscars will hold an emergency meeting later, rocked by allegations that the man behind some of hollywood's biggest films sexually harassed and assaulted dozens of women. he is someone who is different from the person i knew and the person who was involved for many years in democratic politics. for me and for barack obama, and so many of us,

he was very helpful. it's just appalling, what's coming out now, and i want to commend the women who are finally stepping forward. the us actress rose mcgowan is the latest woman to accuse harvey weinstein of rape, while some of hollywood's other big names have made sexual assault, groping and harassment allegations, leading to police investigations in both the uk and us. it's opened up questions about what young aspiring actors are faced with in a fierce industry with a cutthroat culture. before you even step into the room, do i have the right look? are they going to like me because of this? i don't have that. but what if they ask me to do that? i can't do that! ok, maybe i shouldn't go. it sounds crazy, but that is literally the conversation that goes on in your head.

harvey weinstein has denied allegations of nonconsensual sex and is now believed to be getting therapy in arizona. rumours are swirling that his film production company could soon be closed or sold, but in a statement his brother bob has rejected those claims, saying business is continuing as usual. 65—year—old weinstein has already been suspended from the british film academy bafta and may face the same fate or worse from the academy later. more than 400 acid attacks were carried out from last november and april last year. the government is today unveiling proposals, including automatic was in sentences, for those caught with acid and other dangerous liquids. let's get more detail on this

from the home office minister, sarah newton who is in our westminster studio. can you take us through what these proposals are in relation to acid attacks? we want to make sure that the police, if they find someone in possession of a corrosive substance, without any good reason to have it, that that is an offence and they will be able to arrest someone for that. we want to treat acid and corrosive substances with the same seriousness that we do knife crime. so if someone is caught for a second time in possession then it will be an automatic custodial sentence. time in possession then it will be an automatic custodial sentencem you want to send out a serious message about the nature of the offence and how seriously it is taken by the authorities, why is it not a custodial sentence on the first occasion upon which someone is convicted? well, it would still be an offence. somebody would still have a criminal record, but we take the same proportionate approach that we do with knives, that we really to

help people understand that this is a serious weapon. when it's young people, because tragically a lot of young people are getting involved in knife crime and are using acids, that when they get to the custodial sentence we also want to make sure that they get an educational opportunity there, to understand what they're doing is wrong and harmful, not just for what they're doing is wrong and harmful, notjust for society but what they're doing is wrong and harmful, not just for society but to themselves and their futures and give them options to pull themselves away from this life of crime and get away from this life of crime and get away from this life of crime and get away from gangs, if they are involved in gangs, so they can go back to school, into education, and have a positive future. back to school, into education, and have a positive futurelj back to school, into education, and have a positive future. i look at the words of the london mayor is that it -- the words of the london mayor is that it —— the london mayor and he is urging a zero tolerance approach. if you are in the business of sending out messages, surely the clearest message would be if your are found in possession of a knife

or acid you will go to jail. that's not what you are saying? know and that the first time i've heard that. we work very closely with the metropolitan police and they've worked with us on these proposals and they are satisfied as we are that these are proportionate and will send as a very clear deterrent message. how does this work? if someone is stopped by the police and have a nswered stopped by the police and have answered with them, how do you prove it was potentially for the use of attacking someone as opposed to something they just bought? attacking someone as opposed to something theyjust bought? the police can use commonsense and good judgement to see the context in which that person is caught in possession of the corrosive substance, and they can use their judgement and make a good decision about that. turning to brexit. i hope you don't mind me asking. you

area hope you don't mind me asking. you are a member of this government. it isa are a member of this government. it is a key issue. theresa may was faced with this question earlier this week in connection with brexit. how would you vote now if there were to bea how would you vote now if there were to be a referendum? i know the a nswer to be a referendum? i know the answer is sometimes we are not having another one, but what would you vote? i don't think it is a trite answer to respect democracy. it isa trite answer to respect democracy. it is a completely fair answer for the prime minister to make, and anyone else, we are where we are now. what is important as we face the future and make the best possible arrangements and get the best possible deal from the european union. that is what we should be focused on. i amjust union. that is what we should be focused on. i am just curious as to your response to hillary clinton's suggestions about her concerns about

just where this will go, doing a deal with donald trump, when we are free to do so, and the impact brexit will have. what do you make about that? she knows us politics and donald trump very well. we have had a long relationship with the us. it isa a long relationship with the us. it is a close and long and good relationship. and i am sure it will be in the future. we have faced many challenges as two separate nations together before and i am sure we will face this challenge well and will face this challenge well and will do well. thank you very much for your time this morning, sarah newton, the home office minister, just talking about those new proposals in relation to acid attacks. you're watching breakfast from bbc news. the main stories this morning. harsher prison sentences are being planned for people who are repeatedly caught carrying acid and other corrosive substances. several thousand extra firefighters have been deployed in california to fight wildfires that have so far killed 33 people. here's darren with a look at this morning's weather.

people are looking forward to a bit of summer this weekend. but after that, it does turn, doesn't it? in terms of wind. when i was putting on my wake up, i had someone asked me "can i fall asleep in my garden?" normally, you could not. but you might be able to. it is not that straightforward. this band of rain will bring cold weather to the north—west. this is what you were talking about, hurricane ophelia which will arrive later in the week. 100 miles per hour makes it a category two. a lot of warm air with

it. ahead of that, drawing up warm airfrom this area it. ahead of that, drawing up warm air from this area across biscay and into the uk. where we have the sunshine this weekend, the headline temperature will be 23 or even 24 degrees over the next few days or so. degrees over the next few days or so. it would not be that kind of heat everywhere. rain in north england and north wales. going way. mostly over the hills. south of that, increasing sunshine coming through bringing up the temperatures. 18—20 across england and wales. 22 and perhaps 23 in the south—east. more cool further north in scotland and northern ireland. heavy rain overnight. a southerly breeze as well overnight. another mild one. 13—14. warming up quickly in the sunshine on sunday. that is

after a misty start with patches of low cloud. lingering cloud. the biggest cloud in scotland and northern ireland. the rain is coming back south again. turning wet in scotla nd back south again. turning wet in scotland and northern ireland. not as warm. another warm day with sunshine coming through for england and wales. temperatures on the low side. going back to ophelia. there she is. south. then going north. moving over less warm water, so it will weaken. it will go to the north of the uk and a bit to the west. severe weather warnings out from the met office. weakening. not a hurricane by the time it hits the uk on monday and tuesday. however, 70 miles per hour in western part of the uk typically, possibly as high as 80. with those numbers, damage and travel disruption is possible as

well. back to you. thank you. there is concern within nhs england whether the service can cope with the pressures the winter months bring combined with an outbreak of the flu. earlier this week, its medical director, sir bruce keogh, told the bbc he was worried that the service would struggle. his comments come after australia experienced a bad winter with the disease, with hospitals unable to cope. now, an initiative to boost the take—up of flu vaccinations has been launched. to find out more about the importance of the jab, let's speak to professorjames stewart from the institute of infection and global health at the university of liverpool. a very good morning to you. good morning. good morning. do you want to give us the hard sell first? this message has been out there before. the flu jab works and you should do it. that is the message from most in the business. it is safe and effective. it is not 100% effective. but the more people that have it,

the less risk there is of the virus spreading to more susceptible at risk groups, including the elderly and those with underlying health conditions like asthma and lung disease. we were talking about this yesterday with sally davies. last year, for over 65s, it was not as effective, in 2015. a couple of things are going on. as we get older, like everything, the immune system ages. our ability to fight infection decreases. the ability to generate a response to a vaccine as well, to be able to fight off a disease that has been vaccinated against, also decreases. that is one thing. the other thing is that flus,

viruses, they mutate, many strains hang around. we have to create a new vaccine every year. how do you decide which strangely created for? there is a huge worldwide programme co—ordinated by the world health organization. they gather information from around the world continuously and have a meeting. for the northern hemisphere their risk a convention in february, spring, and they talk about it. —— there is. they advise the vaccine production companies what strains to put into the vaccines and how to mix it for this season. there is a big production rush over the next four months. in march they decided what went on to the vaccine for this year. you are a scientist rather than a sociologist, but one of the elements is why is it some people do not want to get one despite proven evidence it works? there is some

confusion, perhaps, are the vaccination. some people are worried about side effects... do you mean they tie it in with other stories they tie it in with other stories they have heard about risks, or alleged risks, around it? yeah. but the flu jab is very safe we should emphasise the more people who get it, the less a disease can spread. i think it is important that we... another thing to emphasise his immunity takes time to build up. if you want immunity for this flu season, which you are correct, may be heavier than... is season, which you are correct, may be heavier than. .. is this because of the flu problems in australia? well, because of what happened in australia, we don't know how it will happen in the uk. you need to be vaccinated as soon as possible so the immune system builds up. interesting to talk to you this

morning. thank you very much. thank you very much. it is 7:25. one of the stories of the summer was the number of claims by british tourists who said they'd suffered food poisoning at foreign hotels. a couple who did just that have been jailed. deborah briton and her partner, paul roberts tried to claim almost £20,000 stating they and their two children fell ill on holiday in majorca, two years on the run. yet the couple's social media accounts carried posts where they boasted of holidays full of "sun, laughter, and fun." simon calder, the independent‘s travel editor, has been looking into this, and joins us now from our london newsroom. good morning. not surprisingly, holiday companies and insurers want to clamp down on this behaviour. perhaps it is an easy trick. you have seen the number of cases rise from 5000 in 2013 to 35,000 last year, that is an increase sevenfold. some of those would be genuine

cases. there has been an awful lot of interest in this and a few thousand who did not realise they could claim. but there is huge amounts of evidence that people, if you feel ill, get some medicine and ta ke you feel ill, get some medicine and take a picture of the receipt and you can claim free money. there has also been cold—calling, people saying have you been on a holiday, a cruise, if so, and if you felt ill, a fund has been set up to compensate for poor hotel hygiene. that is com plete for poor hotel hygiene. that is complete rubbish, of course. this couple were unfortunate because they we re couple were unfortunate because they were chosen to make an example of why thomas cook, the tour operator who took out a private prosecution. there will be a lot of heated discussion on monday morning between claimants and legal advisers. during

the course of next week, quite a few claims for holiday sickness will be dropped. i tell you what this makes me think, it is quite difficult to make a me think, it is quite difficult to makea claim me think, it is quite difficult to make a claim that the best of times. so, now, a if it is that you have a genuine claim, for those who do have genuine claim, for those who do have genuine claims, is there going to be more difficulty in them proving that they, you know, food sickness has ruined their holiday? it has become more difficult over the past couple of years simply because of the sheer number of claims and the suspicion in the travel industry that many of these are fraudulent. they have arisen because of the, well, effectively as the new whiplash. once the government cracked down on the whiplash claiming, the people involved in that previously lucrative industry moved on to holiday claims. and the crucial thing here is because the supposed that injury happened outside of the uk, there is no cap on legal cost.

atypical case, the typical maybe £2000. --a atypical case, the typical maybe £2000. ——a typical. these people we re £2000. ——a typical. these people were asking for £20,000. it would have been another £30,000 of legal costs on top of that. the idea is that legitimate claims should be able and encouraged to come forward. anything that improves hotel standards has to be a good thing. but, well, i dare say anyone with a genuine case will find it not difficult. but the idea that you sendin difficult. but the idea that you send ina difficult. but the idea that you send in a claim and holiday companies, as they have done previously, had said it will be cheaper to pay this than go to the law, that should come to an end because thomas cook, absolutely furious about the amount of cases like this, have finally decided, well, we are going to crack down good you can e—mail us at bbcbrea kfast@bbc. co. uk

or share your thoughts with other viewers on our facebook page. after three years of construction and at a cost of $600 million, the mersey gatweway bridge between runcorn and widness is open for business. our reporter, holly hamilton, is there for us this morning. we will be back with the headlines shortly. hello, this is breakfast with naga munchetty and charlie stayt. here's a summary of this morning's main stories from bbc news. people caught carrying acid twice in public will receive a mandatory six—month prison sentence, under plans proposed by the home office. it is aimed at curbing the number of acid attacks which has more than doubled in five years. there are also proposals to make it a crime for shopkeepers in england, wales and scotland to sell acid to anyone under the age of 18. at least 36 people have died in the wildfires that continue to spread in northern california. authorities say 9,000 firefighters are tackling 17 separate wildfires in a wine region to the north of san francisco which are thought

to be among the worst in the area's history. three smaller fires have been contained. the former presidential candidate hillary clinton says there could be serious disruption for britain if brexit talks conclude without a deal. in an interview with the bbc‘s andrew marr she also warns that a post—brexit trade agreement with the united states could be difficult to achieve. you are making a trade deal with someone who says he doesn't believe in trade, so i'm not quite sure how that's going to play out over the next few years. these will have real—world economic consequences. they will have an impact on people's incomes. and you can see that full interview with hillary clinton tomorrow on bbc one, at 9am on the andrew marr show. britain has said it will defend the international nuclear deal with iran, after donald trump decided he would no longer endorse it. the us president said iran had already violated the deal and has threatened to abandon the agreement altogether. all the other signatories, including france, china and germany say they remain committed to the agreement. the organisers of the oscars

are to hold emergency talks later to discuss claims of sexual misconduct against the film producer harvey weinstein. the academy of motion picture arts and sciences, which has awarded 81 oscars to films produced by his company, says the allegations of sexual assault were "repugnant". he denies the allegations. the duchess of cambridge's uncle has been charged with assault. gary goldsmith was charged with assault on friday following an incident in the early hours of the morning according to the metropolitan police. he was bailed and is due to appear at westminster magistrates‘ court later this month. mr goldsmith is the younger brother of carole middleton, and attended the weddings of both kate and pippa. there's a big game happening at some point, sometime today... the old rivalries between liverpool

and manchester united fans goes back decades. 1993 was the first match, many moons ago. before that manchester united... think it goes back to the 1800s. have you got the figure? off the top of my head i think that manchester united have 187 compared to liverpool's 75. it is very close. recently, i think it was 2014 which was the last time liverpool one in a fixture. the liverpool manager jurgen klopp has been defending his record ahead of this lunchtime's meeting between the two great rivals. if his team lose, liverpool will have the same number of points that they had two years ago, when his predecessor was sacked. while manchester united underjose mourinho are joint top and will be out to frustrate klopp's side at anfield. we know how manchester united is playing. fantastic players involved in the team and we know about the qualities of a number of the players, all these guys. a few lineup problems and maybe,

but very experienced and sometimes they defend pretty deep and sometimes they have a high—pressure formation. i played with one defender and nine strikers. don't worry about it. that's for sure. we play with one guy behind and then we go with a new system, even an evolution of the old one, and we play with nine strikers. don't worry about it. scotland have already replaced manager gordon strachan with malky mackay, but that is only a temporary appointment. david moyes told bbc radio 5 live that he wouldn't turn down the job, although he would prefer to return to club football. the former manchester united boss left

sunderland in may following their relegation. no approach from scotland, but i work closely with the sfa. two weeks ago i was working with the colleges in scotland, —— coaches in scotland, so they know what i have if they wanted to speak to me. i don't think anybody ever turns down a national team opportunity, but it's also got to be the right time. my first choice would be to go back into club management, but if scotland wanted to talk somewhere along the line i'd be happy to help or speak with them and see what they have to say. david moyes in the rather moody looking radio 5 live studio, a pensive touch. i thought it looks quite nice! on the domestic front rangers won 3—0 at stjohnstone to stay in touch with the two leaders of the scottish premiership. carlos pena got two.

this his second. stjohnstone had a man sent off. rangers move to within three points of celtic and aberdeen. a new manager and a new dawn for birmingham city, who are out of the bottom three in the championship after beating the leaders cardiff city. che adams scored the only goal for steve cotterill in his first game in charge. meanwhile, bristol city moved up to third after a goalless draw with burton albion. european rugby is back this weekend, and the champions cup got off to a raucous start as ulster came from behind, to beat injury—hit wasps 19—9 in belfast. wasps led at the break, but ulster turned it around in a couple of second half minutes. jakob stockdale's try was followed by another from stuart mccloskey to give the ulstermen victory. now cue the music, it's time for strictly on horseback... almost. dressage has been described as dancing with your horse and is regarded as the highest form of horse training and so you'd think out, of reach for most of us. but multiple paralympic champion, natasha baker has spent her life proving how accessible it can be. ahead of her return to action, i've been tojoin her in training. she has cleared more hurdles

than most and now five—time paralympic champion natasha baker faces a new challenge. grooming time for fred... the dressage star is on a mission to find a new horse for the next paralympics, while also trying to persuade beginners like myself that this sport is more accessible than you may think and that we can all move with the grove, even if it's not a foxtrot. what makes natasha's story remarkable is that she lost all feeling in her legs when she was young. you need to be upright but relaxed... and yet it's with your legs that you communicate with your horse. i can't use my legs at all when i ride. i'm pretty much useless from here down, so i have to rely on my voice. so i tell a horse what to do. and then i can use my seat as well, so i can turn this way to turn left and that way to turn right.

i can lean forward if i want to go more forward and lean back if i want them to come back to me. i love dressage, it's like freedom for me, because i'm restricted with my legs. they kind of lend me theirs and i can get on the horse and do things that a lot of able—bodied people can't. i can't dance on the dancefloor, so i can dance on my horse instead! she says a dream flight trip to america gave her the confidence to dance at paralympic level and is now inspiring others. now turn the other way as well... i quite like that it's sort ofjust about you and your horse and about the relationship between you and your horse. good! it can seem a rather impossible sport to novice riders, or those with a chequered history of horseriding... and i know bungle here is not going to be fooled by my smart appearance.

it's going to be how i communicate with this horse that means all the difference. sitting up tall. don't forget to smile! you have to concentrate so hard to keep the rhythm of the trot. even with the trainer holding onto bungle, it was asking a lot of him in the first lesson to do moves like this. and here we are trying a sideways move. i always say you've got to imagine you are queen of england. my very good performance ends with a grand finale, as the music reaches a climax and you come graciously to a halt and await the judge's verdict. that was good, but i'm not quite sure if you would be winning one of these, but good try. it's a dream! good luck to natasha. she returns on

monday. and i won't be competing, just to make that clear. i used to be terrified of the real bungle. a lot of people were. no, he was a great horse. why would you be scared of him? very big. the original bungle was much scarier. thank you. a new £600 million toll bridge over the river mersey opened earlier this morning. the mersey gateway route is the largest infrastructure project in england outside of london and connects runcorn and widnes in cheshire. brea kfast‘s holly hamilton is there for us. good morning! it's looking a little bit blustery this morning. you know what? it's actually quite mild. a beautiful morning to be gazing at our brand—new bridge. it opened last night and if you are a fan of

bridges i have to say it is pretty fine. £600 million is the pricetag. over its lifespan that cost is going to go up. there are estimates of about £1.9 billion. at the moment some people are quite concerned that they will have to pay a toll to get across the bridge, but that will pay off the hefty bill. how long will that take and how long will it last? last night it opened with a bang, a huge celebrationjust last night it opened with a bang, a huge celebration just after midnight. plenty of fireworks. hundreds of people gathered to watch the fireworks display before the bridge opened. it runs from widnes to runcorn. tolls aside, the locals approve. it's very smart.

it reminds me of the one in america. i think it's brilliant. a long—time overdue. it's a fantastic development. and just past midnight the bridge was opened. hundreds of bikers among the first to cross. the mersey gateway bridge is the biggest civil engineering project in the country, outside london. the total cost is more than £1.8 billion. 20 million vehicles a year are expected to use it and its 810 miles of cable would stretch from lands end tojohn o'groats. the old runcorn—widnes bridge now closes for the year for repairs. when it opens, both mersey crossings will be tolled. locals can travel free if they pay a registration fee, but there's real anger among the individuals and businesses who'll have to pay. the transport secretary says the bridge should be free to use once it is paid for...in 2042. well, like i say a hefty pricetag,

but is it worth it? one of the things we will talk about is that there has been so much fantastic progress on this. it's been in construction for three years. i have with me the main consultant behind the bridge. you must be pretty happy with the result? absolutely delighted. it feels like a long time, but last night was a fantastic success. it was a real occasion to celebrate. there's a lot of traffic management all over the place, but here we are and it's looking really good. we are very proud of the assets we have been provided. this is one of the biggest infrastructure projects outside of london and england. what type of challenges come without? we are standing right beside the river at the moment. it

caught us a little bit by surprise. it was a very free—flowing and shallow river but it has high tides at times. very interesting ecology surrounding the bridge, either side. we are standing on the edge of the saltmarshes where there are a lot of important environmental aspects, so we have to look after the environment. many challengers. for you, what was the most difficult aspect of it? at what point did you think, right, this is going to work and it will be okayed. typically, as a lwa ys and it will be okayed. typically, as always in the uk, it's the weather. that was a key feature in the latter stages, especially as we were starting to construct the major parts of the bridge, lifting materials. brain was affecting other parts of the construction, especially the latter parts.

however, everything came together and here we are. we had a long night last night mitchell everything was in place. really delighted at what we are looking at now. some people in the local area might not recognise you outside of your high vis jacket! it does seem very strange. very glad you could be here. it is up and running and fully functional. take some extra time to plan your journey. functional. take some extra time to plan yourjourney. there are some diversions in place, but it is settling in nicely. thank you very much. we will speak to your later on. here's darren with a look at this morning's weather. perhaps we should wear some shorts

today and windproof jackets perhaps we should wear some shorts today and windproofjackets later on this week. i threw my away earlier this week. i threw my away earlier this week. i threw my away earlier this week. there is an unusual hurricane heading our way. not warm everywhere. a ribbon of cloud bringing rain. furthersouth, everywhere. a ribbon of cloud bringing rain. further south, we find hurricane ophelia, category two, 100 miles per hour, gusts in excess of that. what is left of it will hit the uk monday and tuesday. a lot of warm air. some of it is getting wafted on the southerlies up into the uk. depending on the amount of sunshine, a headline of 23— 24 in the next few days. not as warm as that of us. there is still some rain around. patchy and over the hills of england and north wales. going away. south of that, we should see the cloud breaking up more and more, especially in england and wales.

temperatures higher than yesterday. 22- 23 in temperatures higher than yesterday. 22— 23 in the south—east. more cool for scotland and northern ireland. sunshine. that rain gets going overnight in the north—west of scotland. heavy rain is likely. otherwise, a dry note. mist and low cloud around, especially in the west. another mild night after the warmth of the day. 13—14. mist and low cloud clearing away. hanging around the western coast. the main change comes into northern ireland as the rain goes south again. rain in the hills. further south, england and wales, cloud breaking the big more warm sunshine coming through. temperatures a bit higher than that in the sunshine. going back to ophelia. heading north. a hurricane

by late on sunday, but as it goes north and hits the uk on monday and tuesday, not strong enough winds to be one. it will impact nevertheless. strong winds. not a hurricane but gusts of 70, locally, 80 miles per hour. causing some damage. thank you. now on breakfast, it's time for newswatch. welcome to newswatch with me, samira ahmed. this week's special report about heroin abuse made for hard—hitting viewing, but was it right for it to lead and dominate the news at ten? and this crash in london last saturday turned out not to be a terrorist attack, as was first feared. so was the news channel right to spend 1.5 hours non—stop reporting on it? first, recent news reports have featured allegations of sexual abuse in areas such as politics, sport, and broadcasting, and now, it's hollywood that faces the unwelcome headlines in the person of harvey weinstein.

the film producer, who denies the charges, has been accused of a number of assaults and of rape, and bbc news has covered the case extensively all week. with allegations of abuse against sir edward heath and cyril smith also in the news this week, neville dalton felt: "news reports are rapidly turning into ‘sewer news‘ in which broadcasters are taking a disproportionate and very unhealthy interest." hazel murie wanted to know: "why is this deemed worthy of endless coverage on your news broadcasts, and why must i endure the lurid details of this person's revolting perversions? i think the bbc needs to consider very carefully, both what you cover on the news but also how much detail you include in your reports." and graham stew begged: "please, bbc, no more harvey weinstein! it has been your top story for days now. there are more important news stories from around the world than this sensationalism.

it makes the bbc appear no better than the average tabloid, obsessing over salacious scandals." on wednesday, bbc news ran a report about the introduction across the uk of universal credit — a new benefits system which has been criticised for the impact it has on claimants. social affairs correspondent michael buchanan met one woman who's still waiting for payment eight months after first claiming. what's been the worst part for you? not being able to see my son. i can't sit and watch this for much longer. this is horrific. it's come to a point where my own child doesn't even know who i am. and all she's asking for is £54 a week. derek hart was concerned that coverage of the implementation of universal credit gave what he called a biased picture. "the complete focus on a valid

particular case as a generalisation is a gross simplification and deliberately plays on viewers' emotions. the previous system gave rise to even more problems and hardships, as were previously reported. painting the government as callous and ignoring these problems is simply not true." every week, we hear about certain words and phrases used by bbc news presenters, which really seem to annoy some of you, and one example was identified by dr ian barnish in an email to us on monday. "i am fed up to the back teeth with the bbc‘s use of the word ‘special‘, especially in news and politics programmes. for example, special correspondent, special programme, special report. without a definition of special, this is meaningless drivel. please desist." let's hope ian wasn't watching the news at ten the following evening, which began like this. tonight at ten, a special report on the record number of people dying from heroin and morphine addiction. good evening. we start tonight with a special report on the surge in deaths from heroin addiction across the uk. this extended report by our special correspondent ed thomas does contain images and details of drug

abuse from the start. the "special" report that followed traced the increase in deaths from heroin and morphine in hard—hitting detail, and heard the case for the decriminalisation of the personal use of those drugs. county durham, searching for the next hit. i haven't got time to look for a job. being a drug addict is a full—time job. every day, the same. by the time i do get sorted, it's time to start all over again. i'm not letting them in! what are you doing, then? getting something. and this is lisa's life. a mother ruled by heroin. i've put it before my children. do you need heroin more than your children? yeah, ido. there was praise on social media

for that report from ed thomas, with sean mcpartlin calling it an... "excellent piece...thoughtful and challenging." while philip erskine described himself as "very moved". others, though, objected to this topic occupying the first ten minutes of the bbc‘s flagship news bulletin. tim sansom asked: "why did the bbc 10:00pm news run a lead story which had no relevance to tuesday's news? there were big stories that day!" and rosemary hutton agreed: "while this is a very important subject, i do not think it was appropriate for the headline news item on the main evening news. it would be a more appropriate item for panorama." a different complaint was raised about pictures of drug—taking, which, although we haven't repeated here on newswatch, were contained in the report. when a shorter version was shown the following day on the victoria derbyshire show, it was with an on—screen warning — but that didn't appear on the news at ten. here's a viewer called b hobson: "i have been totally shocked at the film accompanying the headline report on drugs. must such graphic images be used? they have just shown people

injecting, showing innocent young people what to do. please, we know it goes on, but must this be shown?" and a twitter used called db echoed that: "mortified that the bbc feel the need to show people getting heroin ready to inject. not what i need to see on a tuesday night." well, with me now is paul royall, editor of the bbc‘s news at six and news at ten. which ran that special report. hard—hitting, lots of viewers agree, but ten minutes at the top of the bulletin? yes, it was a 7.5—minute report, and there was a live interview with ed thomas off the back. there are certain stories where there is perhaps more depth, analysis and explanation, and sort of a solution to the problem that we want to get into, so we felt this was one of these occasions where it justified a longer piece. we don't do it every week. we don't do it every month, we perhaps do it six or seven times a year, where we have those slightly longer, deeper, more analytical pieces. a lot of viewers would say, fine, but make it a proper panorama. because again and again, viewers tell newswatch, they turn on the news at ten because they want to find out

what were the big news stories that day. and that day there was harvey weinstein, catalonia, brexit, all pushed down the running order. and how many news stories are pushed off the running order by this? if, because we were doing seven or eight minutes on a very, very important and a good piece about heroin abuse, if that was going to relegate what we regard as really, really important other news stories that were only going to exist on that day, then we would find a different day to run the heroin piece. and so, we did do thejob losses at bae, we did do brexit, we did do catalonia, we did do the latest on harvey weinstein. there wasn't a story at the end of the day which we felt had missed out because of this piece. let's talk about the images. it was very close up on people preparing and in the act of injecting heroin. i think there were angles that meant we didn't see the needle going in, but many viewers felt it unnecessarily shocking and graphic. why did you need to show them? yeah, they are. i totally understand — they are shocking and graphic images. huw edwards put a warning in the introduction to the piece to say there would be

images of drug abuse. but that applies to a lot of news stories that we do, if we're covering war zones, famines. and obviously we took care to ensure that we could do a piece about heroin abuse and demonstrate what goes on without going so far in the piece that actually we were taking images too far. or showing people the abc of how to take heroin, which we didn't do. although some people thought that. what about the consent of the addicts? some people would've felt it was quite exploitative, and the question of legality, broadcasting them using? no guidelines were breached or overridden to make this piece. and everyone involved in the piece had fully consented and we'd gone through the proper processes for that. seriously, i mean, talking about people who are so drug—addicted they say they value drugs more than their children, you're saying that there are no concerns about how informed that consent is? there are concerns, but this piece was a long time in the making. we worked with all the relevant

people and authorities to make sure that we had the duty of care and be as careful as we could be, and that process is going on after the report has gone out as well. and on the legality issue, they are doing something illegal on camera. how does that square with the guidelines? well, within the guidelines, we show crimes taking place sometimes, if we're doing court reports sometimes and things like that, the guidelines do allow for that. they were doing it in front of the cameras, kind of for the cameras. as long as it is editorially justified. they were not doing it for the cameras, that's their daily life, unfortunately. so it's editorially justified, is it? it is editoriallyjustified. there is a sense from our viewers that with reports like this, they feel that sometimes they are more aimed at impressing otherjournalists and other editors, and maybe winning awards. and that they don't consider what the audience want when they turn on the daily news bulletin and want a half—hour round—up of the world's events. yeah, well, this is something that's going on in cities up and down the uk every day, all the time. the bbc established the record number of deaths that are now occurring — at a record high because of this.

the amount of crime that is connected to it, which is carried out by people who are serious drug users, and the cost to the country, which is something around £15 billion. so on that basis, you would make the argument that this is a highly relevant, important story. it didn'tjust happen on that day. i accept that there wasn't a report out that day from the government, say, talking about drug abuse, but certain stories are happening every day, take longer to get together, and we feel it's right at certain times to have them on the programme. paul royall, thank you so much. finally, let's take you back to last saturday afternoon, when an incident near the natural history museum in london initially looked as if it might be a major news story of a horribly familiar kind. it is being reported on one news agency that police are saying it isn't a terrorism—related incident. what we know is that several people have been injured amid reports that a car mounted the pavement outside the museum in south kensington. for 1.5 hours, the news channel

focused exclusively on what turned out to be a "road traffic collision", leading edward brand to write: "it's repeated over and over again that, as yet, it's not being treated as a terrorist attack, and may be just an accident. is this how the bbc are going to react whenever there's a car accident now, going over the same old story until the police give a statement, which could be hours away? this is how you bring panic to the city. get it together, bbc, you're causing panic for no reason." thanks for all your comments this week. if you want to share your opinions on bbc news and current affairs, or even appear on the programme, you can call us on 0370 010 6676 or e—mail newswatch@bbc. co. uk. you can find us on twitter @newswatch bbc, and do have a look at our website — the address for that is bbc. co. uk/newswatch. that's all from us.

we'll be back to hear your thoughts about bbc news coverage again next week. goodbye. hello, this is breakfast, with naga munchetty and charlie stayt. tougher sentences to tackle the threat of acid attacks. after a surge in violent crime, the government says anyone repeatedly caught carrying acid could face a minimum of six months injail. good morning. it's saturday, 14th october. also this morning: desperate efforts to tackle the california wildfires. at least 36 people have now been killed. we hear first—hand how whole neighbourhoods have been reduced to ash.