hello, it's monday, it's 9am, i'm victoria derbyshire, welcome to the programme. our top story today: we can bring you exclusive news of early specific development in the vaginal mesh scandal — this programme has learned that the health watchdog will recommend its banned from treating organ prolapse in england. my husband has turned into my carer and he's so much less of my husband. we can't have sex. we haven't had sex for four and half years. did you have any suicidal thoughts? you did? yeah. gosh... i planned it, i mapped it out. it comes after we revealed more than 800 uk women are taking legal action against the nhs and the makers of vaginal mesh implants. if you've had a mesh, really keen to get your reaction this morning. do get in touch throughout the programme. also on the programme — we've discovered that thousands of people in england and wales are being taken to court and threatened with jail over

council tax arrears every year. i just didn't know what to expect, where i was. it was absolutely horrific. i was worrying about the kids. nobody can prepare you for it. we'll bring you the full exclusive story after 10am this morning. six british menjailed in southern india on weapons charges will find out shortly if they are to be freed, after spending four years behind bars. wii will bring that to you live and bring reaction from family members. hello — welcome to the programme, we're live until 11. throughout the morning the latest breaking news and developing stories. before ten, we are going to talk to the magnificent children's author

damejacqueline the magnificent children's author dame jacqueline wilson, who the magnificent children's author damejacqueline wilson, who has been awarded the bafta children's special award, in relation to her remarkable contribution to tv, the amazing tracy beaker series. if you've got a question for her do get in touch with us this morning. — use the hashtag victoria live and if you text, you will be charged at the standard network rate. we will talk to her at about 9:45am. our top story today... authorities in bali have warned that a volcano on the island is in imminent danger of a full—scale eruption. mount agung has been sending clouds of thick ash and smoke thousands of feet into the air since saturday. the islands airport, in denpasar, has been closed and locals have been ordered to leave their homes. andrew plant has the latest. bali's most sacred mountain, an ancient volcano rumbling back to life with billows of black smoke. mount agung has been sleeping for more than half a century, now awake and angry. experts believe a major eruption could be about to happen. translation: the volcano has entered

the magmatic eruption phase. there is now the possibility of a strong explosive eruption. those living nearby were evacuated in september at the first signs of activity. now, the exclusion zone is a circle 12 miles wide. the thick ash rising thousands of metres, means many flights to and from this popular tourist destination have now been grounded. all the flights were cancelled so we're just now at the airport, we don't know what we're doing and we are trying to find another flight. in bali, no one is taking any chances. more than 150,000 people are in temporary shelters. when the volcano last erupted in 1963, more than 1,000 people were killed. this time the indonesian government says it is much better prepared. andrew plant, bbc news. our correspondent tom

burridgejoins me now. how imminent is imminent? the key thing here is experts say because molten rock is spotted right near the top of the volcano, that's why they believe it could be imminent. they say there has been increased inactivity on mount agung for two months. what's been happening is the magma has been moving up through the volcano, breaking up rock, heating up volcano, breaking up rock, heating up water inside the volcano, creating steam and pressure, and we are now at the point where the pressure is such that the rock basically can't be held back. some experts think, as we say, it is imminent, a violent full—scale eruption, but others say it could be possible this is a low scale eruption over a longer period of time. 0k, thank you very much, tom. we will keep an eye on it. annita is in the bbc newsroom with a summary of the rest of the days news. good morning.

the families of those killed when a stolen car crashed in leeds at the weekend have paid tribute to their loved ones. brothers ellis and elliott thornton, aged 12 and 15, died along with 15—year—old darnell harte and 24—year—old robbie meerun. father—of—two anthoney armour, 28, whose partner is pregnant with a third child, also died when a renault clio hit a tree. two 15—year—old boys remain in custody on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving. this programme has learned that the health watchdog — the national institute for health and care excellence — is to recommend that vaginal mesh operations should be banned from treating organ prolapse in england. draft guidelines from nice say the implants should only be used for research — and not routine operations. a growing number of women have reported complications since having the procedure, with many needing wheelchairs, being unable to work or to have sex. full reaction to come up on this story at about 9:15am. high—tech industries are set

to receive millions of pounds in extra funding to boost skills and create jobs. it's part of the government's strategy to increase economic performance post—brexit. sectors including robotics, artificial intelligence and medical research will be targeted, but some critics say more should be done to help traditional skills. theresa may has said the government will fund the full cost of dealing with the aftermath of the suicide bombing at the manchester arena, which killed 22 people in may. it comes after the mayor of greater manchester, andy burnham, said the government's initial offer was £5 million too low — and estimated that £28 million would be needed. pope francis has arrived on the first papal visit to me,, which has been accused of ethnic cleansing. the focus will be the rohingya. there are concerns that could spark

some potential violence if he does. he is scheduled to meet the leader and the head of the country's military. a rising number of people are being taken to court and threatened with prison for not paying their council tax. this programme found that more than 4,800 people were taken to court between 2016 and 2017. that's gone up 11% in four years. during that time, at least 62 people were sent to prison. the local government association said it was "essential" to collect funds. there are fears children with special needs are being let down by the education system. an investigation by bbc breakfast has found a 57% increase in the number of children being educated at home. some families believe home education is their only option. in the first of a series of special reports, our education editor branwenjeffreys looks at the challenges faced by some of the children. for more than a year, emily has been learning at home. she's been diagnosed with autism and adhd. school felt noisy and overwhelming. a bit stressful because i don't

really like, like, a lot of loud noises because itjust makes me really upset and i want to learn things that i'm interested in, but, it's like i can't learn anything because i don't know how to and they don't tell me how. emily would get angry and lash out. now she is on medication at home. her mum, lorna, decided to home educate after trying three schools. i couldn't cope with her going to school and then coming back with her so stressed out, so angry at me and then not wanting to go to school the next day. the meltdowns were horrendous and i can't pick her up and put her in the car and physically take her to school. lorna isn't the only parent to reach this decision. a growing number of families with children with special needs are deciding to home educate. the fear is they're doing that because they feel let down by the school system.

between 2013 and 2017 there was a 57% increase in children with special needs being home educated, and that's just children who have a statement or equivalent in england, wales or northern ireland. it's a 64% increase if you just look at england. scotland has a different system, making comparisons difficult. i think before there was people genuinely making a choice because that was the right thing for them and now there are too many families who are saying they don't feel like they have either option so they're having to resort to home education, that can't be right. emily is learning differently with some extra classes. she's happier out of schools but misses her friends. in england, the government says more special education places are being created and its putting money into the system to make it work better. branwen jeffreys, bbc news. councils in england generated £819 million in profit from parking fees and fines

during the last financial year — that's10% higher than in the previous one. figures obtained by the rac foundation showed four of the five councils with the largest surplus were in london. the local government association said income from parking went towards essential transport projects and repairs. jacqueline wilson has picked up a ba fta for jacqueline wilson has picked up a bafta for her contribution to children's books. her career has spanned more than 35 years and she will be speaking to victoria later this out. that is a summary of the latest bbc news. more at 9:30am. and that your question is that dame jacqueline wilson. i am sure some of your children have read her books! get in touch. we have some comments

on the fact that mesh implants are going to be banned, it looks like, on the nhs in england for treating patients with prolapse. this is after we first revealed back in april that 800 patients were suing the nhs and the manufacturers because of the awful problems that have been caused to certain patients, not everybody, but a significant minority. claire on twitter says they should not have taken a patient uprising to get this far but like so often in life, the little people don't have a voice u nless little people don't have a voice unless they grouped together. this isa unless they grouped together. this is a fantastic step in the right direction. another says, congratulations, direction. anothersays, congratulations, it wouldn't have happened without your coverage. wendy said i had a mesh implants, so happy i did, it was life changing. and that is true for the vast majority of women, according to the nhra, the medicine's regulatory authority, the vast majority of people who have a

mesh implant it on with their lives and are absolutely fine. but a small minority have really, really severe and serious complications on this guidance we have obtained from nice highlights the serious concerns. if you have had attempted back, let me know about your experience on your reaction to the news it will be banned in england for treating prolapse. let's get some sport from jess... as expected australia have taken the lead in the ashes, should we be surprised? not really a surprise. before this series no one would have expected england to get a result at the gabba. australia haven't lost at that venue in 29 years, but actually for much of the test it was quite evenly contested, at least the first three days. it seemed as though england might just get three days. it seemed as though england mightjust get something out of it. but towards the end of the series tide turned in australia's favour, partly due to steve smith's unbeaten century. in the final day

australia reached their target of 170 with ease. david cameron and cameron bancroft prize made half—ce ntu ry cameron bancroft prize made half—century as they completed a ten wicket victory to stop despite promising moments along the way, england were comfortably beaten in the end and go 1—0 down in this five match series. and off the field everyone is talking about england playerjonny ba i rstow‘s talking about england playerjonny bairstow‘s unusual greeting for an australian player that he met in a bara australian player that he met in a bar a month ago? it has been dubbed the bairstow kiss. you would think with the england players being under such increase scrutiny for their off field conduct they'd keep a low profile, but it has come to light there was it headbutt from jonny ba i rstow on there was it headbutt from jonny bairstow on camera and bankrupt a month ago when the tour began in perth. in the press conference both men said there was no malice or intent and played it down as banter. the england coach trevor bayliss

says the england players have to be smarter. let's hear from says the england players have to be smarter. let's hearfrom the says the england players have to be smarter. let's hear from the two says the england players have to be smarter. let's hearfrom the two men involved. we we re involved. we were just in the bar having a good laugh and a good evening out. it was very enjoyable. cameron and i enjoyed the evening and continued to do so. there was no intent or malice about anything during the evening. year, just greeted me with, yeah, just a headbutt kind of thing. i was expecting a handshake, but it wasn't the greeting of choice i was expecting. that was the way that i took it. there was certainly no malice in his action and we continued on having a very good conversation. the second test in adelaide gets underway in the early hours of saturday. hopefully this incident won't prove too much of a distraction for the england players. it isa distraction for the england players. it is a day— night test, an unknown quantity in ashes cricket but the unpredictability might work in england's favour. thank you, jess.

this morning, a significant development in the mesh implant scandal. eight months after we investigated the horrific problems being experienced by women who had had the mesh procedure, we can exclusively reveal that the health watchdog is recommending the nhs in england ban the use of mesh for treating women who've had a prolapse. in april, we revealed 800 women were suing manufacturers and the nhs over the implants which can erode, leave women in permanent pain, unable to walk, work or have sex. now, new guidelines from nice, the national institute for health and care excellence, highlight "serious safety concerns" with the implants, and advise mesh should in future only be used for research purposes. it makes no mention of the use of mesh for treating incontinence or hernias. 0ur reporter anna collinson has the story. in april this programme exposed a painful secret thousands of women were keeping to themselves.

every time i walk it almost feels like something sharp's inside me. the tape had come through my vagina, it was actually all the way through, protruding through. my husband has turned into my carer and he's so much less of my husband. we can't have sex. we haven't had sex for four and a half years. they thought they were alone, so suffered in silence for years, unaware there were many more like them. over the last five years i counted actually, i've had over 53 admissions, because of agonising pain. i phoned my husband and i said, i can't, i can't live any more, i can't go through this. i actually do think, i'm believing the doctors, i think it's in my head, yeah. i didn't know where else to turn. this is a vaginal mesh. it is used when women have prolapse or bladder incontinence, normally brought on by childbirth.

and it is often made from polypropylene. that's the same material used to make this kind of drinks bottle. over the past 20 years more than 100,000 women across the uk have had vaginal mesh implants. some doctors now believe a minimum of one in ten patients experience problems. i'm notjust a number, i'm somebody‘s partner, i'm somebody‘s mum, somebody‘s sister. and all these people are impacted. did you, can i ask, did you have any suicidal thoughts? you did. yes. gosh. i planned it. i mapped it out. with us this morning, a dozen or so... earlier this year we heard hundreds of women were taking legal action against the nhs. i wonder, would you support calls for these mesh implants to be banned on the nhs?

definitely. most definitely. the simple procedure could end up costing tens of millions of pounds in compensation. this was back in april. over the last seven months many, many women have told us their stories. ijust wonder how many people are going to get crippled before anyone listens to us. what we go through on a daily basis is a nightmare. but complications with mesh can arise in other places too. chances are the mesh that was used for your hernia was something like this. my god. no wonder it itches. i mean, it's really thick. just like nylon. woah. injuly we revealed nhs england hernia mesh repairs were leaving many patients in chronic pain. it's as if i've been stabbed with something hot. i don't want to eat. i don't want to venture out too far. we even arranged for two hernia mesh

patients to meet up. helen. martin. you 0k? yes. and you? take a seat. i've had an operation really i didn't need, and six years' worth of investigation. some gynaecologists claim a ban on vaginal mesh implants would risk depriving women of the option of a treatment which, for incontinence at least, has been effective. but a growing number of doctors believe the risk is too great, and in scotland the use of mesh has been suspended. labour have called for vaginal mesh repairs to be banned and for a public inquiry. they have received cross—party support. let's say it's as little as one in ten in whom this is going wrong. if that were a medicine, it wouldn't be on the market. now this programme can exclusively reveal the national institute for health and clinical excellence has effectively recommended

a ban on vaginal mesh repairs for prolapse. nice say the procedure should only be used for research. the health watchdog was initially going to publish its updated guidance in 2019, but as the spotlight intensified, it was brought forward to december. they say they won't comment until then. campaigners are calling this latest development a back door ban and a historic moment, but also say the fight is far from over. they want a temporary suspension of all pelvic mesh repairs while an audit is carried out to find out the true scale of the women affected. they also want nice to provide advice on other types of mesh repairs like hernias. we can speak to margie maguire. she had a vaginal mesh implant in 2015 and as a result she can't walk properly or have any more children.

kate langley was one of the first women we spoke to when this programme exposed the problems caused by mesh implants. john 0sborne is a retired obstetrician and urogynecologist who first raised concerns about mesh in the 19705. welcome all of you. thank you very much for coming on the programme. first of all, let me get your reaction from women who have had this mesh implant to the news that the health watchdog is going to tell the health watchdog is going to tell the nhs these implants should be banned as a way of treating a prolapse. i think it's a step in the right direction, but any mesh is mesh in whatever surgical procedure and it needs to be banned across—the—board definitely. and it needs to be banned across—the— board definitelylj and it needs to be banned across-the-board definitely. i think it is great news that they are doing something, but there is a vast, you know, a lot more women actually are having stress incontinence mesh so that's not going to help those

ladies, but it is fantastic news for women that have got the type of mesh. it is a step in the right direction. and yourself, john 0sborne as direction. and yourself, john osborne as someone direction. and yourself, john 0sborne as someone who has been warning about this? you have to carefully consider how we approach this problem. we are told that the mesh is only causing problems in a small percentage of cases, but that isa small percentage of cases, but that is a significant number of people because thousands of these things have been put in and it has become a quick fix solution. so the fact that it will be banned for the use of prolapse, it looks like, for patients in england, is... well, i can see the logic for that and i think we have to be careful people are working on new meshes and they must be looked at more carefully than they did in the past. we mustn't make the same mistakes we made before. you are in a wheelchair because of a mesh implant for a prolapse. tell our audience what has happened to you since you had this

procedure in 2015? yes. i had the procedure in 2015? yes. i had the procedure in 2015 and the purpose of having it was, i had a significant prolapse and my husband and i for four years couldn't be intimate and we wa nted four years couldn't be intimate and we wanted to have another child, we have one child, a six—year—old and we we re have one child, a six—year—old and we were told this was the only way to put everything back into place so we could naturally continue. so, with that advice we carried on and at six weeks i had a miscarriage and then i phoned and said you know i have had a miscarriage and asked if it was to do with the mesh and they said no, it is perfectly fine. try again in another month and we got pregnant again. we had scan at seven—and—a—half weeks and the ba by‘s seven—and—a—half weeks and the baby's heartbeat was fine and president baby was fine, butjust growing in an unusual position, the ba by‘s growing in an unusual position, the baby's heart stopped, but it took five weeks for the baby to pass

through the mesh and the baby was in pieces. every month i have been in agony and i have been on the floor in crippling pain. it has got worse and worse. i have had several hospital admissions. and worse. i have had several hospitaladmissions. i'm and worse. i have had several hospital admissions. i'm on nine different drugs to help the pain, but on a daily basis, i am on a five out of ten, six out of ten pain and i have the pain attacks where nothing can touch it. even when i have been in an ambulance and 2 had 20 milligrams of morphine, it can't touch the pain. i have to sit on the floor and breathe through it and i have to wait for it to pass and it can come on at any time. i have it had to cut down what particular do to 10% what i can do because any movement increases the pain and... how do you know it's the mesh? movement increases the pain and... how do you know it's the mesmm movement increases the pain and... how do you know it's the mesh? it is because it didn't happen before the mesh and i have had an mri and the mesh and i have had an mri and the mesh is entangled into my bowel and it is attached to my uterus in several places. it is a mess in there and all of that has been

pulled in different directions and that's what is causing the pain and how they have done the surgery, they have wrapped the mesh around my uterus and attached it to my spine so it is strangling my uterus so the babies didn't have a chance and it is awful. what do you think about that? i agree it should be banned. i wa nt told that? i agree it should be banned. i want told about any of these things. they knew i wanted to try for more children and it is shocking that they allowed me to do that knowing that they have taken mesh out of other people in the same month it was put inside of me and not given me any of these things so i could make an informed decision. it has ruined my life. is that how you feel? it has ruined my life. don't feel? it has ruined my life. don't feel like me anymore. i'm so sorry. do you mind me asking how old are you? 41. right, 0k. how does this impact on the way you are with your six—year—old? impact on the way you are with your six-year-old? it's very difficult because i have to use a mobility

scooter to take her to the park, and i have still got the motherly instincts and she is climbing apparatus and she falls, my instincts want to go to her, but i can't, i have to talk her down and tell her to come to me, i can't physically run over and pick her up anymore. it has impacted in a big way. kate, as you're listening to margie, you are relating to a lot of this, the excruciating level of pain which some people don't understand because mesh is tiny and how can it cause this much pain? but in your case it has, you have been admitted to hospital over 50 times. you were given a mesh for incontinence. the guidelines are going to suggest that mesh is banned for prolapse, but not for hernias yet, not for intent nans yet. what would you say about that? i would say there is so many people like me, that are suffering every day, we don't know when there is

going to be an end to it. our lives have been destroyed by mesh. there is so many women out there that get a leaky bladder after they have had a leaky bladder after they have had a baby and so many women are going to go, unknowingly and be given this operation and they could well end up in the same position as myself and there is nearly 4500 other women in out there is nearly 4500 other women in ourcampaign there is nearly 4500 other women in our campaign that's growing every day from your coverage, are going to be affected. the stories are heartbreaking. you have had, some of the mesh removed, but not a final bit, why? basically because of the positioning of it. they don't know how it travelled and got to that position, but it's very close to like my main artery. so my consultant, even though she is an expert in mesh removal, she is not sure or confident she could remove it herself so she will need, i'm going after this to see a vascular surgeon going after this to see a vascular surgeon to see if his input could

possibly help and possibly a trauma surgeon, possibly help and possibly a trauma surgeon, but leaving it, there is the concern that because my mesh was found to be the reason i kept collapsing and like margie on the floor and needing morphine was because it was slicing through my organings, through my vagina. the thought is it could do that to that particular artery so leaving it there, it could kill me or i have there, it could kill me or i have the operation and it is really risky too. now i am left in a situation, it is like my consultant said i'm damned if! it is like my consultant said i'm damned if i do and i'm damned if i don't. i'm not the only person out there, there is so many other women out there in this situation, but we feel like we are ticking time bombs with this thing inside of us that's doing horrendous things to our inside. 0ne viewer says, "i was one of the mesh injured women on your programme in april with my daughter. i had my

mesh removed seven weeks ago. i have got my life back. i can work. i can drive. i can be a mum again. i'm over the moon at the news this morning." tina says, "oh my god i this this operation in 2007. i have only had sex once since and i'm now wheelchair dependant. i'm shocked and horrified that the mesh could be the cause." tina on facebook, "i had a vaginal mesh implant in 2012. plaouf has changed from constant pain if the top of my head to the tips of my toes. constant bowel and bladder incouldn't continence." hi sarah. she has had a p good experience with mesh. thank you for talking to us. i really appreciate it. tell us about your own implant. yes, i had the implant for incontinence last december.

literally the incontinence was ruining my life. i couldn't go on trampolines, i couldn't cough without urinating myself. i had the mesh in december and immediately changed my life for the better. yes. i have no issues whatsoever now. i jog- i have no issues whatsoever now. i jog. i run. i can go on a trampoline. i can laugh and cough without having any leakage whatsoever. and it's horrendous the experience some people have had, but mine is the complete opposite. and you are like the vast majority of people, including to the nra che. they have consistently told us hundreds of thousands of women have mesh implants and the vast majority are very happy with the outcome. the figures suggesting only one in ten

people experience problems. i wonder if you think, and i will askjohn 0sborne this as well, even if you think it is a small minority that have problems, it is still worth having mesh implants, procedures available? i think so. having mesh implants, procedures available? ithink so. i had having mesh implants, procedures available? i think so. i had a liver resection in 2008 and i had to have a hernia repair about four years later and they put mesh when they did the hernia repair. so i have had a hernia repair with mesh and incontinence. i think it has changed my life so positively... they did trial a different type of mesh for my incontinence because they have run out of the mesh of the supply,

they changed the supplier, i don't know if it had anything to do with the positivity i experienced. know if it had anything to do with the positivity i experiencedm might be. john osborne, you know the majority of patients have a good outcome. yes indeed. i wonder if it's disproportionate that mesh implants will be recommended to be banned for treating prolapse. implants will be recommended to be banned for treating prolapselj banned for treating prolapse.” think it would be right for prolapse because that is a slightly different... larger pieces of mesh are more vulnerable places. for incontinence, the vast majority have had good results but you have to be very careful in choosing patients the procedures. the incontinence mesh have been put in younger women with minimum symptoms. the person we just heard from had serious problems —— serious problems but they have been using it for minor incontinence and it might be there for 50 years in young women. and we don't know what it will do in 50 years. we need

to be careful about what we choose to be careful about what we choose to do and how we use it. i think a total ban may be necessary whilst we rethink and find out how many people really have had this problem. thank you very much to all of you for coming on for programme. all the best with the appointment with the co nsulta nts best with the appointment with the consultants afterwards. just to say we invited a minister from the department from health to join us, they declined and referred us join us, they declined and referred us to nice. they said they cannot put anyone up for discussion because the guidelines won't be updated until december the 20th and the current guidelines are subject to change. thank you sarah, appreciate you coming on the programme. send me an e—mail or mesh sewage us on twitter, whatsapp or facebook. still to come... any moment now —

six british menjailed in southern india on weapons charges waiting to hear whether they will be freed, after spending four years behind bars. we will get reaction from their families. and we'll be talking to damejacqueline wilson who last night was awarded the bafta children's special award in recognition of her contribution to childrens tv with the tracey beaker series. time for the latest news, here's annita. the bbc news headlines this morning: authorities in bali have warned a volcano on the island is in danger ofa volcano on the island is in danger of a full—scale eruption. thick clouds of smoke and ash have been travelling thousands of metres into the airsince travelling thousands of metres into the air since saturday. the apple has been closed and locals have been ordered to leave their homes. —— the airport has been close. the families of those killed when a stolen car crashed in leeds at the weekend have paid tribute to their loved ones. brothers ellis and elliott thornton, aged 12 and 15, died along

with 15—year—old darnell harte and 24—year—old robbie meerun. father—of—two anthoney armour, 28, whose partner is pregnant with a third child, also died when a renault clio hit a tree. two 15—year—old boys remain in custody on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving. this programme has learned that the health watchdog — the national institute for health and care excellence — is to recommend that vaginal mesh operations should be banned from treating organ prolapse in england. draft guidelines from nice say the implants should only be used for research, and not routine operations. a growing number of women have reported complications since having the procedure, with many needing wheelchairs, being unable to work or to have sex. that's a summary of the latest bbc news. thank you. a message from debbie said she had a mesh in 2007. for yea rs said she had a mesh in 2007. for years she had no problems but the last couple of years she is in pain

every day with sciatica. she has tried every possible treatment and the hospital cannot get to the cause and have discharged. she is left with no treatment now and constant pain and now wondering if this is linked to the mesh. here's some sport now withjess. good morning. as expected australia have taken a 1—0 lead in the ashes series after wrapping up ten wicket victory in the first test match against england. 0pening batsmen david warner and cameron bancroft got the winning runs at the gabba. 0nce got the winning runs at the gabba. once again, england's field conduct has come under scrutiny, after it was alleged wicketkeeperjonny ba i rstow was alleged wicketkeeperjonny bairstow head—butted bancroft a month ago in a nightclub. both men said there was no malice involved. manchester city remain unbeaten at the top of the premier league. they beat huddersfield 2—1 to move eight points clear of manchester united. celtic‘s dominance in scotland

continues, they won their fourth domestic trophy in a row, claiming the scottish league cup after beating motherwell 2—0 at hampden park. more sportjust after 10am. thank you very much. next, damejacqueline wilson has been writing children's books for more than three decades. your kids will definitley have read some of them — the story of tracy beaker, girls in love, hetty feather and the illustrated mum — and last night she was awarded the bafta children's special award in recognition of her contribution to children's tv, with the tracey beaker series. you're the most useless foster mother in the world, i hate you! this is mine, i love this and you stole it. i didn't steal it! i can't take any more dishonesty. you're the dishonest one, you're the one that pretended you are going to stick by me and look after me, and i stuck by you. i didn't dump you when you were being a terrible foster mum! i'm not dumping you.

then say, "let's go home, tracey, we'll manage somehow". say it. tracey, let's go inside. don't worry, i'm coming, and i didn't steal your precious teapot! you're the worst foster mother, i never want to see you again! in case your half dozen brain cells rubbing together giving you a headache, wondering why i came back... jacqueline wilson's books aren't about fantasy or wizards, they're about real life and regularly deal with issues like adoption, mental health, bullying and divorce. she's written 107 books and i'm delighted to say she joins us now. is that right, 107? i think so, it doesn't seem real but it is. congratulations on your award. thank you, i was so surprised, a bafta, you, i was so surprised, a bafta, you expect glamorous actors getting one. it will be in pride of place.

mind you, it is so heavy! what does winning something like that mean to you? it was so touching, in that they had clips from many different television adaptations and it sort of brings it home to me, how lucky i've been with all of them, they've all been fantastic. and meeting up with people from long ago. it was an amazing night. it is not often you get the chance to rewind through your life and see what happened. what do you think about the quality of children's television in britain? these days? i think probably compared to other countries, occasionally in the past when i have beenin occasionally in the past when i have been in america or australia, i think we are way up there and we should be very proud. do you worry about the fact that children... it sounds bizarre asking this question, the fact children are watching less television because mostly they are spending hours on youtube? exactly.

i think it is always the case that whatever children are doing, we worry about it. i would imagine that as long as things are carefully monitored... that's the point, they are not at. there is some amazing stuff on youtube but awful stuff as well. it is this access that so many people, and also, i think what really is a worrying thing about children's television or whatever it is there watching, it is often done in the privacy of their own bedrooms rather than in the kind of family viewing area. not only because of the worry about what they might secretly be watching, but it takes away family time and sort of gathering around the television and laughing at something, or discussing some particular issue. i know pa rents

some particular issue. i know parents can't be there all the time, but it would be nice if they had slightly more access, to see what their children were watching. not necessarily made teenagers, because they are not going to want to sit down. primary aged school television, you would say don't have a television in your children's bedroom? while i wouldn't say don't! of course you wouldn't advise mums and dads what you would do but if you had a preference. certainly i wouldn't have liked it, i don't think, if my daughter when she was ten was off in another room, just doing her own thing there. what about the time children spend reading? is it enough? do you understand why it's not more?” reading? is it enough? do you understand why it's not more? i try very, very hard. ifeel like some evangelical person trying to spread the joys of evangelical person trying to spread thejoys of reading. i think if small children are read to and

associate it with snuggling up with someone and having fun together and if the family breeds themselves, i think children catch the habit quite easily. i think it's sad that children and reading perhaps as much as they were in my generation all yours, but certainly there are so many other alternatives. it's a weird thing, because you have a huge, huge phenomenon of the really, really successful books and it becomes like the harry potter books area becomes like the harry potter books are a global thing, and yet on an everyday basis am fully aware children aren't reading as much as they used to. because they are on their phones and an apps. they are indeed. let me ask you about the real—life element of the stories you write. i don't know if you like the word critique, but that's a word that comes to mind. i think they are gritty. yes, i think that's a good

thing. some people say you shouldn't necessarily expose children to divorce, bullying, death, because it ta kes divorce, bullying, death, because it takes away their childhood. what do you say to that? i absolutely understand this but i think adults are kidding themselves if they don't realise that children are wearable these things, if not through their peers in the playground, or the other things they do watch on television, on youtube. i think if you deal with these things as responsibly as you can, not putting ina responsibly as you can, not putting in a horrible gratuitous details, trying to do it from a child's point of view and trying to be reassuring, i think it does help. but also, and i don't want to have this depressing sort of little self—help books for children, i want them to be entertaining, i want them to be fun as well, but to show that nowadays children do half to cope with quite a lot of things, but it isn't

necessarily all gloom and despair, you can get through difficult situations. luke says how did you come up with the idea for tracey beaker? that was because i think the rules have changed and suddenly in local newspapers use of photographs of real children in care homes, who they were looking for foster parents for. i saw these photos of these endearing kids, some of them smiling so hopefully, some sticking their tongues out and mucking around and i thought, what must it be like to be a child in this circumstance? and being a writer i thought immediately, a good subject for a book! i reset and luckily enough i have a dearfriend book! i reset and luckily enough i have a dear friend who works for the fostering network, so i could make sure my facts were right. ifound writing about tracey beaker a lot of fun. what do you think about, in terms of primary school in particular, the literacy element of

the curriculum ? particular, the literacy element of the curriculum? i think it's a shame, in that there was a particularly wonderful traditional children's festival i used to take pa rt children's festival i used to take part in every year, and then suddenly hardly any schools were coming and missing out the chance of meeting about 20 different authors, seeing plays and doing all sorts of book quizzes. the organiser phoned up book quizzes. the organiser phoned up the school is and why, why don't you want any more? they said, we have to do our literacy lesson. it just seemed ironic that we can't just... we are so prescriptive now, we have to do things in a certain way. i feel sorry for teachers, because they can't necessarily... if some particular topic happens, they content, whole we could read about this or write a poem about it or whatever they have more or less to stick to the curriculum. 0bviously we wa nt stick to the curriculum. 0bviously we want all our children to be literate, but we also, i would think

i want them to enjoy reading and writing. can you not do both? beaker certainly children are told to write in a particular way and remember how many paragraphs to put and to put in different clauses. do you think they don't need to know what a subordinate clause is?” don't think they do, as long as it is reasonably clearly expressed. u nless is reasonably clearly expressed. unless you are going to grow up and write government papers, who needs this sort of thing? natalie says, "i wa nt to this sort of thing? natalie says, "i want to say thank you to jacqueline wilson, i was taken into foster care asa wilson, i was taken into foster care as a child. i went through a period of not wanting to talk to anyone. i read the bed and breakfast star. i was able to get a passion for english from this and i tried harder. i was able to make it through a teaching degree at university in the end."”

through a teaching degree at university in the end." i have got prickles up and down my arm. 0h, natalie, you're wonderful and i'm glad that reading has actually helped you become such a high achieving person. brendan says, "congratulations to ms wilson, well deserved award. bbc children's is the best in the world and it is appreciated by adults." are there some areas, subject areas that you wouldn't tackle, sexual abuse for example? i think you have to be extremely careful. i certainly would shy away from such complex and difficult subject and you have to remember that although perhaps 95% of children would be upset by something, but then move on. i wouldn't like to seriously disturb any child. i think if you feel there

isa any child. i think if you feel there is a burning need to write about something then do it as appropriate way as you can because we've all got to be responsible and my goodness me, i remember as to be responsible and my goodness me, i rememberas a to be responsible and my goodness me, i remember as a little girl watching things and it doesn't do to have a vivid imagination when you go to bed and have nightmares, i wouldn't want any television adaptations of my books to have that effect on children. thank you very much for talking to us and congratulations again. thank you, victoria. coming up: we'll have the latest from leeds, as the five victims of a crash that saw a stolen car smash into a tree in a city suburb are named. the british ex—wife of a man in islamic state describes herjourney out of extremism. she met her husband john online and they

connected over their islamist views. they moved to syria with their children tojoin is. but they moved to syria with their children to join is. but tanya decided she wanted out. she has been speaking to a bbc asian network correspondent. my name is tanya. for a decade i was an islamic extremist. i'm hoping to counter his ideology. in the late 1990s, tanya went to harrow. i grew up here myself and went to school three miles down the road. i didn't know her at the time, but know many people who did, they described her as a normal teenager. they say she sometimes had boyfriends and played truant from school. she wasn't known to be especially religious. so when did it change? i turned to religion when i

was 17. i wanted to change my identity. i didn't want to be tanya from harrow anymore. i wanted to be someone that people didn't call a ta rt. someone that people didn't call a tart. so it gave me a structure in my life that i needed and it helped me feel like i belonged somewhere like a likeafamily like a family or community. like a family or a community that embraced me. as long as i complied to what they were comfortable with islamically. in her late teens and early twenties tania mixed with various radical groups in london. it changed the way she looked at the world. 0ur minds were being filled with these images, terrible disturbing images. they would give examples of what happened in srebrenica and bosnia. we were made to view this shared sense of guilt because we were community and it was our duty to do something. and that something was jihad. i looked up to al-qaeda, the taliban, anyone that was trying to protect muslims, protect the honour of muslims. what made me particularly

depressed about 7/7 was that shahara islam was on the bus. and she had been a classmate of mine in my lower class. i just thought it was very unfair that somebody should lose their life that young. an innocent muslim dies and an innocent non—muslim dies. that was how we justified it. it's wrong but that was the way of thinking back then. by the time of 7/7 she was married to john georgelas, he was an american convert she had met online. he was clearly intelligent, he was charming, he was my first love, and we were best friends. my way of contributing was raising sons that would grow up to be in the mujahideen army or scholars and academics, i wanted them

to contribute to the cause. they moved to the united states and had children. after the arab uprisings in 2011, the family moved to egypt. john thought it was an ideal place to raise their sons as jihadists but tania was starting to have doubts. one day for some reason one of my sons came in with a grenade to show me. i don't think it was a working grenade, but i lost my temper and pulled out my kitchen knife atjohn, i was like, "don't you ever do this again. i don't want my sons near these things. i don't want them near the guns". the buildings i stayed in, they were abandoned homes by ex—military. the windows had been blown out and every single night, i had become accustomed to hearing gunfire. it was hard. i mean, my marriage was breaking down, which was like my life

at the time, and i didn't know what to do. there were bullets, like snipers in these towers, shooting, and we could see the bullets flying everywhere. i remember putting my kids through the barbed wire and seeing refugees, they were just guys, they were helping us as much as we could, i put the stroller in and thenjohn passed me another baby. it was so scary. gunfire. the last thing he told me, the last message, was, that he apologises for the wrong that he's done to me

and the children, he prays that we will be muslims, and that if i don't hear from him in six months, it's most likely because he's dead because he has to fight because the fight is drawing closer to where he lives. it was a relief to come back and not have to practise islam. it was a nice break and it gave me the opportunity to just read other things, like other than just focusing on one subject, one area, just islam, i got to focus on now all different religions. i had the freedom to think, that's what america gave me, without fear. hi! how does it make you feel to look back at these photos and see your son and his father, who have been separated forfour years? it makes me feel really sad.

i feel worse for the children than i do forjohn, because he made his own decision and he got what he wanted at the end of the day. i wish i could turn everything around and go back but i have learned a lot from my mistakes. that's all you can do, isn't it? i regret the choices that i have made. especially when it comes to my children. ijust really wish i had had better intentions for them. i wish i had given them a stable lifestyle. why should america give you a second chance, given all that you did to propagate extremism against this country? i didn't contribute to any violence but my ex—husband only did after i left him. i think they should give me a second chance because i realised

i was wrong and i'd made a mistake, and i really want to make up for my mistakes. i would like to pursue a career where i can help rehabilitate extremist radicals, give them that sense of community and provide them with skills and education so that they can reintegrate into society and be good citizens. jihadists need to be heard because if we don't know their arguments and how poor their arguments are, we're not going to be able to discuss and refute them. i think knowledge will free people from this idea of thinking that war and jihad and violence causes progression. it doesn't. it doesn't achieve anything. if you were to meet a woman who was thinking of going down the same path that you once took, what would you say to her? i'd say, i lost my family, i lost my home, i lost ten years of my life that i should have been working at towards my

education and a career. i have four children who don't have a dad now. is this the situation you want to be in? more on that on the asian network throughout the day. let's get the latest weather update with matt taylor. december, of course, on friday. the start of the winter as well. nature has taken its lead early. rather cold conditions to come for most of you this week. temperatures below where they should be for the time of year and to where they should be for the time of yearand to go where they should be for the time of year and to go with that a mixture of sunshine and wintry showers possible just about anywhere by the time we get to thursday, but there will be a lot of dry weather too. 0ut there, the mildest conditions of the week. particularly in southern areas. colder air is pushing down behind this cold front which brought a wet start today across southern counties. notice this area of low

pressure towards the east of scotland. that's bringing strong winds. that will make it feel raw and the showers, a mixture of rain, hail, sleet and snow. sleet and snow mixed in with the showers and hills of northern ireland and northern england, elsewhere, good breaks between the showers. a fair amount of sunshine. but into the afternoon, we've got the cold front still lingering across the channel islands. blustery winds here. 11 celsius in st helier. temperatures will drop through the afternoon and the start of the evening. further showers continue across wales and sleet and snow over the hills. the same too in northern ireland and to western and northern parts of scotland. north—east scotland, where you have got gales or severe gales continuing throughout. it will feel raw here. the winds remain blustery for all overnight. temperatures holding around two celsius in some of the towns and cities. dropping below

that in the countryside. it will be a chilly start to tomorrow morning. uk—wide. showers across northern scotland, northern ireland and wales and swention. tomorrow morning sta rts and swention. tomorrow morning starts off with sunshine. a lovely, crisp start, but it will feel chilly. colder than this morning. tomorrow, fewer showers in the west. there will be some in northern ireland and south—west england in particular. more showers across eastern counties of england and eastern scotland. these will turn wintry and with the strongest of the winds in eastern areas temperatures more like close to freezing. some of the best of the weather tomorrow. that will be the same again on wednesday. high pressure to the west of us, low pressure to the east. the door is open to the north winds which mean temperatures will continue to drop on wednesday. showers across the western fringes of wales, and into cornwall and further showers down eastern counties of england in particular. again, they will turn wintry. a very raw feel. it will feel like temperatures around freezing for much of the country. colder still on

thursday. hello it's monday, it's 10 o'clock, i'm victoria derbyshire. our top story today: eight months after we first revealed that hundreds of women were suing manufacturers and the nhs over mesh implants they'd had — this programme has learned that the health watchdog is advising the nhs to ban the procedure for treating prolapse in england. 0n the basis of five out of ten, six out of ten pain, and then i have these pain attacks where nothing can touch it, even when i've been in an ambulance and had 20 mg of morphine it hasn't touched the pain. i literally have to sit on the floor and breathe through it, there is nothing i can do about it, ijust have to wait for it to pass. a few are seeing —— a viewer e—mailed to say they had one and found a piece of it floating on the bath. this stuff is lee and

shouldn't be put in the body. also this morning: thousands of people are being taken to court and threatened with prison over council tax arrears every year — we've an exclusive repor. i just didn't know what to expect, where i was. it was absolutely horrific. i was worrying about the kids. nobody can prepare you for it. we'll hear from one council leader whose own authority started court proceedings threatening prison against 19 people over council tax debt. six men have been in prison in southern india for four years over weapons charges. we find out shortly if they are to be released. i think we can talk to them straightaway, actually. good morning yvonne, the fiancee of billy irving and joanne tomlinson, sister ofjohn. have you heard? yes, we've just tomlinson, sister ofjohn. have you heard? yes, we'vejust had tomlinson, sister ofjohn. have you heard? yes, we've just had a text. we don't know, it's not confirmed,

not come from the lawyer but from one of ourfriend not come from the lawyer but from one of our friend who is at the court and said that all of them have been released! i'm still slightly apprehensive, until we hear from the lawyer for definite, but that's the news that we've just got. i'm just struggling to believe it until we get an official update. text saying good news, all six have been released, our present worked. we have to wait for the lawyer to speak to us. and get the detail. you need official confirmation but a text from your friend official confirmation but a text from yourfriend in official confirmation but a text from your friend in the court is telling you that all the men have been released? yes, yes. wow. i think until we hear officially from the lawyer, i wouldn't expect that to be incorrect information, but i think because it is such an important verdict, we do want

confirmation from the legal team. which is activity fair enough. thank you yvonne and joanne for the moment. we will wait for that official confirmation. fingers crossed. we will be back with you shortly. i can also bring you this news as well. clarence house have just announced in the last few seconds that prince harry is to marry his american girlfriend meghan markle. congratulations to them. prince harry is going to marry his american actress girlfriend, meghan markle. there has been speculation for months, particularly when it was reported she was moving her dogs from canada to britain, which some people took as absolute confirmation that of course they were going to get engaged to be married, because otherwise why would you be moving your dogs to farfrom otherwise why would you be moving your dogs to far from home? those kind of engagement rumours have been at fever pitch, depending on which website newspaper you read. but it has been confirmed in the last few

moments from clarence house that prince harry is going to get married and is marrying his american actress girlfriend, meghan markle. wasn't long ago he warned the media off reporting on her every move, it seemed. he sent as very strongly worded statement saying they should effectively leave her alone, clearly with the experience of what happened to his own mother he stepped in very early on to effectively urge for her privacy. i suspect that websites, broadcasters, radio stations, newspapers will be full of this news, despite that plea from six months or so ago, because prince harry is going to marry his american girlfriend meghan markle. we will bring you reaction to that news. some websites and newspapers were on stand—by for this, because quite a

lot of people like a royal wedding. it doesn't say when in the statement. a very short statement from clarence house. just that they are to get married a potentially next year, you'd have thought, wouldn't you ? next year, you'd have thought, wouldn't you ? —— prince harry getting engaged. no details as to when or where. they have been going out for over a year orso, if my have been going out for over a year or so, if my memory serves me correctly. the rumours around whether they were going to get engaged at fever pitch. i'm just going to bring you a few more details about the both of them, if you will bear with me on second. you may have read in one of the sunday papers that it was supposed to be announced last thursday, because

a p pa re ntly announced last thursday, because apparently the prime minister theresa may had cleared her schedule for a possible engagement announcement. that obviously didn't happen. and they have just announced it in the last few minutes. prince harry is to marry meghan markle. parboil editor nicholas witchel is here on his phone. hello. hello. prince harry is getting married. yes, finally announced, the wedding in spring of next year. further details about the wedding will be announced in due course. they became engaged apparently earlier this month, in london. we don't know much more about that. prince harry has informed the queen and other close members of his family. prince harry has also sought and received the

blessing of meghan markle's parents, who are in the united states. they will live at the cottage in kensington palace. the wedding in the spring, presumably after the arrival of his brother's new baby. spring. so it will be westminster abbey or st paul's? we don't know. that raises the interesting question as to whether it can be a church wedding, because she is a divorcee. it becomes a matter for the archbishop of canterbury. archbishop justin welby has indicated he is not adverse to the idea of a church wedding. i think it is possible for the charge, given harry was not involved in the break—up of her marriage, they didn't even know each other at the time. so it is another indication of how far the british establishment has moved, that the

church of england quite possibly will sanction and perform a church wedding. the other really striking thing is a significant member of the royalfamily thing is a significant member of the royal family marrying an american divorcee, who is, as she says, proudly, a strong, confident mixed race woman. that is the other extraordinary thing. that all the confrontations and resonance of an american divorcee caused on king to give up his throne. a long time ago... 80 years ago. within the royal family there be just that... 0ooh". royal family there be just that... 0ooh... but it is sending a strong signal of how far society, the royal family, all of us have moved. bill royle family specifically how far they have moved, perhaps less so for society. —— the royalfamily. the question of whether they will be married in a church because she is a

divorcee, my understanding is it is down to the parish vicar. yes. an individual decision because each individual decision because each individual parish has its own rules depending on how liberal or otherwise the vicar is. westminster abbey is a royal peculiar so the dean of westminster can essentially do what he likes. but i think in this instance it will be a matter for the archbishop to decide. it would be very curious for them to go off to some small parish somewhere. there are all sorts of candidates for a church wedding if it is to be a church wedding. st paul's, as you say... the guards chapel, which is much smaller, where harry made a memorable speech on the tenth anniversary of his mother's death. also st george ‘s chapel at windsor, a rather more intimate setting, a rather smaller and more family orientated environment. the further

details about the wedding day will be announced in due course. i'm quite sure they will have given close consideration to that. i have no doubt archbishop justin welby close consideration to that. i have no doubt archbishopjustin welby has been consulted, because i think we we re been consulted, because i think we were certainly hearing rumours he had been sounded out as to the possibility of there being a church wedding and weather in view of the fa ct wedding and weather in view of the fact she is a divorcee, whether the church of england would feel able to perform a church wedding. i think, asi perform a church wedding. i think, as i said, he has indicated it is not a problem. how old is prince harry, early 305? not a problem. how old is prince harry, early 30s? 33. she is 36. they met in june harry, early 30s? 33. she is 36. they met injune of last year. her father over to her —— a retired cameraman from hollywood and she and actress somewhat of a retired actress somewhat of a retired actress now. her life is going to change dramatically. it is. one

might suppose that her acting career puts her in a better position to cope with the public facing nature of the role she will take on. she clearly is motivated about having a public career. a charitable career. she is already quite noted for her contributions as the un woman of the year, or in that sort of forum. so she is confident about putting herself out there in the public domain. but i sense there will need to be an adjustment to the public domain here in the united kingdom, rather than the public domain and the united states, which is what she is used to. i think she has spent very little time in this country and the intelligent woman she is, she will need a little adaptation. the intelligent woman she is, she will need a little adaptationm wasn't that long ago that he released a very strongly worded

statement to members of the media, effectively asking them to back off following her around. yes. indeed it was. about this time last year, i think, that that long statement was issued on his behalf. whether it was entirely wise in a sense... it sounded rather vexed. he felt strongly about it, for obvious reasons. members of the royal family feel strongly about all sorts of things but don't necessarily put out a page long statement but he was clearly determined to protect her from some of the innuendo they felt was appearing in some of the coverage, to do with her mixed—race ancestry. but then, of course, not so long ago she gives an interview to an american magazine saying yes, we are in love. so there is a little bit of attention, volunteering

herself for an interview in a mass circulated publication. when you are in love, you are in love, and she is enough with prince harry, of course you want to shout it from the rooftops! of course, and now we all know they are. wedding in the spring. we await confirmation of exactly where. but the build—up to organising that is going to consumer not only the royal family but many members of the media for the next however many months. we note some people don't like over the top reporting about royal weddings but it's going to happen! it is, yes. and we are mindful of the fact that not everybody is a monarchist, not everybody will be carried away with excitement about this, but a good many people will. you can be sure that the magazines and particularly

the american broadcasters are going to get very excited. wow, they really will. an american marrying into the british royalfamily, fifth in line to the throne, though he will slip down to six once the cambridges have their third baby. 0ne cambridges have their third baby. one would have thought that meghan markle would have had significant conversations with the duchess of cambridge about the change that is about to happen. you know, the transformation that is about to happen in her life. yes, i'm sure she has that dynamic will be an important one. we know how close and harry are, so she is now entering not just a marriage harry are, so she is now entering notjust a marriage with harry, but the family relationship and the particularfamily the family relationship and the particular family dynamic which will be important will be with william and catherine, because i think harry has felt rather lonely and solitary

over these recent years, when he has seen william and catherine happily married with their growing family. i think that is certainly underlined harry's solitude, as it were. i think he is 33 and he's been keen to find the right person. there were two other people who were clearly significant in his life, but neither of those relationships worked out, as we know. so injune of last year he met this actress, meghan markle, tony was introduced. apparently he was a great fan of hers from the suits, the drama she was in and soon—to—be married. suits, the drama she was in and soon-to-be married. have you watched it? i confess i haven't, notes. why doesn't that surprise me?! no, i haven't. i have a statement from meghan markle's parents actually. thomas

markle. they have said they are incredibly happy with the couple's engagement adding, "we wish them a lifetime of happiness. " engagement adding, "we wish them a lifetime of happiness." so meghan markle's parents really, really happy. delighted at the news. we wish them a lifetime of happiness say meghan markle's parents. indeed, there is a statement from the duke and duchess of cambridge. they have said, "we are very excited for happy and meghan it has been wonderful getting to know meghan and seeing how happy she and harry are. it will be important to harry and meghan to adjust and feel that they are comfortable with each other. i'm going to bring in a former royal bodyguard. good morning to you. good

morning, nick. how do you react to this happy news? i think it's good news for harry. certainly good news for his brother. i must admit i thought he might wait untiljanuary or february and let the celebrations of his granny's continue, but it was always on the cards and what is interesting here, it is going to be a massive change for her, certainly, moving into the royal family, but the great thing about the royal family, it has changed over the last 20 or 30 years and become a much more modernistic piece of royalty. i think it will be great fun moving into it. i am pleased for harry. he isa into it. i am pleased for harry. he is a greater celebrity to meghan markle and that's what endears him to the public whether you are a republicist or a monarchist.

to the public whether you are a republicist or a monarchistm to the public whether you are a republicist or a monarchist. it is wonderful that they found each other and they are moving forwards in their life together particularly when you think about how open he has beenin when you think about how open he has been in the last 12 months when he talked about the death of his mother for the first time publicly really and the impact, the impact that that has had on him growing up. well, i think certainly what's happened, we have seen he and his brother speak very publicly over the past 12 months. this is classic harry. i just think that's it's great for him and it's great for his brother. it would appear that they have got complete support from every member of the royal family. ijust think he found meghan in the way that his brother found kate. there was no more arranged marriages. you could say his own mother was the last of the arranged marred anltion, the one that didn't work and this is a new

beginning and! that didn't work and this is a new beginning and i wish him well. thank you very much for talking to us. ken wharf a former bodyguard for princess diana. prince harry is going to marry his american actress girlfriend, meghan markle. we will bring you more reaction. before that, we will go back to the breaking news in the last few minutes that we've had confirmation that six british menks known as the chennai six, accused of arms smuggling have been acquitted by an indian court. let's speak again to some of their families. yvonne machugh is the fiance of billy irving. joanne thomlinson is the sister ofjohn armstrong. we spoke to you after you had a text

from a friend who was in the courtroom, but it wasn't officially confirmed. so you were hoping and hoping and hoping it was true. and now it is true. the men are going to be released. it has been confirmed by the lawyers, yes. i was so nervous of giving the wrong news or that i was going to be saying something incorrect which is why i looked so uncomposed earlier, but we wa nted looked so uncomposed earlier, but we wanted to make sure it was 100% true. all 35 men that are in prison in india have been cleared. wow. how do you react, yvonne? how do you react? i don't know. i don't know how i feel. i feel sheer relief. finally we're getting our family back together. finally all the men are going to be home with their families. they have been acquitted of all charges so they have done no wrongdoing and we have proven that

will. and we have praoven it in court and we will get them home. i don't know. i'm so happy and just so relieved that everything that we've done hasn't been in vain and that we have got them home finally.” done hasn't been in vain and that we have got them home finally. i think we have the moment when you did initially hear and we're just going to play this for our audience now if that's all right. let's look at this. is mum 0k? 0k. this. is mum 0k? ok. i love you. i'll phone you later, ok? bye. that's really you two still trying to find out for sure to be fair. this, for the people who don't know this story. this has been four years now, that they have been injail, you have been fighting for four yea rs you have been fighting for four years to get them home. your

fiancee, your brother, they were security guards, they were on a ship. the ship had gone into southern indian ocean waters and the paperwork was checked and everything was fine and then suddenly things change add couple of weeks later. just fill our audience in with what happened with the twists and turns over the last few years? so the ship was called into port by the coastguard. the captain declared there were weapons on board. the coastguard brought them into port and then searched the ship for a week. took all the men off the ship and said because they had been held on the ship for a week they had been tone a hospital and they were taken straight to prison and that was all 35 men from the chef to the captain that were on board the ship. since then we have had only what can be described as a legal roller—coaster. the men were held without charge and charged three months later and released on bail and the charges we re released on bail and the charges were dropped against them in 2014. but there were then held in india

without charge for 18 months because the police appealed to the supreme court against the charges being quashed and that led to the men standing trial and being convicted to five years last january. we launched appeal quickly to the high court against the conviction in february last year and this is just getting the verdict right now for that appeal. wow. yvonne, you and billy have a little boy, william, i've met him. now is he now? he will be three at the end of february. he doesn't know yet that his dad is coming home. he doesn't, no. i sent him to nursery this morning. he is with my mum. so, ijust wanted everything to be as normal as possible. obviously, if the news broke and it want in our favour, i didn't want him to see mum upset or for anything to change, but now i can go home and let him know that his dad is coming home. wow. do you have any idea when? no,

we don't. so obviously the charges we re we don't. so obviously the charges were quashed against the men and they were released in 2014 and they weren't allowed to leave the country at that point. they still need to get police clearance before they can come home. so there are steps being taken to try to ensure that everything is in place that they can come back as quickly as possible, but we don't have a time frame for that yet. ok. so billy, yvonne, has only seen your little boy when you have made trips out there? yeah, that's right. so he has never had a day at home with his son. i went over when william was three months old and we saw billy then. he was actually out, the all then. he was actually out, the all the charges had been dropped at that point so he was out of prison and able to enjoy two weeks with his son in india. afterthat, the able to enjoy two weeks with his son in india. after that, the second two times i have been out there he has beenin times i have been out there he has been in prison. so it has been behind bars that he saw his son. so, it will be hugely emotional for

billy and for myself and i think our whole family to see them both together and just to be a family again and that billy can start building a bond like a father should have with his son and get to take him to nursery and just everything, play football, everything we have always dreamed of that we can do as always dreamed of that we can do as a family really. so, yes. amazing. amazing. i knowjoanne you have got back fromivity having john, how was he? that's right. so he was staying incredibly strong. he was in quite good spirits. at the point i went over to india, we weren't aware there was going to be any movement in court, it was a coincidence when i was there, we found out that there would be a judge's verdict within 14 days. i think he was sceptical about it. we have had four years of ups and downs and he was really trying to remain level about the whole thing and not get his hopes up because the fall if your hopes is

dashed is so much further. so, he was looking remarkably well and healthy, but i just, was looking remarkably well and healthy, but ijust, i wish i could see the reaction of those men when they found out that they are going to be released. yvonne, i think you have just returned from visiting billy, is that right? that's right, myself and joanne went out together. sorry. how was he? he was fantastic to be honest with you. he was making me laugh. he was reassuring me that he was ok, but you could see there was a sadness in his eyes that is still there four years on and he didn't really know what to expect from the verdict and his thoughts we re from the verdict and his thoughts were the worst because the worst has always happened to them, but he didn't hold out much hope for this at all. so, ijust wish i could phone him and speak to him. will you get that chance, do you think? no. well, look, it won't be too long

before they are back. we are so pleased for you. thank you so much. thank you so much, and thank you for the support over the last years. it has been incredible, thank you. well, you didn't give up. so well done you. thank you so much. yvonne the fiancee of billy and the sister ofjohn armstrong. they are known along with four other men as the chennai six. a group of six british men alongside various other nationalities, estonians and indians, 35 in total who have been held injailforfour years now after, i mean what would you say, a gross misunderstanding, but injail forfour gross misunderstanding, but injail for four years, but they have been told their appeal has been successful and they are going to be released. they will be on their way home in the not too distant future. the royal family has announced the

engagement of prince harry to his american girlfriend, meghan markle. the queen and the duke of edinburgh are delighted for the couple and wish them every happiness, a buckingham palace spokesman said. nicholas witchell is back with us. so more statements. more messages of congratulations. what do we know about the wedding arrangements? very little. we don't know that it will bea little. we don't know that it will be a church wedding as we were discussing earlier. all we know is it will take place in spring 2018. i think that's probably may, given that william and catherine's baby is due in april. so, that will obviously take its course and harry and meghan will want to have an interval of a couple of weeks perhaps after the baby is born. i would have thought may would be a good bet for a spring 2018 wedding, but for a venue, we don't know. will it be in the church? i would have thought it probably will be, but that as we were saying is a matter

for the church of england because she is a divorcee. and in terms of an american woman, a divorcee, marrying into the royal family, it has happened before, the times are very, very different. what is the significance of that?” times are very, very different. what is the significance of that? i think it's significant victoria on a number of levels. the fact that she is an american dwersee, it is 80 yea rs is an american dwersee, it is 80 years since that brought down a king, edward viii had to give up the throne. how different are the times now? it is not only that, but she is a woman of mixed race. she has an african—american mother. so that makes this a different union and many people, i think, will say that that sends a very positive signal now about the british royal family that a significant member of it,

fifth in line to the throne at the moment, but he is moving down, feels able to take this step and to marry an american divorcee who is a woman of mixed race. now, ithink, you know, in the public reaction to that will be interesting, but i would have thought that it would be overwhelmingly positive because quite clearly they are very much in love as she has said in a magazine interview recently. he, i think is keen to settle down. he is 33 and i am sure they will be starting their own family very quickly. in terms of her background, prince harry in a strongly worded statement last year, effectively called out people who we re effectively called out people who were making racist comments about her. yes, this unpleasant innuendo in some of the coverage. clearly and understandably he found this deeply offensive and challenged it head on.

a very long statement, which some people certainly at the time thought was rather overstated, but it was something they felt deeply and passionately about and he was clearly very motivated to come to her protection. i think was affro nted her protection. i think was affronted by the sorts of comments that some newspapers were making. harry, i think, that some newspapers were making. harry, ithink, is more that some newspapers were making. harry, i think, is more impetuous than his brother. acts quickly, perhaps thinks a bit later, but this is something he felt he wanted to ta ke is something he felt he wanted to take a stand over and he did. then some months later she herself gave that interview to vanity fair magazine in which she declared, yes, he's my boyfriend and we are in love. they haven't been going out that long, may 2016. june, yes. the statement from clarence house in the name of the prince of wales, delighted to announce the engagement of prince harry. it says they became

engaged in london earlier this month. all the talk that they had become engaged earlier this year, perhaps on a trip to africa rather than in the way of william and catherine, is incorrect. so they have only become engaged within the past couple of weeks, apparently. when you saw the repair reports of her apparently moving her dogs over here, did you think they are going to get married? i think everyone thought that, yes, including the rather curiously downing street started to become rather too talkative last week and issuing state m e nts talkative last week and issuing statements indicating that an engagement announcement was expected on friday. i wouldn't be entirely surprised if the palace was really rather affronted at the cheek of downing street spokesman to be intimating that. that may well have been the reason why it didn't happen on friday, i don't know... but i

think harry in particular would wish to do this in his own time and in his own way. so here we are, we have the announcement at ten o'clock this morning. the duke and duchess of cambridge said, we are very excited for harry and meghan. it's been great to get to know meghan and see how happy they are together. meghan markle's parents have said they are incredibly happy with the couple's engagement, adding "we wish them a lifetime of happiness". i'm reading a bit more about meghan markle, because we don't know that much about her. she likes yoga. she is a self—confessed foodie and has her own clothing line. she was very active on instagram and twitter before the relationship started to ta ke before the relationship started to take off and then decided to step back from that. she is involved with world vision canada and as an

ambassadorfor them. world vision canada and as an ambassador for them. she likes carrying through her work as a women that advocates of the un. that would seem to be a feasible area for her to continue in after her marriage, i would think. yes, i think she is clearly comfortable in that role. i think it will be difficult for her to continue her acting career, that is pretty much impossible now. she will, i imagine, become a broiled. chess, but i think there is no reason at all why she shouldn't continue campaigning for those issues about which we feel strongly. —— she will become a royal. harry is very motivated in that direction, with the invictus games and campaigning on the behalf of vetera ns, campaigning on the behalf of veterans, continuing his mother's work. i think those sorts of areas would be areas that they will both wish to concentrate on, alongside william and catherine with their foundations that they have. so yes,

iimagine foundations that they have. so yes, i imagine alongside starting a family, they will also be quite busy with their respective charitable campaigns and so on. heard -- and dogs are called guy and bogart. her mother called her flower. she likes hot food. she can't live without her passport, apparently, travel places huge part in her life. she has the same hairdresser as kim kardashian west. whilst trying to break into the acting word she worked as a freelance calligrapher for dolce and urbana and freelance calligrapher for dolce and urba na and wrote freelance calligrapher for dolce and urbana and wrote some celebrity invitations. whether she will do her own invitations i don't know. she will have someone to do that for her! she speaks spanish, she had a job at the us embassy in buenos aires and perfected her argentinian

spanish after graduating. she once picked harry over william in a quickfire quiz, way before she met harry, she was asked if she preferred the prince or his brother and in the end she picked harry. so good... there we are, yes, yes. right. this is from the prime minister. i would like to offer my warmest congratulations... that is a statement on twitter from theresa may, the prime minister. on the line is stephen bates, former royal correspondent at the guardian, and author of royalty inc: britain's best known brand. hello. good morning. an american divorcee marrying into the royal family in 2018, what do you think?” think it is entirely good news and i am sure it will be welcomed notjust

am sure it will be welcomed notjust a everywhere but mrs may. the government hasn't had a great deal of good news recently, so i'm sure this will be a lifting of the spirits and removal of the pressures for a day or two, anyway. because it distracts people's attention, i think the papers certainly will be full of meghan markle for the next few days, and intermittently over the next six months until the day itself. in terms of prince harry and what he has experienced in his life... we know from the way he has spoken only in the last 12 months or so how really traumatic it was after his mother died. and he talked about that and linked it to maturing and growing up and thinking that it was 0k to talk about these things. perhaps meghan markle had an influence on that. i imagine she

might very well have done. they have obviously known each other for a couple of years now, that's good. like some previous royal dynasty is, including his father in —— who didn't know each other before they got married, and now with william and kate and harry and meghan, we are moving into an era where royals know there partners before they marry them and are very used to them and can share interests with them. soi and can share interests with them. so i think from that point of view, it's very good news. the great british public usually like, usually like a royal wedding, don't they? although some get irritated with what they say is over the top coverage, which is fair enough, i suppose? yes. i think certainly the

crowds will turn out on the day, depending on where and in what circumstances meghan and harry get married. nick witchell was talking about a church wedding. i guess that would be a fairly high priority. certainly the queen and the duke of edinburgh would like that. and i guess charles and camilla, as well. i would think there will be a royal wedding. it will be in a church and in britain, i guess. but we don't know, we just don't know. karen says this is brilliant news. peter has tweeted, why can't meghan markle continue acting? that doesn't seem fair. what would you say about that? i guess she could. i suppose she would have to choose her parts with ca re would have to choose her parts with care but i imagine there would be a long queue of agents and executives

from television and film companies a king to get her a starring role. —— aching to get her a starring role. if she is happy with that, i guess it's a possibility. another asks why does it matter meghan markle is mixed race? what is the significance of that? it is not entirely unknown royals have married people of mixed race before. i think people in this country, certainly, are very co mforta ble country, certainly, are very comfortable with that these days. 50 yea rs comfortable with that these days. 50 years ago it might have been an issue, would have been an issue then. but today, i would issue, would have been an issue then. but today, iwould have thought people would take it as not only absolutely commonplace but rather welcome that the royal family has moved into that generation as well. ok. thank you very much. the

royal correspondent at the guardian. a couple of people already tweeting, saying we should be leaving them alone, as harry pleaded last year. well, we can't really leave them alone today they have announced their engagement block clearly as their engagement block clearly as the weeks go by there will be a lot of people who increasingly will feel that. but there really is undoubted significant public interest in the wedding of prince harry to meghan markle. we will, along with the media, be reflecting that interest, hopefully without going on about it too much. yes. let's speak to christopher lee. he's a historian and friend of the duke of edinburgh. hello, how are you? hello. what you make of this news? i want to know he will become the duke of sussex. why do want to know that? because when a

prince gets married, just before he is actually married, they normally give him something like the duke of something. i think duke of sussex is available, and therefore what is he going to do about his showgirl? will she becomes the duchess or will it be like princess royal, who says mountbatten windsor... she is not of royal blood, so she is not a princess and her own right. that's right. she will be former princess henry of wales, in the same way as catherine is princess william of wales. but the queen is very minded to follow the traditional route, and as christopher says, to give them a dukedom, a royal dukedom. there are any number which dukedom, a royal dukedom. there are any numberwhichl dukedom, a royal dukedom. there are any number which i think are vacant. christopher is mentioning feeds duke

of sussex. there's the duke of clare nce of sussex. there's the duke of clarence on all kinds of other things. i would clarence on all kinds of other things. iwould imagine, as christopher says, that just things. iwould imagine, as christopher says, thatjust before the wedding harry will be created the wedding harry will be created the duke of something or other and she will become the duchess of something or other. sussex is good! why not, yes. i have my money on sussex. as an historian you are allowed to be interested in things like that. more broadly, how do you react to this news? i think it is tremendous, in as much as if you go back to 1947, and with the wedding and comeback not so far to the wedding of the prince of wales, it a lwa ys wedding of the prince of wales, it always strikes me that when things are bit miserable, the weather is lousy, we've got it wrong about politics, or seem to have got it wrong about politics, what indeed every time if something like the

fairyland affair. —— what we need is a fairyland affair. he has probably, asa a fairyland affair. he has probably, as a guest, probably the most popular prints or member of the royalfamily, outside popular prints or member of the royal family, outside the queen herself, so i think it will attract the sort of attention and speculation and good fun that the country probably needs quite at the moment. it's interesting that you talk about he's one of the most popular members of the royal family. he has had some tricky times over the years with one more two incidents he has been involved in? he certainly has, yes. he was the impetuous younger sibling, wasn't he? so impetuous younger sibling, wasn't he ? so often impetuous younger sibling, wasn't he? so often is the way, getting in trouble but getting away with it. there was the strip billiards incident in las vegas, the misjudged dressing up in a nazi uniform and going to a party when he was much younger. . .

going to a party when he was much younger... there have been a number of episodes. there was certainly excessive drinking, there was a little bit of dabbling with soft drugs also. so, in fact period, and we shouldn't forget of course after the tragedy of his mother's death, there was an unsettled period in his life, as he's pretty much admitted to. that he was quite psychologically damaged and traumatised by it all. the archbishop of canterbury has released a statement saying he is absolutely delighted to hear the news of prince harry and meghan markle getting married, wishing the many years of love happiness and fulfilment. yes, but he doesn't answer the question we would like to ask him, is he going to permit a church we hadding? if he is that keen to indicate his pleasure and happiness so soon indicate his pleasure and happiness so soon after the announcement, he can hardly stand in the way, but we will wait and see. if they want a

church wedding? i imagine they would. it goes with the job, doesn't it, really? ok. because there will be such a degree of public interest, not only in this country, but in the united states and elsewhere that there needs to be some sort of a major spectacle i would suggest and his father, his grandmother and the re st of his father, his grandmother and the rest of the family will wish to attend a ceremony in a church. yes. and yes, and they can marry in a church of england church despite the fact that she is a divorcee depending on what someone like justin welby says? it is up to the decision of the individual priest or bishop. i think in this case, it would refer up to the archbishop of canterbury. they would have the option of going to a church of scotland church as the princess royal, princess anne did, and she

was married near balmoral. the church of scotland doesn't have that not hang—up, but that rule about marrying divorcees in church. but the church of england is moving away interest that to an extent. i have heard it suggested that archbishop welby has already approved the remarriage of one divorcee in church. the critical thing again is that the person was not involved in the break—up of the other person's previous marriage. so meghan markle is a woman's advocate for the un. here she is speaking at the un in 2015 talking about women's rights. when i was just 11 years old, i unknowingly and somehow accidentally became a female advocate. it was around the same time as the beijing conference so a little over 20 years ago in in my

hometown of lass angeles, a pivotal moment reshaped my notion of what is possible. you see i had been in school watching a tv show, in elementary school and this commercial came on with the tag line for this dish washing liquid and the tag line said, "women all over america are fighting greasy pots and pans." u america are fighting greasy pots and pans. " two america are fighting greasy pots and pans." two boys from my class said, "yeah, that's where women belong, in the kitchen." i remember feeling shocked and angry and also just feeling so hurt. itjust wasn't right and something needed to be done so, i went home and i told my

dad what had happened. and he encouraged me to write letters. so i did. to the most powerful people i could think of. now, my 11—year—old self worked out that if i really wa nted self worked out that if i really wanted someone to hear me, well then i should write a letter to the first lady. so off i went scribbling away to our first lady at the time, hillary clinton... applause i also put pen to paper and i wrote a letter to my news source at the time who host add kids news programme and then to powerhouse attorney gloria allred, even at 11, i wanted to cover all my bases! finally, i wrote to the soap manufacturer and a few weeks went by and to my surprise i received

letters of encouragement from hillary clinton, from linda ellerby and from gloria all: red. it was and from gloria all:red. it was amazing. meghan markle talking a couple of years ago, that was at the un talking about women's rights. she is a woman's advocate for the un and does some work for global vision and that charitable work will potentially be her focus after marriage?” charitable work will potentially be her focus after marriage? i think so. what comes across in that clip is how confident, how poised she is, now accustomed to the public stage she is. now, you might expect that as an american, as an actress, she will bring things to the royal family that it is not entirely accustomed to, but i think that she will be welcomed as a result of that andi will be welcomed as a result of that and i think that she and harry will be quite a formidable couple this

their various campaigning and charitable activities. the prince of wales, he's visiting this dorset. he hasjust said he is thrilled and very happy indeed for prince harry and meghan markle. everybody is really happy, of course, they are. the queen and the duke of edinburgh and the prince of wales and prince william and the duchess of cambridge. delighted at the news that prince harry is settling down. at the moment fifth in line to the throne, but when the new baby comes along, he'll soon be sixth. which i'm sure he is a he fine about. let's talk about a royal wedding in this country, and how people react to it and actually get, you know, really do get carried away ina good you know, really do get carried away in a good way with a royal wedding? it will be interesting to see whether there is a slightly lower level of interest given that he's

not a future king. but he is marrying an american, so that will mmp marrying an american, so that will ramp up the interest particularly from across the atlantic, the american networks and the american broadcasters will be very, very excited about it all. the venue will have a bearing on that if they want something on a rather smaller scale they go to somewhere like the guard's chapel or st george's scham. george's chapel at windsor. if they wa nt george's chapel at windsor. if they want the full works, the abbey or st paul's. people will say that there are in some instances unhappy connotations to some of those venues, but it didn't stop william from marrying at westminster abbey, notwithstanding that is where the funeral service of their mother took place. you know, ithink, that funeral service of their mother took place. you know, i think, that they are adults now. i think they will feel they will go wherever they feel most comioritiable and wherever they feel is most appropriate. quite a

lot of people get interested in what is going to design the wing dress? which designer. who is going to do her hair? the same hairdresser —— her hair? the same hairdresser —— her hairdresser is the same hairdresser that is kim kardashian west's hairdresser. thank you, nick. let's look at meghan markle's instagram feed. she stopped posting in april. she has 1.9 million followers. she is following 201 people. let's look at some of these posts. in a society that profits from your self daushghts liking yourself is a rebellious act. 60,000 likes after she posted that. i love this, sunday musings. this was last december actually. so almost a year ago. don't be the —

don't be the reason someone feels insecure, be the reason someone feels seen, heard and supported by the whole universe. so yeah, and that got 52,000 likes. she hasn't updated it since april. for obvious reasons. let's talk to darren ma grady. he was personal chef to queen elizabeth ii, diana and princes william and harry for 15 yea rs. and princes william and harry for 15 years. hi, darren, how are you? i'm very well, thank you and you? i'm really well. how do you react to this news? thrilled to pieces. i think it is perfect for the nation. it's perfect for the royal family and it's perfect for harry. you can see how much these two are in love with each other. i think you were working for the royal family a number of years ago, perhaps when harry was pretty young, is that

right? i was. i actually harry was pretty young, is that right? iwas. i actually helped in the kitchen at windsor castle while princess diana was eating a bowl of cereal. he is getting married. that's unbelievable. i spent 11 yea rs that's unbelievable. i spent 11 years as chef to the queen. the princess would bring him into the kitchen at balmoral castle. when princess charles and diana separated i moved to kensington and i was cooking for the boys, i say the boys, they are taller than me now. i cooked for them there. thank you very much, darren. very nice to talk to you. former royal chef to the queen and to princesses william and harry. let's go back to christopher lay. he isa let's go back to christopher lay. he is a friend of the duke of edinburgh. remind me how old the duke of edinburgh is now? he is close to 96. wow. so another wedding

for him to sit—in the front row at? well, yes. i mean he won't have to stand around very much either. i a lwa ys stand around very much either. i always think it is quite interesting how they dress for these things. now, the duke of edinburgh, he can put on his uniform as colonel of the grenadier guards or admiral of the fleet. it is a dressing up and an occasion, isn't it? the idea that it's just the let's sayjust prince harry's thoughts on what sort of wedding it should be. it is a responsibility to the public, haven't they? everybody likes a wedding. we all stop as we walk past a church when there is a wedding going on, but this is the sort of thing you won't get a hotel in london or windsor, depending where it happens to be, the crowds will be there for two or three days beforehand. i suspect that when you see these two in a bigger light,

you've got prince harry for example is the can do prince. he has done afghanistan. he was there at a time when a lot of people wouldn't have wa nted when a lot of people wouldn't have wanted to be there. he has latched on to the idea of promoting the livelihoods and the well—being and the public image of people who got themselves pretty beaten up in that war. he is somebody that you, he is not the bear grylls of royalty, but he has got that image of somebody who would do things that you would not expect. a prince that comes out with standard things to do and i think that is part of the whole spectacularity of a royal wedding on this scale. and because of what he has done. because of what he experienced as a young boy, most people will be so happy that he has found someone he wants to spend the rest of his life with? not only spending his life with, but

somebody, you know, just a few minutes ago, we heard her talking, articulate in the way that americans in the english language can be articulate like almost nobody else. briefly, christopher. that is what you get from him when you talk to him. ok. thank you, christopher. thank you, christopher. thank you, christopher. thank you for your company. chloe is presenting the programme tomorrow. hello. this morning's rain clearing the south coast. we will see a mixture of sunny spells and showers as we move through the day. some of the showers heavy. the odd rumble of thunder not out of the question. they could be wintry over high ground. temperatures creeping into the double figures in south, but it will feel cooler. as we go through this evening and overnight, we will see a spell of rain for southern wales, south—west england for a time

and we will see dry weather, a few showers persisting for the north and parts of wales and the east coast. temperatures falling away. this is your temperatures in towns and cities. so i think we could see a touch of frost to start the day tomorrow. where we have seen showers overnight, one or two patches of ice not out of the question. tomorrow another day of sunny spells and showers, but the winds spinning around to a north easterly. the showers for eastern coastal areas. showers for wales and the south—west. temperatures feeling cool with highs of ten celsius. this is bbc news with a special programme on news of a royal engagement this morning.

prince harry is to marry his girlfriend, the american actress meghan markle. clarence house confirmed the news in the last hour. the queen and duke of edinburgh "are delighted for the couple and wish them every happiness". this is the scene at kensington palace where the royal couple will live. meghan markle is an american actress best known for her role in the hit us tv series suits. she has been married once before. the couple who have been dating for two years are set to marry in the spring of next year.