hello, it's 9.00. i'm victoria derbyshire. welcome to the programme. theresa may sacks her closest political ally and deputy, damian green, after a government inquiry found he made "inaccurate and misleading" statements about pornography on his office computer. as damian green is forced to go, he says he's done nothing wrong and doesn't recognise the claims of inappropriate behaviour and regrets being asked to quit. we'll get reaction through the morning. plus — kaci sullivan from missouri gave birth five years ago, and then began to transition to become a man. last month he gave birth again. we'll speak to him in his first broadcast interview here in the uk. i finally had a caesarean section at about 2.00pm yesterday, so baby is not quite 24—hour is old, yet. the kindness of strangers. here is a

man giving a tv set and stand to go with it to a man selling the big issue with only a few days to go before christmas. we will be looking into acts of kindness by strangers. hello... welcome to the programme, we're live until ”am this morning. a heads up that later we're expecting confirmation that birmingham has been chosen to host the commonwealth games in 2022. it was the only city bidding. so if it doesn't get it officially, that will be a massive story. we'll bring you reaction to that obviously. also today, we want to hear your "breaking news" from 2017 — something that's happened in your own life this year. lydia tweeted me — she's had a hec of a year. 0ne, started cancer treatment. two, bought a house.

three, treatment didn't work. four, hysterectomy. five, moved to london. six, newjob. and she adds drily — i'm hoping 2018 will have less breaking news. let me know your breaking news from 2017, whatever it may be. tweet me — use the hashtag victoria live and if you text, you will be charged at the standard network rate. our top story today... prime minister theresa may has sacked damian green as first secretary of state amid claims that pornographic material was found on a commons computer in 2008. the prime minister expressed "deep regret" at mr green's departure but said his actions "fell short" of the conduct expected of a cabinet minister. alex forsyth reports. side by side, yesterday, the prime minister and her close ally, damian green, her deputy in all but name, but hours after they sat together in the commons, he was sacked. it stems back to a police raid on mr green's parliamentary

offices years ago. officers said legal pornography was found on computers. mr green has always and still denies that it was his, but he also said that he had not been told about this, and it wasn't right. he has now admitted that the lease lawyers talked to his lawyers in 2008, and police raised it with him in 2013. he said, i apologise that my statements were misleading on this point. it's that breach of the ministerial code that has cost him his job. there were also claims from this activist about inappropriate behaviour. her account was said to be plausible, but there was no clear conclusion about what had happened. mr green apologised for making her feel uncomfortable, but denied wrongdoing. in a letter to mr green, theresa may said that she was extremely sad at having to write regarding his resignation. she has lost a long—term friend, and confidant

from her cabinet table. some said her decision showed strength. i don't think this is damaging to the prime minister at all, because she has made the decision, you know. it shows that even if someone is a close ally, she is able to make the decision and urged him to take the decision himself and step down. i think it shows that she is not prepared to cover someone, if she feels that they didn't answer the questions as they should have. nonetheless, the prime minister will no doubt feel the loss of such a trusted ally in her team. let's get the latest from our political guru, norman smith. how damaging is this for theresa may? she has lost a third cabinet minister in the space of eight weeks. has lost her closest political ally. has lost her number two in government, of course it is a

blow. but honestly, she really had no option because damian green is pretty much bang to rights when it comes to the ministerial code. he lied and if you lie as a minister, it is almost always goodbye. if she hadn't sacked him, she would have faced accusations she was putting personalfriendship and faced accusations she was putting personal friendship and loyalty ahead ofan personal friendship and loyalty ahead of an independent enquiry. there would have been questions over her politicaljudgment. there would have been questions over her political judgment. and there would have been questions over her politicaljudgment. and i suspect many of those who are anxious and angry about the abuse allegations at westminster would have been on the warpath. because although the enquiry made no judgment about the claims from kate maltby that mr green had behaved inappropriately towards her, they describe her evidence as plausible. 0ne describe her evidence as plausible. one final thought, you can see how theresa may's team would present this as being the prime minister

being ruthless, showing leadership and trying to fashion and narrative that this is theresa may getting on the front foot, she is prepared to set out a cause. it is a blow, of course it is, but i can see how she can find course it is, but i can see how she canfind a course it is, but i can see how she can find a way through this. thank you, norman. let's go to the bbc newsroom for a summary of the rest of the day's news. australian police have arrested two people after a car was driven into a crowd in melbourne. the car collided with a number of pedestrians on flinders street. the state ambulance service said 1a people have been injured and several are in a critical condition. police have said it isa critical condition. police have said it is a deliberate act but too early to say if it is terrorist related. let's go to our australian correspondent in sydney. what is the latest you have on this incident? we

have been hearing from eyewitnesses who described seeing this white, 4x4 suzuki ‘s vehicle coming through the afternoon rush hour, busy with christmas shoppers. the vehicle went to traffic lights. at that point, started crashing into pedestrians and people crossing the road. some graphic descriptions of how bodies we re graphic descriptions of how bodies were thrown up into the air. it kept going, hitting people until it eventually crashed into a tramp ‘s. some bystanders ran towards the vehicle, apprehended the driver. the police arrived within a couple of minutes and the driver and the second month have been taken away for questioning. the police said it was a deliberate act to run people down but they said it is too early to know the motive and they have not confirmed whether they see this as a terror incident. the city is on a

state of high alert and locked down and the investigation goes on. thank you very much. tens of thousands of mothers and babies in england have been harmed when receiving maternity care over the last two years. more than a quarter of a million incidents were reported by hospital staff to the health regulator nhs improvement. most were minor but almost a quarter of the incidents led to the mother or baby being harmed. catalonians head to the polls today in a closely watched regional election called by spain, following 0ctober‘s controversial independence referendum. the snap election sees parties who want catalonia to be an independent republic face those who wish it to remain a semi—autonomous part of spain. all indications are that the result will be very close. south korea says its soldiers have fired around 20 warning shots at north korean troops who had approached the border between the two countries. the defence ministry in seoul said the north koreans appeared to be searching for one of their soldiers, who had earlier taken advantage of thick fog to cross the border and defect to the south.

a poll carried out for the bbc suggests that almost one in ten young people across the uk have spent at least have spent at least a month sofa surfing because they've nowhere else to go. the most common reasons included family issues and domestic violence. the government says it's providing more than £1 billion of funding before 2020 to reduce all forms of homelessness. a child's chances of attending a good secondary school in england increasingly depends on where they live, according to the think—thank, the education policy institute. the study says some deprived areas of london have more high—performing schools than better—off areas in the north and north—east of the country. the government says it's investing £280 million in disadvantage areas. toys—r—us's future in the uk is hanging in the balance ahead of a key vote later on thursday over whether to back the company's rescue plan. the pension protection fund ,which wants the toy retailer to put

£9 million into its struggling pension fund, has said it will vote against the plan. failure to agree a deal could put all its 3,200 staff at risk of redundancy. but reports suggest toys—r—us has put forward new proposals to try to reach a last—minute deal. that's a summary of the latest bbc news — more at 9.30. thank you for you but tweeting your breaking news. matthew horton said iran tanker lahmert arrays, unimaginable this time last day. and he raised money for the london air ambulance. sarah's breaking news, she says mr twomey, chemotherapy, lymph nodes removed, chemotherapy, don! done. bring on 2018. do get in touch with us throughout the morning —

use the hashtag victoria live and if you text, you will be charged at the standard network rate. let's get some sport now with katherine and what a night for bristol city in the league cup, knocking out the holders manchester untied. there were some great celebrations, weren't there? yes, 2—1win against the holders of the league cup, manchester united. bristol city, third place in the championship beating the premier league giants. massive result. let's look at how they did it. the first goal came from joe 0'brien. he put them ahead in front of their home fa ns them ahead in front of their home fans at ashton gate. zlatan ibrahimovic equalised for manchester united. but this is it, in injury time, the winner, corey smith, the hero for bristol city. celebrations, the fans ran onto the pitch. this is the fans ran onto the pitch. this is the manager looking for someone to celebrate with. the only person he can find is the ball boy on the touchline. wonderful scenes and that is what it means to the bristol city

fans. euphoria is the word the manager used to explain how he felt, beating his hero. has read all of jose mourinho's books. this is what he had to say. total euphoria, the noise in the stadium, the motion at the time. they did know whether to laugh, cry, cuddle each other, stay at with the fans, come in to safety. but again, just fantastic for the football clu b but again, just fantastic for the football club and like i say, many generations will talk about this and hopefully it will attract more and more supporters because we want more nights like that. he said he raided his daughter's piggybank to borrow £450 to buy a bottle of wine to share with jose £450 to buy a bottle of wine to share withjose mourinho after the match. but funnily enough, the manchester united manager was not in a sharing mood. they were lucky they had the run of the game, but they fought to be lucky. sometimes you

think good luck comes from nowhere, but normally it comes from effort, from belief, which they had. it was a big night for had them. probably the some of my players, it wasn't a big night, just one more day in the office. when you play against teams with extra motivation, you need also that extra motivation. congratulations to them. congratulations? he was reluctant to pass those congratulations on. bristol city have done away with manchester united and up next for them is when chester city. favourites are the champions league trophy not just the favourites are the champions league trophy notjust the league cup. but he says they cannot do it. we are awaiting confirmation and it is due that birmingham will host the commonwealth games in 2022. it should win, it is the only bidding

city and it will be a massive event? it will be, we have been waiting for this confirmation for a few days. we get the formal confirmation later on today. they got their bid in for the september deadline to say yes, we would like to host the games. but there was an issue with compliance. the commonwealth games federation said they were not happy with the bid. there were toing and froing, particularly with the finances, but there has been guarantees from birmingham about the money for the event. it will cost £750 million, the estimated budget. the most expensive sports event since the london 2012 olympics held in the uk. we have the 2014, wealth games in glasgow shortly after the olympics, so glasgow shortly after the olympics, so another massive sporting event to be confirmed in the uk, in a couple of years. we will talk about who is paying for that shortly.

this morning theresa may is without her closest political ally and effective deputy, after damian green was sacked as first secretary of state. he was found to have "breached the ministerial code" after "inaccurate and misleading" statements over what he knew over claims that pornography had been found on his office computer, during a police raid in 2008. he has always denied downloading or viewing pornography, but has now admitted he should have been clear that police had spoken to him and his lawyers about the material. in a letter to damian green, mrs may said she was "extremely sad" at his departure but said his actions ‘fell short‘ of the conduct expected of a cabinet minister. mr green wrote that he ‘regretted' being asked to resign following breaches of the ministerial code, he also denied that he had either downloaded or viewed pawn on his computer in parliament. but, crucially, he admitted that statements he made about what he knew about the pornography should have been ‘clearer‘. the inquiry followed claims from journalist and tory activist kate maltby,

seen here on our programme earlier this year talking about another matter, who accused damian green of ‘inappropriate behaviour‘. the investigation found it wasn‘t possible to reach a definitive conclusion, but that her account was ‘plausible‘. kate malby hasn‘t commented yet, but her parents have praised their daughter for her courage in ‘speaking out‘. so what were the statements that caused damian green‘s downfall? on november 5th, after the initial claims from former police chief bob quick that pornography had been found on his office computer during the police raid nine years ago — mr green said the allegation was ‘completely untrue‘ and a ‘political smear‘. and a week later, in response to a second story that the former met police commissioner sir paul stephenson had been briefed about the claims, mr green once again insisted he was the victim of smears. with me is sebastian payne — political leader writer at the financial times. let‘s talk about the implication for theresa may first of all. what sort

ofa theresa may first of all. what sort of a hole does this leave in no 10. a big one. even though first secretary of state is no at position thatis secretary of state is no at position that is always filled, it is effect yefly deputy prime minister, damian green sat on nine committees that dictate how things are done across government. and on the committees he is her eyes and ears. and damian green and theresa may go back a long time, they went to university together and rose through the ranks together. it is a big loss for her. margaret thatcher once said everyone needs a willie, a reference to willie whitelaw. and theresa may has lost her willie. how she gets another first secretary of state who she trusts is not an easy task. i don‘t think we will expect another one too soon. he was the architect of his own down fall, he lied.

one too soon. he was the architect of his own down fall, he liedm one too soon. he was the architect of his own down fall, he lied. it is as simple as that. it began with the allegations from kate maltby and the investigation couldn‘t decide, but said it was plausible. he spoke out and had a backlash from the press and had a backlash from the press and that is partly why we haven‘t heard from him since this broke. if you‘re going to be a minister, you have to be honest and tell the truth and he broke that. there is a sense of sadness across the conservative party as people fear that generally he has acted well and it is said in the investigation aside from this incident... apart from the lying. apart from the lying he had opinion a good minister and a good deputy prime minister. there was no option. he did have to go. 0nce prime minister. there was no option. he did have to go. once he had broken the ministerial code. why did he say, i regret that i have been asked to resign. does he not believe he has done anything wrong? he wa nted he has done anything wrong? he wanted to stay on here, because i

think he was sort of feeling i don‘t wa nt to think he was sort of feeling i don‘t want to say witch—hunt, but there was a media sform and the facts —— storm and the facts were not being heard. david davis said if damian green goes will go. but we haven‘t heard tr him. there was an insistence that everything be done by due process. he didn‘t fear he had broken the rules. there is a tinge of regret. but there was no other choice when you‘re a minister and you lie. how do the police come out of this? not terribly well. the leaking about this 2008 thing is a messy scandal to do with when the police raided his computer when he was a shadow spokesman for the conservative party and it was seen

to be politically motivated, the idea retired police officers leaking. a lot of conservatives feel uncomfortable about it. don‘t know if there is a need for an investigation. but it is uncomfortable that they‘re waging this war that started with the sexual harassment allegations going around westminster. how does this leave theresa may at the end of one heck of a year for her? a bit less happy than it was. they have had a good month they got the budget through and got progress on the brexit deal and there was talk of a reshuffle. that will have to happen now. they need a new cabinet office minister. it ends the year on a sour note. it was released at 8 .40pm last night. it is getting it out of way. they will try and leave this

behind and bring in some new faces and have a reshuffle to try and bring back some of the political capital they were building. thank you. more on that later on. this time yesterday we brought you the news that mps had described homelessness in england as a ‘national crisis‘. then at lunchtime the pm angered some labour mps in the commons when she said that not everyone classified as homeless is sleeping on the street. there‘s very little data on the so—called hidden homeless — people sleeping on sofas, floors or in spare rooms because they‘ve nowhere to call home. today we can bring you news that a poll, conducted by comres for bbc news, suggests more than 40% of people aged 16—25 have spent at least a night sofa surfing. 10% have done this for more than a month. the single biggest reason? because parents were unwilling or unable to house them. we can chat about this more now with dale taylor—gentles, who sofa surfed after being kicked

out of the house during a row with his mum on christmas day. hafsa isahak, who sofa surfed for six weeks. talisha reid—clementson, who sofa surfed for six months until february this year. and paul noblet, from homelessness charity centrepoint. thank you for coming on the programme. you were in care at 16. you did go back to live with your mum. it didn‘t work out and you ended up sleeping on a friend‘s sofa, how unsettling was that? ended up sleeping on a friend‘s sofa, how unsettling was that7m was difficult, because i was studying my a—levels. so when you‘re sofa surfing, you‘re not sure about where you‘re going to be sleeping, i was making phone calls about where i was making phone calls about where i was staying, as well as doing revision. so it was an unstable

time. how tired were you? very tired, when you‘re staying at a friend‘s house, they don‘t have a guest bed, so it was sofas. give us a sense of the impact when you‘re trying to study. it is a very stressful time. there is no certainty of what the next day‘s going to be like or the evening, because you don‘t know what, where you‘re going to be staying or what you‘re going to be staying or what you‘re going to be staying or what you‘re going to be doing and focussing on a—levels is very difficult when you‘re worrying about where you‘re going to be sleeping. what about yourself, how did it happen to you? i like went through certain situations which caused myself to be homeless, previous relationships and stuff. that caused me to be homeless. i had no choice but to sofa surf. i couldn't go back to my mum's. that was staying at,

calling in favours, staying at friends? yes and family and going back and forth. what was that like for you? stressful. it was heart—breaking. for you? stressful. it was heart— breaking. you for you? stressful. it was heart—breaking. you feel like you have lost control of yourself and you're not able to be the person you wa nt you're not able to be the person you want to be, because you have nowhere sta ble want to be, because you have nowhere stable to lay your head and think to yourself. how are you? hi. tell us what happened to you. how are you? i‘m really well. tell us about your story. so i was living with my foster parents and i was 17 and things got difficult and we were arguing andl things got difficult and we were arguing and i knew i couldn't stay. so what happened was i ended up packing my stuff, leaving and luckily with my friend i could stay with her and ended up sofa surfing for six weeks and it was the most depressing time of my life.

everybody in that house had a rue tune, but i was —— routine and i was coming to disrupt that. you don't feel where you belong, you feel left out. but that woman was lovely to me and helped me show that she could assist me in different ways to try and get me a place by the end. you feel like you‘re, do you feel guilty, because you feel like you‘re imposing yourself on somebody else? yeah. it is. it makes you feel like... you over stepping your boundaries. and over staying your welcome potentially. that is true. there will be some people watching andi there will be some people watching and i will ask you this, who will say, look, you were not sleeping on the street, you were dry and warm and had access to the bath or shower, what do you say to that? and had access to the bath or shower, what do you say to that7m is not a home. it is not where you

can foe see, although you may see the people, it is not somewhere you can feel safe or be able to rest and relax. you don‘t have a room. you have to chill on the sofa or in your friend‘s room. have to chill on the sofa or in your friend's room. there is no sense of privacy or stability. you don't ever feel like you're relaxed and can be calm and have your own space. it is never feels like the home or never feels like a safe space, although you may know the people you're staying with. what would you say to people who say that? you feel like have... go ahead. 00 you feel like you have to watch yourself and know what you're doing all the time and everything you do, you like it comes down to pressure, because if you mess up, you can mess up your chance of staying in that house and it is always not knowing what is going to happen. why couldn't any of you go

back to foster parents or parents? no more space for me. i‘m one of seven. between me and my mum, the relationship weren‘t too good. there was no chance to go back home. deal? i had grown up living with my grandmother, when she went into a ca re grandmother, when she went into a care home, i had nowhere else to go. with my mum, we didn't have a strong bond and it was constant arguing until she kicked me out at christmas. that was a difficult time and that relationship had broken down. you felt you couldn't go back to your foster parents? yes that is true. they didn't want anything to do with me any more and they were going to send me to a different house. when you say you're used to starting over and you don't want to starting over and you don't want to start overagain, i starting over and you don't want to start over again, i thought i will leave and hopefully the world will show me a kind face. paul, this is

really sad, this is upsetting, isn‘t it? young people who don‘t feel settled, because they have been kicked out, or can‘t get on with their parents or foster parents and it is where centre point has helped? yes we are there to make sure there is somewhere for the young people to go. a challenge is if someone is sofa surfing, they don‘t know where the sources of information and help are. we set up a help line for people to work out where the next step might be. whilst people have had somewhere that is a refuge at the time, a lot of the young people we support can slip into rough sleeping and into sofa surfing and back. it is not great what we have heard about having to stay on sofas and not feeling like you have a place of your own. it is worse at this time of year if people end up on the street. how do you react to

this poll which suggests that more man 40% of 16 to 25—year—olds have spent at least a night sofa surfing and 10% for more than a month. spent at least a night sofa surfing and 10% for more than a monthm spent at least a night sofa surfing and 1096 for more than a month. it is not surprising when you talk to young people, it is a ready tale and what their experience is. the role the government has it is difficult to quantify but the government may be looking at the definitions of homelessness, the law doesn‘t see sofa surfing as a state of homelessness and local authorities‘ hands are tied in terms of offering help. it is a different system in scotla nd help. it is a different system in scotland and may england viewers may to know if there is a discussion needed as to whether we need to categorise more people as homeless.

tell us, be are you now living. i'm in lieu wish sham in a property provided by centre point. that is sharing with somebody else? yes. you pay rent. what is it like to have your own place. it is a lot, similar to the hostel, it is a safe space, somewhere you to the hostel, it is a safe space, somewhere you can go to the hostel, it is a safe space, somewhere you can go and get your work done and i'm at university now andl work done and i'm at university now and i can do my work come home and go out in the day and know i still have the place. what about you ? what about you? i am living in shepherd‘s bush in a hostel, sharing with 13 people. there is three bathrooms, and three of us share a bathroom. there is one kitchen we all share, one washing machine.

bathroom. there is one kitchen we allshare, one washing machine. it isa allshare, one washing machine. it is a bit ofa allshare, one washing machine. it is a bit of a struggle but i get by and at the end of the day, i am not trying to light... mess chance again, ijust want to put my head down and get on with it. about yourself? at the moment, i was living in the old people'shospital which is from coventry's homeless team. i have got a flat last year. i got it on my own, i have just got some carpets, redecorating, getting to know myself. even when you finally get a place, your mind never leaves the mental state of being homeless cell. at the moment i am trying to pick myself up and i have got a job. congratulations. you trying to pick myself up and i have got ajob. congratulations. you have described, all of you, articulately,

the highs and lows in your lives in the highs and lows in your lives in the last few years. i want to wish you all are very happy christmas, thank you for coming on the programme. we can tell you, birmingham is confirmed as the host city for the 2022 commonwealth games. we will get reaction in the next half an hour and if you are a birmingham resident, let me know your views. and random acts of kindness are taking place across the uk in the run up to christmas like this man giving away a tv. we‘ll hear from some of those who‘ve been given gifts from strangers. time for the latest news — here‘s annita. prime minister theresa may has sacked damian green as first secretary of state amid claims pornographic material was found on a commons computer in 2008. the prime minister expressed deep regret at

his departure but his actions fall short of those expected of a cabinet minister. australian police have arrested two people after car drove into a crowd in melbourne. the car drove into a number of people in flinders street. the state ambulance service said 14 people have been injured and several are ina people have been injured and several are in a critical condition. police have said it was a deliberate act but it is too early to say whether it was terrorist related. tens of thousands of mothers and babies in england have been harmed when receiving maternity care over the last two years. more than 100 incidents were reported. most were minor but almost a quarter of the incidents led to the mother or baby being harmed. catalonians head to the polls today in a closely watched regional election called by spain, following 0ctober‘s controversial independence referendum. the snap election sees parties who want catalonia to be an independent republic face those who wish it to remain a semi—autonomous part of spain.

all indications are that the result will be very close. that‘s a summary of the latest bbc news. here‘s some sport now with katherine. birmingham has been confirmed as the host city for the 2022 commonwealth games. there are now guarantees in place over the financing of the event, which, at around £750 million, will be the most expensive sports event to be held in the uk since the 2012 olympics. bristol city have knocked out the holders manchester united in the quarter—finals of the league cup. korey smith with an injury time winner for the championship side. they‘ll face manchester city and it‘ll be chelsea—arsenal in the other semi—final. celtic are back to winning ways, after their 69—match unbeaten run was ended at the weekend — they beat partick thistle 2—0, to go five points clear again at the top of the scottish premiership.

and marion bartoli says she‘s inspired by the williams sisters — as she prepares to return to tennis at the age of 33, having announced her retirement four years ago. australian police have arrested two people after a car drove into a crowd in melbourne. the car collided with a number of pedestrians on flinders street, a busyjunction in the centre of the city 13 people have been taken to hospital, several are in a critical condition. police have said it was a deliberate act but it is too early to say whether it was terrorist—related. as vehicle, a suzuki suv, travelling at about 60 mph just targeted pedestrians. it was a busy intersection in melbourne. he ploughed into them without stopping and the carcame ploughed into them without stopping and the car came to a stop at one of

the tram stops. people were falling around and within minutes, emergency services were attending the scenes. it was a very quick response by the police and ambulances. a vehicle has struck a number of vehicles in the melbourne cbd. police arrived at the scene within minutes and have arrested two men. at this stage we have 14 people injured and several are critical. at this stage, we believe it is a deliberate act. i repeat, it is a deliberate act. i repeat, it is a deliberate act. i repeat, it is a deliberate act. however, we don‘t know the motivation and it is still early stages of the investigation. police and emergency services will remain on scene for the foreseeable future. crime command have privacy of the investigation and we are requested people to avoid the area.

the crime scene will be in place for a considerable period of time and we are urging people who can avoid the area, to avoid the area. police will continue to have a strong presence in the melbourne cbd tonight. people might have items in vehicles within the crime scene. at this stage they will not be able to be retrieved until the crime scene is reopened. we understand this has been a very traumatic events and there will be witnesses, victims and family members affected. anyone who witnessed the incident is urged to attend the police station at 313 spencer st, melbourne to make a statement. we encourage anyone with any other information to contact crimestoppers. thank you. we will talk to an eyewitness in the

next few minutes, talking to sophie smith as soon as we establish contact. smith as soon as we establish co nta ct. we smith as soon as we establish contact. we have some messages about homelessness and the guests we were talking to a few moments ago. jb says, iam talking to a few moments ago. jb says, i am lucky enough to own my own house. i know if i was unlucky to become homeless, the government couldn‘t care less. the only thing they would be bothered about would be another unhelpful statistic they would have to deal with. we talked about homelessness on the programme yesterday and the government are putting in £1 billion by 2020 to make more affordable housing available. and paul says, listening to your guests this morning who have had to sew the surf, it is sad to hear what they are saying. paul kelly says, my heart goes out to those sofa surfers on your programme and that last one who said she hopes the world would show her a kind

face, i feel so the world would show her a kind face, ifeel so sad the world would show her a kind face, i feel so sad for them. we should be ashamed this is happening in our country. in the past few minutes, it‘s been announced that birmingham will host the commonwealth games in 2022. the announcement was expected, because birmingham was the only bidder. it will be the most expensive sports event in britain since the london 2012 olympics. let‘s talk to louise hazel, who‘s a commonwealth games gold medallist and member of birchfield harriers, birmingham‘s leading athletics club. diane modahl, also a commonwealth gold medallist. she was an advisor to the manchester commonwealth games team. ian metcalfe is from the commonwealth games england, the team organising the birmingham games. first of all, your reaction?”

first of all, your reaction? i am so overjoyed. i went to bed last night, fingers crossed and hoping and praying it came to this morning. so proud of the city, proud of london, it will mean big things for my club. was there any doubt birmingham would be officially given it because there was no one else? no, it has always been the heart of athletics in this country. we have had an amazing stadium built in london for the 0lympic stadium built in london for the olympic games, but the heart of athletics lies in birmingham. athletes, coaches and the stuff of british athletics will agree, it has a lwa ys british athletics will agree, it has always been in birmingham. so glad we are getting the opportunity to stage a major event in one of the best cities in the country, in my opinion. the alexander stadium, home to birchwood harriers will be redeveloped, as i understand it, what does that mean for the city? we had about 20,000 seater stadium put

in in 2010. i was training over at university at that time. it will put us back on the map in terms of sports, spectatorship and we have such great local traffic links in the country, the ideal spot in order to attract the spectators we need back to the sport. in 2010 i was training at the university track in preparation for the commonwealth games, which i then went on to win. they have stepped up their game with outstanding facilities. for all of those visiting commonwealth nations coming to the uk, they will be very, very well looked after in birmingham. we'll talk about what happens to the stadium afterwards, but we have just got the moment my birmingham was officially announced. let‘s ta ke birmingham was officially announced. let‘s take a look, hopefully. any moment now, we will bring it to you. are you ready for the good news? are

you ready? fantastic. so, it is my great pressure to announced the host of the 2022 commonwealth games will be... birmingham! cheering and applause was there any doubt? she was trying to whip up excitement. i covered the announcement for manchester to win the 2002 games and there was only manchester bidding. there is tension, but not that much. ian metcalfe from commonwealth games england, the team organising the birmingham games, congratulations. thank you very much, it has been a

fantastic morning, i still have the goose bumps watching the announcement from louise. who is going to pay for it? that is a matter between the government and the city. those are the two entities that provide the funding for the games, the combination of the treasury and the city council will be involved. also, birmingham is being supported by the broader west midlands regions, many of whom will support the games, together with a variety of sponsors we have raised to provide commercial funding is as well. taxpayers, counciltax to provide commercial funding is as well. taxpayers, council tax payers, but it is the hope most of the money will come from the private sector. it is going to be a very expensive abang, £750 million. the funding is still needs to be signed off and

there will be astringent budgeting process which will go back to parliament for a review. it will be a broad combination of central government, local government and much private sponsorship as can be raised to defer the cost for the taxpayer. what will it mean for the city? it will be huge boost, i was born and brought up here. it is something the city has wanted and needed for many years, it will be on a global stage, overi billion people watching, 70 different nations and territories here. it will be an opportunity for the region to showcase itself to the world and forge new links of the commonwealth at a time when we will be leaving europe and the relationships with our, while partners will be so much more important. let me ask you about the alexander stadium, home to birchfield harriers, it will be redeveloped, what will happen to it after the games, who will use it? it will still be an athletics

stadium. there will be a significant amount of community use, the local community here and across birmingham can use all the facilities within the stadium, the athletics track and indoor warm up areas and all the support that will be here for the community. let me bring in diane. you will remember a lot of people said, what will the legacy of manchester be. what would you say the legacy has been? we were clear from the start as a city that we wa nted from the start as a city that we wanted to games to bring to manchester. and for manchester it was about transforming an area of land that was one of poorest in the

country. we were one of first cities to have a sports—led regeneration. when you look at the area now and consider the facilities we have now, the national squash centre, the national bmx centre and a host of national bmx centre and a host of national governing bodies who have positioned themselves in manchester, and all those facilities are used by the public and i think collectively across the venues that we have we have at least two million people public use using those facilities. 10,000 volunteers signed up for the games in 2002. 7,000 of those are still registered within manchester as active volunteers who take parts in activities across the city. it was a real success in terms of what we wa nted was a real success in terms of what we wanted to achieve and we were very clear from the start in term of

what wanting to leave a lasting legacy. not only in facility but in raising the aspiration of young people who could then continue to be inspired by sport. and the velodrome became the home of british cycling and won medals in beijing and london. and you could argue i think with the success of manchester it spurred london on to bidding for the 2012 olympics. let me bring ian back in. what in term of legacy for birmingham, what do you hope it will be? i hope it will inspire a new generation of young men and women to become athletes in which ever sports they enjoy and introduce birmingham toa they enjoy and introduce birmingham to a broader audience. they enjoy and introduce birmingham to a broaderaudience. it they enjoy and introduce birmingham to a broader audience. it is the youngest city in europe. it will be a fantastic opportunity to show case the area and provide a legacy that

people will talk about for many years and continue to attract business and tourism. louise? ian i wanted to say it is inspiring me i might get my spikes back on. it is an amazing achievement. i think the sport needs it, birmingham needs it. i'mjust super sport needs it, birmingham needs it. i'm just super excited and proud and obviously having come from birmingham it was birmingham and the community in birmingham that got me to the commonwealth games gold medal and to london 2012. it was their support, their financial support and i'm pleased to be able to give that back. and people buying lottery tickets i yes it wasn't that long ago there were 170 issues that the commonwealth games were asking you about, what was the most worrying of those and how did you iron it out?

there is always a broad range of issues in a bid. what even needs to remember is normally the process takes remember is normally the process ta ke 5 two remember is normally the process takes two to three years to finalise ina bid takes two to three years to finalise in a bid process. we managed to get there in about six months. so there isa there in about six months. so there is a broad range of small and large issues, financial—related issues, around ensuring the village could be supplied in time and a lot of small details about particular venues, what sports would be where and what the capacities would be. a broad range of questions which the federation perfectly are entitled to ask, particularly in circumstances where the games had been granted to durban, who had fallen away and they we re durban, who had fallen away and they were keen to make sure this time that they got it right and that birmingham was ready when the host city contract was signed as it will be today. in order for that stadium to be viable after wards, i hear what you saying there will be

facilities for the community, but do you not need a football club to lease to it make it commercially viable? i don't think. alex-ander stadium has never been a football stadium. but you're going to spend millions on rebuilding. it won't be a full stadium like the olympic stadiums. it will be modernised on two sides and the ends will be closed in. that will be broking down after and leave a sensibly—sized stadium for athletic and the infrastructure will be available for the community. sol infrastructure will be available for the community. so i do think it is a sensible investment to generate value for many years to come. this never unanimous support from taxpayers for their city hosting an events, what do you say to those who

say we can‘t afford this and we don‘t need this? say we can‘t afford this and we don't need this? everybody will have their own views. in my view i think that this will provide value not just for the sporting people of the area who will see the games, but it will generate significant amounts of tourism, of new business and show case the city to the world. and they will be able to see what a wonderful area it is to live and work in, to bring businesses to. and i do believe it will create value for all the taxpayers and rates payers of the taxpayers and rates payers of the city and the area in the way it show capeses the city. -- show cases the city. i would like to invite them to stadium to watch the community events. while we were training for the olympics, there we re training for the olympics, there were schools events, local schools coming and they have competitions there and get excited and some of

there and get excited and some of the older athletes would go and hand out medals. turn up on those day and ask if there is a value in having the staid crumb in birmingham.” ask if there is a value in having the staid crumb in birmingham. i -- stadium in birmingham. a quick word from you, diane. what would you say to ian getting birmingham ready from your own experience of being involved in the manchester event. first congratulations to the whole tea m first congratulations to the whole team who have done a brilliantjob in securing the gameles. it is not only good for birmingham, it is good for the uk as a whole and the lessons learned from manchester is putting on a successful games does inspire not only a city, its young people, the volunteers, but drive up revenue in the economy into the economy as well, investing in new facilities. it is a brilliant opportunity to really ensure that eve ryo ne opportunity to really ensure that everyone of the residents across birmingham feel part of the games and have an opportunity to not only

come and watch, but no learn new skills, to become volunteers and then become brilliant coaches that then become brilliant coaches that then ties into that whole conversation around legacy and ensuring that once the lights have been turned off from the staid scombrum and the medals —— stadium and the medals handed out that birmingham benefits and has the opportunity to be a brilliant games for everybody involved. thank you very much. yesterday we spoke to people who are facing christmas estranged from their families and it prompted a beautiful reaction from you. i knew you were compasionate but this it so touching — two different families have invited farah over for christmas day. another man got in touch so he could send them all christmas cards and many of you have sent messages of support. so we thought it would be a good idea to speak to more people

who are making a difference to the lives of strangers by carrying out ‘random acts of kindness‘ — often by giving away money or gifts. jamielee macready was shopping in morrisons at the weekend when she was approached at a checkout and handed a christmas card containing £20. chrisy emmerson‘s mum set up the big light group. she and her daughter kailah have been giving out money to strangers. they gave £20 to jamielee macready. and chrisy is with kerrie moir, another member of the big light group. tell me if this is wrong, kerry, another member of the of the group, why don‘t you introduce yourself? another member of the of the group, why don't you introduce yourself?-

is is keira and kerry and sam and taylor. thank you all for talking to us. jamie, tell us what happened. hi. tell us what happened. so on friday night i was down to morrisson just to grab a couple of things for tea and i approached the check out with my groceries and a lady approached me with an envelope. i was confused, as i didn't know the girl. she handed me the envelope and i opened it and inside contained a beautiful christmas card with a very generous £20 note. i was confused. and nervous. and ijust tried to give them it back. i felt as if it was the right thing to do and put it towards their group. she just refused. at this point i was... taken back by it really touched. the

group isa taken back by it really touched. the group is a true inspiration to some people in this world, there is not enough kindness. especially at this time of year, there is a lot of cruelty going on in the world. people are homeless. people are without families and are on their own. for little acts like this puts a smile on your face. it was a true inspiration from the group and made me nearly burst out in tears int shop. it was really thoughtful. do introduce your baby. this is grace duncan, she is 12 weeks old. she is beautiful. now chrissie and kerry and taylor. tell us about your motivation for doing this. we just, we like to see people happy. it is about it is about giving people back

in the community a bit of something cheering them up, seeing them happy. i like doing it. i think it was me that handed the card. i picked her, because she looked so busy. and i approached her, because i thought she needed a bit of cheering up. the smile on her face was really what gives us the kick out of doing it. kerry, do you often find that the initial reaction as jamie said is people want to give you back? yes you see how shocked they are. it not something that happens every day in today‘s world it is not something you expect. they‘re shocked, what for me, but why? to see just their happiness is amazing. why do you like doing it? it makes people

happy. you're shy? that is all right. taylor, your reaction. what would you say? it's really quite overwhelming just to see how like afraid people are to accept it. because even‘s been so trade that nothing‘s for free and theyjust don‘t want to take it, even though it isa don‘t want to take it, even though it is a gift. but it is always a gad reaction after —— good reaction after that. well done and a very happy christmas and keep up the good work. thank you. bye. more acts of kindness in the next hour. news and sport on the way at 10. before that the weather with simon. for many of us this morning it is cloudy, misty and murky. similar to

us this morning it is cloudy, misty and murky. similarto what us this morning it is cloudy, misty and murky. similar to what we have had for the last couple of days. that will continue for the coming days. seeing as it is the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year, there is some sunshine out there. across scotland and the north—east of england. but this front is producing cloud and rain for northern england. temperatures nine to ten celsius. cooler in the far north—east. tonight we will continue with rain in northern england. more rain coming into wales and the south west. for most the cloud and the mist and temperatures above freezing. in the far north—east of scotland a touch of frost. but some sunshine in the north—east of scotland. a few brighter spelling developing towards the east of the pennines. otherwise it is cloudy, it is misty, there is some hill fog and a mild day for many of us. temperatures about nine

to 12 celsius. chillier again in the far north—east of scotland. theresa may sacks her closest political ally and deputy, damian green, after a government inquiry found he made "inaccurate and misleading" statements about pornography on his office computer. one conservative mp said the prime minister made the right call. damian green was judged to have broken the ministerial code and he had to pay the price for that. the prime minister, quite rightly not allowing a lifelong friendship with him to get in the way of making the decision for him to resign. plus — kaci sullivan from missouri gave birth five years ago, and then began to transition to become a man. last month he gave birth again. we‘ll speak to him in his first broadcast interview here in the uk. i‘m 32 weeks, so seven months

and getting pretty big for. and getting pretty big for sure. if you live up north — you‘ve got less of chance of going to a really good school than those down south — a new report calls the inequality "shocking" — we‘ll speak to the author and to a headteacher from bradford. good morning. here‘s annita in the bbc newsroom with a summary of todays news. good morning. prime minister theresa may has sacked damian green as first secretary of state amid claims that pornographic material was found on a commons computer in 2008. the prime minister expressed "deep regret" at mr green‘s departure but said his actions "fell short" of the conduct expected of a cabinet minister. australian police have arrested two

people after a car ploughed into a crowd in melbourne. the car collided with a number of pedestrians on flinders street. the state ambulance service said 14 people have been injured and several are in a critical condition. police have said it was a deliberate act but is too early to say whether it is related. at this stage we believe it is a deliberate act. however, we do not know the motivation and it is still early stages of the investigation. tens of thousands of mothers and babies in england have been harmed when receiving maternity care over the last two years. more than a quarter of a million incidents were reported. most were minor, but almost a quarter of the incident led to the mother or baby being harmed. catalonians head to the polls today in a closely watched regional election called by spain, following october‘s controversial independence referendum. the snap election sees parties who want catalonia to be an independent republic face those

who wish it to remain a semi—autonomous part of spain. all indications are that the result will be very close. south korea says its soldiers have fired around 20 warning shots at north korean troops who approached the border between the two countries. the defence ministry in seoul said the north koreans appeared to be searching for one of the soldiers who had taken advantage of thick fog to cross the border and defect to the south. a poll carried out to the bbc suggests almost one in ten young people in the uk have found billy maka spent a month sofa surfing because they have nowhere else to go. the government says it is providing more than £1 billion of funding before twenty20 to reduce all forms of homelessness. ciao‘s chants of attending a good secondary school in england depends on where they live. the study says

some deprived areas of london have more high performing schools are better off areas in the north and north—east of the country. the government says it is investing £280 million in disadvantaged areas. the future of toys—r—us1000 summary hand back is failure to agree a deal could put its 3200 staff at risk of redundancy, but reports suggest toys—r—us has put forward new proposals to reach a last—minute deal. that is a summary of the last deleted —— the latest bbc news. some reaction to sofa surfing. there are 11 events who are leaving foster

ca re a cross are 11 events who are leaving foster care across the country, i am hosting the hackney christmas dinner. neville from greater manchester said when i was volunteering at 2014 glasgow commonwealth games, i went into a mcdonald‘s and put 30 towns behind the counter so people could have breakfast on me. on the commonwealth games, this reviewer who lives in cornwall said, can somebody explain how this bid for birmingham is good for me? with austerity and live in costs, how can they justify the costs. austerity and live in costs, how can theyjustify the costs. the legacy is the key question, what happens when the show leaves the town. i am sorry, ijust don‘t when the show leaves the town. i am sorry, i just don‘t see when the show leaves the town. i am sorry, ijust don‘t see it. if you are getting into touch, you will be charged at the standard network rate. now the sport. in the last half hour — birmingham has been confirmed as the host city for the 2022 commonwealth games. at a cost of around £750 million,

it‘ll be the most expensive sports event to be held in the uk since the london olympics in 2012. our midlands reporter phil makky watched the announcement. what was the reaction in the room because it wasn‘t the biggest surprise? there wasn't much jeopardy when everybody gathered here in birmingham to hear this announcement. it had been heavily leaked, probably the worst kept secret but birmingham was the only viable bidder after durbin was originally given the games. they couldn‘t meet its financial commitments. the commonwealth games committee asked other countries to submit bids. birmingham was originally planning to be the host city in 2026, but is probably the best city in the best position at short notice to stage such a large

games because a lot of the facilities already exist. the ba rclayca rd arena and facilities already exist. the barclaycard arena and villa park. the alexander stadium is already an international athletic stadium, but it needs to be improved. the capacity of 12,500 needs to go to 40,000 so there will be a lot of money that needs to be spent, but less here than other cities. there we re less here than other cities. there were a lot of children from the arena academy waving their flags when louise martin from the commonwealth games made the official announcement. but it wasn‘t anything we weren‘t expecting, no other meetings in other cities around the world at the same time that might have given a clue. there is still a news co nfe re nce have given a clue. there is still a news conference going on in the background at the moment. we have andy street, the west midlands mayor and ian ward, the council leader. it isa and ian ward, the council leader. it is a west midlands bid to deliver the games in the next four and a half years. we have had messages coming into the programme this morning from people saying in the age of austerity, where is the £750

million coming from and where is going to be spent? is it the best to put public money at the moment? out of the £750 million, three quarters of the £750 million, three quarters of it comes from central government. birmingham and the west midlands needs to find 480 million over four and a half years and that is about £40 million a year. fairly small amounts of money in terms of their overall budgets which runs into billions of pounds every year. people will be concerned about the cost, it has been a tough time for local authorities over the past decade. but i have been talking to people for the last couple of months andi people for the last couple of months and i haven‘t met a single person on the street in birmingham or the west midlands who hasn‘t welcomed the idea. most people are enthusiastic about it here. birmingham and the west midlands has been largely overlooked and never get anything good going on here. it is much this by richard as a city and region from

places like london and elsewhere. they see this as an important opportunity to put the place in the shop window, get people coming here who will realise what a great place it has become and will continue to become over the next few years. thank you very much for an hour. also a big win for bristol city last night against manchester united in the league cup. catch that and the rest of the sports news on our website. thank you for your breaking news from your own personal life the 2017, we will read some more later in the programme. prime minister theresa may has sacked damian green as first secretary of state amid claims that pornographic material was found on a commons computer in 2008. the prime minister expressed "deep regret" at mr green‘s departure but said his actions "fell short" of the conduct expected of a cabinet minister. he denies viewing or down loading

the pornography but said he should have been more clear. damian green wrote he regretted being asked to resign following breaches of the ministerial code. he denied he had either downloaded or viewed pornography on his computer in parliament, but said he had made state m e nts parliament, but said he had made statements about misleading people about what he knew. let‘s get the latest from norman, why was he forced to go? one reason, he lied, as simple as that. damian green was not forced to quit because of the pornography on his office computers. an enquiry was unable to conclude whether he had downloaded it or whether he had downloaded it or whether he had viewed it. he wasn‘t forced to go because of the allegations from kate maltby that he behaved inappropriately towards her. she said she had a meeting with him

ina pub she said she had a meeting with him in a pub and was looking for career advice and he touched her knee and talked about how his wife was very understanding. enquiries said, she says that, he says that. although the enquiry describes her evidence as credible, he went because he dispensed pork pies. he lied about what the police had told him and his lawyers that pornography had been found on his pornographer, even though last month he said he knew nothing about it. where are we? this morning, he was out and about as usual. looking not back down in the mouth as he left home. how do you feel about being spoken to by the police? i am not going to comment. widerjuly to the public, mr green? have you let the prime minister down, mrgreen? so how does this play out the

theresa may? she lost her closest, political ally, lost her number two in government, lost a third minister ina in government, lost a third minister in a weeks. but a lot of tories are saying, it isn‘t so bad because mrs may has basically done the deed. she sacked her closest political ally, that shows guts, it shows leadership. this in to this tory mp this morning. the government is in a good place, so is the prime minister following the movement forward on brexit. there is strength and depth in the conservative party and it is an opportunity for the prime minister to look at the wider picture and decide if she wants to replace damian green or have a wider

reshuffle and a refreshing of the government for the new year. but there will remain question is whether mr green has been held to account over the allegations of inappropriate behaviour. and jess phillips, the labour mp, who has been at the centre of the pressure to get this culture changed at westminster, this morning was sounding a cautious note. his resignation and a consequence for inaction sends a very, very clear message to young men and women who work in and around politics, to feel that if they do come forward, there isa that if they do come forward, there is a chance there will be consequences, there is a chance justice will be done. up until this point, it had felt a little bit like, what is the point, nobody is listening. mrs may is en route to poland but when she lands there will bea poland but when she lands there will be a press conference so we will get her version of events. one of the interesting things is, does she seek

to replace damian green by appointing another first secretary? does she seek to go for a bigger reshuffle to show she has regained some authority? we may get a sense as to whether mrs may has managed to rediscover her merger by the way she responds to it and whether she feels sufficiently self—confident to go in for a much bigger reshuffle in the new year. thank you very much, norman. some really nice messages from you about acts of kindness. a man on twitter has sent me this photograph, on his way to work in bristol and it isa on his way to work in bristol and it is a photograph of a wall. people have put post—it notes where they have put post—it notes where they have talked about random acts of kindness that have been going on in bristol. it includes things like someone told me i had a nice smile. my someone told me i had a nice smile. my wife told me she loves me. it is

really lovely. i will try and download the picture so you can see it properly and see more of the messages. thank you for sending me that. kaci sullivan, 30, has become the first person in the world to give birth while living as both genders, four years after he began the transition from female to male. kaci conceived with partner steven, 27, after a break from taking male hormones. he underwent a c—section following seven days in labour before welcoming phoenix who weighs a healthy eight pounds nine ounces. here are a couple of videos he did during his pregnancy. i'm 32 weeks. getting big. hello, i'm 32 weeks. getting big. hello, i'm now eight months pregnant. a bit more than 37 weeks. sorry my bed looks like a bomb exploded on it in the background. i have been studying

all day. i finally had a caesarean section at about 2.00pm yesterday, so baby is not quite 24—hour is old, yet. kaci, thank you so much for talking to us and congratulations, i gather you got married yesterday? idid, yes. wow! how is that? sorry, what was that? how did that happen? well, we just got married before a judge. we had had a social ceremony in the summer with our friends and family and then it was just something that we still needed to take care of. it was nice it was before a judge, it was in the capital, madison has an absolutely gorgeous capitol building. it was nice, we had a few witnesses. it was really beautiful. it‘s clearly the middle of the night there, or sort of 2 in the morning, so phoenix at five—and—a—half weeks old is sleeping soundly. how is phoenix doing? they‘re doing fantastic. they‘re really happy, they‘re gaining weight, they have a great focus

and make eye contact. they reach their arms out to be held, they‘re cuddly, just great, everything a baby would be. tell us about the birth because i understand you were in labour seven days before you had a c—section? yes. there was a lot of labour for sure. my midwife knew somebody who was in labour for two weeks and said it could have been even worse. i did end up opting for a c—section. ijust was ready for it to be done. the labour was intense for sure but the birth was beautiful even though it was a c—section and unexpected. it‘s always scary to go under the knife. it wasn‘t my first c—section, my first child was a caesarean as well so it wasn‘t like i‘d never done it before. it was different though because when i had my first child i wasn‘t able to see anything so i felt disconnected from the birth experience. with this c—section there was a monitor so i was able to see the baby being taken out.

i saw the little mouth open as i heard the scream. it made it very real for me. it was a beautiful experience and they bring the baby over to you and while i was laying there, i was still able to get to see my husband looking at the baby and the baby looking at my husband and it was just lovely, it was like the baby knows that‘s their dad, it was a gorgeous moment and i really couldn‘t ask for more. many congratulations on the birth of phoenix. you have been taking the male hormone testosterone to help transition from a woman to a man but you took a break from that and your periods began again which is when you conceived with your partner steven? correct. exactly. how did you react when you realised you were pregnant this time? i was so happy. i was relieved. we‘d only been trying for six months which, in the grand scheme of things, isn‘t very long at all. but it was still long enough for me to be completely worried about it wasn‘t going to happen,

that we weren‘t going to be able to. there is not a lot of information out there so there wasn‘t a whole lot to go out there with and reassure myself and say, this is how it went for this person or this is what i can do to increase my chances so it feels a walk in the blind and taking shots in the dark which is why it‘s so important to create this contact so it‘s there for other people. so i was overjoyed when i finally had a pregnancy test. it was the third one we‘d had in a row. a lot of times that‘s common, you will have a positive pregnancy test and it doesn‘t stick so i was really grateful. i think you are always grateful when you are trying and it happens. as the pregnancy progressed, what response did you get from people when they saw you, a man with a pregnancy bump? you know, people don‘t really assume that. if it‘s a stranger, i didn‘t have a single incidence where somebody puts two and two together and realises that‘s what it was or if they did they certainly didn‘t communicate that to me or address me with that in any way.

but people certainly were intrigued by it. especially as it got near the end of it. people noticed the shape, for sure, and people stared and looked at each other and you sometimes see people commenting like, what is up with that, but nobody ever addressed me and i don‘t think that anybody probably made that assumption. maybe some people did, maybe some thought it was weird and wondered why i looked like that. were you ever anxious about going out? yes, absolutely. for the last trimester, i didn‘t want to leave the house. the last four weeks, it was like pulling teeth to try to get me to go out in public at all, it made me too anxious. i didn‘t want to deal with it. what made you anxious? what were you worried about? just the attention from people, you know. because it literally like, i couldn‘t go anywhere without people looking, which makes sense, i was hugely pregnant but ijust didn‘t... i‘m kind of a high anxiety person and i don‘t...

it‘sjust, even going into the grocery store, when you can‘t do that without people looking and noticing. it‘s more preferable to stay at home. you will know that online there have been some derogatory comments towards you. yes. i‘ve read some. some say that it‘s unnatural, that it‘s a sickjoke, that you are doing it for money. how to you react and respond to those kind of comments? i just laugh at them. i don‘t bother reading them. you know, you will find that you can be anyone doing anything and there‘s going to be a certain set of the populus that takes issue with you doing it. the more controversial what you are doing is the more that it can be expected but i don‘t know, it just doesn‘t really bother me. i don‘t particularly care, it‘s their problem, it‘s a personal issue, it doesn‘t affect me. i don‘t think a whole lot of people have babies for money.

i think a lot of times it kind of goes the opposite of that, babies are expensive, demanding little creatures. people want to believe things like that, that‘s entirely up to them. i just feel sorry for them really. you have given birth before five years ago when you had your son grayson. at that time you were living as a woman. give us some insight into what the difference for you was, giving birth as a woman, and giving birth transitioning to be a man? right, yes. you know, i think that there is a lot of interesting ideas wrapped up in that. that‘s why i‘m writing a book about it right now. i think that the biggest thing to address is that whole living as a woman, living as a man thing, right, because i‘ve always identified the way that i‘ve identified, there was never a time i was living as a woman, i was presenting that way and that is what people assumed. but they were very different experiences for sure. nothing about my first pregnancy felt hopeful or within my control. my body didn‘t look anything like i wanted it to. i was wrestling with the fact that

that was my reality, i didn‘t tell anybody, i didn‘t know if i ever would. i was so depressed. i was so depressed i didn‘t know if i would be able to bond with the baby once i had him. i was so terrified, what is my life going to look like, and this baby‘s life going to look like. the pregnancy itself was an oopsy pregnancy, i wasn‘t trying for it, i didn‘t mean for that to happen and the way i thought about myself and perceived myself was so different. i‘ve changed a lot in the last five—and—a—half years in the way that i think about what sex means, what does gender identity mean, what is a gender role, how are those things defining and how do they relate to each other and exist on their own as separate concepts. so that really changed the way i think about pregnancy and what i think about what it means to have, you know, this set of first and secondary sex characteristics

or not and how much gender can you really assign to the body parts someone is born with when we have intersex people and transgender identities whilst the clear that most things go together in a predictable way that‘s not always the case and it‘s not true and there‘s always room for variety and variation. you have described being depressed at the time of your last pregnancy when you, as you put it, were presenting at a woman. did you think perhaps the pregnancy might make you more connected to being a woman? yes, i definitely held out that hope for sure. i‘ve talked about that before. i hoped it would resonate with me and make it go away. i don‘t think anybody elects to be transgender and i knew that, to make my anxiety and misery go away, what coming out would entail.

it‘s crushing, the anxiety of that, thinking about everything that‘s going to change and thinking about everything that you stand to lose. people avoid it and put it off. so, yes, i was hoping that i would be cured of it, if you will. that definitely didn‘t happen. i didn‘t have that anxiety this time hanging over my head, i wasn‘t trying to make this pregnancy into something that could never be for me. this time i was trying to make it work for my own expectations and at least a lot more things were in my control, you know, i chose to have this baby, i wanted to as. it was an experience i was i was emotionally prepared for this time and i was able to have it looking and feeling the way that i wanted to feel. i had the support of people perceiving me that way. yes. you know... so generallyjust much more happier in yourself? yes, absolutely.

and i didn‘t feel like i was committing this horrible act towards this little person i was supposed to be bringing into the world. that‘s a big thing to play such a big part in choosing to be that miserable every day because you don‘t want to deal with the reality of who you are and what that means for you life, you know. it‘s a big weight to carry around, especially when it affects somebody so helpless. you are supposed to give everything to them and be willing to sacrifice for them. can i ask then, if you don‘t believe the pregnancy is an inherently feminine thing? right. you don‘t? you‘re asking me why i think that? yes. because how can it be, you know? if there are people with masculine gender identities who‘re wanting to have babies and, believe me, i‘m not the only one, i‘m sure in the united states alone, thousands of transmen have babies every year.

there‘s a lot of people online in private social spaces who‘re having those experiences and sharing them. then it can‘t be. the other thing you have to consider is that gender doesn‘t have to do with their first or secondary gender characteristics, it has to to with your brain‘s preconceived notions and expectations about what your body is going to be like, you know. it‘s the same way as a baby born without limbs will still maybe get phantom sensations in their arms and legs even though they‘d never had them because your brain is wired to expect your body to have limbs. do you accept kaci that for some people that might be difficult to hear you say pregnancy is not inherently feminine because pretty much the whole of modern civilisation sees pregnancy as a female thing? that‘s true. but we see things in a lot of binary way even though there‘s indisputable scientific evidence that says sex and gender exist

on a spectrum, you know. intersex people, transgender people, so much goes into the way that someone‘s body looks and the way that they see themselves. those two things aren‘t mutually exclusive and they are not interconnected to the same degree that i think people tend to assume that they are. i think there is more education and more awareness and more language, that‘s the other thing too. a lot of people can‘t separate a gender role from gender identity and a lot of people can‘t separate gender identity from sex. so of course people, i can understand when they‘re confused and when there‘s limited availability of scope of what it means to be transgender. then we have people‘s religious beliefs on top of that that filter what they see, think and feel about it. so naturally, it‘s going to be complicated. but i think there‘s been a lot of things over the course of human history that have been complicated and difficult for us to understand. i have no doubts that eventually

everyone will be on the same page. 0k. we have already referred to your five—and—a—half—year—old grayson, your little boy. your new baby phoenix, you have decided to bring phoenix up as gender neutral and i noticed at the beginning of our conversation, you talked about phoenix, you didn‘t use he or she, you said yes "they‘re doing really well". you said "they‘re bonding" and so on and so forth, you didn‘t use he or she. why have you made that decision? well, we‘re not going to raise them throughout their entire childhood that way. it‘s about personal autonomy and asking yourself if we can‘t decide what someone‘s gender identity is going to be and what their preferred pronouns are going to be and how they‘re going to see themselves based on their genitals, you know, we can make a guess, we‘d probably be right most of the time but enough of the time we‘ll be wrong that it‘s not not a good idea just for that reason. i just don‘t think it‘s something for me to decide for them

or share with other people. i think that by the time they‘re anywhere between 18 months and four years old, we‘ll probably have a real good idea of who they are and, at that time, i think it will be more appropriate to start using a gender pronoun. i think that... sorry, you know there will be people listening to you speak right now saying, well you already have a good idea because they‘ve either been born with boys genitals or girls genitals. true. and by allowing gender neutrality it could be tonne fusing if not could be confusing if not distressing for your child as they grow up? what point does that really have anyway, why are we concerned whether a child is male orfemale unless there‘s some attempts to sexualise them, you know. so... perhaps because it‘s more straightforward and simple for a child, easier to grasp, as you are growing up? well, i don‘t think that children have a tendency to gender themselves a whole lot, you know. i don‘t think there‘s going to be any damage done to them because they were able to choose

that for themselves, you know, especially being so small. again, people saying, there‘s nothing to decide, once again that ‘s the confusion between merging gender identity and sex, that‘s just somebody not understanding that there is more at play than just those genitals, right, that‘s not the only thing that dictates the sense of gender for that person, it more that person, it has well more to do with what is going on between their ears and what their brain expects. yes. and how they built their core personality based on that. you know all about that because of the struggles you had as you were growing up? yes, exactly. i do have that benefit of having that lived experience, so perhaps it does make it more relatable for me. i don‘t think it‘s impossible for people to understand, i really don‘t. i do think it‘s worth explaining kaci how difficult that can be for somebody because there are still some people

who do not understand the depth of anxiety and trauma and potentially self—harm that somebody can experience when they look one way but feel another? oh, yes, sure. absolutely. i don‘t think that people are incapable of understanding that at the same time but i can certainly relate with how confusing that might be, you know. just like for me, it was very difficult for me to understand what white privilege was at first. that is not an easy concept for me to grassp and honestly, i was bothered by that at first, you know, what‘s this, how do i feel about that, but the more i‘ve educated myself aboutlet that, the more i understand it. will i ever understand what it feels like to be a person of colour completely — no, no, i will not, but i can educate myself and listen and try to be a good advocate and i can, i can choose to default to what people of colour have to say about their experiences when i‘ve confused or don‘t understand.

i think that same thing could be applied to someone who doesn‘t understand gender variation, you know. there is resources out there to educate yourself. the problem comes when you decide to be transphobia, when you decide to be racist. that is the issue. if you are brought up thinking it‘s ok to be racist or it‘s even right to be, you are going to be confused and a lot of people grow up to think it‘s ok to be transphobic and even that‘s the right way to be, yes, they are going to be confused. people learn at different rates than others, but i do think over time more and more people will understand and it will be less confusing because we‘ll have more social context for it. right now people are taking shots in the dark, they don‘t have the framework to be understand it. that is why you doing the show is important, that‘s why me writing my book is important and putting the blog out there because people start to understand more, they have that framework,

they have something to put it against, you know, then at least there‘s hope for understanding. but right now, there‘s just not enough out there, i think, for people to understand as much as they want to. that will change. it will. the prime minister has sacked damian green over lies he told about having pornographic material on his ministerial computer. australian police have arrested two people after a car into a crowd in melbourne. the car "collided with a number of pedestrians" on flinders street, a busyjunction in the centre of the city. the state ambulance service say 14 people have been injured and several

are in a critical condition. police have said it was a deliberate act but it is too early to say whether it was terrorist—related. at this stage, we believe it is a deliberate act but we don‘t know the motivation and it is still an early stage of the investigation. tens of thousands of mothers and babies in england have been harmed when receiving maternity care over the last two years. more than 100 incidents were reported. most were minor but almost a quarter of the incidents led to the mother or baby being harmed. catalonians head to the polls today in a closely watched regional election called by spain, following october‘s controversial independence referendum. the snap election sees parties who want catalonia to be an independent republic face those who wish it to remain a semi—autonomous part of spain. all indications are that the result will be very close. south korea says its soldiers have fired around 20 warning shots at

north korean troops who had approached the border between the two countries. the defence ministry in seoul said the north koreans appeared to be searching for one of their soldiers who had taken advantage of thick fog to cross the border and defect to the south. here‘s some sport now with catherine. birmingham has been confirmed as the host city for the 2022 commonwealth games. there are now guarantees in place over the financing of the event, which, at around £750 million, will be the most expensive sports event to be held in the uk since the 2012 olympics. bristol city have knocked out the holders manchester united in the quarterfinals of the league cup — korey smith with an injury time winner for the championship side. they‘ll face manchester city and it‘ll be chelsea—arsenal in the other semifinal. celtic are back to winning ways, after their 69—match unbeaten run was ended at the weekend — they beat partick thistle 2—0, to go five points clear again at the top of the scottish premiership.

and marion bartoli says she‘s inspired by the williams sisters, as she prepares to return to tennis at the age of 33, having announced her retirement four years ago. those are the sports headlines, victoria. a child‘s chances of attending a high—performing secondary school depend heavily on where they live. that‘s according to a report by the think—thank, the education policy institute, which says that he regional divide in access to good schools in england is getting wider. it says that families living in london have an increasing chance of living near a good school, while those in parts of the north and north east are increasingly unlikely to have such good places available. let‘s talk now to the former education minister david laws, who‘s chairman of the education policy institute and to adrian kneeshaw, who‘s the head teacher of carlton bolling college in bradford. thank you both for talking to us.

david, what did you find? we looked at the availability of really high quality secondary school places throughout england and we have some fantastic schools. but what we found is the availability is much higher in areas such as london and the south—east, where in some areas, seven in ten of the secondary school places are in high performing schools. but in much of the north, north east and the midlands, we find areas where it is really difficult for children and parents to get into really high performing secondary schools. actually, the worrying thing is that divide has been opening up, it has been getting wider over recent years. why is there such a disparity?” wider over recent years. why is there such a disparity? i think london used to be one of the parts of the country which was doing really badly in terms of education, going back 15, 20 years. it has had,

from successive governments, every form of intervention, from extra money to teachers coming into the profession. more reform of the school system. that has produced, it seems, very school system. that has produced, it seems, very impressive results. but in the rest of the country, there hasn‘t been that degree of support. a school‘s improvement strategy, that relies on some of the best schools helping others nearby to improve, may be good for the geographic areas that have lots of high performing schools, but it is much tougher if you are in those areas that don‘t start with the really good base. adrian, thank you for talking to others, how do you react to this as a teacher of her —— headteacher of a college in bradford. a lot of it is down to the accountability, if you have a school

with a lower intake on entry, it was ha rd with a lower intake on entry, it was hard to get high and the attainment. one of the progress and eight measures, you have results in the top 5% and we were recentlyjudged outstanding. i think david makes good points about the money because london has had a lot of money pumped into it. areas within london have had £7,000 plus for each student, for their funding, whereas other parts of the country didn't get half of that money. time to buy 200 students in an average sized secondary school, is a big disparity in funding. also, the level of aspiration in london, it is like a world capital, so students that live in london, can see on their doorstep, the opportunities they can have. but if you live in barnsley, redcar, cleveland or blackpool, there is a different perspective and

thatis there is a different perspective and that is the level of aspiration isn't there. where ever you live as a kid, you have access to social media and that is making the world smaller? it is, but do you still believe you can do when you live in an area where there isn't a lot of opportunities. but you see the city of london and the number of opportunities there, people with those jobs, it is a mechanism to make you feel you can do it. if you live in a northern town that is rundown, it is harder to have the level of belief that those opportunities are there for you. you don‘t have to go far, sheffield, leeds, newcastle and manchester to see success? it is right, but can you compare leeds, liverpool, manchester and sheffield to london. it pulls in the most talent around the country for most jobs. it pulls in the most talent around the country for mostjobs. it is insignificant in relative terms to

london. david laws, what do you say? there is something in both of the points adrian makes. but london, not so long ago, was a really low performing part of the country when there was still a lot ofjob opportunities. adrian‘s school is a good example of the fact that even in parts of the country where funding is low and there aren‘t as many good opportunities, you have schools doing fantasticjob. i understand adrian‘s actually is. we don‘t have been of schools with the strength of leadership, governance and teaching that there appears to be in adrian‘s school. part of the challenge isn‘t just be in adrian‘s school. part of the challenge isn‘tjust the money and the aspiration, it is how do we help to ensure the quality of leadership, governance and teaching, notjust in london and the south—east where the problem has been largely cracked, but throughout the rest of the

country as well? thank you both very much. happy christmas. appreciate it. coming up, random acts of kindness. i love this story. let me read more messages. katie says, i love the story about kaci sullivan. the man who gave birth five years ago when he was living as a woman. i am 38 weeks pregnant with a surprise, i don‘t intend to keep the gender heading, but i don‘t believe in boys in blue and girls in pink. my midwife looked in horror and said, how will people know what it was? i say, they could ask me. but otherwise it is none of their business. neil says, an absolute

amazing interview with kaci sullivan, opening minds, it is nice to have some good news on all of it seems to be bad. let me bring you this news from the police in melbourne. it is to do with the incident earlier when a car drove into a crowd of pedestrians in the city. the driver of the car was a 32—year—old australian citizen of afg ha n 32—year—old australian citizen of afghan origin who has a history of mental health issues and drug use, according to the police in melbourne. the police are now saying the driver of the car was a 32—year—old australian citizen, originally from afghanistan who has a history of mental health issues and drug use. the police say it was and drug use. the police say it was a deliberate act. that is what they described it as earlier and we know 14 people have been injured and some of those are in a critical condition. back here... toys—r—us is in deep financial trouble — 3,200 members of staff are wondering if they‘ll still

have a job over xmas. we can get more on this from simon gone perverts. this store in south london, it is business as usual. some families have been coming in to do their christmas shopping and take advantage of discounts, but for thousands of toys—r—us staff who have been hearing the news, they have been hearing the news, they have been hearing the news, they have been wondering whether they still have a job. funnily enough this particular store is on a list of 26 that a likely to be closed any way, even if the company manages to doa way, even if the company manages to do a deal with its creditors at the meeting that is starting in about 10 minutes time this morning. the problem is that the interests of the staff are pitted against 600 members

of the pension scheme and a group called the pension protection fund has said it will vote against a deal to secure the future of the company. the talks are going on and there is hope that a deal could be done. they will be voting soon after 11 o‘clock. we might not hear the result for a couple of hours after that. obviously the staff here on opportunitier hooks to see —— tenterhooks to see what their future is. the pension protection fund, whose job is to protect people‘s pensions are saying toys—r—us are not going to put enough into the retirement fund to satisfy them? basically they‘re saying they want toys—r—us to pay in advance three yea rs‘ toys—r—us to pay in advance three years‘ worth of pension contributions into the fund to make

sure it closes some of the gap. their liabilities are £100 million and they only have 70 million in the fund. it is a signal of the lack of confidence the pension protection fund has that they will make the contributions. they don‘t want to see the firm go out of business so, it may be the gap between the two positions, toys—r—us says it doesn‘t have the £9 million to pay. that is still the hope and we will find out soon. we are going to talk to gary grant from the entertainer toys store. you believe this could be bad for the industry. yes just store. you believe this could be bad for the industry. yesjust nine yea rs for the industry. yesjust nine years ago we lost woolworths. was it nine years ago? . yes. yes so to

lose a specialist toys retailer will be bad for the industry and on a global industry it is not good for the uncertainty. that is because people are buying toys online. well toys—r—us trades on line. it is not online or bricks and mortar it is a combination of both. 20% of our seams are jon leyne, combination of both. 20% of our seams arejon leyne, but people —— online, but people use the internet to find information about our products. what is the key to making a trip then to a toy store in britain in 2017/18 worthwhile? it is about fun and for the entertainer it is about delivering a dream and a memory to this generation of children. you speak to grown ups and say can you remember a stop from your childhood, they can and i hope

in 20 years ago a six—year—old then 26 if asked would remember a particular shop and won‘t remember the brown envelope through letter box. it is about experiences and fun and picking up the products, received a stries from the assistant —— advice from the assistant and if it requires batteries you have been told. the internet doesn‘t deliver those personal bits of information and knowledge that a shop assistant has. it might be a trip being made worthwhile for the child, but for the parent you need good customer service and loads of staff and to be there behind the tills and not chats and actualry serving. —— actually serving. yes at the entertainer we are heavily sfafed and i was at a store yesterday and one mum said,

children how long do you want. they meant 16 minutes. you must feelfor the staff, just over 3,000 members of staff waiting to find ute what happens, not knowing if they‘re going to have a job. yes, happens, not knowing if they‘re going to have ajob. yes, we happens, not knowing if they‘re going to have a job. yes, we talk about companies going out of business as though it is just a thing. but actually behind the name and the company name there are people‘s jobs on the line. i feel for the 3,500 people that won‘t even be personally told, they will be told through the media. i hope the c ba is successful and toys—r—us have an opportunity to reshape their business. why aren't you opening on christmas eve? well it is not because it is christmas eve, it is because it is christmas eve, it is because it is a sunday. the entertainer doesn‘t trade on a sunday and for our 2,000 staff, they

will have a guaranteed two days off, because we work very hard and some shops are open between 60 and 84 hours this week. one shop is trading until 11 o‘clock. the staff are putting in a lot of hours to deliver the business. so it is a gift to us to be able to give them a two—day break. we are back on boxing day. so the break is short. but because christmas eve is on a sunday doesn‘t mean we will be open. thank you. next, we‘re going to talk about random acts of kindness, because they happen all the time around us, but particularly at this time of year. ian lloyd filmed a member of the public hand over a tv to a man selling the big issue. jackie cooper‘s husband died at christmas last year. she has been receiving counselling through a hospice all year, and is now volunteering and helping the hospice this christmas to give something back.

yan simonczyk is a taxi driver and has created a go fund me page for his 83—year—old customer gwen to take her out shopping. altogether £1,107 has been raised on a £700 goal. how much has been raised. £1,100 so far. roughly. we have got a couple of tins, we have one in the office and one in the pub. so yes i still haven‘t counted. roughly around £1,100. what was your goal? 200 to start with and itjust £1,100. what was your goal? 200 to start with and it just went crazy. everyone‘s really generous. i‘m a bit overwhelmed with the amount so far. it is going to make a massive difference to her life, which was my intention. just to make her life more comfortable. she is not the youngest and she does a lot for her

family and yes she is just a lovely woman and become like a bit of a adopted nan. we have built up a friendship. i'm going to show, sorry to interrupt, we have a video of you and gwen. hello to everybody. i missed you. stuck in the snow. i'm going to get flowers. come on, let's get you in the car. i haven't seen you for a while. i thought jack frost had gone you. what is that?! christmas card. a christmas card. when are you taking her shopping.” haven‘t surprised her yet. we are going to record a video, like the big reveal. as soon as i‘ve organised that and recorded a few things and surprised her which will be all be record and i will take her

shopping to get some essentials to make her life more comfortable and relaxed. it is not about buying luxuries. right, i'm going to ifi can speak to jackie and ian. ian, let‘s look at the video that you filmed showing this act of generosity. well, well, well. ian what we saw was your giving, the filming of the bloke giving the guy selling the big issue the stand, because he had already given him a television. at the start i thought

it was a bit weird. i thought he was asking me to mind the tv for him. when i seen him coming back with the television stand, i knew something was going on and i knew i had to film it and the rest you seen in the video. what did you think of what you saw? it was amazing. it brightened my day up. it was a monday morning ago you get monday morning blues and that lifted my spirits. you can imagine how the big issue seller felt. jackie, we only have a couple of minutes, tell us about volunteering in the hospice this christmas. it came about because i asked if they needed staff over christmas, with the in patients, because i had such valuable counselling from the hospice, although my husband didn't die there, but they snapped my hand off, because the other staff are off

at christmas. sol off, because the other staff are off at christmas. so i will be helping simple things like answering the door, answering the phone, welcoming visitors for the in—patients and perhaps sitting with the in—patients if they need somebody to talk to. generallyjust helping if they need somebody to talk to. generally just helping out if they need somebody to talk to. generallyjust helping out making tea, washing up. anything that wants doing andl tea, washing up. anything that wants doing and i shall be so pleased to be there. tell us why you were be pleased to be there? well, i've always worked and i want to be useful rather than sitting at home looking through a window on my own. so it's helping me as much as it is helping the hospice. by being there with the patients. it is very generous of you, jackie and i know it has been a difficult year. so it isa it has been a difficult year. so it is a wonderful decision from you and why we wanted to highlight it today. with yourself and with yann and ian

and we have had so many messages from people about the kind of acts of kindness that they have been on the end of this year. linda said, i would like to thank the gentleman who returned my purse yesterday. after i left it on the roof of my car. after putting air in my tyres. it had fallen off after i trove away. he —— drove away. he knocked on my door afterfinding my away. he —— drove away. he knocked on my door after finding my address on my door after finding my address on my door after finding my address on my driving licence and wished many‘ happy christmas. you have restored my faith in humanity. jackie and yann and ian thank you for coming on and thank you for what you‘re doing. in terms of your breaking news. martin said i left my job of 17 years that i hated and it almost split my marriage, but i start a new career in the new year and from this who said, speaking out

about my abuse as a child on your show has changed my life. thank you to you and your team. bbc news room live is next we are back tomorrow at 9.i live is next we are back tomorrow at 9. i will see you injanuary. thanks for watching have a wonderful christmas. like the last few days today we started off on a cloudy, misty and foggy note across many parts of uk. the clearest of the weather has been across the far north of scotland and and here you will see sunshine. for most of us drizzle and lots of fog around. this is in nottinghamshire but is in front is bringing the

cloudy skies and that drizzle. the sunshine across the north and the north—east of scotland will continue. chillier here, but elsewhere a mild afternoon. tonight more of the same mist and hill fog. milder but chilly in the far north—east of scotland. on friday some sunshine in the east of scotla nd some sunshine in the east of scotland and the north—east of england. this is bbc news. these are the top stories developing

at 11am: downing street says the sacking of damian green is a matter of sadness and regret for the prime minister, but ministers insist he had to go after making misleading statements. we do hold people to very high standards of conduct and on this occasion, very, very sadly and i know with a very heavy heart, the prime minister took the difficult decision that she had to. australian police arrest two people after a car drove into a crowd in melbourne, injuring 14 people — they say the action was deliberate but there is currently no evidence to suggest it was a terror incident. the bbc has learnt that tens of thousands of mothers and babies in england were harmed by lapses in maternity care in