today at five: recriminations and resignations after a men—only charity dinner in which women were reported to have been groped, propositioned and sexually harassed. two children's hospitals return money raised at the dinner and a government adviser quits. a reporter describes what happened at the event. touching their bums, touching, um, kind of grabbing them, pulling them into their laps, yeah, a complete range of sexual harassment, really. women have the right to feel safe wherever they work and allegations of this type of behaviour are completely unacceptable. we'll have the latest from westminster and and we'll be talking to city trailblazer nicola horlick. the other main stories on bbc news at five... it's emerged that victims of the black cab rapist john worboys were given written assurances that he would be in jail for a very long time after he was convicted. there's been a 70% rise in the number of prosecutions

collapsing in england and wales because of mistakes with sharing evidence. 20 years after dolly the sheep, scientists clone monkeys in china. it raises ethical questions about the experiment. the former labour minister dame tessa jowell talks for the first time about her aggressive brain tumour and the way cancer is treated in this country. i am not afraid. i feel very clear about my sense of purpose. it's 5 o'clock. our main story: one of the organisers of a charity dinner where women were reported to have been groped,

propositioned and sexually harassed has stepped down from the department for education. the businessman, david meller, was a non—executive board member at the department. mr meller has also resigned as a trustee of the mayor's fund for london. undercover journalists from the financial times say they were harassed and propositioned at the presidents club annual charity fundraiser in london last week. the organisers of the men—only dinner have said they're appalled by the allegations and have launched an investigation. great ormond street hospital and the evelina london children's hospital have both said they will return all previous donations from the organisation. daniela relph reports. undercover at the 5—star dorchester hotel. madison marriage, a reporter for the financial times, here getting ready for a night's work as a hostess at the presidents club fundraising dinner. the guests, all men.

the hostesses, all young women, paid around £200 for an evening's work. as the dinner began, guests were told they were at the most un—pc event of the year. there was a charity auction, including an offer of plastic surgery at a harley street clinic. perhaps, they were told, for their wives. these photos were taken by the financial times team outside the hotel. they say they show those attending the dinner minging. and during the evening, the undercover reporter says she and others were repeatedly groped and harassed by male guests. multiple women told me that they had been touched inappropriately, and that ranged from holding their hands to touching their stomachs, to hands near the bottom of their back,

things which maybe you might not find too offensive, but then, you know, touching their bums, kind of grabbing them, pulling them into their laps. yeah, there was a complete range of sexual harassment, basically. the event raised more than £2 million for several organisations including great ormond street hospital. it now says it will return all donations due to the wholly unacceptable nature of the event. guests included the government minister nadhim zahawi. he said he left early after feeling uncomfortable at what had begun to happen. he has vowed never to attend a men only function again. one of the auction prices was tea with mark carney, the governor of the bank of england. he was not at the dinner, but has expressed his dismay. the bank says it was not aware of the prize being offered. and the event host, the comedian and writer david walliams, has tweeted: and in a statement,

the presidents club said... what happened was that women were bought, as bait, for men — rich men, not a mile from where we stand, as if that is an acceptable behaviour. it is totally unacceptable. businessman david meller is a trustee of the presidents club and until today, he was also a nonexecutive board member at the department for education. he has now stepped down from that role. i'll be quite honest, mr speaker, i was born in 1955, and i think, as the honourable lady will know, and i have said at this

dispatch box before, i thought things had changed, and it is absolutely clear that it hasn't changed. i think there is an association between rich, wealthy people and this sort of behaviour. we have to send a clear message that this is unacceptable. the future of the presidents club dinner is also now in doubt. will the allegations of lewd behaviour end an event that has been held for 33 years? daniela relph, bbc news. let me bring you date with events in the united states. ajudge in michigan is about to hear from the former usa gymnastics team, dr larry nassar before imposing a sentence on him for molesting young female gymnasts. we gather here is about to speak. as have asked for a sentence of up to 125 years for nassar. let's

hear what he has to say. your words have had a significant emotional effect on myself and have shaken me to my core. i also recognise that what i am feeling pales in comparison to the pain, trauma and emotional destruction that all of you are feeling. there are no words that can describe the depth and breadth of how sorry i am for what has occurred. an acceptable apology to all of you is impossible to write and convey. i will carry your words with me for the rest of my days. sir, i hope that's true. i hope you

are shaken to your core. i agree with your words. vigilante crime is not tolerated, so i hope that no one will do anything u ntowa rd that no one will do anything untoward against you. crime plus crime solves absolutely nothing. please respect theirjob. it's a

difficult one. i know, i have been in their shoes. the sixth amendment does guarantee each defendant the right to counsel. it doesn't matter what the defendant has done, they have the right to counsel. i also wa nt have the right to counsel. i also want to say, that being said, we also have the first amendment. so you are all free to have your own opinions. it's always a balancing act between the first amendment, the sixth amendment, all of the due process and other amendments to the constitution. they are all valuable in theirown constitution. they are all valuable in their own way. that's why we have an organised and just society and that's why we are here today, because this defendant has been brought tojustice. because this defendant has been brought to justice. do because this defendant has been brought tojustice. do not make it worse, please. before i get to sentencing, i want to talk about a

couple of things. first, i have said what i need to say to the victims. i have a bit more to say. you are no longer victims, you are survivors. you're very strong and i would address you individually. before i say anything further, i don't know if you all notice. and i know that the world is watching —— i don't know if you all know this. i know this because i am on a bench every day and this isn't the only heinous crime that appears in this court. the national crime victimisation survey that is done by the justice department annually reports that 310 out of every 1000 assaults are reported to police, which means that two out of three go unreported. the voices of the survivors have asked

everyone , voices of the survivors have asked everyone, report. keep yourvoice up. rachel's voice hopefully will raise these numbers of reports and all of your voices. but that statistic does not include children 12 and under. one in ten children will be sexually abused by their 18th birthday. one in seven girls, one in 25 boys by their 18th birthday. that means that in the united states, i'm not talking about any other country, but in the united states, 400,000 babies born in the us will become victims of child sexual abuse. it stops now. speak out like these survivors. become pa rt of

out like these survivors. become part of the army. i do one case at a time, andl part of the army. i do one case at a time, and i really appreciate all of your thank yous. i time, and i really appreciate all of yourthank yous. i of “4c maui “a; i c::.1 :.-.g: 4t“: i'm betsey; “4c maui “a; i c::.1 :.-.g: 4t“: my i'm beagle? “4c maui “a; i c::.1 :.-.g: 4t“: my if n beagle? “4c maui “a; i c::.1 :.-.g: 4t“: my. ifngcomel doing myjob. if you come-intomy any wednesday to watch courtroom any wednesday to watch sentencing, i give everybody a voice. i give defendants a voice, the families when they are here. i try to treat everybody like family, because that's the justice system that i was raised to believe in. i came to this country stateless. i'm naturalised. my father's maltese, my

mother's german and i was raised on old country values. and my grandmother always told me and my parents always told me, my grandfather too, that america is the greatest country. i believe that, so i served greatest country. i believe that, so iserved in greatest country. i believe that, so i served in the military. that's why i have always done community service. i'm not really well liked, because i speak out. i don't have many friends, because i speak out. if you ask a question, you had better be ready for the answer. i speak out because i want change, because i don't believe in hiding the truth. i'm not saying i'm always right, but i try. i also don't believe that one size fits all when it comes to sentencing. another

reason why i listen. i know that there are some judges for every crime you give the same punishment. i don't think that is justice. crime you give the same punishment. i don't think that isjustice. i believe in individualised sentencing. i follow the constitution, and i believe our syste m constitution, and i believe our system works. i also believe in these survivors. now, there is case law about howl these survivors. now, there is case law about how i can consider what i consider. first and foremost, my sentence reflects the seven defendants. but the remainder of due, the 161 others, add to the

credibility of those seven. so technically, i am considering everything, everyone, because all of your crimes, the depth of them have cut into the core of this community and many communities and all of the families and people we don't even know. sir, the media have asked me to release your letter. i'm not going to do that. the council may object, the media may object, but there is information in here that troubles me in regard to the victims. and i don't want them re—victimised by the

word that you have in here. but i do wa nt word that you have in here. but i do want to read some more of your letter, and the reason i want to do thatis letter, and the reason i want to do that is because i have considered it in sentencing as an extension of your apology and whether i believe it or not. so i want you to hear your words. i've already read some and i am not reading every line. let me begin. " the federaljudge went ballistic at sentencing since i pleaded guilty to the state cases, and spent 10% on the federal case and spent 10% on the federal case and 90% on the state cases and civil suits. she gave me 60 years instead of five to 20 years, three

consecutive 20 year sentences. i pleaded guilty to possession of porn from september 2004 to december 2004, four months. the prosecutor even admitted that i never belonged to any porn sites, any chat rooms, was not on the dark web and also, they could not prove that i viewed it. it was all deleted, of course. i shared my electronics and i could not prove that. several four months of porn possession from 2004, i was sentenced to 60 years. not proper for appropriate. going down a few lines, " what i did in the state

cases was medical, not sexual. but because of the porn, i lost all support, thus another reason for the state guilty plea". let me move down further. "so i tried to avoid a trial to save the stress to this community, my family, the victims, yet look what is happening. it is wrong. " yet look what is happening. it is wrong. let me move down further. "i wasa wrong. let me move down further. "i was a good doctor, because my treatments worked and those patients that are now speaking out were the

same ones that praised and came back over and over same ones that praised and came back overand overand same ones that praised and came back over and over and referred family and friends to see me. the media convinced them that everything i did was wrong and bad. they feel i broke their trust. hell hath no fury like a woman scorned". "it isjust a complete nightmare. the stories that are being fabricated to sensationalise this, then the ag would only accept my plea if i said what i did was not medical and was for my own pleasure. they forced me to say that, or they were going to

trial. not accepting the plea, i wa nt trial. not accepting the plea, i want to play no contest, but the ag refused that. i was so manipulated by the ag and now aquilina and all i wanted was to minimise stress to everyone like i wrote earlier. " going down a bit further. " in addition with the federal case, my medical treatments with the olympic/ national team gymnastics were discussed as part of the plea. the fbi investigated them in 2015 and found nothing substantial because it was medical. now they are seeking

the media attention and financial rewa rd " the media attention and financial reward". would you like to withdraw your plea? no, your honour. because your plea? no, your honour. because you are guilty, aren't you? are you guilty, sir? i accept my plea. the new sign language has become treatment. these quotes, these air quotes, i will never see them again without thinking of you and your despicable acts. i don't care how they are used, i will always think of quotes and the word treatment. it

was not treatment, what you did. it was not treatment, what you did. it was not treatment, what you did. it was not medical. there is no medical evidence that was ever brought. when this case first came to me, and i have to do this and i apologise to the olympians and athletes, but i have five children and two dogs. my parents lived with me and i work fourjobs. i don't have much time for television. i don't watch sports. although last year i was a soccei’ sports. although last year i was a soccer coach, much to the laughter of my family. i didn't know anything about you, your name or anything that was going on. and so when i ke pt that was going on. and so when i kept saying, we are going to trial, here is the date, and everyone wanted more time, i said no. and then the cases were merged and we delayed it and i still thought, maybe there is a defensive medical

treatment. why did i think that? because it's myjob to be fair and impartial, but also because my two brothers and my father are very well known and respected doctors, real doctors with real treatments and research, dedicated to healing. in this case, i have heard from your survivors that they trust doctors like i trust the doctors in my family and the doctors i go to. but i still thought, there is a defensive medical treatment and there are changes in the medical community every day for the betterment. so up until the time you

pleaded, i believed that maybe there was a defence here despite the felony information. i was ready for trial. your counsel was ready for trial. your counsel was ready for trial. the attorney general's office was ready for trial. you, sir, decided to plead because there was i'io decided to plead because there was no medical treatment. you did this for your pleasure and your control. this letter, which comes two months after your plea, tells me that you have not yet owned what you did, that you still think that somehow, you are right, that you are a doctor, that you're entitled, that you don't have to listen and that you don't have to listen and that you did treatment. i wouldn't send my you did treatment. i wouldn't send s you did treatment. i wouldn't send

my dogs to you, sir. there is no treatment here. you finally told the truth. in action is an action. silence is indifference. justice requires action and a voice and that is what has happened here in this court. 168 buckets of water replaced in your so—called match that got out of control. i also, like the attorney general, want to thank law—enforcement for their investigation, but i also want to be the voice on behalf of the survivors who ask law—enforcement to continue

theirfine who ask law—enforcement to continue their fine work and also to include their fine work and also to include the federal government. there has to bea the federal government. there has to be a massive investigation as to why there was inaction, why there was silence. justice requires more than what i can do on this bench. i want to also applaud all of the counsel in the attorney general's office. i wa nt in the attorney general's office. i want to also counsel defence —— i wa nt want to also counsel defence —— i want to also counsel defence —— i want to applaud defence counsel. you all have done fine work. you make me proud of our legal system. we all work together for the betterment of oui’ work together for the betterment of our community, and that is law—enforcement, prosecutors, defence counsel, investigators.

there are countless people. it is the only way our system works. we need this balance. so all of you, when i look at myself as lady justice, my arms are like this. they are balanced. prosecution and defence are balanced. it only starts to tip after there is a plea and after i take into consideration everything that has happened. sol wa nt everything that has happened. sol want everyone to understand. i have also done my homework. i always do. the people versus waclawski, the

2009 case. in it, i want you to clearly understand, it says that plainly, the law does not limit victims' impact statements to direct victims. it doesn't say, and i have found nowhere that limits me from having you all under victims. as i said before when counsel came to me and said, we are not going to trial, despite our court having already sent out 200 of the 800 chor requests —— juror requests, and you

told me the plea and i considered it and moved to trial, there was the agreement between us because i always, and they know it, they are familiar with me, let people speak. and i wanted all victims, and we had a discussion about which victims. and of course, there was an objection to one of them. i let it coming anyway. that was part of the plea that you entered into to allow the victim impact statements, because after that discussion, i know your lawyers sat down with you and said, the judge know your lawyers sat down with you and said, thejudge is know your lawyers sat down with you and said, the judge is going to allow this. and when it comes down to it, i know it also because this was signed by the attorney general, by the defendant and by defendant's

counsel in 2017. aside from the letter that you wrote a couple of months after your plea, which tells me you still don't get it, there's something i don't understand and i want to make clear. sir, you knew you had a problem. that is clear to me. you knew you had a problem from a very young age, even before you were a doctor. you could have ta ken even before you were a doctor. you could have taken yourself away from temptation, and you did not. but worse yet, there isn't a survivor who hasn't come in here and said how

world—renowned who hasn't come in here and said how world— renowned you were. who hasn't come in here and said how world—renowned you were. i trust what they say. you could have gone anywhere in the world to be treated. you could have gone to any resort, any doctor, or place where you can get treatment in europe. they have all sorts of hidden places for things like this. no one had to know and they could have found some treatment, taken some medicine. you could have done that if you had cancer. i know you would have. you are about self—preservation. but you decided to not address what's inside you that causes this control urge, that causes you to be a sexual predator. so, your allergies

escalated, and based on the numbers that we all know go unreported, i cannot guess how many vulnerable children and families the action league... your decision to assault was precisely calculated. devious and despicable. your survivors have said all of that, and i don't want to repeat it. you can't give them back their innocence, their youth. you can't give a life back, or one of the father's life back. you can't

return the father to the daughter. you played on everyone's bond ability. —— you played on everyone's bond ability. — — vulnerability. you played on everyone's bond ability. —— vulnerability. i'm not vulnerable. not to you, not to other criminals. at the podium, i swore to the concentration and the law, and i am well trained. the concentration and the law, and i am welltrained. i know the concentration and the law, and i am well trained. i know exactly what to do. and, this time, i am going to do it. and, i want you to know, as much as it was my honour and privilege to hear the survivors, it was my honour and privilege to sentence you. because, sir, you do not deserve to walk out of a prison,

again. you have done nothing to control those urges. and anywhere you walk, destruction will occur to those most vulnerable. now, i you walk, destruction will occur to those most vulnerable. now, lam honouring the agreement. i'm also honouring the agreement. i'm also honouring what has been requested of me. iwant honouring what has been requested of me. i want you to know, i'm not good at maths. i have a cheat sheet. i am only a lawyer. i know that you have a education in physics and maths. but, i have a cheat sheet. it is my privilege on council one —— counts one, two, five, eight, ten, and 18

and 24 to sentence you to 40 years. and, whenl and 24 to sentence you to 40 years. and, when i look at my cheat sheet, 40 years, just so you know, is 480 months. the tail end, because i need to send a message, that somehow god is gracious, and i know here's, and you survived these 60 years in

federal court... you've gone off the page as to what i am doing. my page only goes 400 years. sir, i am giving you 175 years, which is 2100 months. i've just signed your death warrant. i need everyone to be quiet. i find that you don't get it, that you are danger. you remain a danger. i that you are danger. you remain a danger. lam that you are danger. you remain a danger. i am a judge who believes in life and rehabilitation, when rehabilitation is possible. i have many defendants come back and show me great things that they have done in theirlives, me great things that they have done in their lives, after probation, after parole. i don't find that possible with you. so, you will

receive jail credit, on council one, two, five, eight, ten, and 18, after 69 days. on current 24, you will have 370 days jail credit. if you are ever out which is doubtful, you will be required to register with the michigan six offenders registration —— sex offenders registration. you will pay restitution in the amount to be determined, based on what ever amounts are submitted, and your attorneys can ask me for restitution hearing, so that i can determine what a reasonable one is that the

victims. i am leaving restitution open as long as there are issues that can be medically documented. you will pay a $60 either that, i am sure that will be done. you must submit to hiv testing, and counselling associated to hiv and aids. you will pay 476 dollars. you will pay a crime victim 's assessment. i don't know his financial state... so, there, you

can hear thejudge financial state... so, there, you can hear the judge on that courtroom sentencing larry nassar, to 175 yea rs sentencing larry nassar, to 175 years in prison. he had said to his victims, there, in the courtroom apologised for what he had called the pain and trauma and emotional destruction that they were all feeling, but extremely harsh words from thejudge, saying feeling, but extremely harsh words from the judge, saying that while he claims he was a medical doctor," i wouldn't send my dogs to you that." this is a case that has really gripped the whole of the united states, hasn't it? and a very strong sense at the end of it? yes,

absolutely. at the beginning of this, 88 women had chosen to speak, but others came forward, gaining strength and the others, and in the end, nearly 160 women and girls came forward to give their accounts. each was as powerful as the last, but they all were very similar in the sense that they said that larry nassar was a renowned physician. that he gained their trust by putting forward a wholesome persona, and grooms them by saying that he would heal them and help them achieve their dreams, but instead, under the guise of medical treatment, he sexually assaulted them. we had thejudge, as you said, there was an very top words into that very —— tough wording to that long sentencing. she said that larry nassar was beyond rehabilitation. that he does not deserve to walk out of prison ever again. she said, i just signed your death warrant. it

is worth pointing out that the judge said that there needs to be a massive investigation into how nothing was done in this case. larry nassar was able to abuse these young girls, some as young as six years old for decades, and again, many of the women who had spoken in court detailed how they are believed that the adults around them knew what was best, so they were very confused about what was happening to them. also pointing out that some at usa gymnastics, and the us olympic committee should be held responsible. we saw on monday three board members step down. but, an olympic gold medallist has called foran olympic gold medallist has called for an independent enquiry into this. so, again, this has been a case that has really gripped the nation, and after the seven days of unprecedented and emotional testimony, we now have the centres of 175 years for larry nassar. talk about the length of time that this

abuse was going on for. he was serving as the us gymnastic physician through four olympic games. there have got to be questions about how he was allowed to continue for so long. yes, absolutely. the allegations came to light in 2016, after an indiana is starring investigation into how several reports of sexual abuse to usa gymnastics were ignored and not properly handled. today, we actually had racial den hollander, one of the first public accusers speaking in court. and after that indianapolis star, she was the first to come forward publicly, to detailed the allegations. she went through a lot of emotional stress trying to get this case to court. eventually, larry nassar did decide to accept

the plea and agreement in november, and we had thejudge the plea and agreement in november, and we had the judge saying that he accepted the agreement, because he had no medical defence for what he had no medical defence for what he had done. there was nothing medical behind the treatment he was giving to these young girls, that has irreparably damage their lives. thank you very much indeed. more now on our main story. the organisers of a men—only charity dinner have said they're appalled by allegations of sexual harassment at the event, and have launched an investigation. undercover journalists from the financial times say they were groped and propositioned at the presidents club annual charity fundraiser in london. we have had a statement saying that

they will not host... remaining funds will be given to children's charities. that men only dinner on the presidents club that was reported in the financial times, where there were allegations of sexual harassment, that will be the last meeting of its kind. with me now is nicola horlick — a former investment fund manager, who is now chief executive of money and co, which lends to small and medium sized british businesses. what do you make of this very long detailed report in the financial times about what went on? hundreds of men in this dinner, and women, quite young women, hired as hostesses. first of all, i would like to congratulate the financial times for being so brave and

breaking this story. for this to be happening in this day and age it is an unbelievable. when i read their report, it read like them and that might have happened 35 or 40 years ago, but in 2018. and, it was incredibly strange, but, given all the publicity, surrounding all the things that have happened with this type of behaviour, harvey weinstein, as well and so on and so forth, that anyone thought it was appropriate to have this kind of dinner, i do not understand what the organisers were doing. we had in the comments, the education minister who was taking an urgent question, that he thought that things had changed, they happened, there is an association between rich, wealthy people, this sort of behaviour. you think that is true? there seems to be true. given these sorts of people who were attending this dinner. just to be clear, it wasn't bankers. some people talk about bankers, but it seems as though it was primarily, leading business names. people at the top of businesses, managing

large businesses and employing large numbers of women in some cases. so, for this to happen, is rather extraordinaire. and when you talk about business, the biggest tool type of behaviour is typical of business in this country in the workplace? well, i had hoped not, but maybe i'm wrong. for young girls to be hired, to be paid £200, a p pa re ntly to be hired, to be paid £200, apparently a lot of these girls, according to the financial times we re according to the financial times were students, or had newly graduated, and were looking for jobs. so, these are girls living in london where it is regrettably expensive to live. they work offered the chance of this charity dinner which helps with the rent, and they got there and were sexually abused. why would anybody want to be involved in something like that? it is notable that many of them are not commenting, or if they are commenting, or if they are commenting they are trying to pretend that they weren't there, or they haven't been for it few years, will or whatever. let me just read

you a couple of that word to the ft, actually, a lot of their readers said they were shocked, but some of their readers said that this was harmless one, and that the ft‘s coverage was puritanical. well, i don't think it was harmless fun. it was there —— if it was their 20—year—old daughter who was told to good one of the things, to wear a book black underwear and a slinky jazz, obviously the girls must have been rather naive to go along with it, especially if it was a charity dinner, it might seem a bit odd being asked to dress like that, but if it was your daughter, how would you feel? people can make these remarks, it is just a you feel? people can make these remarks, it isjust a bit you feel? people can make these remarks, it is just a bit of fun, but it is not acceptable. the people who say that it is just a bit of fun, they need to understand that the worked as a change, and there's too much of this going on, and things have to change. thank you so much for talking to us. there's been a significant rise

in the number of prosecutions collapsing in england and wales because of a failure by police or prosecutors to disclose evidence. figures obtained by bbc news show that more than 900 people were formally cleared, or had cases against them dropped, in the year to last april because of problems with disclosure. here's our home affairs correspondent danny shaw. i was relieved, notjust for myself, for everyone that's been with it every step of the way. under investigation for rape for two years, liam allen's life was on hold. then, three days into his trial, his legal team received crucial information and the prosecution was halted. the case highlighted problems with disclosure, the duty on police and prosecutors to pass on material which might assist the defence case or undermine the prosecution's. finally, liam allen achieved the justice that should have been his from two years earlier. he had been on bail for two years not knowing if he was going to be convicted, facing a sentence of perhaps 12 years or so and be

on the sex offenders' register for life. just the toll upon a young man who is in the middle of a university degree cannot be imagined. bbc news has obtained figures on how many people have been cleared or had allegations dropped against them because of disclosure failings. in 2014—15, proceedings were halted against 537 people. by last year, that number had risen to 916. that's a 70% increase in two years in the number of defendants cleared after disclosure failings emerged. the implication is that it could lead to miscarriages ofjustice. the criminaljustice system is based upon trusting the prosecution to disclose material which undermines their case or assists a defence case. and if they are not doing that, then clearly, there can't be a fair trial. the crown prosecution service says the number of trials which collapsed because evidence is not disclosed when it should be is a fraction of the total number of cases they deal with, about one in every 1,000 prosecutions.

but the cps says that is still too many and, in the coming days, they will be publishing an action plan to tackle the issue, along with the police. senior police officers say there needs to be a change of mindset, so disclosure is put at the centre of an investigation, rather than something that is done at the end. danny shaw, bbc news, at the old bailey. the former labour cabinet minister, dame tessa jowell, has spoken about her diagnosis of a particularly aggressive form of brain cancer called glioblastoma. in herfirst interview since being told she had the illness, the former culture secretary has been speaking to the today programme's nick robinson about how she thinks medical trials should be improved to increase the speed which patients are treated. ifeel every single bit of my determination to go on creating better opportunities for people managing cancer. i feel very clear about my sense of purpose, and what i want to do. and how do i know how long it's going to last? i'm certainly going to do everything i can to make it a very long time. the health secretaryjeremy hunt

announced on twitter that he will be looking at the cancer care suggestions made by baronessjowell. joining me now is sarah lindsell, chief executive of the brain tumour charity. sarah has worked closely with baronessjowell and can explain what the proposed medical trials consist of. brain tumours unfortunately one of the biggest cancer killers of adult under 40. the best is particularly aggressive. it is a very aggressive

tumour. it can affect the most amazing part of your body, who you are, and actually for friends and family, it is a very difficult disease to live with, and suffer through. to be able to have adaptive trials, she was talking about that. can you talk about what that is. u nfortu nately, can you talk about what that is. unfortunately, there are very few treatments for brain cancer, and more often than not, you will hear a —— see a health care professional, and they will say, i am very sorry, you have a brain tumour, and they send you home and reginald well. that is not good enough. what dame tessa jowell is saying is that we need different ways of treating cancer, and new trials. traditional trials don't work, they take too long, and they are very expensive.

an adaptive trial can test a newjob quickly and when it doesn't work, it switches, jobs that one and tries a new one. for patients, it is a new way of working. so, in a sense, moving one from —— from one trial to another. yes, imagine a tree, and the branches are different types of drugs and treatments that different patients could use. if you gather all the data into one place, actually, you can really understand what is going on within each of those arms and branches. with all of the different patients. and why our patients not able to have that at the moment, what is up in the health authorities allowing that?” the moment, what is up in the health authorities allowing that? i guess we like tradition, don't we? and for many institutions, we like to do things the way that we have always done them, and doing things any another to way can be tricky for people. actually, the brain cancer patients, they don't have time, a

cure can't wait. we have to move quickly, and this is the way forward. and, if it is question of funding for this type of cancer. there is no doubt that research in brain cancer has been underfunded. at our charity, we probably fund between 20 to £25 million into research recently, and actually it isn't enough. it is more about the infrastructure, and the way that we do trials, but also looking at patient experience. prognosis is very poor, and patient experience is very, very poor. this is one of the worst cancers. do you think that just more generally on cancer that we are doing enough in this country, just to research it, and to put funding into those. with some cancers, we are leading, absolutely. but, for brain cancer, that is not the case. unfortunately, when people

are diagnosed with brain cancer, their prognosis is not good. we need to invest in new and innovative treatments, and that is the only way forward. thank you so much for coming in. chief executive officer of the brain tumour charity. for the first time ever, researchers in china have successfully created two identical monkeys by somatic cell nuclear transfer. researchers at the chinese academy of sciences institute of neuroscience in shanghai, named the newborns zhong zhong and hua hua which means "chinese nation" or "people". they used the same technology that was used to clone "dolly" the sheep back in 1997.

writes, you have been watching coverage from us here at bbc news in london. time for a look at the weather. here's tomasz shafernaker. thank you. really unpleasant day for most of us, today. there was some serious snow going on over the last few days, not in northern england only but in scotland too. storm georgina producing gusts of 100 mph in some of the hills in scotland, but even coastal areas. the radar shows how the storm is swelling around, there, but the weather front has swept across the country and brought as a spell of very heavy rain. this is what it will look like in the next few hours. towards the south, we have still got a brisk wind, and there will be showers around. still very gusty around the

coast, but i think for most of us the... the worst of the weather is in scotland. we felt the strong winds even as far south as southern england. still some showers around in the wake of storm georgina, which is just around here, in the wake of storm georgina, which isjust around here, you can see in the wake of storm georgina, which is just around here, you can see at spinning around there, very close to the coast of norway. across scotland, lots of showers, round, and the temperatures around about six to 8 degrees, and that is more 01’ six to 8 degrees, and that is more or less what it is right now. through tonight, the south—westerly winds still blowing hard, although not as hard, and lots of showers around, as well. but, clear spells, too. how about the weather for thursday. still a brisk wind around, but lots of showers on the way through the afternoon, many of us will have a bright and sunny morning, it really could start orders, across many areas, but then we will see lots of showers coming in. the best of the weather, will be

lincolnshire, east anglia, maybe the south—east. everybody tomorrow is at risk of showers. much drier, much quieter day to come on friday. right across the country, but then later in the day, we are expecting more weather fronts to move in, in the day, we are expecting more weatherfronts to move in, and in fa ct, weatherfronts to move in, and in fact, friday night, into saturday, this storm which is actually going to move closer to iceland, will still bring strong winds and a weather front, meaning that the weekend, unfortunately, is looking pretty great, with the rain around as well. but, the chapters will be hovering around about 12 degrees. so, a real mixed bag on the way. thank you. the exclusive men—only charity dinner which has been running for more than 30 years cancels all future events after hostesses say they were sexually harassed. the event at london's dorchester hotel was filmed by an undercover reporter who says women working there were told to wear skimpy black dresses and matching underwear. women were bought as bait for men. rich men, not a mile from where we stand as if that is

an acceptable behaviour. it is totally unacceptable. charities like great ormond street who benefited from large donations have said they're handing back the money. also tonight: jailed for 175 years for molesting young gymnasts over decades — the disgraced usa gymnastics team doctor, larry nassar apologises to his victims in court. controversial monkey business — 20 years after dolly the sheep — scientists in china have cloned two monkeys.