hello, it's thursday, it's 9am, i'm victoria derbyshire. welcome to the programme. our top story... the mystery substance that left a former russian spy critically ill is finally identified. it was a nerve agent that put sergei skripal, his daughter, yulia, and a police officer in hospital. they are fighting for their lives. we're talking to a man who is considered vladimir putin's number one enemy — who says he has to take steps to protect his own life. ido i do not spend my life living in fear but i have to take great precautions so they do not kill me. you say that so matter—of—factly, wow. you say that so matter—of—factly, wow. i have been living with it for yea rs. all you single women, does this man look like an eligible bachelor to you? he's got a great online profile, but he's not only married, he's also gay. and his identity has been stolen by scammers, who lure women in and then ask them for money. we'll be talking to the real steve bustin in a few minutes.

and we've got exclusive figures on a rise in the number of women from northern ireland travelling to england for an abortion since the government announced they would no longer have to pay. but campaigners say more needs to be done to help women from the country who want a termination. hello, welcome to the programme. we're live until 11 this morning. as we are each weekday. after 10am, we will talk about new proposals from the home secretary, amber rudd, which she and the prime minister publishing today to tackle domestic abuse in the future. some of the new areas consulted on include tagging suspects or banning them from drinking. and also recognising in

the definition of domestic abuse that it can be economic abuse, as well as physical and psychological. if you have experienced domestic abuse or you are if you have experienced domestic abuse 01’ you are a if you have experienced domestic abuse or you are a perpetrator, we would like to hearfrom abuse or you are a perpetrator, we would like to hear from you. abuse or you are a perpetrator, we would like to hearfrom you. do abuse or you are a perpetrator, we would like to hear from you. do get in touch. you can e—mail us, message us on in touch. you can e—mail us, message us on facebook or twitter. our top story today... the home secretary, amber rudd, is due to make a statement this morning in the house of commons about the nerve agent used in the attempted murder of a former russian spy and his daughter. while police have now identified the type of chemical, it's not yet known where it was made or who could have carried out the attack. tom burridge has more. this was sergei skripal last month at a corner shop. now police believe someone tried to kill the former spy and his daughter with a nerve agent.

it happened here in the small cathedral city of salisbury. a police officer who attended to the pair now also in a serious condition in hospital. what nerve agent was used is the question experts at this military research centre are trying to answer. nerve agents essentially cripple the nervous system of the body and are not easy to manufacture. nerve agents require a non—insignificant financial, logistical and technical back—up to actually be manufactured. and so that would lead to more likelihood of a state manufacturing it. life in salisbury right now is anything but normal, this is the restaurant where mr skripal and his daughter had lunch hours before they fell ill. a blond woman and a man could be of interest, seen in this cctv footage from near the crime scene. his daughter apparently had dark hair, like in this photo. they are both in a critical

condition in hospital. tom burridge, bbc news. ahead of her statement in the commons, amber rudd, home secretary, had this to say this morning in an interview with bbc breakfast. this was a very serious incident which is why we've got the police down there in full force conducting the investigation. which is why we're giving all the support we can, the medical support necessary, to the people who've been affected. of course i'm very concerned about the policeman. i would observe that our chief medical officer sally davis has said that the risk to the public is low, so i would urge the public to take comfort from that. we have been ready for a while for a number of different types of terrorist activity and we are making sure that we give the public the support, that we contain the incident and that we collect the evidence so that when we come to attribution, we will know what to do. 0ur correspondent, leila nathoo, is in salisbury.

what's the latest? we know that counterterror police are saying this is a rare nerve agent used in salisbury to specifically target sergei and yulia skripal who were found unconscious on the bench that remains under the police tent behind me. this narrows down somewhat the possibilities in terms of who would be able to manufacture the nerve agent. we have not got the details yet on exactly what the substances but police do know. we also know that a policeman, one of the first on the scene here, was hospitalised. they were also exposed to the substance. the home secretary, amber rudd, said this morning he was engaging in talking but he is still believed to be in a serious condition. as far as the scene in salisbury goes, you can see

the cordon at the scene, still in place, and another cordon at a nearby pub, the mill, and another at oui’ nearby pub, the mill, and another at our high—street italian restaurant, zizzi restaurant, closed since monday. the bbc has heard from the eyewitness on sunday afternoon at zizzi restaurant when police believe sergei and yulia skripal went to the restau ra nt sergei and yulia skripal went to the restaurant for lunch and the eyewitness has told the bbc he was behaving strangely at the restaurant at around behaving strangely at the restaurant ataround 1:30pm, behaving strangely at the restaurant at around 1:30pm, shouting and he left a bru ptly. at around 1:30pm, shouting and he left abruptly. the focus for police now is trying to piece together the timeline of what happened to sergei and yulia skripal when they came to the city centre on sunday afternoon. they are appealing for anyone in the area from 1pm on sunday who may have been at zizzi restaurant or the pub, the mill, to come forward if they spotted anything out of the ordinary. the rest of the morning's news. suspected domestic abusers could be

electronically tagged, or banned from drinking alcohol and taking drugs, as part of proposals to tackle the problem in england and wales. the government wants views on a set of measures, which includes the first legal definition of economic abuse and a commissioner to oversee the issue. jon donnison reports. euleen hope suffered a decade of abuse at the hands of her ex—partner. emotional, but also physical. she ended up in hospital more than a dozen times. she says she used to grow her fringe long to cover the black eyes. some people say to me, why did you not get out sooner? do you really want to look over your shoulder, if you leave a relationship? they could still be after you. he said, "i'll tell you when it's over." he threatened me and told me he would organise for someone to throw acid in my face. in 2015, the man was eventually jailed for grievous bodily harm and assault after euleen‘s sister contacted the police.

almost two million people in england and wales, most of them women, suffered domestic abuse last year. the government wants to make it easier to prosecute perpetrators. it is launching a consultation document before it tries to get tougher laws passed. among the proposals, broadening the legal definition of domestic abuse to include physical, psychological, sexual, emotional, but also economic abuse. tougher sentences for cases involving children. and new protection orders to allow police and courts to intervene more quickly when abuse is suspected. the consultation period for the proposed new laws will last 12 weeks. jon donnison, bbc news. and we'll be getting reaction on this story from former victims of domestic abuse and others later in the programme. two teenagers have died and two children are among the injured after a three—car crash in north yorkshire. the boys, believed to be 17, died at the scene

of the accident on the a61 near thirsk last night. five adults and two children were taken to hospital. police have appealed for anyone who saw what happened to get in touch. the danish man accused of murdering a female journalist aboard his homemade submarine, and then cutting up her corpse, is on trial this morning in copenhagen. inventor peter madsen admits dismembering kim wall's body, and throwing it out to sea, but denies killing her. ms wall was working on a story about madsen when she went missing last august. 0ur reporter maddy savage is in court — she gave us the background to the case. it isa it is a bleak‘s winters day in copenhagen, but it has not stopped crowds of journalists from copenhagen, but it has not stopped crowds ofjournalists from around the world turning up to mark the start of this high profile trial. the background to this case, a warm august summer night when the swedish freelance journalist kim wall who had reported for the guardian and others, she went to the dockside, a

50 minute drive from here, to go on—board peter madsen‘s submarine. she did not return alive after interviewing him. parts of her body we re interviewing him. parts of her body were found on the beach and at the bottom of the ocean in the weeks and months that followed. peter madsen has changed his story a number of times about what happened. initially said he dropped her off safely, the then said he died when a hatch fell on her head and he's latest story is that she died of carbon monoxide poisoning. he has admitted cutting up poisoning. he has admitted cutting up her body but denies killing her. the trial is expected to take 12 days, spread over seven weeks. if he is convicted of murder, he faces a life sentence in denmark which would mean 15—17 years in prison without parole. he could also be sent to a secure mental health hospital. there has been a rise in women from

northern ireland having abortions in england after the government announced they would not have to pay for them. abortion is illegal in northern ireland except for when a woman's life is at risk or a permanent and serious risk to her physical or mental health. and victoria will be discussing this in more detail just after half nine. the uk and saudi arabia have agreed plans for a future trade and investment programme worth £65 billion. the announcement comes on the second day of a visit to the uk by the saudi crown to mohammad bin salman. the packaging please direct investment in both countries across energy, education, health care and defence —— the package includes direct investment. politicians in florida have approved a bill to tighten gun controls in the state, following last month's deadly school shooting, which killed 17 people. the bill raises the legal age for buying rifles and imposes a three—day waiting period on all firearms sales. it will also allow the arming of some school staff, including teachers, but does not

include a ban on assault—style weapons like the one used in last month's attack. the uk's public spending watchdog has warned that many councils in england will become financially unsustainable if they continue to rely on their reserve funds to pay for the increasing demands of social care. the national audit office says two thirds of councils with social care responsibilities raided their reserves in the financial year ending last april. the government says a new funding settlement has been approved for councils to help pay for the services that keep communities running. train passengers will be able to claim compensation more easily for the knock—on costs of delays as part of changes to ticket terms and conditions. rail companies are removing a clause which says they will not accept any liability for indirect effects such as commuters having to pay for taxis and hotels. the consumer group which? had previously accused firms of misleading the public. the soldiers

of the world welsh have finally managed to catch themselves a new regimental mascot, formerly wild goat who to give the troops the slip when they first tried to catch him. six months of training before taking up six months of training before taking up official duties. the royal welsh have had a goat as a mascot since the 18th century. i presume that is a shot of them trying to catch said goat! that's a summary of the latest bbc news — more at 9:30. let us bring you some sport. i'm just going to tell you what interview we are starting our programme with, an interview with steve, sitting next to me, his photographs were stolen from his facebook profile and used on dating sites to con women to handing over

in some cases thousands of pounds to scammers. we will speak to him in a moment in his first broadcast interview and a serious message which steve will talk to you about which steve will talk to you about which is your profile is not your own, what is on the is not yours, anyone can take your stuff. anyway, he will articulate it much better than i have! the sport now. more champions league football last night, but all five british teams will not be in the quarterfinals, with some criticism. none more so thanjuventus defender giorgio chiellini. after they knocked tottenham hotspur out of the champions league 11—3 on aggregate, he told the media that he and his teammates knew spurs were weak in defence and fragile mentally and some tottenham fans may well agree because although there's no shame

in being knocked out by a side that has made two of the last three finals in the competition, it's the manner of the goals they conceded over the two legs which will really hurt them. things had started so well for spurs. they were well on top in the first half and deservedly led through son heung min. but then experience told in the view of veteran defender chiellini withjuventus stunning spurs with two goals in less than three second—half minutes. they go through to the last eight, securing a 2—1win at wembley. afterwards spurs boss mauricio pochettino responded to some of that criticism. no experience, no lack of concentration. how many chances we concede, in the first leg of the second leg today, i think we concede three chances and they scored twice. we created a lot of chances and only scored one. well, things were far more comfortable for manchester city. they went into the second leg of their last 16 tie against fc basel with a 4—0 advantage

from their away tie, and there was a collector's item for the team from switzerland. a 2—1win on the night making it city's first home defeat since the end of 2016, and just the fourth time they've lost in all competitions this season. and it was an even more unusual story for fans watching at the etihad, as manager pep guardiola said his side forgot to attack at times, but they have been blessed so far this season, with some more entertainment ahead, i'm sure. and disappointment for phil neville is the new england women's manager? england went into their final match of the she believes cup, knowing that a draw against the united states in orlando would give them an international tournament victory and a huge boost after what's been a tumultuous period, with the sacking of mark sampson and the somewhat unpopular appointment of phil neville. unfortunately, they just fell short. facing the world's number one side in their own back yard, they put in a strong performance.

the only difference was an unsightly piece of defending, which ended up with an own goal for keeper karen bardsley, much to the disappointment of neville. defeat hurts, it is why i kept the players on the pitch at the end of the game, because sometimes you have to feel that hurt and pain, see the opposition lift the trophy, because it sticks with you, and we hope at the next competition, they remember this pain and it kicks them on even more. well, one way of trying to improve their mood will be a visit to disneyland when the players wake up, but it may be little consolation. more sport after ten. good morning, thursday morning, welcome to the programme. women across the internet have been falling for this guy. he's handsome, he's fun, and he's charming. 0nly trouble is, in reality, he's not only married, he's married to a man. these pictures are of steve bustin.

he's a 46—year—old public speaking coach from brighton. but his photos have been stolen by a scammer, or maybe scammers, who've been setting up profiles on facebook and a dating site, to lure women into falling for him, before asking for money. we've heard before on this programme from women who've been duped by internet fraudsters, but what's it like to have your whole identity stolen by them? let's talk to steve bustin now. you're a professional man, fairly active on social media, it's part of yourjob, but about two years ago, one day you find out someone's using your photos to create a facebook profile. what happened ? yeah, i suddenly had people, friends of mine on facebook, saying, i had a friend request from somebody using your photos, is this you? that escalated, i found profiles your photos, is this you? that escalated, ifound profiles not in my name at using the photos, and at

that point you could report to facebook that somebody was trying to be you, you could only report that they were trying to be some deals. i had to get my friends to message facebook, and eventually they flagged up my profile, and i got a message from someone flagged up my profile, and i got a message from someone saying, it is not just facebook, message from someone saying, it is notjust facebook, i was on a dating site, i thought i was chatting to you. this was when i realised it had gone further, so what's on point my photos have been harvested, script off my profile and sold. so data is sold, and images are sold as well. that allows people to do something like this. you have given us some photographs of you which have been used by the scammer scammers, let's just think why your photographs were used. there is a picture of you with your sister, which we are going to show any minute now. why do think a picture of you and your sister was

used? well, i know exactly why, because the most recent woman i have beenin because the most recent woman i have been in contact with, that is my sister nicola about three years ago, but martin, the most recent scammer, we don't know his real name, he sent that to a woman who contacted me about three weeks ago and told her that was him with his deceased wife. now, my sister is not terribly happy about that, understandably, and it is just wrong to be telling stories about people that clearly aren't true. but the image and the story, the fake story, which suggests that you are a widower, that you are mid 50s perhaps, generally trustworthy, is that what is going on there?m seems to be, yes. this is you had a halloween party, how does this fit in? this is actually me at work,

weirdly! i was compere in a halloween ball last year. but it means he has come back to my profile multiple times to look for both dominic more photos to update. most of them ten years old, but this is last october. ian has come back to refresh the file. he knows my name, he has come back, and he knows where to go to find more material. and this is you with your dog, let's have a look at this, what does this image portrayed to women looking for a relationship? isuspect image portrayed to women looking for a relationship? i suspect it hopefully says cultured, because i was reading! at ease with animals... nice guy, you got a dog, must be nice. the scammer told the most recent woman, constance, that the dog died last year, but she is very much alive, so slightly odd that he is making up these stories. i guess

he wanted it to seem like there was a whole life there, i use social media for business, but also family and social stop. —— social stop. media for business, but also family and social stop. -- social stop. but it is not just and social stop. -- social stop. but it is notjust still images, i'm going to play this now for our audience, let'sjust play going to play this now for our audience, let's just play it first, you can explain what is going on. this is martin petersen... his voice, my face, and a woman he was talking to, constance. to actually talk properly. it's because of where i am in bahrain. yes? the internet is horrible. yes, i know. it keeps stopping. well, you keep stopping as well, and then the line keeps breaking as well. oh, that's a shame. it's good to see you. how are you doing?

how is your sunday going? it's good to see you as well. how is your sunday going? how was my what? how is your sunday going? oh, it's good, it is good. yes, it's lovely and sunny here, so i've been in the garden. are you home alone? yes, i am today. where is everyone ? they've all gone home. they live in london. are you coming home soon? are you coming home next weekend? i'm coming in two weeks, unfortunately. 0h, ok, so an extra one. i mean, iwill be here just before you know it. i know, 0k. then we can talk about

what we're going to do. can you hear me? yes, i can hear you. should i call you on a normal call so we can talk? because this skype thing is not working for me. it's working occasionally, a bit. so let me call you on the phone, if that's ok with you? 0k. all right, let's do that. all right. so he took real footage of you and made it look like the signal was breaking up. where did he get that from? i had to hunt for that, when co nsta nce from? i had to hunt for that, when constance said to me, by the time that call to place, we were onto him, so double was stringing him along. she agreed to do that and all

us along. she agreed to do that and all us to show it today. it is not on my youtube channel or my facebook profile, so he had really had to try and find that. the all point is that he is trying to leo women into some kind of relationship and, very early on, he begins to ask for money. you have met some of the women, co nsta nce have met some of the women, constance is one of them, what were they told? it is very standard, he is always a widower, tends to be late 50s, often has to work abroad. in that case, he was supposedly in bahrain, no idea where he was. but when they are abroad, something goes wrong, all of a sudden, could i have some money, please? with constance, he had very recently said he had been involved in a car accident, sent a photograph of me after a gardening accident, with blood on my face, building up to asking for money. some of the other women have been asked for thousands of pounds.

and have given thousands of pounds? the women i have spoken to, no, they have got suspicious in time, and thatis have got suspicious in time, and that is when they have done a reverse google image search, you can find out where the image came from. so, thankfully, i hate to think how many women are dating me, somebody who looks like me. and you want to get in touch with them all?|j who looks like me. and you want to get in touch with them all? i would love to know how many women are dating somebody using my photos, it would be great, get them together, i will throw a party, we will invite some single straight men, which is what they are hoping to do! tim says, locking your facebook profile is nothing new, so facebook is toeing the line, but if strangers have got the photos, that is the fault of the user. to an extent, yes, ido fault of the user. to an extent, yes, i do use facebook, i have a lwa ys yes, i do use facebook, i have always wanted to be open, because i wa nt always wanted to be open, because i want people to be able to find me. to an extent, i do put my life out

there. but that doesn't give somebody permission to come and steal it and use it for the various purposes. but i think it does highlight the fact that social media isa highlight the fact that social media is a public forum, and, yes, you can shut your profile right down. even then, you would be surprised how much information people can find. you have to remember, when you put something on social media, you are really posting in public, you have to bear that in mind. if there is something you would not want seen in public, don't post it. but i am not sane public, don't post it. but i am not sane people should not be posting on social media, it is brilliant. but just have an awareness it is out in public. but you want to campaign now for a change in the law that would stop this happening? ideally. i mean, cat fishing is not illegal, strangely. what does it mean? it is the scamming of people using false identities, and these scammers... 0h, identities, and these scammers... oh, but it is illegal, it is fraud.

i have reported it to the police, they are not interested, because ultimately it is low—level, and at this point there has been no financial loss. that you know of. certainly for me or constance, but i think there needs to be a more explicit law around catfishing, it is about identity theft, and it doesn't sit in an obvious place in the law. i think there is an onus on the law. i think there is an onus on the social media platforms to tighten up and make people aware, and facebook are getting much better at that. twitter have got a lot to learn. but also the dating sites, at the moment their verification is they ask you to send a photo, so this guyjust sent in my photo. that is useless. when i have approached the dating sites, their response has been really poor. i do think there needs to be something coming from the government in terms of laws, enforcing websites that are hosting profiles to tighten up their

security and make sure that people control what can and cannot be seen in public. what does your husband think of this? you thought it was funny at first, but then we saw the video, and he mocked up a passport with my photo, we felt it was more serious. i had to reassure them that he is safe, that these partners are not my style! i have been within 16 yea rs, not my style! i have been within 16 yea rs , we not my style! i have been within 16 yea rs, we are not my style! i have been within 16 years, we are very not my style! i have been within 16 years, we are very happy. thank you for joining years, we are very happy. thank you forjoining us. now listen to this. it's what rufaro chisango, a young black female student at nottingham trent university training to be a youth worker, had to listen to from inside her room. the abuse happened earlier this week as drunken students congregated outside of her room, but after no response from the university, she put her footage up on twitter yesterday. we have bleeped some of the words. inaudible. leave her alone! what was that, sorry?

# say ooh—ah, bleep the blacks a black woman... # we hate the blacks inaudible. # we hate the blacks we hate blacks! # we hate the blacks we hate white people! # we hate the blacks white people are bleep. # we hate the blacks white people are... # we hate the blacks all talk at once. # we hate the blacks the blacks and the whites are congregating. i have a dream. i had a dream. inaudible. let us talk to rufaro now.

we are joined now by mary 0kpo, the vice president of nottingham trent afro—caribbean society. what was the impact of what you were hearing on new, rufaro? a big impact, obviously. when it happened, ijust got home, five, ten minutes later, i heard shouting from outside my door, and i wasjust later, i heard shouting from outside my door, and i was just shocked, that was my initial thought, really shocked. i felt very isolated and uncomfortable. sorry to interrupt, without naming any names, do you know the people who were shouting? yeah, i know who they are. have you seen yeah, i know who they are. have you seen them since? no, i haven't. what

did you do? what complaint did you make to the university?” did you do? what complaint did you make to the university? i went to the reception and i complained that there was racial abuse outside my corridor so they took a statement and my details and stuff and they said they would get back to me by the morning, then they would have spoken to them, because they all went out that night. they didn't contact me. since it happened, no one has got in touch with you in terms of university officials? after i put it on twitter, that is when i got more contact from the university. this morning, someone came from the university and had a chat with me. i gave my statement to them as well. i had e—mailed them as well before. what have you asked them to do? what do you expect them to do? ijust want them to do? what do you expect them to do? i just want them to take

them to do? what do you expect them to do? ijust want them to take more action on what is happening. ijust wa nt action on what is happening. ijust want the appropriate action to take place. 0bviously, want the appropriate action to take place. obviously, it is racial abuse, it should not be tolerated at all. it should not have such a long delay when i report something like this. has this happened to you before, rufaro? no, this hasn't happened to me before. have you considered contacting the police? yes, i have considered contacting them but i wanted to see what the university would do first. 0k. we're hoping to talk to the vice president of nottingham trent afro—caribbean society but we have just lost the line. in terms of your accommodation scenario, do you feel comfortable still residing in the room you are in? i feel 0k in? i feel ok now because more action is taking place. i'll going to bring in mary, if i made, rufaro.

hello, can you hear me, mary? good morning. what would you expect the university to do? anything that is adequate. what does that mean in practical terms? i practicalterms? i don't know, a suspension for the students, this is unacceptable. as steve bustin is a memberof ourcommittee, unacceptable. as steve bustin is a member of our committee, we have a level of response ability to her —— as rufaro is a member. a suspension to the students involved if they are... at the very least. what at the very worst? expulsion. really? it is unacceptable. no justification. whether they were inebriated or not, there is nothing that canjustify inebriated or not, there is nothing that can justify what they said. she clearly was in a state of distress, this could have affected her

incredibly, but she is a strong girl, she has come through this, with our support and the support of her friends and family, but this was a terrible incident. how shocked you buy that kind of language in britain in 2018? —— how shocked are you buy that kind of language in britain in 2018? it is something i did not think i would see. i wiz had an idea racism was covert, but for it to be so racism was covert, but for it to be so overtly open in 2018, it is something that shocked me to the highest —— i always had an idea racism was cofer. have you come across this before at your university? i know there have been other incidents at the university. not me, personally. how rare are they? how common are they?” not me, personally. how rare are they? how common are they? i would not say they are common, it is very row, this is the second time it has

happened in the past year that i know of. i would not say it is common, but it is something that should not happen at all in the first place. i have a statement from nottingham trent university, we are shocked and appalled to see the video of racist chanting, this kind of behaviour will not be tolerated. those suspected perpetrators have been suspended pending a full investigation. 0k, been suspended pending a full investigation. ok, that isjust in. we have contacted the student who made the complaint and we are supporting her and others affecting and we will be liaising with the police about this incident. while an investigation is carried out, the suspects have been suspended. how do you respond to that? great. because no one should be able to get away with this kind of disrespect, this kind of racist behaviour in this society today. i am happy. thank you very much for talking to us, mary,

vice president of nottingham trent afro—caribbean society. and you heard first from rufaro who posted the footage on twitter. still to come... we'll be discussing the increase of women from northern ireland having abortions in england. that is since charges were dropped last summer, the number coming have increased. some people are saying their amazon alexa device has been been letting out an unprompted, creepy cackle. it appears to happen without any previous interaction. spooky or what? time for the latest news. here's annita mcveigh. the bbc news headlines this morning. the home secretary, amber rudd, is due to make a statement this lunchtime in the house of commons about the nerve agent used in the attempted murder of a former russian spy attempted murder of a former russian spy and his daughter. while police have now identified the type of chemical, it's not yet known where it was made or who could have carried out the attack.

sergei and yulia skripal remain in a critical condition in hospital. a policeman who went to help them was also seriously injured. suspected domestic abusers could be electronically tagged, as part of new government proposals. a consultation has been launched on a set of measures for england and wales, which also include the first legal definition of economic abuse and a commissioner to oversee the issue. the government is also suggesting tougher sentences for cases involving children, and possible court orders which could include tagging or alcohol bans. two teenagers have died and two children are among the injured after a three—car crash in north yorkshire. the boys, believed to be 17, died at the scene on the a61 near thirsk last night. five adults and two children were taken to hospital. police have appealed for anyone who saw what happened to get in touch. the trial of a danish man accused of murdering a female journalist on board of his home—made submarine and

then cutting up her corpse has openedin then cutting up her corpse has opened in copenhagen. inventor peter madsen admits dismembering kim wall's body, and throwing it out to sea, but denies killing her. ms wall was working on a story about madsen when she went missing last august. that's a summary of the latest bbc news. thank you. an e—mail here from a woman who does not wish us to use her name, that is absolutely fine, i'm so glad you are covering the scamming topic, i was victim to the same scam two years ago, i have had to keep it secret as i did not know who to share it with, i am so embarrassed over my desperation to find love and it going pear shaped. ipaid find love and it going pear shaped. i paid £200 and it was to an address in ghana. the man was on a highly advertised dating website and said he was in the us military and rank. looking to retire shortly and hard up looking to retire shortly and hard upfor looking to retire shortly and hard up for cash because he had been off sick. his photos were so slick and

the conversations really attractive, i believed i was in this relationship with him for eight months. after picking up on spelling errors and i knew i had been conned, i tried to trace him and the area it came to be was a library in america. thank you very much for letting us know. if you have been a victim of a similarscam, let us know. if you have been a victim of a similar scam, let us know. we do not need to use your name, you know that. here is the sport. mauricio pochettino denies his side's lack of experience was to blame for the champions league exit at the hands ofjuventus last night. the italians champions go through after coming from behind that the 2—1win at wembley, it ended 11—3 on aggregate. manchester city's boss pep guardiola said his team forgot to attack, they lost 2—110

said his team forgot to attack, they lost 2-110 fc said his team forgot to attack, they lost 2—110 fc basel. they make it through to the quarters but they we re through to the quarters but they were beaten at home for the first time since 2016. england's women head coach phil neville has urged the players to remember the pain of missing out on winning the couple—macro last night. they needed a draw against the us but they were beaten in orlando. rugby union captain beaten in orlando. rugby union ca pta i n dyla n beaten in orlando. rugby union captain dylan hartley will miss their six nations match against france this weekend with a calf injury meaning 0wen farrell will captain england instead for the first time. we will be back with more sport after 10am. let me bring you this news. terrorism related offences in britain and arrests, a record 412 arrests for suspected terrorism offences in the uk in 2017, home office figures just out. next, this programme can reveal there has been a 14% increase in

women from northern ireland having abortions in england since the government announced at the end of june last year that women would no longer have to pay for them. in the last eight months, at least 553 women travelled from the country to england to terminate their pregnancy. abortion is illegal in northern ireland, except for when a woman's life is at risk or there is a permanent and serious risk to her physical or mental health. but women can travel to mainland britain to have a termination. they used to be charged £900, but now they can have them for free. labour mp stella creasy campaigned to get the charges dropped last year, and she's now leading a cross—party group of politicians calling on the government to provide equal access in northern ireland so women no longer have to travel to the mainland. she joins us now from westminster. and in belfast, we can speak to emma campbell from the pro—choice campaign group alliance for choice. hello, both of you, thank you for

talking to us. stella creasy, your reaction to the 14% increase since abortions became free in this country for women from northern ireland? it reveals the scale of the need to address this issue. it is simply unconscionable that in 2018 pa rt simply unconscionable that in 2018 part of our nation, northern ireland is part of the uk, we treat women there differently than here in london or birmingham or manchester and what the data tells us is that we need to go further because it is not fair to ask women to travel. the un convention on violence against women has identified that asking women has identified that asking women in northern ireland to travel to england to have an abortion is an inhuman and degrading thing to do.” will ask you more about that in a moment, i want to get reaction from emma as well to these figures we have obtained. we know that a number of women travelling to the uk for

abortion treatment in the last five years has dropped and we know anecdotally that was because of use of abortion pills people obtained online and took illegally. although they were safe, we can see from the re ce nt they were safe, we can see from the recent prosecutions that it was actually illegal. we understand these figures to mean that people are no longer willing to risk the prosecution and they would rather travel to access abortions than risk this criminalisation. however, in the week the funding was announced, we had two phone calls from different women unable to travel to england, won because of violent ex—partner destroyed all of her identification and another because she had a very young child and there was no way for her to travel —— one because of a violent ex—partner. although women can access the treatment in the uk, there are often

women left behind because they cannot travel. what do you say about that? i agree with stella and she has been doing sterling work in helping us campaign for a change in northern ireland so women can access it on equal terms to women in england and wales. stella creasy, why do you say the current legislation is leading to, as you said in your letter to the minister for women and equality is, the home secretary, amber rudd, leading to torture or cruel and inhuman and degrading treatment? it is the united nations committee who says that, they have done an inquiry into the situation in northern ireland. the government told us they would ratify something called the istanbul convention which is about ending violence against women. in order to do that, they have to tackle this issue, because it isa have to tackle this issue, because it is a fundamental human right to have control over your body, and thatis have control over your body, and that is what we are talking about. we treat women northern ireland

differently, we forced them to continue a pregnancy when they don't wa nt continue a pregnancy when they don't want to, it is inhumane and it is torture. but this is a devolved issue, so it is up to the northern ireland assembly, isn't it?” issue, so it is up to the northern ireland assembly, isn't it? i am curious as to why women's rights is something we can devolve, but the government said they would allow a free vote in the house of commons about extending same—sex marriage to northern ireland, because we treat the community that was differently. i think you should be able to marry who you love, but i don't understand we recognise that as a human right and the government therefore needs to act on that, but somehow when it comes to women's rights, it is ok to devolve. crucially, the northern ireland public opinion is with us as well, it is the politicians you are not listening to the people. they wa nt not listening to the people. they want women to be able to access... nobody is saying we want to encourage lots of abortions, but we are saying it is a human right to control what happens to your body. the public wanted, why do women's

rights becomes something we can devolve, but with other human rights, we recognise we have to act? the home office says, and they are argument, the provision of abortion services in northern ireland is a matter for the northern ireland assembly. so why are we saying we will act on same—sex marriage but not on women's rights? that seems to me like we are being selective about ourfight for me like we are being selective about our fight for equality. this me like we are being selective about ourfight for equality. this is international women's day, you know, feminist christmas, as we like to call it! but it is not enough to march or use a hashtag, we need to make progress, and when it comes to abortion, a fundamental human right, we have got a long way to go. this government was propping up donald trump and the global gag rule. the fa ct trump and the global gag rule. the fact that we are treating women in northern ireland differently, the united nations are calling us out, and the question is, are we going to act? i can only see the first word on your t—shirt, repeal, what is the rest of it? i am wearing this to stand in solidarity with brothers

and sisters in ireland who are having a referendum on repealing the eighth amendment of the irish guards and not with a label them to provide abortion to women in island. —— the irish constitution. women in ireland are having to travel to england, and it is a fundamental human rights to access health care, and reproductive rights are crucial to equality. we are saying we will fight with you for human rights. thank you very much, stella creasy, emma campbell, we have many messages from you about the student, sorry, let me tell you about this, we contacted the department of health and the northern ireland executive, but they did not respond. messages about the racist footage posted on twitter by a student who was the victim of it, kari says, the racist behaviour towards this young woman should be investigated by the university and the culprits should

be expelled. in the workplace, they would lose their jobs be expelled. in the workplace, they would lose theirjobs and possibly charges being brought against them, no human being should have to go through this. and this text goes on, i am white brochures and a mum, and i feel really sorry for this young woman, i would i feel really sorry for this young woman, iwould be i feel really sorry for this young woman, i would be devastated if my child was subjected to this sort of behaviour, she has the support of all this and people. this text is anonymous, the students using racist language should be expelled. ken says, it makes me embarrassed to be british, i cannot believe young people at university are allowed to do that, they need to be kicked out, they should be zero—tolerance. peter says, remove them and prosecute them. nottingham trent university have suspended the suspects while the matter is investigated. the trial of a danish inventor accused of murdering a swedish journalist on his self—built submarine last august has started in copenhagen. peter madsen has admitted dismembering kim wall's body and throwing it out to sea but denies murder.

louisa dalsgaard is a court reporterfor dr, the official danish broadcasting corporation in english. thank you for talking to us. you are welcome. tell us what happened to the journalist. well, the police think the journalist has been killed on board of this submarine. thursday the 10th of august last year, they think that peter madsen, the submarine builder and owner of the submarine, has killed her, he has dismembered her body, and he has done it so that he has plundered and he has brought different things, a saw to dismember her body, so i planned murder. eta denies killing kim wall, but he has changed his

story a number of times. —— he denied. it started when they found him on board the submarine, they have been searching for the submarine the whole night, and they found him and the submarine sank. he told the police at that time that he had dropped kim wall off the same night, and that she had not been on the submarine the whole night. then he changed his story to that she had died from a accident on the submarine, she had been hit by the winch in the submarine, and then she died. and then later he told police that she died from a poisoning of some sort, he couldn't tell, we don't know yet what he told the police the last time, but he keeps on saying that it was an accident, he has not killed her, but he admits to having dismembered her body.- the trial is expected to last 12 days, thank you very much, court reporter at the official danish broadcasting corporation in english. a report published this morning

gives a damming account of the financial state of local authorities in england and wales. councils do now have greater freedom to raise council tax than before, but the money they get from central government has been significantly reduced. the national audit office says many are now relying on reserves, which will eventually run out. one of the services provided by councils is social care, an area which is facing a sharp increase in demand as the population ages. so could the ability of councils to provide social care services safely be under threat? with us in the studio, nadra ahmed, chair of the national care association, which represents small to medium sized independent care homes, and john fuller, the conservative leader of south norfolk council and vice chairman of the local government association's resources board. how do you react to the nao's findings? well, councils have been saying this for a long time, saying that we are facing a triple whammy, the amount

of support from government is falling, the demand for services is increasing, and inflationary pressures and councils are higher than ever. we would say that, wouldn't we? than ever. we would say that, wouldn't we ? but than ever. we would say that, wouldn't we? but the nao has shone a spotlight on some of the real issues, funding pressures we are facing, and adult social care is one of those. is the government listening to you? let's face it, the general election and the conservative manifesto got hung up on adult social care, it is a really tricky issue, and this is something more thanjust tricky issue, and this is something more than just councils, tricky issue, and this is something more thanjust councils, something where a new settlement between government and councils, who delivers social care. we have an nhs but a local care service, and the demand for social care, and notjust for old people, but people of all ages, is growing faster than the ability of councils to raise council tax. you are notjust financially stretched because of social care, so is anyone in government listening to what even conservative leaders are saying? government is listening,

they have made a series of small adjustments over the last few weeks, but we are all waiting with bated breath for the green paper on social care which will be published in june. care which will be published in june. how close is your council to running out of money? we have had to innovate and grow income, we are building houses again in a way we did not before. we are in for a standing count, i would say. what does that mean? we can keep our heads above water, but there are many authorities who have social ca re many authorities who have social care responsibilities, over half their total budget is going on social care, and we do 136 services. left unchecked, the amount of money required to pay for social care at a local level would overwhelm the rest of the things that councils do. what is your take on this? the challenge is your take on this? the challenge is substantial, but it has been known about for quite some time, at least two and a half decades we have none. so how shocked you that government after government tries a

bit to do something but never in the end comes up with anything because it is too difficult? we are absolutely stunned that, having said this for such a long time, both to local government and to national government, we have had this kind of cut, cuts, cut, if you like, ongoing. the people who are suffering are at the receiving end of this, and the provider sector that i represent is having to meet those challenges, despite the fact that funding is not in place. so the challenge for us will always be that central government needs to understand and to listen to the fa cts . understand and to listen to the facts. the fact that there, they are blatant, there are numerous reports that have said we can't keep cutting social care, but despite it, we get it all the time. health has got to understand about the integration, we have got to understand what integration means, and how we can save money from actually making it happen. so the government would say,

in england and wales, health funding has been protected, ringfenced, that is true, but they have cut social care, hence people end up in hospitals, staying there, blocking beds, because there is nowhere for them to go in the community. it is just with describing what social ca re just with describing what social care is, because not everybody is clear what it means. social care is when people who have vulnerable needs, notjust old people... mostly it is. the fastest-growing part of social care is people of working e, social care is people of working age, youngsters who have reached aduu age, youngsters who have reached adult food, in a way that might not have happened previously through medical science. which we celebrate, of course, and when we have to look at the people, it can be 24—hour ca re at the people, it can be 24—hour care orjust a little bit of a helping hand, meals on wheels type things, but it is helping people make the most of their lives, ideally staying in their homes for longer, because that is much better value than having to go into full—time care homes. that is what

social care... how frustrated you that this government is not gripping it? we hope that in june they will grip the matter, in the sense of recognising that councils, with the local care system that we have, with the increases in demand, it is up 1596 the increases in demand, it is up 15% over the last few years, that is what the national audit office report says, growing much faster, and it suits the government, and successive governments, to make sure that huge demand is on local taxpayers, rather than central taxation. we have got to the point wec council tax alone cannot keep the lights on in social care would you say funding levels are at dangerous levels? i think they have passed a critical level, they are really at the end, and that is where we are seeing really at the end, and that is where we are seeing care really at the end, and that is where we are seeing care provision closing, and that is why you have got more people blocking hospital

beds. so i think we are past that crisis point, and a solution has to be found, and it needs to be sustainable, it can't just be found, and it needs to be sustainable, it can'tjust be that we will put sticking plasters around again and again. thank you both very much. the latest news and sport on the way, but first the weather. we have had some snow this morning, lovely pictures, lovely to look at if you don't have to travel in it, but some of the snow has been heavily across wales, the midlands and northern england. through the next couple of hours, continuing to drift steadily eastwards. if you haven't got snow, you probably have rain from the same system. when it clears, it will brighten up behind it, and for many parts of the uk, dry with lengthy spells of sunshine. some cloud around, producing showers in the west. 0n the hills, it could prove to be wintry. temperature range roughly 5—10 towards the

south. this evening and overnight, a lot of clear skies means that the temperature will drop quite quickly, a widespread frost, and the risk of ice one untreated surfaces. wintry showers across scotland, and we could also see freezing fog across parts of wales and northern england. temperatures in towns and cities there, lower than this in rural areas. by the end of the night, more cloud building in from the south—west, this is an area of low pressure which is coming our way, cloudy spilling across southern parts of england and wales, later rain will come in, the wind will strengthen. but move away from the south, and other beautiful day, a lot of dry weather and sunshine around, wintry showers more especially on the hills of scotland, temperatures roughly 8—10, maybe 11. with this area of low pressure, we will be pulling in some milder air, and with the cloud and rain, that

will migrate northwards as we go through the course of the weekend, so we through the course of the weekend, so we will notice a lift in temperatures. having said that, the weather is not going to be pretty. you can see that here in graphical form, on saturday, as low pressure moves north, it brings this cloud and rain, snow on the leading edge in scotland, more especially with height. but look at the temperatures, maybe even 1a degrees. in the north of scotland, 6—7. then by the time we get to sunday, the low pressure will have pulled this weather front into the far north of scotland, clearing the mainland, reducing rain and snow across the northern isles. behind it, there will be a lot of cloud. now, there will be a lot of cloud. now, there will be a lot of cloud. now, there will be some breaks mcleod, some of us will see brighter conditions, but a rash of showers coming in across the south—west and wales, some getting in across southern counties too. some of those could prove to be

heavy. temperatures up to 1a in the london area, 11 in cardiff, looking at nine or ten across parts of scotla nd at nine or ten across parts of scotland in the back and 11 in northern ireland, we haven't seen that for a hello, it's thursday, it's10am, i'm victoria derbyshire. counterterrorism officers are working to uncover the origin of the nerve agent used in the attempted murder of ex—russian spy sergei skripal and his daughter, yulia. we'll be speaking to the person who is considered vladimir putin's number one enemy. when you have the nerve agent, it narrows down the number who could have done this crime. not many organisations in the world have access to nerve agents. it is something only a government can do. that interview in the next few minutes. suspected domestic abusers could be electronically tagged or banned from drinking alcohol under tough

new measures being proposed to tackle the problem. we will discuss that in the next half an hour. an urgent investigation has been launched by nottingham trent university after video of a black student being racially abused outside her room appeared online. the students suspected of being involved have been suspended. good morning. here is the latest news. good morning. the home secretary amber rudd is due to make a statement in the commons about the suspected murder of sergei and yulia skripal. it is not known who could have carried out the attack or word that substance was made. sergei and yulia skripal remaining ina made. sergei and yulia skripal remaining in a quotable condition in hospital and a policeman who went to help them is also seriously ——

remain ina help them is also seriously —— remain in a critical condition in hospital. this is a serious incident which is why we have got the police there in full force and we are giving all the support we can, the medical support necessary, to the people affected. i am very concerned about the policeman. i would observe our chief medical us was that sally davies has said the rest of the public is low so i would urge the public is low so i would urge the public to take comfort from that —— chief medical officer. we have been ready for a while for a number of different types of terrorist activity and we're making sure we give the public support and contain the dissident the incident and have the dissident the incident and have the evidence so that when we come to it, we will know what to do. suspected domestic abusers could be electronically tagged, as part of new government proposals. a consultation has been launched on a set of measures for england and wales, which also include the first legal definition of economic abuse and a commissioner to oversee the issue. the government is also suggesting tougher sentences for cases involving children, and possible court orders which could include tagging or alcohol bans.

nottingham trent university say they have suspended students accused of racist chanting at a young black female student. rufaro chisango was alone in her room on monday night when she heard the drunken students shouting and put a video of the abuse up on twitter yesterday. two teenagers have died and two children are among the injured after a three—car crash in north yorkshire. the boys, believed to be aged 17, died at the scene on the a61 near thirsk, last night. five adults and two children were taken to hospital. police have appealed for anyone who saw what happened to get in touch. the trial of a danish man accused of murdering a female journalist aboard his homemade submarine and then cutting up her corpse has opened in copenhagen. inventor peter madsen admits dismembering kim wall's body, and throwing it out to sea,

but denies killing her. ms wall was working on a story about madsen when she went missing last august. bonuses for 84,000 staff atjohn lewis and waitrose have been cut for the fifth year in a row. there was a dramatic fall in profits. employees will get a 5% bonus, down from 6% last year. the announcement comes after it posted a 77% fall in pre—tax profits to £103.9 million for the year to the end of january. that's a summary of the latest bbc news — more at 10.30. the latest sport in the moment. after 10.30 — we're focusing on international women's day — and we'll be asking these women what's the best thing about being a woman in 2018. that is after half past ten. you can tell me what you think is being ——

what you think is the best thing about being a woman in 2018. many of you have been getting in touch about the racist incident at nottingham trent r crean vestey. my daughter is at this university, i am appalled to see this —— nottingham trent university. this happened to my daughter, my daughter had to leave her room and take a break from her course because it's caused her so much stress and she had a breakdown. someone at the university has to support the students. an anonymous text, they should be expelled. keep your comments coming in. here's some sport now with hugh. england have named their team for le crunch this weekend — the crucial meeting with france in rugby union's six nations this weekend. captain dylan hartley will miss the match with a calf injury — he's replaced at hooker by jamie george. elliot daly, scoring here, returns on the wing, while owen farrell will skipper

the side in hartley's absence for the match in paris on saturday. difficult night for tottenham in the champions league last night. juventus defender giorgio chiellini said they were fragile mentally. mauricio pochettino responded to some criticism they have had. lack of experience, lack of concentration, with how many chances we conceded... 0n the first leg and the second leg today, i think we conceded three chances and they scored twice and we played a lot of

chances and we only scored one. phil neville has urged his players to remember the pain of missing out on winning the she believes cup last night. needing at least a draw, they were beaten 1—0 by the united states in orlando. the opportunity we get to build and try to entertain as well, we have to use our strengths to the best we can andi use our strengths to the best we can and i feel like phil allows use our strengths to the best we can and ifeel like phil allows us to use our strengths to the best we can and i feel like phil allows us to do that and he instilled belief in what we are doing, really excited because we are doing, really excited because we have been together a few weeks and we have already made quite a lot of progress. a lot of exciting things to come, i think. snowboarder owen pick has been selected for the

gb flag bearer for the owen pick has been selected for the gb flag bearerfor the paralympics winter. the russian athletes have not been fully reinstated as an olympic and paralympic nation just yet, but the athletes he believes are clean... we have been working through independent task force with the russian paralympic committee, and we have criteria agreed for their reinstatement, they have not met it yet, but the progress they have made, and when we took the decision in january, 18 have made, and when we took the decision injanuary, 18 months after rio de janeiro, the decision injanuary, 18 months after rio dejaneiro, the situation has changed, we are now in a situation where we can say with some degree of confidence that athletes competing here are as clean as any other athletes. that is all the sport for now. more later on. it's now known that a nerve agent was used in the suspected poisoning of a former russian double agent and his daughter. sergei and yulia skripal were found

unconscious in salisbury on sunday afternoon and remain critically ill. the russian government has said the incident is being used as provocation as part of an anti—russian smear campaign. a british police officer is also being treated in hospital. this morning, i spoke with bill browder — who was once described as vladimir putin's number one enemy and deported from russia for exposing corruption there . and sir tony brenton, the uk's former ambassador to moscow from 2004 to 2008. i asked first of all how they reacted to the news and nerve agent had been used to poison sergei skripal and his daughter. the fact they have used effectively a chemical weapon is highly significant. everyone was saying, slowdown, do not blame anyone, do not blame the russians, when you have a chemical weapon, a nerve

agent, that totally narrows the possibility of who could have done this crime, there are not that many organisations in the world that have access to nerve agents. generally a government type of... it is something only a government can do. because you cannot knock up a nerve agent in your garden shed, it has to bea agent in your garden shed, it has to be a proper lab, potentially state—sponsored? be a proper lab, potentially state-sponsored? just like the polonium 210 back in the day with litvinenko, sarin or some similar type of thing, it is something only a high level and malicious government could use because it is not even something... we are trying to eliminate chemical weapons in the world and we know that north korea uses them, assad uses them and russia has access to them. we do not know it is sarin yet, we just know, we have confirmation it is some kind of nerve agent. tony brenton, how do you react to the fact the nerve agent has been used?”

you react to the fact the nerve agent has been used? i agree with bill, it immensely increases the probability it was the russian government that did it. nevertheless, the british authorities will be looking for more substantive proof of a link between the use of the agent and the russians in particular. it is worth noting it is not only government to use this, sarin was used on the tokyo metro a few years ago. nevertheless, the high property as it is the russians and the probability. we need evidence. we need evidence to go to court but if we want to determine what to do for public safety, we need to make some assumptions. we should not wait five yea rs assumptions. we should not wait five years to come to a conclusion. if putin and russia have been using chemical weapons in this country, and we believe there is a high probably do we have done so, that necessitates an urgent policy response, you cannot just necessitates an urgent policy response, you cannotjust say, let us wait until it is proven. if there isa us wait until it is proven. if there is a 75% probability, 80%

probability, it may not hold up in court, but in terms of policy response, how you deal with this, approach russia, deal with public safety, we should be thinking about that right this second. what is an urgent policy response in your view? there are many russian sleeper agents that we are aware of in this country... explain to us what a sleeper agent is. russia has people that work in the embassy and they have people who go about their regular day—to—day lives here pretending they are just bankers, accountants, journalists, whatever. this is an act of terrorism. and in fa ct, this is an act of terrorism. and in fact, they are what, spies? they are spies. remember anna chapman here in london before she went to new york, the famous female spy, she was working at barclays bank, so at this point, this is a major terrorist incident and we should be using our prevention of terror tools to figure

out exactly what the russians are up to because this is not a low—level matter. people are potentially going to die from this. would you agree with that assessment, said tony brenton? i agree with bill it is the terrorist incident. i dealt with the litvinenko affair in 2006 and there are lots of parallels. there were public safety issues because the russians used polonium that time, a radioactive poison. we took the decision that the likelihood of an early repetition was low so the threat to public safety was low. and we took the view too that in order to act effectively, to minimise the possibility of a recurrence, we needed clear evidence as possible to get that it was the russians and then we set out the policies in response. i am then we set out the policies in response. i am sure then we set out the policies in response. i am sure the authorities will take exactly the same approach this time. you look at the evidence, assemble what you hope is a clear case that it is the russians, and if

it is, it is not yet proven, but highly probable, and then you have a firm basis for your own national response but also seeking wider international support for what you do. go on. can i react to that? tony andi do. go on. can i react to that? tony and i have known each otherfor a long time and... you disagree? i totally disagree. the litvinenko is an exact case study in how not to manage this. he'll have a situation where we have proven, a high court judge, the fsb, the russian secret police, it was behind a nuclear attack in the centre of london...m took a number of years for that. we took a number of years for that. we took no action in this country. as a result, it laid out the welcome mat to do more hits in this country. it is not just to do more hits in this country. it is notjust this one we are talking about, there was a man who died jogging about, there was a man who died jogging outside his home in surrey after exposing the russian

government in major financial crimes. same thing. no consequence. if you create a situation, all this gentlemanly behaviour, let us wait and see and maybe do something, maybe not... it does not work. could i respond to that? i do not want to get into an argument with bill, on television, for whom i have the highest esteem, but the statement we had no response to the litvinenko affair is wrong. we put together a package of sanctions designed to discourage the russians from doing this kind of thing. it did not work, it would seem. the only plausible case since litvinenko whether the oceans may have acted is now, but sergei skripal, we are still testing that, and that has been 12 years since litvinenko, the background political situation has changed completely. cases like perepilichny and others, of course, have been around. it is worth emphasising that those cases have been properly investigated by

police, and they have concluded there is not enough evidence of a link for us to make it. earlier this week, you told mps that the kremlin most likely wants you dead, you were asked how you were still here, what is the answer? the kremlin doesn't like to get caught killing people, so like to get caught killing people, so tony's logic is exactly what they are feeding into, which is, unless it can be proven, they can get away with it. so far they have not figured out a way to kill me without getting caught, and i'm sure... sorry to interrupt, not that i know much about this, but they could simply spray a nerve agent in your face. this is why this is so terrifying. at the moment, nobody has tried to shoot at me or blow me up, but this nerve agent stuff, the fa ct up, but this nerve agent stuff, the fact that they can do it in a foreign country and get away with it is terrifying, for me and every other person that is at odds with the russian government. how do you protect yourself? at any moment, in

a baror protect yourself? at any moment, in a bar or restaurant, yourfood or drink could be spiked, you could be walking to the station, somebody drops something on your skin. that the whole purpose of what they have done here, it is called terrorism, to try to create terror in everyone of their enemies, and people say, why do they do this to this man? the a nswer why do they do this to this man? the answer is he was probably a tiny pa rt answer is he was probably a tiny part of why they did it, they did it to say to everybody else, here is what we are capable of. how worried are you for your safety?” what we are capable of. how worried are you for your safety? i don't spend my life living in fear, because that would mean they succeed, but i take precautions to make sure they don't kill me. wow. you said that so matter of factly.” have been living with it for eight and our peers. you may not want to tell me... i am not asking about physical measures, but psychologically what impact has it had on you? i am a perfectly happy person, working on a mission to get

justice for sergei magnitsky, my lawyer, who was killed in russia, and we are succeeding in getting sanctions and laws named after him, all over the world, including here in the uk. and i am on a righteous mission to do that. that is very satisfying. and the practical effect of sanctions, does it have an effect on president putin? he is a very rich man. he is very rich from crimes in which he has stolen money from his own country, and he values money more than human like, so if you go after his money, that is something he takes seriously. still to come — today is international women's day. we wa nt we want to ask this group of women and girls what is the best thing about being a woman in britain in 2018, and the follow—up, what is the worst? we will bring you the latest news and sport and about ten

minutes' time. but before that, we're talking about domestic abuse. 82 women and 13 men were killed by their partner or former partner in 2016—17 in england and wales, according to theresa may. today the government is launching what it calls a "once in a generation opportunity" to protect victims of domestic abuse. our correspondent lucinda adams is here. 0k, ok, let's talk through the proposals, what is being suggested? well, ministers want to add to powers to act faster, so if they suspect abuse, at quite an early stage, they can ask the abuser to wear an electronic tag or ban them from drinking alcohol or taking drugs. they can also make them seek treatment for addiction to those su bsta nces treatment for addiction to those substances or go to behaviour classes to try to change their attitudes. if they breach these orders, they will be arrested. 0k. and there is going to be a definition of domestic abuse which will include, for the first time, economic abuse, what does that mean? we know that abuse takes many forms,

physical and sexual, more recently we have become aware of psychological and emotional abuse, what we call coercive control, but for the first time economic abuse will be recognised, controlling someone's finances, restricting access to their money, preventing them from getting a job, causing them from getting a job, causing them to lose it, or even running up debts in their name. ultimately, it means the person can't support themselves and becomes more dependent on their partner. and for domestic abuse cases involving children, there will be more stringent sentences for the perpetrator. that is right. u nfortu nately, perpetrator. that is right. unfortunately, one in five children are exposed to domestic abuse, and they want to make sure that when sentences are being handed out, it is seen as an aggravating factor, so the sentences are tougher. that is because it is thought that children exposed to domestic express for more likely to experience abuse by a partner as an adult, anderson today and £80 million fund is being

announced to support children who have been exposed to domestic abuse. —— and so today and £80 million fund is being announced. let's get reaction now from katie ghose. she's chief executive of women's aid, which supports victims of abuse. and mark brooks, from the charity mankind initiative, which helps men escape violent relationships. 0k, where'd you want to start with these proposals? let's start with these proposals? let's start with the new domestic abuse protection orders, enabling courts to impose a range of restrictions, as lucinda said, banning them from contacting victims, from drinking, wearing a tag potentially, don't we already have that in injunctions? there are some orders in place already, but we welcome the gaze going from the victims to the perpetrators, we welcome the direction the government is going, but whilst the police and courts are essential, many women won't be able to go to them, so it

is important that it is everyone's business, get all the agencies involved in protecting and preventing this awful crime. and how do you react? above very similarly, and what is important is that this really makes a change in opportunity to see domestic abuse not only is everyone's business but as an issue that affects women and men, and also children as well. sol that affects women and men, and also children as well. so i think this will be game changing in the way that society actually views domestic abuse. i am interested that you say because this idea of the suspect, the perpetrator, being banned from contacting victims. injunctions are supposed to do that. i have interviewed so many women over the yea rs interviewed so many women over the years to say, well, my violent ex breached the injection, the police didn't do anything, because they are really busy and resources are stretched, they won't spend time chasing him up for breaching the injection, so the women feel vulnerable again. this is why we are pleased to see the government

consulting on criminalising breach. we hear this time and again, and there have been awful situations, relationship abuse happens after relationships are over as well, that can be very dangerous, so criminalisation of breaching the order, that is another tool in the box for police. 0k. the definition for domestic abuse now including economic abuse, which. .. for domestic abuse now including economic abuse, which... we do have existing measures which recognise financial abuse, but this will reportedly include depriving some of your food, clothing, transport reportedly include depriving some of yourfood, clothing, transport — reportedly include depriving some of your food, clothing, transport — you welcome that? absolutely, that is an issue mark that has been overlooked for too long now, often society and police and others view domestic abuse has been just police and others view domestic abuse has beenjust about police and others view domestic abuse has been just about violence, but it is more than that, psychological, and economic is really important, and that is included, because when that is now included, because when that is now included, it means that we will have

a broader view of domestic abuse, and we recognise that it is notjust about the violence. katie, just explain, because some people don't understand, how does this really happen, that one person could stop their partner from getting access to their partner from getting access to their bank account or being able to ta ke their bank account or being able to take the car out? they don't believe that is a reality. power and control is at the heart of domestic abuse, and that is why we are really pleased to see the spotlight on economic and financial abuse. it can ta ke economic and financial abuse. it can take all forms, from taking charge of somebody‘s wages right through to committing benefit fraud in their name, so it is important that we understand that. i know from talking to survivors, sometimes the financial control is an early warning sign that other abuse and control will follow, physical and sexual will come later on, and that is horrific too. and this proposal, they are all proposals to be

consulted on over the next few months, that if children are involved, the sentence could potentially be more stringent.” think that is very welcome. i mean, for far too long, actually, the effect on children has been overlooked, the focus has been on the adults, whether as perpetrators or victims, but the effect on children has to be taken into account, so stronger and tougher sentences in these cases really will be welcomed, they send a strong message, and again change society's view of who the victims are of domestic abuse. would they act as more of a deterrent, more stringent sentences if children are involved? it is possible, it sends out a signal that children are often not seen or signal that children are often not seen or heard. it is amazing, i spend a lot of time visiting refuges, and over half of the residents are children, and yet the resources a re residents are children, and yet the resources are not always there for them to get the help they need, which is why we need more action on

this as well. i wanted to ask about refugees, because while the government is launching these proposals, people who run refugees? refuges are criticising the government for removing the ability for housing benefit to be used to pay for a place, so those who run them say they depend 50% for fans on housing benefit, refuges will have to close. what you think of the government doing that on one hand but then that on the other? these are risky proposals, dangerous proposals, but we are pleased that the government has said they are listening, they want there to be a sustainable solution for the future of refuges and other domestic abuse services as well. we need them to ta ke services as well. we need them to take the next step and give a cast—iron guarantee that the risky proposals that would take a local approach to what has to be a national network of services will come off the table and we can work together to find a sustainable solution. the statement i have does not suggest it will come off the

table, it says, yes, we are looking for a sustainable funding model without a postcode lottery, we have provided 20 million for accommodation based services. demand already outstrips supply, 94 women and 90 children were turned away one day last year in england alone, so we wa nt day last year in england alone, so we want to work with the government to find a solution that means that every survivor gets the help they need. this anonymous e-mail, one topic i have not seen raises that some people do not want to prosecute their violent or controlling partners because their children would be financially penalised. my ex—husband had a very good career, and whilst i gave my nap to have my children, if i had publicly criminalised him, when we left him, he would have lost his job and our children would not have had much to live on. i mean, what can you do about that? what is the advice there? thisjust shows the complexities and the levels of control and abuse that happen in a relationship and outside the

relationship and outside the relationship as well. many women have a well founded fear that their children will be taken away from them, that they will be blamed for them, that they will be blamed for the crime, instead of the perpetrator, and that is why we welcome the government putting the days of the perpetrator, instead of the victim being told to take care of herself and her safety. thank you both very much. the nhs in england has released its latest figures showing how well the country's a&e departments and hospitals are coping with winter pressures. our health editor, hugh pym, is here. where are you? oh, you are there! shall i come over? shall i stay here! i can talk from here i can fill us in! the latest figures from the nhs in england for february and january, a difficult winter with pressures on hospitals and gps and patiently mat waiting longer, in england, the number of patients being treated and

assessed in the target, for hours, in a&e units, february fell a bit even from january. wilson know how many routine operations and procedures was postponed —— we also know. there was any doubt, but everything not urgent on hold because of a shortage of beds, because of a shortage of beds, because of a shortage of beds, because of the real pressures for emergency care. nhs are saying 23,000 fewer routine operations were carried out in england injanuary than the previous january which was itself very pressurised. what about a&e, why are the wait so long? itself very pressurised. what about a&e, why are the wait so long7m itself very pressurised. what about a&e, why are the wait so long? it is a continuation of pressures we saw injanuary, a continuation of pressures we saw in january, flu a continuation of pressures we saw injanuary, flu was a lot worse this year, more cases admitted to hospital as a result of influenza, more people going to gps. nhs

england said that continued in february. more cases of nora virus, cold weather at the end of february, but the general picture, as we have said so many times, the extreme pressure on the nhs, issues with social care, people being stuck in hospital when they are ready to leave, fewer beds for people coming m, leave, fewer beds for people coming in, all of the bigger picture pressure on the health service. thank you very much. still to come... what is the best thing about being a woman or a girl in 2018? that is one of the questions we asking as it is international women's day. amazon are working to fix alexa after users reported that random bursts of creepy laughter have been coming from the device. we will talk about that in the next half an hour. the headlines now on bbc news. the home secretary, amber rudd, is due to make a statement this

lunchtime in the house of commons about the nerve agent used in the attempted murder of a former russian spy and his daughter. while police have now identified the type of chemical, it's not yet known where it was made or who could have carried out the attack. sergei and yulia skripal remain in a critical condition in hospital. a policeman who went to help them was also seriously injured. nottingham trent university says it has suspended students accused of racist chanting apparently aimed at a young black female student. we hate blacks. rufaro chisango was alone in her room on monday night when she heard the drunken students shouting and put a video of the abuse up on twitter yesterday. suspected domestic abusers could be electronically tagged, as part of new government proposals. a consultation has been launched on a set of measures for england and wales, which also include the first legal definition of economic abuse and a commissioner to oversee the issue. the government is also suggesting tougher sentences for cases involving children,

and possible court orders which could include tagging or alcohol bans. two teenagers have died and two children are among the injured after a three—car crash in north yorkshire. the boys, believed to be aged 17, died at the scene on the a61 near thirsk, last night. five adults and two children were taken to hospital. police have appealed for anyone who saw what happened to get in touch. the trial of a danish man accused of murdering a female journalist aboard his homemade submarine, and then cutting up her corpse, has opened in copenhagen. inventor peter madsen admits dismembering kim wall's body, and throwing it out to sea, but denies killing her. she was working on a story about madsen when she went missing last august. that's a summary of the latest bbc news. here's some sport now with hugh. eddiejones has eddie jones has named eddiejones has named his team for the crucial meeting with france in by

the crucial meeting with france in rugby union's six nations this weekend. captain dylan hartley will miss the match, first time under jones, calf injury, replaced at hooker by jamie george, jones, calf injury, replaced at hooker byjamie george, owen farrell will skipper the side. tottenham boss mauricio pochettino denied his lack of experience was to blame for their champions league exit at the hands of juventus. the italian champions go through to the quarterfinals after their 2—1 win at wembley yesterday sealed a 4—3 aggregate victory. paulo dybala scored the decider. manchester city boss pep guardiola said his team forgot to attack as they lost 2—1 to fc basel. city do make it through to the quarters 5—2 on aggregate but were beaten at home for the first time since 2016. phil neville has urged his players to remember the pain of missing out on winning their she believes cup. they needed a draw against the us but they were beaten in orlando. more after 11. some people are saying their amazon alexa device has been been letting out an unprompted, creepy cackle. let's hear it now.

the laugh, described by some as witch—like, is reported to happen even without the device being given the wake—up command. voice assistants like alexa are designed to respond or act only when prompted with a wake word, but this apparent glitch is happening without any prior interaction. here's what some people on twitter have been saying. gavin on twitter said, "lying in bed about to fall asleep when alexa lets out a very loud and creepy laugh." "there's a good chance i might get murdered tonight." kat tweeted to say, "so ijust used my alexa to set a two—minute timer while trying to do a plank, and i asked how much time i had left and she laughed." @malarkeysalad on twitter said, "alexa just randomly laughing and there is no—one talking in my house." the tweets are ahead of me. "my cat and i just looked at each other like..." and kamo tweeted to say his alexa

was also behaving oddly. he said, "this creepy thing happened last night. " "i got home and, totally unprompted, our amazon alexa started talking. and then i realised it was listing off local cemeteries and funeral homes." "i'd rather it laughed at me, to be honest." amazon said it was aware of the problem and was working to fix it. we have talked a lot on this programme about the difficulties people with disabilities face getting around on public transport. improvements have been made in recent yea rs improvements have been made in recent years to accessibility at london underground stations and there are now more than 70 which are either fully accessible or offer some form of step free access. but people with mobility issues continue to have problems using the transport system. have a look at this. i work at the bbc and i am a wheelchair user. the government wants disabled people like me to have a normal life, so do i. tfl has spent money

upgrading tottenham court road in the centre of london. it is now fully accessible and step free, but i have found it is not always the case. this is me on my way to work. ican case. this is me on my way to work. i can easily get on at stratford, but i tottenham court road, the only way i can get on and off is by asking random passengers to help me. there is a 22 centimetres step between the train and the platform and the ramps i am entitled to use have had do not use stickers on them for at least the last six months. other parts of the station really good. the end of this platform has been raised and signposted, it really easy. what i really want to know is, wide, with so much money being spent, why am i still stuck having to ask staff or passengers

for persistence? it is not a step free station. -- passengers for assistance. some of the ramps have not been in use for the last year. it is absolutely not a situation that we are happy with and that is why we have been working to improve it. we are in a position where in the next... we are talking weeks now, we are in the process of familiarising our staff with the use of the ramp on the westbound platform so that wheelchair users will be able to make use of the station. it has not been a great position to be in, absolutely. station. it has not been a great position to be in, absolutelym station. it has not been a great position to be in, absolutely. it is not just tottenham court position to be in, absolutely. it is notjust tottenham court road station, there are 270 tube stations in london, 72 of those are step free, but only 50 are fully accessible from street to train. the london underground network is one of the oldest in the world. it is one of the least accessible in the

world. that makes us angry. we want to be able to turn up at the station, get on the train, get off the train, without assistance. that has got to be the goal. that level of independence. when we asked the staff to help us use the ramp, it is a complicated procedure. staff have two be alerted at the gate, drivers told to hold and the destination staff have to stand by, it takes a lot of time and effort. we take accessibility really seriously. it is not step free. it is a boarding ramp. at some locations, that is where we are and that is... we are consta ntly where we are and that is... we are constantly having to balance the money we spend on accessibility against the money we spend on everything else. i think we have demonstrated through the work we have done so far and the work we are planning to do in the future that we ta ke planning to do in the future that we take accessibility really seriously

and it is a property while —— and it isa and it is a property while —— and it is a priority for us. today is international women's day. its goal is to achieve gender equality for all — at school, in our health service, in our workplaces, our home life. what's it like to be a woman in britain today? we've gathered nine women and girls from all walks of life to talk about that and here they are. let me introduce you to yewande akinola, who has worked in construction for 11 years. sam spence, a health visitorfor the nhs. victoria usher, she runs a global pr agency whose board is made up of nearly all women, most of them working mothers. two thirds women, is that right? that is right. charlotte usher is victoria's 11 year—old—daughter. marchu girma arrived to the uk

as a refugee and now helps other female refugees. sharon spice, an actor and playwright who says she was once paid less than a white woman to do the samejob. michelle russell says she appreciates women more than ever after she was recently involved in a sexual harassment case at work. she's here with her 15—year—old daughter, esme. and hayley smith, who says international women's day inspired her to set up a campaign to make sanitary products free for homeless women. what's the best thing about being a woman in britain in 2018? ido i do not mind who goes first. laughter i really liked the fact there is a conversation happening right now. i really liked the fact there is a conversation happening right nowm feels like a really beautiful liberation, we are able to speak about the things we could never speak about. is that definitely for you the best thing about being a woman in britain right now?” you the best thing about being a woman in britain right now? i think it is because there are many platforms for me to express my

creativity, for me to hear of the amazing things other women are doing and this is extremely empowering. i just think, gosh, this could go... it could really inspire future generations, the beginning of something fantastic.” generations, the beginning of something fantastic. i am definitely completely in agreement with you. my campaign, when! completely in agreement with you. my campaign, when i set it up two years ago, periods were not mainstream, people were only talking about them asa people were only talking about them as a joke, people were only talking about them asajoke, and people were only talking about them as a joke, and the transition, however people are, men and women, the media, talking seriously about periods, it has grown so quickly and it is an incredible platform. conversations are opening up, you say, in this country that perhaps we have not felt were possible before? what would you say? women are finding their voice, learning what would you say? women are finding theirvoice, learning how what would you say? women are finding their voice, learning how to use it. within nursing, the big pay

campaign, female dominated profession, they are campaigning for equality so the tide is turning, still a long way to go, it feels like the shift is going in that direction, a spotlight on things and we are moving in the right direction. what do you say, charlotte ? direction. what do you say, charlotte? the best thing about being a girl in 2018 is we are starting tojoin being a girl in 2018 is we are starting to join together and our generation will be the next generation will be the next generation to change almost the world about gender equality and things like that. i really think thatis things like that. i really think that is really important. following on from that, it is really great we have all these great artists and females today, celebrating the fact it is international women's day, we have the ability of the choice to do whatever we feel we want to do, me being an artist, i have had the opportunity to write, to tour, that would not have been probably possible a few years ago... of course it would! more accessible

now. because of technological advancement. it would have been more difficult. now women are doing loads of stuff, we are engineers, directors, behind the camera, and a few years ago it would have been very hard, few and far between. moving in the right direction, just need a little bit more momentum but it is happening. we have the privilege to make change, we are in a country that gives us some kind of privileged to be able to make change and asa privileged to be able to make change and as a woman coming to this country when i was 11 years old, i think i have come a long way... where did you come from? how came from ethiopia. iwork where did you come from? how came from ethiopia. i work with refugee women. there is a great sense of empowerment, refugee women, coming together, talking about feminism.

that is something we have been talking about. but there is a long way to go. this year is a special year, 2018 marks 100 years since some women got the vote, but we still have in our society many women who do not have a voice, refugee and migrant women who do not have a voice, and today, we are hoping to change the tide, we have an event in holland called all women can to highlight the fact that all women can't —— an event in parliament. highlight the fact that all women can't -- an event in parliament. we have never had as much opportunity as we have had today. it is exciting to see so many as we have had today. it is exciting to see so many row as we have had today. it is exciting to see so many row models, in media, business, women stretching their abilities and shooting for the stars and achieving great things. from a personal point of view, as you said earlier, my senior board is made up of two thirds women and the majority

of two thirds women and the majority of that is working women and working women have a very of that is working women and working women have a very unique challenge. charlotte was three years old when i set up the business and i had to create a business working for me because i could not find a job that would allow me to be a good mum to my children and also to have the careerl my children and also to have the career i really wanted and i felt i deserved and what is great is to be able to employ women in our organisation that what the same thing and we give them that structure. it takes a bit of effort but you can get there as a business and do that. will probably put my two things together, the worst in the best, and in the last two and a half years” have seen the worst of people... because of a sexual harassment case? yes, and realised the inequality that i didn't really realise was there, to be honest. hidden in plain sight. yes. and i have learned an

awful lot. and i think the best thing, for me, right now, obviously, i have got a 15—year—old daughter, and that excites me, that she has got a whole future head of her, but since i have spoken out, the support that i have had off of other women has just been absolutely amazing. and that, to me, is the thing that i carry from all of this, really. esme, what is it like being 15 in britain in 2018 two blow it is interesting! obviously, social media, the internet,, it was different to how it was just 15 years ago, every different to how it was just 15 years ago, every day there is something new happening, and you have to focus on that, but it is also brought a lot of hope. like, in my school, most of my friends are aiming to become surgeons and lawyers and politicians, like amazing things, and it is amazing

that they can, that that is plausible, like they can do that now, and even like 50 or 60 years ago, if you were a woman, a girl, especially a woman of colour said i wa nt especially a woman of colour said i want to go and become a politician, i want to go into parliament, people would have laughed at them, and now it is like we can actually do that, it is like we can actually do that, it israeli exciting to be part of our generation. -- it is really exciting. you have talked about some of the opportunities with social media and what you might want to do when you grow older, what is the worst thing about being a 15—year—old girl in britain? worst thing about being a 15-year-old girl in britain? the expectations that are put on, like, from the societal point of view, so to become a mother especially, like people expect you... who? you expect that? nodule mum! just tidy her bedroom! kind of like when i say i don't really want to have children,

it is like, oh, you know... do you say that? i suppose that is why you hear that. or assembly says, i don't wa nt hear that. or assembly says, i don't want to get married, people are like, why don't you? —— or if somebody says. not necessarily expectations, but that is the norm, it does not necessarily mean they are being pejorative or whatever. and an expectation to be quiet as well. from who?! not necessarily personally, but as a society, there is quite a strong stigma against women who, from a young age, if you kind of like savings, there is a kind of like savings, there is a kind of like savings, there is a kind of like, be quiet, don't talk about it. closing down of what you have said if you have an opinion, does anybody else find that?“ have said if you have an opinion, does anybody else find that? if you say something, oh, no, you are over exaggerating, it is not that bad.

what did you say? being dramatic? yeah. you don't think summary would say that to a manager max not at all. -- you don't think somebody would say that to a man? as a health visitor, we have, as a society, still have different expectations between boys and girls. we are seeing a shift with gender neutral clothing and different activities, and a lot of nurseries are going on board in terms of all children being promoted to all activities, whereas previously girls were meant to play with kitchens and dolls, boys were meant to play with construction sets. it is slowly changing, but it will take a generational changes to go through, and that is why we're not seeing change, and it is frustrating at times, because we are quite powerful, emboldened women, but lots of women do not feel that way, behind the sidelines, and is

taking time for that change to come through. and it probably chips away, but when we find our voice, we need to keep it, keep chipping away for all women. i see that all the time in construction, you know, in engineering. give me an example. engineering is not for girls, why would you consider engineering? why don't you consider something else? so not naming names, but who are the people who are saying engineering is not for girls, who is that person? u nfortu nately, not for girls, who is that person? unfortunately, it is everybody. not for girls, who is that person? unfortunately, it is everybodym is not everybody, it is not, let's not exaggerate. what sort of people? the people who are saying that are represented, they come from every aspect of a child's life... teachers, parents? parents, teachers, and goals and —— and goals

and aunts, but i know it is a result of this perception thing that we have been trying to work through for the last couple of years, it is that association of certain career paths with a male or female, association of certain career paths with a male orfemale, and i think it is on us as engineers, as powerful women, as women of colour, women of, you know, to be visible, you know, to young people to say, i am an engineer, i am doing it, and you know, to young people to say, i am an engineer, iam doing it, and i am an engineer, iam doing it, and i am enjoying it, you know? and getting paid for doing it! are you getting paid for doing it! are you getting paid for doing it! are you getting paid the same as the male engineers? good question. i don't know, i haven't asked. would you consider asking? yes, i would. definitely i would, yeah.” consider asking? yes, i would. definitely i would, yeah. i actually have checked my skill with myjob to

make sure that i am being paid exactly the same as my work counterpart... and are you? i am, and it is an issue, because previously i worked somewhere, and when i left, i found out that all my white colleagues got paid £1000 more than me, so i was down by £1000, and when i queried me, he told me, you are leaving now, it doesn't matter. and that was because you were a black woman? i was the only black girlthere, and i felt i had to black woman? i was the only black girl there, and i felt i had to be grateful, i was breaking the diversity barrier, but also he had given me how opportunity. we are coming to the end, and i know i haven't ask do the worst thing! i don't want to end on a negative, but what is the contrast? briefly, worst thing about being a woman... there may not be anything loads of progress has been made, but there is still masses of progress to go.”

need specifics. i don't want to grow up need specifics. i don't want to grow up not being paid the same as a man. sure, definitely. i don't want that to happen. i get worried about that. we are going to make sure that doesn't happen. there are still women in our community, our society, who are voiceless, they don't have the same opportunity as we have. one thing that we are highlighting at the moment is that there really is this refugee and migrant women, when they report to the police violence, sexual violence, immediately the police called immigration, you know, to start the process of the porting them. we have got 30 seconds, you have to be quick. the fact that we have to be quick. the fact that we have to be quick. the fact that we have to deal with capability, having to prove myself. we need parity with the male dominated professions with male dominated professions. more

equality for single parents, more involvement from partners that are not there. every woman should be able to go to work without being sexually assaulted. more support for girls to go to university and higher education. there needs to be more voices, as you said, every woman needs a voice, regardless of where they are from. thank you, well done, thank you for coming in. thank you. we brought you figure is that there has been a 14% rise in women from northern ireland having free abortions in england since the government announced they would no longer pay for them. stella creasy, who campaigned to get the charges dropped last year, gave us her reaction, as did emma campbell from a campaign group. it reveals the scale of the need to address this issue. it is simply unconscionable that in 2018 part of our nation, northern ireland as part of the united kingdom, we treat women

differently there than here in london or birmingham or manchester, and what this data tells us is that, actually, we need to go further, because it is not fair to ask women to travel, and the united nations has identified that asking women in northern ireland to travel to england to have an abortion is in human and degrading. i'm going to ask you more about that in a moment, but i won't reaction from you as well, emma campbell, to these figures that we have obtained. we know that the number of women travelling to the uk for abortion treatment in the last five years or so treatment in the last five years or so has dropped, and we know anecdotally that was due to the use of abortion pills that people obtained online and took a legally. although the bills are safe, we can see from recent prosecutions that it was illegal, so we understand these figures to mean that people are no longer willing to risk prosecution and would rather travel to access

abortions than risk this criminalisation. however, in the week that the funding was announced, week that the funding was announced, we had two phone calls from different women who were unable to travel to england, one because a violent ex travel to england, one because a viole nt ex partner travel to england, one because a violent ex partner destroyed all of her identification, and anotherjust because she had a very, very young child and there was no way for her to travel. we understand that even though women can access this treatment in the uk, there are often women left behind because they cannot travel for one reason or another. emma campbell, stella creasy. a statement from the government, they say the law in northern ireland prevents abortion except where there is a risk to the life or long—term health of the woman. an amendment to the law to permit abortion cases of fatal people abnormality and sexual crime was debated in the northern ireland assembly in february 2016 and is defeated. following that, the government is working on proposals for ministers to address the issue,

but the northern ireland executive went into suspension at the end of january 2017, before those proposals we re january 2017, before those proposals were considered. thank you very much for your company today, thanks for getting in touch with the programme. back tomorrow at nine, have a good day. good morning we had quite a this was the scene in leeds this morning, leading to travel problems. this snow is clearing away towards these, still some over the pennines towards eastern england, but eventually clearing away from east yorkshire later on. elsewhere, one or two showers moving in across western scotland, where there will be some snow, but for many of us

this afternoon, it is dry and bright, temperatures up to 11 degrees. where you have had snow this morning, it will start to thaw out through this afternoon. through the evening and tonight, with clear skies, telling quite cold quite quickly, watch out for ice. further snow moving into western scotland. into friday morning, a chilly start for many, lots of sunshine on friday, one or two showers moving into the south—west later on. by saturday, heavy rain moving in, temperatures in the south—east up to about 15 celsius. this is bbc news and these are the top stories developing at 11am. counter—terrorism officers work

to discover where the nerve agent used in the attempted murder of a former russian spy and his daughter came from. sergei and yulia skripal remain critically ill after being found unconscious in salisbury on sunday. the home secretary amber rudd will brief mps are the latest developments in this investigation. we are giving all the medical support necessary to the people who then affected. ministers