hello, it's thursday, it's 9am. i'm victoria derbyshire, welcome to the programme. the prime minister's summoned her top team for a special meeting today. it's understood she could give the go ahead for uk military action against president assad of syria, without giving mps their say in parliament. it comes after that suspected chemical attack in the city of douma. all the indications are that the syrian regime was responsible, and we'll be working with our closest allies to consider how we can ensure that those responsible are held to account. do you think mps should be given the chance to have their say on such an important issue? let us know this morning. and a family of five from bristol spent three years living in premier inns because their council refused them we'll talk live to the dad and here's a bristol city council representative who apologised for their failings. and the video games

industry is huge in the uk, with 3a million of us playing them. we'll hear who's tipped for the top in the video game baftas which are being held tonight. hello. welcome to the programme, we're live until 11 this morning. the uk is moving closer to military action against president assad of syria. we wa nt we want to hear from you, the british voters. we will talk to various politicians. we want to hear if you want mps to have a chance to debate it in parliament and vote on it. send us an e—mail or you can message us on it. send us an e—mail or you can message us on twitter. that is our top story today. theresa may has summoned the cabinet to a special meeting this afternoon to discuss joining an american—led

military strike on syria. the prime minister is reported to be ready to take action without pa rliament‘s approval, to punish the suspected use of chemical weapons by the assad regime. bill hayton reports. the world health organization says 43 people died from toxic chemicals in the town of douma last saturday. the prime minister believes the syrian government was to blame, and later today, the cabinet will discuss whether to join any american strike.

all the indications are that the syrian regime was responsible and we will be working with our closest allies to make sure those responsible are held to account, and how we can prevent and deter the humanitarian catastrophe that comes from the use of chemical weapons in the future. the area where the alleged chemical attack took place is now quiet, after five years of fighting. this peace came at a terrible price. the question for politicians to answer is whether strikes might deter such things happening again, orjust make the situation worse. bill hayton, bbc news. our political correspondent, iain watson, is in westminster. has the prime minister already made up has the prime minister already made up her mind, do you think?” has the prime minister already made up her mind, do you think? i think she has. her language has hardened since the attack was first reported. she spoke to national security advisers yesterday and she now seems to be convinced of the culpability

of the assad regime. when she meets the cabinet this afternoon, it will bea the cabinet this afternoon, it will be a question of when not if there will be military action. she will face questions of the scale of our involvement but i think she has made her mind up tojoin the involvement but i think she has made her mind up to join the americans and the french in action against the syrian regime, she has talked about preventing and deterring future chemical attacks, that might be something that is quite extensive. in terms of the immediate timescale, ido in terms of the immediate timescale, i do not expect anything to happen as soon as the cabinet rises, but it is highly likely there will be action before parliament resumes on monday after the easter break, something which has been criticised byjeremy corbyn and i am expecting him to repeat his call for the parliamentary debate before this happens. the leader of the snp is also saying in his view theresa may does not have a mandate, a majority,

so there should be no military action before it is discussed. it looks as though on this occasion the military action may start before mps have an opportunity to debate it. one is that, the weekend? we are being told from downing street and we heard a similar thing from the white house, there was no fixed timetable for this, no final decision has been taken, but all the signals are on the fact the cabinet has been summoned this afternoon to downing street suggests it is likely to happen before monday. thank you. your reaction, of course, we want to hear from you, british voters, your reaction, of course, we want to hearfrom you, british voters, do you want mps to have a say before final decisions are taken about military action in syria? are you co mforta ble military action in syria? are you comfortable with the prime minister and her top team taking the decision themselves? rebecca is in the bbc newsroom with a summary of the rest of the day's news. good morning. the daughter of a former russian spy poisoned in salisbury has rejected an offer of help from moscow. in a statement, yulia skripal, who was discharged from hospital on monday, also

said herfather, sergei, was still seriously ill. the international chemical weapons watchdog is expected to release details of its investigation into the nerve agent attack in the next few hours. andrew plant reports. yulia skripal left hospital on monday. herfather, sergei, is still there, after both were exposed to a nerve agent in the city of salisbury last month. she is now in a secret location and has asked to be left alone. but in a statement she praised hospital staff, saying... she also refuses offers of help from russia, adding... sergei skripal is a former russian spy who was living in the uk. he and his daughter were discovered

on a park bench on 4th march. it was unclear if they would survive. they'd been exposed to the nerve agent novichok, which the british government says came from the russian chemical weapons programme. britain asked the office for the prohibition of chemical weapons to investigate. theirfindings will be released at midday today. russia has repeatedly cast doubt on the claim that they carried out the poisoning. but britain has received strong diplomatic backing, with over 20 countries expelling russian diplomats in protest. meanwhile, sergei skripal is said to have responded exceptionally well to treatment and is also expected to leave hospital soon. the government has been warned that thousands of eu nationals, living legally in the uk, could inadvertently lose their right to stay after brexit because they don't realise they need to apply to do so,

or will struggle with the process. a report from the migration observatory, based at oxford university, says those most at risk are victims of domestic abuse, children and elderly people. the home office will launch an application system for eu nationals eligible for settled status later this year. it says it's already begun an awareness campaign. campaigners are calling on the government to resolve the uncertainty over the status of thousands of people who arrived in the uk as children in the first wave of commonwealth immigration. despite living and working here for decades, many are now being told they are here illegally. a petition calling for an amnesty from the government has attracted 30,000 signatures. the home office said it would handle applications to stay sensitively. the high court will begin hearing the case brought by sir cliff richard against the bbc for breach of privacy and data protection

following coverage of a police investigation and raid of the star's home in 2014. the case is due to last two weeks and is expected to give guidance on the contentious issue of whether a suspect who has not been charged can be lawfully named by the media. carpetright has announced the loss of 300 jobs. the retailer said 92 stores would close under what it calls a restructuring plan following tough trading. carpetright, which employs more than 2,500 people, says it hopes to relocate staff where possible. metropolitan police officers have seized drugs and firearms, including a submachine gun, in raids targeting gang violence across london. it follows a recent spate of crime in the capital. our reporter, jessica parker, joined officers as they carried out the operation. her report contains flash photography. a six—month investigation leading to this. police!

the operation saw eight raids carried out across south and west london last night. onto another one, the police targeting what has been described as a notorious gang. you have a lot of turf war, going through other gangs and throughout london, which then stems the violence between gang members. police! a suspect is found in a nearby car. just concentrate on what the police officer is saying... the raids come after a recent spate of violent crime in the capital. with the force under the microscope, a high—level presence as the operation got under way. i think people have been shocked by the events of the last few weeks, and in particular, the young lives lost. everywhere my officers go, people come up to them and say, "it's good to see you here." nine people have been arrested in total, including a 14—year—old boy. suspected class a drugs were seized, firearms too,

including a submachine—gun, in an operation involving 200 officers. these raids are focused on tackling violent crime on our streets, and the police are trying to send a message to the public that action is being taken. there is a message too for offenders — or rather, a warning. jessica parker, bbc news. a baby has been born in china to a surrogate mother four years after his parents died in a car crash. chinese media reported the couple, who died in 2013, had frozen several embryos, hoping to have a child through ivf. after the accident, their parents fought a protracted legal battle to be allowed to use the embryos. the boy was born in december to a surrogate from laos. a former army captain is set to make history today as he becomes the first amputee jockey to ride over grand national fences at aintree. guy disney, who's 35, lost part of a leg when a vehicle

he was travelling in was hit by a rocket—propelled grenade in afghanistan. he'll ride a horse trained by the grand national winner, kim bailey, in the foxhunters‘ chase, an event specifically designed for amateurs. that's a summary of the latest bbc news — more at 9.30. thank you very much. as you know, the uk is moving closer to military action against president assad of syria. closer to firing, as president trump calls them, nice and new and smart missiles into syria. as british voters, where do you stand on this issue? is it right that britain gets involved, alongside the us and france, in order to punish the syrian regime for that suspected chemical attack? and is it right that britain gets involved without mps, the politicians who represent you at westminster, having a vote on it? do let me know. rebecca says, i am scared as a

45—year—old woman. another says, even the murderer tony blair had to produce his dodgy dossier. we will speak to mps with different views. send us your messages and we will feed them into the contributors. if you text, you will be charged at the standard network rate. on the gold coast, a very good couple of days, sorry, a very good day for a couple of english mountain bikers. sorry, a very good day for a couple of english mountain bikersm sorry, a very good day for a couple of english mountain bikers. it is now dark, the evening entertainment is getting under way. you might hear strange sounds behind me. you might hear the tweeting birds. lots of chatter about income's mountain bikers because for the first time in commonwealth games history, england's women have got medals in the mountain biking, the cross—country, gold and silver. first commonwealth medals in the

cross—country, annie last took gold ahead of team—mate evie richards. richards was overtaken around the nine kilometre mark, a 27 kilometre race, and evie richards only 21, big future. annie last took the gold, fantastic performance. the hope it will inspire other girls and women to get into cross—country mountain biking. other british success this morning in the shooting? yes, the home teams have had a really good commonwealth games. not over yet. the likes of the 67—year—old david still going strong for northern ireland, the long—range distance. in the shorter range, on your tummy, firing at a target the size of the 5p piece, 50 metres away, but it did not deter our latest medallist, sean mcintosh, bronze in the 50 metre rifle, family affair, the third

member of her family to win a commonwealth games shooting member jew medal, older sister got two calleds in delhi —— commonwealth games shooting medal. her older sister got two gold medals in delhi. football, dramatic end to the champions league quarterfinal in madrid. yeah, it must have been a big match when it makes the tv networks here because football is down the pecking order, the scot coverage, madrid had led juventus, what a comeback by the time inside, to level, but it happen deep into injury time, a penalty, to one had the goalkeeper sent off, and then cristiano ronaldo scoring the winner, they are through alongside

liverpool. bayern munich also through to the semifinals after they beat seville. thank you. more sport throughout the morning of course. it's a quarter past nine, welcome to oui’ programme. the prime minister has called an emergency cabinet meeting for this afternoon — to talk about whether britain should join military action in syria. president trump has already threatened that "nice, new, smart" missiles will be fired at the country. and now it's understood british forces could join the action — without a vote by mps. it's all in reaction to a suspected chemical attack in the rebel—held city of douma at the weekend, an attack which the syrian president bashar al—assad has denied carrying out. this morning russian news agencies are reporting that the city is now under the control of government forces. really important to hear from you this morning. do you want your mp to

be given the chance to have his or her say in parliament before britain ta kes her say in parliament before britain takes part in any particular military action. we have three differing views, in the studio. let's talk to the leader of the liberal democrats, mp for twickenham, vince cable; he's against military action. tojoin the us, can to join the us, can you tojoin the us, can you move up to join the us, can you move up this way, perfect! in a moment we will hear from emma reynolds, labour mp for wolverhampton north east — she's for military action. and conservative mp for the isle of wight, bob seely. he's aginast military action. vince cable, why are you against it. i'm not ruling it out, i'm another sceptic! the position my party have taken up, we are not ruling it out, i supported it when i was a cabinet member but the problem was that

parliament voted against it. and i think it is essential that parliament is no record as as soon as possible to look at all of this. it's a more dangerous position than it was back in 2013, partly because the russians are involved, collateral damage, partly also because trump is the president and is much more erratic and less cautious than barack obama. so it's all the more important that we subject the government to critical questioning. i don't rule out the possibility that we might support military action if the case is properly made. and why are you sceptical, mr seely. ithink properly made. and why are you sceptical, mr seely. i think the russians are doing unspeakable things and i think president trump's tweeting is infantile and not productive. but if you think about bombing because we can't think of anything else to do that is incredibly dangerous. because the situation, as vince says has changed

dramatically, the war is won, this is the city for the use of chemical weapons and we have done very little the previous 33 times. is there any hint that theresa may has a strategy. i'm sure they are trying to develop one. whether there is a bigger strategy is another matter. she said yesterday the use of chemical weapons could not go without being challenged and she said all the indications suggested that president assad's forward were responsible —— forces were responsible. i'm sure they are because the other groups don't have the ability to deliver this stuff. what i'm less certain about is the effectiveness, and it has gone unchallenged the last 33 times except ones. the key point is what the objective is, what the strategy is. is there a strategy? i don't know, we'll have to ask! it is

possible to identify a clear objective which is to degrade the capacity of the syrian government to use chemical weapons. this is the threshold they have crossed an appalling way, governing weapons of mass destruction, we can'tjust let it pass, the objective has to be to prevent them doing it again. it's not picking a fight with iran, or with russia. these are dangerous roads to go down. if that is the strategy, trying to eradicate airfields and however they distribute the weapons, that's also picking a fight with russia because they are backing president assad. picking a fight with russia because they are backing president assadm isa they are backing president assadm is a dangerous situation and the last time trump ordered a strike on syria he warned the russians in advance. he was friendly with them

then although he changes from one week to the next and he did warn that there was no direct intervention with russia. is a danger of escalation with the russians, or understand the cynicism of the russian leadership. some of them would like dead russians because it would give them great scope for external and domestic action, so there's the danger of getting into a shooting war with the russians, more importantly, we are going to be in a relationship with the russians and doing this would make that relationship is very dangerous. to the viewers, we have vince cable, leader of the lib dems, and bob seely, the conservative mp for the isle of wight to this sceptical. by e—mail, robert says

parliament must decide. maria says, the public should also get a vote, look at iraq and libya, disasters. martin says it should be a matter for parliament to decide not one person and her team of yes— people. michael says any involvement in syria will result once more in bombs on london streets, shame on theresa may if she takes this country to war. iraq and afghanistan were complex but they were not disasters. it was iraq and libya. some might say they were disasters. it was iraq and libya. some might say they were disasterslj it was iraq and libya. some might say they were disasters. i served in both and there are pros and cons for both. you say you trust theresa may more than other leaders but she obviously doesn't trust people like you, obviously doesn't trust people like you , even obviously doesn't trust people like you, even her own tory mps, that is why there will be no vote in parliament. government decides, parliament. government decides, parliament is the legislative body and we will be sovereign after

brexit which i am delighted about. it depends on the level of our engagement and how much we will be involved, if we take a non—lethal rove rs involved, if we take a non—lethal rovers a strong case that the government saying, we will support it may be provide some kid but we will take a very modest role. if there is to be a consistent bombing over a period of time to think that becomes more problematic. do you agree with that, if it is a one—off punitive strike, to degrade military capability in syria, does parliament needs to decide, do you want to say? it must be. because and the three occasions this has happened before, in 2013, 2015 and 2017 parliament was involved each time. this is more dangerous than any of those others. it would be completely wrong to bypass parliament this time for exactly the reasons your listeners have just indicated. i think bob and i don't want to start arguing about

brexit but the fact that parliament has been bypassed on that issue actually reinforces the argument for strengthening parliamentary sovereignty and involving parliament in an issue of this kind. undoubtedly our adversaries will pick up on this as well. even if the vote is non—binding the more that we ethically cover ourselves for what make take place in future. it would be wise of the government, things could go badly wrong and with a mandate from parliament they would be in mandate from parliament they would beina mandate from parliament they would be in a much stronger position. and that in and we will speak to emma reynolds on the phone. more messages, stevens is on twitter, we don't have to ask parliament, we've done it for centuries that parliament, it's down to the government of the day. another viking access theresa may ‘s blatant disregard is a disregard for democracy. olivia says, theresa may will be acting like a dictator if shejoins the usa

will be acting like a dictator if she joins the usa and takes action against syria. june says, while i deplore what is happening in syria and believe british military intervention will escalate the situation and cause more civilian deaths. the uk should not take part in military action abroad unless it is to send peacekeeping forces as pa rt is to send peacekeeping forces as part of a joint action with the united nations and parliament should be consulted before any action is taken. reports today suggest military action could begin as early as this weekend. yes, potentially. it could come to mind. is that ok with you? it is not for precisely the reasons we've debated, parliament could be got together in 24 hours and british involvement could be at different levels, we have a military base in cyprus, more than one, authorisation could be given to users, the americans have agreed that germany can use their basesin

agreed that germany can use their bases in germany, that doesn't translate to active military engagement, there are different stages. we can speak to emma reynolds now, labour mp for wolverhampton north east. i understand that you are for military action. i am in favour of targeted military action against the assad regime to prevent them carrying out another chemical weapons attack on their own people. last year president trump used 59 missiles and it didn't stop them using chemical weapons again. we need a better strategy, that does not mean we shouldn't act. but i also agree that we need a parliamentary debate and about on this, technically the government could proceed. there's nothing in the unwritten constitution which requires a vote in parliament but it would be better democratically and i agree with a pointjust made by sir vince cable that it would strengthen the government's mandate behind the

case. only if enough of you vote for it. of course. but if the government is convinced that they have a strong enough case they should consult parliament on that case, and they have a good chance of winning a vote on it. and if the strategy is to degrade some of the capability that president assad seems to have when it comes to chemical weapons, would that be enough? that is what i think the strategic objective should be. for ordinary everyday syrians after that? i am very concerned about the seven year—long civil war and it is true that many more have been killed by conventional weapons, however, a line has been crossed with regard to chemical weapons, there are international treaties and laws against the proliferation of chemical weapons, and i think, against the proliferation of chemicalweapons, and i think, given that bad red line has been crossed this time there has to be a response

by the international community. a wide involvement in this civil war would need to be considered very carefully indeed and it is a related but different matter. ok. thank you. final thought? her but different matter. ok. thank you. finalthought? her heart but different matter. ok. thank you. final thought? her heart is in the right place, there's strong moral case but a questionable strategic case, she assumes that targeted action will succeed without killing russians and taking away the chemical weapons. if you talk to a lot of syrians as i've done in the la st lot of syrians as i've done in the last figures, they say, what's the point, we are being killed in our hundreds by barrel bombs. so the human rights abuses and war crimes ona human rights abuses and war crimes on a fast scale apart from chemical weapons. in the second hour of our programme will be talking to syrians to see what they want to happen next. would you urge your prime minister to recall the mps as soon as possible? yes, i trust her

judgment more than anyone else in this case but yes. thank you both. let's go to moscow and washington for reaction now. andrey afanasiev is a tv host at tsagrad in moscow and is a supporter of president putin. and in washington is anneke green — who was a speech writer for for former republican president george w bush. thank you for talking to us. hello. first of all, i have been listening to what mps think you were saying, i do not understand how we can discuss it without proving the fact of chemical attack. the so—called chemical attack. the so—called chemical attack. the so—called chemical attack you're talking about is not proven and from the point of view of international law, any kind of military intervention by us, britain or whoever, it would be illegal. there is no proof, like a year ago, like several years before, it is to my mind a typical false

flare because of so—called rebel forces also terrorists, losing their positions in eastern ghouta and douma. it is a way to somehow keep the western proxies there. this is the western proxies there. this is the first point. second, only two foreign powers are in syria illegally, russia and iran. because syrian government country member of un invited us to help them fight isis and we came to fight terrorism and crisis that is attacking not only them or us but britain and the us and europe —— and isis. we are there to solve this problem, to help, maybe not perfect, but still a legal and sovereign syrian government to fight it. do you take that point, anneke, the west is

talking about military intervention and andrey says it has not even been proven it was the assad regime behind the chemical attack at the weekend? i know that the secretary of defence here has said we're still looking at the intelligence and i think the uk and the us will be very sensitive about the issue of making sure any intelligence leading to military action is good and that we look at it very carefully, given our past history with that. with going into iraq. but i think it is important to recognise that it is notjust intelligence important to recognise that it is not just intelligence from important to recognise that it is notjust intelligence from local rebel forces, it is also ngos, very brave people who risk their lives to help treat people coming in the symptoms, we have seen the videos. i trust our leaders to make the right decisions in gathering and

intelligence and confirming that, but it is not under doubt. as far as the legality, it becomes difficult to... russia actually voted against giving power to investigate these claims in the un. if we are really trying to make sure we can verify this, why would russia vote against that? hang on, ijust want to ask you, not a massive amount of time, if there is military action from the us alongside potentially britain and france, what will rush into —— what will russia do? you should ask the question of the military. we are definitely going to defend our people on the ground. what does that mean in practical terms? people on the ground. what does that mean in practicalterms? if there will be some missiles launched to our military objects, these missiles will be downed, this is for sure, this is what there is no doubt about. there are no ngo

representatives in the zone where the so—called not proven chemical attack was allegedly made. you say there is no proof syria is behind it andi there is no proof syria is behind it and i tell you there is no proof that this chemical attack actually took place because there are a lot of proof and videos and material made by western journalists saying all of the so—called false flag chemical attacks are just fake news and we must understand this. thank you, both. appreciate your time and your patience. more messages from you. we should not follow an u nsta ble you. we should not follow an unstable president and theresa should recall parliament. jeff says, the pm does not need a vote, we have to do great assad's ability to murder his people. another says, it is the prerogative of the prime minister to declare war without consulting ministers, a mandate given to all uk governments, parliamentary approval is not

required. another says, ithink parliament should be given the opportunity to vote on this issue. more to come in the next hour of the programme, we will talk to syrians to ask what they want to happen next. still to come... a report into allegations of sexual abuse and exploitation at a boys' hostel and a school in rochdale is out at midday. the late politician cyril smith who was mp there for 20 years is accused of being one of the abusers. we'll be looking at what can be done to stop people in positions of power abusing the vulnerable. and the royals‘ latest addition. it'sjust over a month before prince harry marries meghan markle. we'll be talking to princess diana biographer andrew morton about life before prince harry. time for the latest news. here is rebecca. the bbc news headlines this morning. theresa may has summoned the cabinet to a special meeting this afternoon to discuss joining an american—led military strike on syria.

the prime minister is reported to be ready to commit british forces to action, without pa rliament‘s approval, to punish the suspected use of chemical weapons by the assad regime. the government has been warned that thousands of eu nationals, living legally in the uk, could inadvertently lose their right to stay after brexit because they don't realise they need to apply to do so or will struggle with the process. a report from the migration observatory, based at oxford university, says those most at risk are victims of domestic abuse, children and elderly people. the home office will launch an application system for eu nationals eligible for settled status later this year. it says it's already begun an awareness campaign. the high court will begin hearing the case brought by sir cliff richard against the bbc for breach of privacy and data protection following coverage of a police investigation and raid

of the star's home in 2014. the case is due to last two weeks and is expected to give guidance on the contentious issue of whether a suspect who has not been charged can be lawfully named by the media. carpetright has announced the loss of 300 jobs. the retailer said 92 stores would close under what it calls a restructuring plan following tough trading. carpetright, which employs more than 2,500 people, says it hopes to relocate staff where possible. that's a summary of the latest bbc news. here's some sport now with mike bushell. more medals to tell you about earlier this morning in the commonwealth games as last came first, annie last took gold in the mountain biking. evie richards as

well taking silver. katarina johnson—thompson leads after two events in the heptathlon, fourth in the 100 meter hurdles and joint first in the highjump, outright lead already with five fence still to come. christian —— cristiano ronaldo with a penalty. the game heading towards extra time. but a foul gave you know who the opportunity to put madrid through with a penalty in the 97th minute, heartbreak for juventus. with a penalty in the 97th minute, heartbreak forjuventus. last night's goals, this one will take some topping, have a look at this strike. what an effort for wolves against derby. on the cusp of promotion to the premier league. that is why he is widely regarded as the best player playing outside the premier league. i will have more sport for you a little later. good

morning. an inquiry looking into historical sexual abuse at a wide range of institutions publishes its findings today into allegations about a boys' hostel and a residential school in greater manchester linked to the late politician cyril smith. the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse has investigated claims about cambridge house boys‘ hostel and knowl view school — both places where children were sent to live by rochdale borough council. despite a police investigation into the late mp concluding in 1970 that he was hiding behind a veneer of respectability and had used his unique position to target eight boys at cambridge house during the 1960s, he never faced trial and received a knighthood in 1988. let's speak now to gabrielle shaw, who runs the national association for people abused in childhood. alan collins is a lawyer for victims of historic sexual abuse. and jon brown is here

from the nspcc. welcome, all of you. how significant is this for those who have survived sexual abuse? hugely significant. we have a free and confidential telephone helpline for survivors of abuse at napac and we have over the yea rs heard abuse at napac and we have over the years heard from survivors who have suffered institutional abuse and what they say, a common theme, we wa nt to what they say, a common theme, we want to be believed, we want our experience to be counted and to have the inquiry finally come up with this report, i think it will give a great deal of hope the survivors who have suffered so much. what do you mean by institutional abuse and does it still exist? any state one organisation, as the government inquiry has set up, it covers a wide

range of things, care homes, schools, churches, sports clubs. a whole gamut of societal institutions. it could happen in any of those places. alan, we report on and we have spent a lot of time discussing sexual abuse people have suffered in some cases decades ago, do you worry not enough attention is given to those being abused now? indeed. i believe that is why i am here today, to make the point tragically and it is very unpalatable sexual abuse of children and young people is with us here today, 2018, in spite of what we know about what happens and so on, and the point should not be lost but and the point should not be lost but a lot of child abuse happens within the home, children often abused by people that they know, people who they live with. only yesterday, i

was at a prison having seen an inmate who had suffered terrible sexual abuse as a child and here we are witnessing a young man whose life had been essentially messed up in every way imaginable and the state, the taxpayer, is having to fund the consequences today and in the future. we as a society are still paying a very big price. and i would echo and support that point. the scale and the scope of child abuse is huge and as a society it is very difficult for us to say we hurt children and it is a really important point, that it happens, and the point about it happening in the family, and it napac, 80% of calls come from those abused by family members or those close to them. remember the jimmy savile revelations, a huge spike in reporting, i was asked, that was

just a blip, reporting, i was asked, that was justa blip, gone reporting, i was asked, that was just a blip, gone back to normal. this is the new normal, the scale and scope, and we need to get used to this and act appropriately. why do adults sexually abuse children? there is a saying, abuse happens when power meets vulnerability. you can apply that to any situation, institutional abuse, anything, where there is a vulnerability to be exploited, adults will abuse. as a society, we need to put in a lot more effort into understanding why adults abuse children. they have done a lot of research in scandinavia which is quite revealing but we also ought to be doing that here, we need to understand a lot more about why it happens. unless we understand, in ten, 20 years time, we will probably be having the same conversations. john brown from the nspcc, do you agree we need to

understand why adults sexually abuse children in order to help prevent it happening again and again? absolutely, we do. quite a lot of work has been done to try to understand the drivers and motivations as to why people and why adults abuse children but we need to understand more and until we can get a really clear understanding of the causes and drivers of the sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children, we will not get a front foot as far as prevention is concerned. some people find it unpalatable because they think perhaps it means we are finding excuses for why adults do this. perhaps it means we are finding excuses for why adults do thism is not about excuses at all. adults need to be held to account for the abuse that they perpetrate on children. we know about the long—term damage and impact, we hear it day in, day out, from children at

the nspcc and from adults at the helpline as well. it is not about excuses, it is about ensuring we can have as effective prevention is possible to disrupt potential offenders and to learn about the best possible treatment approaches to help children who have been abused. what is most worrying, do you believe, about these particular historical allegations from rochdale? they are shocking. i think the scale of it, i think the way in which children were effectively silenced, and we have heard that and seeing it again and again with historic abuse allegations that have come out over recent years, that silencing. there is much we can learn from this and from other similar scandals as well. it is about ensuring organisations have got really clear safeguarding and child protection procedures, that people who are concerned about things are unable to speak out at the earliest opportunity because we know how silencing abuse can be,

really effective whistle— blowing policies. and of course, ensuring that the victims, children, young people or adults, that they have got the help they need and help for children, adults and young people, to help it is still hugely under resourced, we need much more of it and we needed much better integrated and we needed much better integrated and organised across the country. as we have been discussing, historic abuse allegations, do you think there is... there are many things we can learn from even 40 years ago that can inform the culture and the atmosphere surrounding this now?” think so. it is surprising and not surprising that lessons must be learnt but it is the same lessons over and over again. people did have suspicions, it is rare abusers operate in isolation, usually networks and more than one victim,

if you have concerns, people would rather look the other way and it is about reporting and that is really important. making it easier to report if you have a suspicion because ultimately it will lead to protection. i think if we saw child abuse as a public health issue, we would be looking at more resources and a different emphasis. and i think if we doubt with the issue, notjust from a think if we doubt with the issue, not just from a criminal context, but from a public health context, the debate would change, the emphasis would change and maybe then over time we would make a big difference. and stop children today and tomorrow being subjected to the risk of exploitation. one final thought from you, gabriel,

how difficult can it be for adults who were abused as children to come forward ? who were abused as children to come forward? very difficult because with abuse that is a great deal of guilt and shame and secrecy. it is common for adults to feel, i was the only one that it happened to. and i was partly responsible for it. that is why talking about it in the media and highlighting these stories can help because then you know, i wasn't the only one, and if other people have the courage to come forward maybe i can seek help as well. see the importance of us talking about it and opening up cannot be overstated. thank you for coming on the programme, thank you john, in cardiff. next. a council has been ordered to compensate a family who spent three years shuttling between premier inns after wrongly

being refused a place on the housing waiting list. luke and olga burns moved into temporary accommodation when their privately rented flat was damaged by flooding in 2014. they finally got a council house after the local government and social care ombudsman ruled against the council. let's talk to luke burns who is in our bristol newsroom. hello mr burns, what happened. hello mr burns, what happenedm started in april 2014 when we were evicted from a property, partly due to the damage that had been caused to the damage that had been caused to that property and since then bristol city council have had numerous opportunities to do will our application for homelessness but they just our application for homelessness but theyjust did not, and then it became a cycle, where we attempted to co nta ct became a cycle, where we attempted to contact them, and they ignored or refused to do with us, all the way until 2017 when the local government ombudsman got involved. we will eat

you living and how, described that for the audience. it was a daily battle, every night we had to try and find the accommodation, which tended to almost always be premier inn, the only hotel where we could pre—book without prepaying. it was a case of looking around the greater bristol area to try and find a hotel with space which we could afford. we had very little funds. the minimum housing benefit which bristol city council still paid us, bizarrely, even though they wouldn't help us find a property so we got about £300 a fortnight in housing benefit but the hotel bills were about £80 a night. how many premier inns did you live in in three years. at least 12. we were all in one room, it was all

we could afford. what has that been mike phelan your family? we could afford. what has that been mike phelan yourfamily? if i am honest, it has had a devastating effect on the family, we were fortu nate to effect on the family, we were fortunate to have the support of my family and also mainly my wife's family and also mainly my wife's family because the benefits we were receiving were not enough to cover the stays at the hotel and we relied on their payments to tide us over. we had constant threats from the housing department that if we could not afford to pay for a night we would be classed as homeless, and they would assist our children in finding accommodation that they were refusing to assist us. so we would

be split up? that was the threat. we know now it wasn't illegal but we we re know now it wasn't illegal but we were desperate, we believed them when they threatened to do that. we contact them and begged for help as the report says but they refused to assist. stay with us mr burns because earlier today i spoke to a representative of bristol city council, paul smith, cabinet member for housing. this is what he said. we clearly have not acted properly in terms of what we should have done asa in terms of what we should have done as a local authority. it is a very complex case. the family came from outside of bristol into a hotel and then contacted us. and at one stage they were deemed to be intentionally homeless because they had refused offers of temporary accommodation. but we did not act properly,

particularly in relation to the children, and their needs, which we have now addressed as an authority. so because they were jordan involved, now aged 1211 and two, this family should have been on the council has wasting waiting list because they are considered vulnerable? said a different pieces of legislation. the responsibilities we have to children, even when they are homeless, if we deem that their family is intentionally homeless. so we have responsibilities to the children through children's act legislation. so why did you fail them? at the time those things were not being properlyjoined up between the council. we now believe that is the council. we now believe that is the case. we've changed the way in which the working operates. i'm sorry to interrupt again, mr smith.

when you say that you were not being joined up, there is nothing tojoin up, it is a family with three young children. it's clear to anyone, even people who don't know about housing issues, they need help. absolutely. the relationship between the children's services part of the council and the homeless department was not as good as it should have been and that should have been picked up. our responsibility was to the children rather than the family because the family had been deemed to be intentionally homeless at one stage. but the ombudsman found, the father regularly tried to register for housing but the council fails to accept his applications even after they told the council they had a new baby with disabilities. we absolutely accept that our systems did not work quickly and properly. and there were a couple of occasions where the father had identified a property to move into that he needed

the council to pay the deposit and we didn't act quickly enough. there are obviously failing sear otherwise we would not have the ombudsman report that we have, but as always we have to learn from those feelings and make sure no other family faces that situation. is it true that the council tried to charge the family the full costa storing their belongings while they were living in hotels? the council did pay storage costs that once the family were declared intentionally homeless the council's duty to pay for the storage and gone away. so there was a period when the council was seeking for the father to pave the storage rather than for us. can you imagine asa storage rather than for us. can you imagine as a family with three children moving from bed to bedroom ina children moving from bed to bedroom in a succession of for three years?

it is appalling and it shouldn't happen, the council missed opportunities to sort this out at a much earlier stage. of you apologised? and happy to apologise now and say i'm sorry for what the council did. you haven't already? as farasl council did. you haven't already? as faras i am council did. you haven't already? as far as i am aware council did. you haven't already? as far as i am aware we council did. you haven't already? as far as i am aware we have apologised as an authority and given the family as an authority and given the family a three—bedroom property. we made mistakes. you make it sound as if you're doing them a favour. this has taken three years. it has taken three years and there are periods when one part of the council were in dispute with the family about what their legal rights were. we also did not act as quickly as we should have done on some of the opportunities we had to rehouse the family. can you guarantee that this will not happen to another family in the future. we believe we have fixed the problems

in our system which led to the communications breakdown between parts of the council and the family. listening to that was mr burns, still with us in our bristol lose him. what do you make of that, mr burns. i'm not sure what to say, to be honest. we approached the council so many times. we begged them for help at every opportunity. we approached social services ourselves at numerous opportunities. we were told directly by social services in bristol, twice to our faces in the hotel rooms that they simply had no budget available to honour the children's act legislation. did you make yourself intentionally homeless as mrsmith make yourself intentionally homeless as mr smith suggested? absolutely not. we disputed that at the time. it is my view that we were not intentionally homeless and my view that bristol city council made that decision to save money. mr smith did

apologise, we didn't hear it in the clip that he did apologise to you. have the council apologised ? absolutely not. i've tried to contact the mayor a pistol directly because i believe there are additional issues that have not been cove red additional issues that have not been covered in the ombudsman 's additional issues that have not been covered in the ombudsman '5 report that needs to be looked at. the issues to do with the housing department itself of bristol city council, will not the only family. i was aware within the first year, within the central bristol premier inn of five other families in our situation. the ombudsman's report talks about, almost two years, it was 22 months, when bristol city council systems failed to allow people to register. we were not an isolated case. thank you for talking to us, thank you. let's get the latest weather update — with simon king. please tell me there will be warmer

weather and sunshine soon! there will be soon but it is going to be similarto there will be soon but it is going to be similar to the last couple of days, misty and murky, this is one scene similar to those that many viewers will have seen this morning, this is in cambridgeshire, but it's looking lovely in scotland, east lothian, the extent of the cloud across england and wales, we still have that easterly wind tracking in the cloud but clearer conditions for the cloud but clearer conditions for the time being across scotland. the cloud will increase slightly to the north—east of scotland, that onshore wind bringing in misty conditions, its strap and justly dem east of england but into the afternoon there will still be such an on the far north of scotland —— it is damp and drizzly in the east of england. maximum temperatures in scotland

could reach 15 degrees but still drabble on the eastern coast, cloud from northern ireland and for much of england and wales a field showers but sunny spells in the far south—west of wales, and far south—west of wales, and far south—west england, the odd shower this afternoon could be happy. temperatures where you get sunshine could be up to 15 celsius, otherwise, eight or ten. could be up to 15 celsius, otherwise, eight orten. overnight showers into east england spreading north and west, they could be heavy through the night, and temperatures getting down to about 4—7d. this is the forecast for friday. quite a few showers first thing in the morning. gradually easing away towards the north and the west, becoming drier into the afternoon but still a lot of cloud on friday and temperatures once more struggling along that north sea coast, between seven and 9 degrees, you get the best of the sunshine but going into the weekend,

things will change, we will lose the easterly wind and big up a southerly wind, ahead of this area of low pressure which for the moment will stay out towards the atlantic that going into saturday for many of us a warmer day, dry, 14—18dc, some rain on sunday mainly in the north and the west, temperatures reaching the high teens. then it gets even warmer into next week, we were dragged in some warm airfrom iberia. those temperatures across many parts of the uk getting into the low, perhaps even the mid—20s into next week so something to look forward to. thank you, simon. we appreciate that. hello, it's thursday, it's 10am, i'm victoria derbyshire. theresa may could give the go ahead for uk military action against president assad, without giving mps their say in parliament. there's an emergency cabinet meeting this afternoon.

we've been asking mps if they think they should get a vote before a decision is made. they should get a vote if they should get a vote you do not have a strategy, you if you do not have a strategy, if you just say, let us bomb, we can't think of anything asked to do, that is incredibly dangerous.” think of anything asked to do, that is incredibly dangerous. i am for targeted military action against this assad regime to prevent them carrying out another chemical weapons attack on his own people. in a moment, we'll be speaking to syrians here in the uk to see what they think. and let us know if you want your mps to have their say in a vote in parliament. a couple and their three children who spent three years living in at least 12 premier inns in one room after wrongly being refused a place on the housing waiting list. here dad of three luke burns who said the impact was devastating we had the constant threat from the housing department that if we

couldn't afford to pay for a night, we would be classed as on the street homeless and obviously they would assist our children finding accommodation but they were refusing to assist us. here's a bristol city council representative who apologised for their failings. it is absolutely appalling and it should not have happened and the council missed opportunities to sort this out at a much earlier stage. mental health charities say mariah carey's decision to reveal she's had bipolar disorder will help those with the condition everywhere. she says she's speaking out to help lift the stigma. if you have bipolar, let us know your own experience. good morning. here is rebecca in the bbc newsroom with a summary of today's news. good morning. theresa may has summoned the cabinet to a special meeting this afternoon to discuss joining an american—led military strike on syria. the prime minister is reported

to be ready to commit british forces to action without pa rliament‘s approval, to punish the suspected use of chemical weapons by the assad regime. the government has been warned that thousands of eu nationals, living legally in the uk, could inadvertently lose their right to stay after brexit because they don't realise they need to apply to do so, or will struggle with the process. a report from the migration observatory, based at oxford university, says those most at risk are victims of domestic abuse, children and elderly people. the home office will launch an application system for eu nationals eligible for settled status later this year. it says it's already begun an awareness campaign. the high court will begin hearing the case brought by sir cliff richard against the bbc for breach of privacy and data protection following coverage of a police investigation and raid of the star's home in 2014.

the case is due to last two weeks and is expected to give guidance on the contentious issue of whether a suspect who has not been charged can be lawfully named by the media. carpetright has announced the loss of 300 jobs. the retailer said 92 stores would close under what it calls a restructuring plan following tough trading. carpetright, which employs more than 2,500 people, says it hopes to relocate staff where possible. metropolitan police officers have seized drugs and firearms, including a submachine gun, in raids targeting gang violence across the capital. nine people, including a 14—year—old boy, were held in the operation, which involved more than 200 officers. it comes after a recent spate of crime in london. that's a summary of the latest bbc news — more at 10.30. thank you. some messages from you

about whether you want to see your own mp have a say before the uk potentially gets involved in military action alongside the us against president assad of syria. martin on e—mail, i am totally opposed to military dimension in syria, not once have i heard the videos of the suppose it can attack have been confirmed. theresa may is wrong to go ahead and order action without a vote in parliament and we absolutely should not follow a lunatic of a president. theresa may will have blood on her hands. albert says, everything we have done in the middle east has made matters worse. brian, if we had left assad to deal with the rebels, we might have had some effect, but we aren't the rebels and created a civil war. look at what has happened in libya, stay out of interfering in the middle east. —— we armed the rebels.

another, i truly believe uk should not get involved. your views welcome. we will talk to syrians living here. get in touch on twitter, send us an e—mail, facebook, and if you are texting, you will be charged at the standard rate. ‘s court now. more medals to tell you about —— sport now. medals for annie last and evie richards. annie last took gold in the course in one hour18 annie last took gold in the course in one hour 18 seconds. richards, leading until overtaken at around the nine kilometre mark, she took silver as she finished 48 seconds behind. they say talent runs in the family, it certainly does in the macintosh household, the third member of her family to win a commonwealth games shooting medal, bronze in the women's 15 metre rifle

event, lying on your stomach, her older sister won two gold medals in delhi and her mother won back in 1994. one of the favourites for the gold medal, katarina johnson—thompson, leading after two events of the heptathlon, fourth in the 100 metre hurdles, joint first in the highjump, giving herthe outright lead. she has two more events today, three tomorrow, and all being well, she should win the gold medal. england was not women have never won a one—day series in india, the third and final match of the contest. winning the toss, they opted to field, the captain heather knight opting to bat first, i should say, all out, 201. amyjones the only one putting up resistance with 94. india in reply 118—2. 84 runs required for the victory and that would seal them the series as well.

football, what a match in last night's quarterfinals of the champions league, madrid, through thanks to a late penalty from cristiano ronaldo after a stunning comeback from juventus, the story of the game. madrid were leading but the game. madrid were leading but the italian side battled back and levelled the tie but deep in injury time, a penalty was awarded, much to the protestations of juventus time, a penalty was awarded, much to the protestations ofjuventus and the protestations ofjuventus and the keeper, around the english referee, michael oliver, but it gave cristiano ronaldo the opportunity to convert a penalty which he did and it sent madrid through. we sawjust how upset juventus well, it sent madrid through. we sawjust how upsetjuventus well, and the keeper. some very strong words for the referee, saying michael oliver was a bag of rubbish. a bag of rubbish for the heart. it he said, if you cannot handle the pressure,

you should sit in the stands and eat your crisps. clearly disappointed, he is retiring, the keeper, and that is the trophy he has never won. the goal of the night came in the championship, this stunning strike for wolves, what an effort, they beat derby 2— sarah, on the cusp of promotion to the premier league, they just need two promotion to the premier league, theyjust need two more points to get there —— they beat derby 2—0. boston red sox against the new york yankees, so unhappy with the pitch, he lashed his bat down, squared up to the picture, joe kelly. mayhem broke loose, everyone running in including the bench, you can see the players running onto the field, and amazingly one player said it was,

what do you expect? that is what eve ryo ne what do you expect? that is what everyone wants. the league would argue otherwise. emotions can often run high in sport and they did so here. they will meet again tonight in the series finale! fair to say, victoria, that is one to keep an eye on later. thank you so much. theresa may has called an emergency cabinet meeting for this afternoon to talk about whether britain should join military action against syria without a vote by mps. labour leaderjeremy corbyn says parliament must be given a say. it comes after president trump ramped up the rhetoric against russia in response to a suspected chemical attack last weekend. the president warned, "get ready, russia, because the missiles will be coming." in a moment we'll be speaking to some syrians living here in the uk on what they think should happen. but first let's hear now a range of views on how likely military action might be. syria says one of its military air bases has been attacked... russia has once again warned

the united states not to take military action... north korea's nuclear and missile capability has posed the toughest foreign policy dilemma... a third world war‘s unlikely. no, i don't believe there'll be a third world war. the probability of this is very high. we are not going to have a third world war. we are currently witnessing a cold third world war. i hope not. the syrian conflict is already a global conflict. the north korean leader is so close to getting nuclear capabilities. this is perhaps the first period of the biggest powers simultaneously rubbing right up against each other. western leaders believe they are stronger than russia. russia is an adversarial... so many conflicts that have so many international actors involved, this is a new kind of war by proxy. the great powers are all being led by real nationalists, which does make it difficult

for any given country to back down in a crisis. you have multiple players — some of them could upset the apple cart unintentionally. them misunderstanding us, taking democracy, an essentially weak and inefficient form of government... from both sides you have propaganda. the breakdown of those barriers in terms of acceptability of mass destruction... if americans kill russian soldiers... cutting off communications, either through the cutting off of cables or the cyber attack of satellite systems. if the american government start pulling out us personnel from the korean peninsula, that would be an extremely dangerous signal. the international community has largely ignored the syrian conflict. if we continue to sit and watch, this conflict is going to grow and come and hit us without us even realising. although the middle east

is an area of conflict, there are many civil society actors working on the ground. it is these people who will be the pillars of peace when the time is right. we have the united nations, we have arms control agreements, of the kind we didn't have in an earlier age. all of these institutions are sort of a restraining web. i think there are more likely to be proxy wars, the burden borne principally by others rather than by the great powers themselves. it's more likely to happen if we imagine it's impossible. but as the prospect of military action moves closer, how do people from syria feel about the idea of bombs falling on their country? let's talk now to hassan akkad who was tortured by and fled the assad regime. reverend nadim nassar is a syrian priest who returns to the country regularly.

and kholoud helim, a syrian journalist who fled in 2013 and has been in the uk for six months. i will ask you briefly whether you are for or against military action. iam for are for or against military action. i am for action against assad.” are for or against military action. i am for action against assad. i am against. i lived the civil war in lebanon and! against. i lived the civil war in lebanon and i saw the military intervention bringing nothing. nothing in history tells us that such civil war could be ended by military strikes. i am with, if they only target assad and its military bases, because we have been living under assad attacks were assad has targeted syrians with over 70,000 barrel bombs, not only chemical weapons, they have been using this

to eradicate bus, the syrian people, for more than seven, eight years. -- eradicate bus. targeted strike, you we re eradicate bus. targeted strike, you were nodding in agreement, hassan? it has to be a strategy. after the la st it has to be a strategy. after the last chemical attack, trott has launched tomahawk missiles on the syrian army base, but it does not stop assad from launching other attacks —— stop assad from launching other attacks — — trump stop assad from launching other attacks —— trump has launched. we are lobbying for protection of civilians and surgical attacks against assad, against military bases, airports, where hundreds of thousands of syrians have been killed by helicopters and bombs launched by assad. when you hear your colleague, reverend nadim talking about living through the civil war in lebanon, and it will not do anything, what do you say? i think rev nassar your argument is

invalid. you fled cilia, we have lifted, we all have an opinion. what is happening in syria is different. we know that assad as a dictator has been ruling with his father for 40 yea rs. we been ruling with his father for 40 years. we know his tactics. they indefinitely imprison people and torture them. we know he killed people, 95% of syrian casualties we re people, 95% of syrian casualties were killed by him. matt 5%. the war in syria is a proxy war. assad is backed by the russians. the rebels backed by the russians. the rebels backed by the americans and the uk and we know... who's fault is that! one second. a full military operation, if that takes place, what will happen, the war will not end. it's definitely will end. if they

did not take action things would never did not take action things would never stop because i don't believe in arms either, when we started the protests we were peaceful demonstrators in the streets but we've been killed by the assad army and assad soldiers on a daily basis and assad soldiers on a daily basis and nothing has stopped, he will never and nothing has stopped, he will never be stopped. something must be done to stop this person from killing us. it is imperative but not militarily. how can you stop assad from killing us? change can happen

when international powers involved on the ground in sillier come together and agreed to stop the war, as long as the world is divided, one pa rt as long as the world is divided, one part supports this side and one part supports that aside it will never end. you said you lived through the lebanese civil war. assad's father bombed..., just talk about? he bombed..., just talk about? he bombed the christians in lebanon, that has always been there tactic, you can't just say, that has always been there tactic, you can'tjust say, you have to leave now, you have power and red lines were crossed with chemical attacks, there is no hierarchy in death, they were crossed when the first child was killed and the first woman raped and the first man tortured in city in prisons. do you think that military intervention from the us and possibly britain and france will get rid of us out?m

will if there is a strategy. we have a strategy that we know, western intelligence knows where the bombs are being launched from. satellites orbiting sillier and they know every attack. sillier and attacks against military bases were the bombs are being launched, if we get rid of us and we will have the maniacs, we will have radicals. that's complete nonsense, 25 million syrians, it's not just a nonsense, 25 million syrians, it's notjust a sad and the radicals. one final thought from each of you, what would you say to british politicians who are now agonising along whether britain should get involved in military action. if the military action is well calculated and

targets the assad bases, it'll be 0k, targets the assad bases, it'll be ok, but save the civilians.” targets the assad bases, it'll be ok, but save the civilians. i will say get involved on the international level, get together with russia, iran and america and end this war. not by missiles but by behind closed doors. we know that there are deals behind closed doors. this is what brings the war to an end. i would say we've had years of united nations condemnation and we are fed up with this, we have almost given up on the united nations. what we need now are attacks to get rid of assad. thank you for coming on, we appreciated. the first evidence is due to be heard later in sir cliff richard's case against the bbc. the star's home was raided by the police in 2014. they were investigating a claim of historic sexual abuse. cliff richard was neither arrested or charged with any offence. he's seeking substantial damages from the bbc for covering the raid when it happened, and for

causing him, what his lawyers say, was profound and long—lasting damage. let's speak now to our legal correspondent, clive coleman. remind us of what this case is about. just fill in our viewers on what the case is about, clive. people will remember in 2014 when south yorkshire police raided sir cliff richard's home it's an apartment in a gated community, sir cliff was not there, he was in portugal but the bbc was there with camera crews, one of which was then a helicopter and a broadcast pictures of the raid and it identified sir cliff as a suspect in an allegation of historical sexual abuse. bbc correspondent dan johnson had arranged with south yorkshire police to be at the location. sir cliff, as you say comedy was never arrested or

charged, he then sued both south yorkshire police and the bbc for breach of privacy and breach of data prep section, south yorkshire police settled the case by paying substantial damages to sir cliff and apologising to him for the humiliation. while the bbc has apologised to sir cliff for the distress it does stand by its right to broadcast the material that it broadcast. his case touches on a very important point. his point is that the time he had not been questioned or arrested or charged. so he says he was entitled to anonymity. he says it was further bridged by what he calls the

excessive coverage by the bbc. the bbc says that in relation to the material that it did broadcast, there was no reasonable expectation of privacy. sir cliff should not have had a reasonable expectation of privacy in relation to that material, and even if he did, the bbc says there was an overriding public interest in and broadcasting the material that it did to alert the material that it did to alert the public to its criminal investigation. those are the arguments on both sides. the reason that this is important is that this will define the privacy rights of suspects in the early stages of a police investigation, in other words before any charges are brought. and of course there's a big debate about whether they should effectively be any anonymity in these circumstances. we have seen that in profile to some sexual assault and rape cases. this is civil law that could do thejob rape cases. this is civil law that could do the job under rape cases. this is civil law that could do thejob under criminal rape cases. this is civil law that could do the job under criminal law of delivering anonymity to suspects

in those circumstances so is critical as far as suspects are concerned, important as to how the media can report the early stages of such an investigation. thank you, clive. we'll hear more from clever but that case on the news. —— we will be hearing more from clive about that case on the news. mariah ca rey‘s decision to reveal she's had bipolar disorder for 17 years will help people with the condition, according to mental health charities. the singer says she's finally speaking out to help lift the stigma. if you have bipolar disorder, let us know your own experience. joining me now isjo loughran, director of time to change, a mental health awareness charity. and hattie gladwell, who was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, type 1, two years ago. thank you hattie coming on the programme. jo, can you describe bipolar for those who want to learn

more. it was often called the highs and lows of depression, and then euphoria, vella two different types of bipolar, i am sure that hattie will more about it. —— there are two different types. it is treatable, manageable and recoverable. those are the important things to know. and to go from places like more information to get more information about bipolar. what does it mean when someone as high profile around the world as mariah carey reveals that she has bipolar? it's brilliant. an iconic person who has a huge coverage, for whom you might look and say, well if they have got mental health problems and they are willing to talk about it, me asjo normal would want to know about that. it's about changing attitudes and people's behaviour. when people

speak out it is to show it is everyday and ordinary and that eve ryo ne everyday and ordinary and that everyone should talk about the topic of mental health. hattie, thank you for talking to us. how does your condition affect you?” for talking to us. how does your condition affect you? i have bipolar so it means i have mania, i find that when i have mania, i am a bit unstable, i'd become... it can very uncontrollably, we will try to fix the line, could you move closer to the line, could you move closer to the microphone on skype, or speak a bit louder, hattie? you talk about

disrupted sleep. mariah carey also said that she thought figures that it was some kind of sleep disorder. —— she thought that for many years. yes, you can have next to no sleep or maybe three hours of sleep every night, waking up and not feeling tired, obviously struggling to get to sleep itself, so yes, you do run ona to sleep itself, so yes, you do run on a lack of sleep. mariah carey also talked about the fact that she had kept this secret and she had lived for 17 years, fearful of her being exposed, which i think gives people an indication of how much of a stigma there still is around bipolar, hattie. i think a stigma there still is around bipolar, hattie. ithink there's definitely stigma around it, but definitely stigma around it, but definitely my generation, people are getting more open about it. the

conversation around mental health is getting much bigger and better. and i want to encourage people of my parents's age group as well because it goes back 20 years when mental health wasn't a massive conversation sol health wasn't a massive conversation so i hope this will encourage people who have also been keeping it inside the years, to speak out and seek help for it as well. jo, how can it be treated? it can be treated through medication and self—care. but you know, picking up on that point about self stigma... what does that mean? people experiencing mental health problems may be now wouldn't feel it is safe for them to reveal they have been experiencing that for the fear, it is not based

on anything real in the early stages, that they might be treated negatively. so what we need to do, is make sure we are working with communities, fall to the mark with individuals and schools, making sure we are talking to people about it, thinking differently, thinking more positively about mental health generally. what other negative treatments people get if they say they have bipolar disorder?m treatments people get if they say they have bipolar disorder? it could be from feeling the people are excluding them, which could be an attitude problem. through to what we would consider discrimination. so actively and negatively cheating others, we have stories were people have been hustled on the street, where they have lived next door to someone and have not felt they could go out because they have been experiencing harassment from those who live around them, if we could talk to those people who are maybe not close to the subject of mental

health, it may not be even on their radar, they might not even be exhibiting negative treatment but if we can talk to everyone about the importance and the impact on the individual of stigma and discrimination, hopefully we can ensure that people feel they can speak out, seek help and just have a conversation because mental health is everyday and ordinary. mariah carey telling people she has had this, a positive step forward? definitely. especially her being open about... a lot of people saying you should just go for a run, walk, eat better. her acknowledging medication as a form of treatment is really encouraging for people with mental illness sol

really encouraging for people with mental illness so i think that is breaking the stigma, as well as her being more open and encouraging a wider range of people to confront... thank you so much. thank you for coming on the programme, hattie, and director of time to change, mental health awareness charity, jo loughran. thank you. still to come... the royals‘ latest addition. it'sjust over a month before prince harry marries meghan markle. we'll be talking to princess diana biographer andrew morton about meghan markle's life before prince harry. and the gaming baftas — we'll look at who's in the running to win at tonight's awards. time for the latest news. here is rebecca. the latest news from the bbc. theresa may has summoned the cabinet to a special meeting this afternoon to discuss joining an american—led military strike on syria. the prime minister is reported to be

ready to commit british forces to action without parliament's approval, to punish the suspected use of chemical weapons by the assad regime. the government has been warned that thousands of eu nationals, living legally in the uk, could inadvertently lose their right to stay after brexit because they don't realise they need to apply to do so or will struggle with the process. a report from the migration observatory, based at oxford university, says those most at risk are victims of domestic abuse, children and elderly people. the home office will launch an application system for eu nationals eligible for settled status later this year. it says it's already begun an awareness campaign. a council has been ordered to compensate a family who spent three years living in 12 hotels after wrongly being refused a place on the housing waiting list. luke and olga burns moved into temporary accommodation when their privately rented flat

was damaged by flooding in 2014. they finally got a council house after the local government and social care ombudsman ruled against the council. luke burns told this programme about the stress it put on their family. ifiam if i am honest, it has had a devastating effect for our family. we were very fortunate that we had the support of my family and also mainly my wife's family who were able to assist us because obviously the benefits we were receiving was not enough to cover the hotel stays and we were relying on their payments, really, to tide us over. edf energy is to increase its standard variable electricity tariff by 1.4% from june, affecting around 1.3 million customers. the company said 59% of its customers

who are on a fixed tariff have a direct debit gas account or are on the safeguard tariff or pre—payment meter will not be affected by the rise. the high court will begin hearing the case brought by sir cliff richard against the bbc for breach of privacy and data protection following coverage of a police investigation and raid of the star's home in 2014. the case is due to last two weeks and is expected to give guidance on the contentious issue of whether a suspect who has not been charged, can be lawfully named by the media. carpetright has announced the loss of 300 jobs. the retailer said 92 stores would close under what it calls a restructuring plan following tough trading. carpetright, which employs more than 2,500 people, says it hopes to relocate staff where possible. that's a summary of the latest bbc news. thank you.

here is some sport now with jon watson. more medals to tell you about this morning at the commonwealth games as last came first, annie last with gold in the mountain biking, with real —— evie richards finishing second. katarina johnson—thompson in the outright lead of the heptathlon with five events to come. an incredible comeback footjuventus who scored three goals to levelled the tie but heading towards extra time, cristiano ronaldo had the chance to put real madrid through in the 97th minute. as far as good goals go, this one will take some topping. the great strike for wolves as they beat derby, the team are now

on the cusp of the premier league. more sport later on. on 19th may, meghan markle marries prince harry. aside from her fashion sense, it is her activism and humanitarian work with organisations like the un which have led to her being compared to harry's mother, princess diana. in their engagement interview, prince harry said he thought the stars were aligned when they met. let's hear a bit of them talking about the proposal. just roasting chicken... roasting a chicken, trying to roast a chicken. and it was just an amazing surprise. it was so sweet and natural, and very romantic. he got on one knee. of course. was it an instant yes from you? yes, as a matter of fact, i could barely let you finish proposing. i said, "can i say yes now?" now, biographer andrew morton, who wrote an explosive book about princess diana in the ‘90s, has written one about the soon—to—be new addition to the royal family.

meghan — a hollywood princess is out today. good morning. nice to see you. what should the audience know about meghan markle? a very different kind of pride, coming to the royalfamily fully formed with a successful career as an actress “— fully formed with a successful career as an actress —— bride, and her humanitarian work with world vision and the united nations. she is the full package. if you think of it as is the full package. if you think of itasa is the full package. if you think of it as a diary, she has brought millions of followers as a diary to the royal family. —— millions of followers as a diary to the royalfamily. —— dowry. millions of followers as a diary to the royalfamily. -- dowry. have you met her? no. i have met her friends and family. i live part of the year and family. i live part of the year and pasadena, meghan markle central, her ex—boyfriend, friends, drama teacher, they live there. he

mentioned the activism. there is evidence she was a feminist as a child because she complained about a sexist tv ad. she was an activist at a pretty early age, ten, 11, she organised a demonstration against the first gulf war when she was ten and she used to write a food companies complaining about packaging, sweets, and cheese to bring goodies to school and distribute them. the most famous one was when the procter & gamble had what she considered to be a sexist adverts saying women all over america are using this liquid to wash their pots and pans, she wrote to hillary clinton, various lawyers, and to the company themselves, and they changed the advertising from being women to people all over america and it was a great triumph personally and also it put her on the road to an activist career. this clip made the news back then. i don't think it's right for kids

to grow up thinking these things, thatjust mom does everything. if you see something that you don't like or are offended by on television, or any other place, write letters and send them to the right people, and you can really make a difference for not just yourself, for lots of other people. i think ithink her i think her royal... make the change. always her motto through her life. as she grew up and became an adult, she has carried on with that campaigning. for someone who was a feminist, determined to be unequal, her own person, why she marrying into the royal family? her own person, why she marrying into the royalfamily? a remarkable paradox. you have invited me on the show this morning to talk about meghan markle but she is only of interest to people because she is about to marry a male member of the royal family. clearly, she about to marry a male member of the royalfamily. clearly, she is prepared to make that compromise because very quickly, one of the

interesting things about her, very thoughtful, considerate, but within a matter of 24 hours after a couple of dates with prince harry, agreeing to go around the world on safari with him alone and i think their romance just hit off straightaway, a real genuine soul connection. which meant she was willing to give up this blog she started, she founded, she poured her soul into, make compromises because she was in love. i have to say, i think once the dust has settled, she should start her blog again because she is not the only american who was a princess, sara butler from texas studied international relations like meghan and married a jordanian prince, she has a blog, a twitter account and works of the un. in the same way meghan did. you argue that when she marries, it will be incredible for the campaigning she has shown she is

how interested in so far, a bigger platform to carry that on. that is the compromise. she has exchanged a megaphone for a tv station. the royal family will enable her to investigate and explore issues she has or has been interested in, women's issues, gender equality, and one of the charities they are asking guests to give money to is one of the ones she visited as an ambassador for world vision. she has had to give up her acting career, she eventually made it. this is her in the american tv drama suits. for a client... that's not very specific. ah, yeah, i mean, it'sjust kind of hard to explain. mm. does it involve three dozen models and a thousand bottles of vodka? i guess it's not that hard to explain. when were you going to tell me? he were a fan of hers before prince

harry was a fan on suits. she has got to give up that role. how did she meet prince harry? a blind date ina she meet prince harry? a blind date in a private members club in central london set up by a mutual friend. it strikes me as a kind of one—upmanship of the first date, she knew of course eventually he was the queen's ranson, but he had tucked up his game because he realised she had spoken at the un —— the queen's grandson but he had to up his game. was it really a blind date? it was a blind date insofar as they had never met before. as she said in the engagement interview, she did not know that much about him. a little bit disingenuous, she knew about princess diana, she watched the

funeral, but like many americans, shejust funeral, but like many americans, she just knew a bit, funeral, but like many americans, shejust knew a bit, not funeral, but like many americans, she just knew a bit, not the full story. you talk about that meghan chill. the sense when you are out, you are out. she does not need you any more? what do you mean? she has had a life where she has been very mobile, moved from los angeles to toronto, not all of her friends have stayed with her and those who have dropped by the wayside have felt what they call the meghan chill. she has been married before and there is a story she posted keys back to her ex—husband. a story she posted keys back to her ex-husband. rings. back to trevor engelson stop everyone i have spoken to said it came as a bulk out of the blue. you never know the full story behind that breakdown. —— a bolt out

of the blue. they had been married for two years and in that time on the she was essentially living in toronto, he was in los angeles. it made for a difficult relationship. you talk about her background, her mum and dad, in the book, the first mixed—race person to be part of the royalfamily, do mixed—race person to be part of the royal family, do you think it is a landmark moment or are you still surprised people in britain discuss it in 2018? the monarchy is about symbolism and it symbolises we are multicultural international family and ina multicultural international family and in a sense, this is a union of and in a sense, this is a union of an american and a brit, the symbolism of the special relationship. thank you very much for talking to us. andrew morton. andrew's book, meghan — a hollywood princess, is out today. the gaming industry is huge in this country, with more than 34 million people in the uk playing video games. and tonight, it's the video games baftas in london. they've been running for 12 years

now, and in that time, the uk has established itself as one of the world's top gaming countries, and there are now more than 2,000 games companies based here. so, let's take a look at the runners and riders for tonight's awards. hear his screams... in this waking nightmare... the history of the royal family of hyrule is also the history of the collective...

let's speak now to tameem antoniades, the co—founder of gaming company ninja theory. tameem has created one of this year's most nominated games: hellblade: senua's sacrifice. and aoife wilson is a gaming journalist for the gaming news site euro—gamer. she is hosting the red carpet arrivals tonight. congratulations on your nine nominations, extraordinary. tell the audience about hellblade, because it is quite extraordinary, isn't it. it is based on historical events. the protagonist is a warrior, and eighth century warrior, and i learned that the vikings landed on orkney in the eighth century and most of the

population was wiped out so it's like an adventure where she goes into norse territory to retrieve the sole of her lover was sacrificed to the vikings. what makes it different is that she is suffering from severe psychotic mental illness. so it is presented as a historical drama but the fantasy element comes from the way she sees the world, a bit like don quixote say. and we worked with professor paul fletcher from the university of cambridge, a neuroscientist and psychiatrist, the wellcome trust, massive charity, but most crucially we worked with people with experience of psychosis from recovery college used. they collaborated with us over three yea rs collaborated with us over three years to make sure that what you experience in the game... is a truthful representation of what they experience. this is to be why it is

nominated in the new bafta category of game beyond entertainment? yes, this is in recognition of the fact that there is an independent movement in games, similar to how films in the 60s and the 70s became more thanjust films in the 60s and the 70s became more than just popcorn movies. there's a big independent movement towards making games more meaningful. tackling subjects like we have but also subjects like chronic illness and sexuality, people want to have a voice know in games. is that too aoife? yes, i'm really excited about the game beyond entertainment category in particular, there is such a broad sweep the subjects covered in this category, hellblade: senua's sacrifice was wonderful, i was blown away when i played it because it is just so different. every game in the category tackles, saying things and

games, trying to go beyond just being something that people play to pass the time, and actually whether it is to lived experience or through empathy or trying to raise awareness,... empathy or trying to raise awareness,... is what is empathy or trying to raise awareness, . .. is what is the empathy or trying to raise awareness,... is what is the point of that game. what do you need to do to win? that's the thing. i think this category is tackling and vocabulary around games, that you have to win, we'll have to beat a high school or whatever, it's not about the destination, it is about the journey you take with her. and i think that in particular and what remains of edith finch, i think it's all about the journey, they all question how much game play should be ina question how much game play should be in a game which is strange thing to say, but it doesn't all have to be... we chatted briefly before, there is one of the biggest games

out there at the moment and it's stra ig htforwa rdly a out there at the moment and it's straightforwardly a game that these are a bit different and they are all about new characterisation and everything else. we chatted off about fortnight now let's talk about it because it is the most popular video game in the world now and eve ryo ne video game in the world now and everyone watching, whether they know it or not their kids will be playing at. and effectively you as the character battling for survival against 99 other people and it is kill or be killed, last man, last woman standing will be killed, you can the others with rocket launchers, rifles and pistols and it is rated 12. am i the only adult who thinks that the rating should be higher? i respectfully disagree. no, good. there's a difference between violence and action. there's no guts or blood. it is cartoon like, not

like call of duty. but it is the principle of bang, bang, you're dead. it's a creative game. it encourages the player to use their brain and make constructions, it's quite a clever game. ifeel we don't give kids enough credit in terms of understanding the difference between violence, someone being punched in the face on the streets to me is horrific violence but this is fa ntasy, horrific violence but this is fantasy, like tom and jerry. there is some aggression but i take your point. thank you both and the very best of luck tonight. nine nominations, i am dying to know how many you will win. thank you very much, nice to meet you. this morning we've talked about the possibility of the uk taking action against

president assad of syria. theresa may it might make a decision to involve british forces without a vote in parliament. she is holding an emergency cabinet meeting this afternoon. we've had so many m essa g es afternoon. we've had so many messages from you , afternoon. we've had so many messages from you, let's talk to some of you. jill fraser is in surrey and she thinks mps should get a vote on such an important topic and sanders said and is in brighton and sanders said and is in brighton and doesn't think that's necessary. thank you both for talking to us. sandra, why don't you think your mp should get a vote before britain may get involved? we voted in theresa may to speak for all the people in england, i know that mps are there for a purpose but regarding things like this where children are suffering so much, and russia and president assad seemed to be doing what they want and no one is stopping them, i think that theresa may has to support america as they have supported us with this russian

spy have supported us with this russian spy thing where he came into our country and poisoned spy. let me bring in gill. . gill, talk to sandra and say we do think there should be a vote in parliament involving mps. theresa may is in a minority government, almost. she had to have the help of the irish party to have the help of the irish party to still be prime minister. i don't think she should take it upon her own head tojust think she should take it upon her own head to just say we are going to war. it's very easy to go to war. it's different to come out of it. what happened with tony blair. he got us into the iraq war. that was because of weapons of mass destruction and all that sort of thing which turned out to be incorrect. i honestly think we need to think about this a lot. and talk with a lot of people. at the end of the day it is easy to go to war. it's very hard to get out of it.

sorry, gill. sandra, what do you say to that? i think there's been enough talk going on. everyone is talking. you can talk forever. it's about time action was taken. i have lived a lot of years and i am british and proud of it, and we would not put up with what is going on in syria, we would want help from other people. it is about time that we did something and stopped pussyfooting around and put it down to mps to do this and do that. a lot of people put in theresa may, i don't accept that she got in with a minority. she did need the support of the dup, to get big votes through parliament like the budget, potentially military action... she speaks to

enough people and there's a lot going on that we don't know about. will it escalate things? i think it will show that we are not standing for poisoning and chemical warfare, we are not standing for it. gill if britain gets involved with it escalate things? definitely. you've got russia and syria on one side, angela merkel, is she getting involved? the french getting involved? the french getting involved? if we do get involved, it should be under the european umbrella. that's what i think. not alone. i mean donald trump is pretty much a warmonger. he only

communicates with people through tweets. i have to pause and their gill because it is the end of the programme, for no other reason. thank you sandra, thank you gill, really appreciated. palin says tensions are high and the situation in syria is horrifying yet i strongly believe all mps should be given the chance to debate the situation. bbc newsroom live is coming up next. we are in a rut at the moment, lots more misty murky conditions across the uk at the moment. this is the scene right now in east sussex, you canjust scene right now in east sussex, you can just about make out the cliffs. drizzly conditions in place as well, some sunshine towards the north of scotland, you'll see the sunshine disappearing in the north—east, staying dry and sunny in the

north—west, some sunshine in west wales and south—west england, where we get sunshine temperatures will reach 15 degrees but typically they will be 9 degrees or cooler on the north—east coast. tonight heavy showers moving into the south—east of england will drift further north and west of might, temperatures down to about 4—8d but quite a jump start again, lots of cloud, misty conditions and heavy showers, those will mostly clear away and for much of friday into the afternoon it will be dry although quite cloudy. bye bye. this is bbc news, and these are the top stories developing at 11:00: theresa may summons her cabinet

to discuss the uk's response to syria's suspected use of chemical weapons— sources say she's prepared to take action without parliamentary consent. all the indications are that the syrian regime was responsible, and will be working with our closest allies to consider how we can ensure that those responsible are held to account. the findings of a report by the international chemical weapons watchdog into the salisbury attack are due out shortly. sir cliff richard arrives at the high court for the start of his case against the bbc for a breach of privacy and data protection also, police raids in south and west london — nine people, including a 14—year—old boy, have been arrested in an operation to crack down on gang criminality.