hello. it's wednesday, it's 9 o'clock, i'm matthew price, welcome to the programme. underwear, posh food and sensible skirts. marks and spencer has suffered a big fall in annual profits by almost two thirds as sales of food, clothing and homeware all declined. it comes after yesterday's announcement that it plans to close 100 shops by 2022. we'll have the latest. the pre—tax profits were largely reflecting the underlying charges we put into the business as a result of those future store closure programmes and it really reflects the scale of the transformation that marks & spencer is going to embark on over the next five years. have you got the taps on at the moment? should there be a target for how much water each person can use? with the environment agency warning that parts of the uk could face serious water shortages by 2050, could targets be one answer? can the new home secretary, sajid javid, convince rank and file police officers that he's standing with them ? he'll face them this morning in his first speech to their union

and we'll be talking to police officers from around the country about morale and what they need to do theirjob effectively. also, are toddlers the secret weapon in helping those living with dementia ? psychologists have brought young and old together with astonishing results. go on then, in here. very nice. are you driving? car horn beeps. crikey! who was that? where shall we go? where...? i don't know. car horn beeps. 0h, who was that?! me! he laughs. hello. welcome to the programme, we're live until 11 this morning. we're going to be talking about dementia and how young children can help those

living with it. psychologists came up with an experiment to see whether toddlers might make a difference and it had astonishing results. do you or anyone in your family have dementia? does spending time with grandchildren help? do get in touch on all the stories we're talking about this morning. use the hashtag #victorialive. and if you text, you will be charged at the standard network rate. our top story today... it's been around more than 100 years but that high street icon, marks & spencer, is in trouble. today, it's announced a 62% drop in pre—tax profits, a day after it said more than a hundred of its stores would be closing by 2022. the drop‘s been linked to the costs involved in the retailer's store closure programme. danni hewson has been in northampton this morning, at one of the stores earmarked for closure. it seems that marks & spencer has definitely lost its sparkle. this is one of 1a stores the company announced they were going to close

yesterday, part of a much bigger transformation plan which will see about one third of its largest stores gone over the next few years. the only way to survive is to move fast — that is what the chief executive, steve rowe, said today. what we are clear about is that we cannot do this slowly. we need to make sure we are reflecting the changes in society and the way people shop. and that means it is urgent we do this to return the business to growth. the store closure programme is important because it reflects our changing customer habits and, as i said, i believe a third of our business will be online within the next five years. so no panic. so the chief executive said there was no need to panic. one of the key figures which has also come out today is the fact that like—for—like sales are down, notjust in clothing and home work but also in food so that is going to be a major headache for marks & spencer going forward. i am joined by catherine shuttleworth, retail analyst. it seems like there is a need to panic.

i think there is a need to panic and what they need is a very clear plan that is a quick plan that transforms the business and makes sure it is really fit for the future. there has been a huge focus on online. we have heard a lot about bricks and clicks but it is not a panacea and other businesses like primark, which is doing incredibly well, do not have that presence, so what is m&s doing wrong? i think they are all about getting the right product in front of people and selling it at the right price. you talk about primark, they don't have an online business but they have great prices and products that people want to buy so they have got to get their product right, number one. and then they have to make sure that the stores are the kind of stores we want to shop in. these stores have got a bit dated, a bit boring and they are just not exciting. steve rowe has talked this morning about making the store is special. they are not really very special at the moment and that is what shoppers are looking for. they are looking for great experiences and products they want to buy. a lot of people we have spoken to have said the offer is really old—fashioned.

do you think they have lost the idea of who the customer is? i think they got confused about the customer and the trouble for m&s is that they are a broad church. they are all things to all people. and that means you see loads of different kinds of products across the store and it is difficult to find the things you want. they have to really look at that and think about how they present their merchandise i think in a bit more of a compelling way. and one of the key things which they were clinging on to it was the fact that food was doing so well. those sales are down again and that has to be an issue. it is a real issue for them. the food market is incredibly tight because we are shopping in more places more of the time and the trouble is the discounters now have such great luxury ranges that people are opting into those because they are loads cheaper. and m&s has lost its edge in being first to market with new products and they have got to go back to being the best for new in food. catherine shuttleworth, thank you very much indeed. so, a massive transformation planned for marks & spencer which will end up with about 100 stores across the country closing, potentially including this one behind me which will leave massive holes on our high streets.

thank you very much. we have had a bit of a discussion about whether we use m&s and what we use it for. someone says it has a great range of cards, idid someone says it has a great range of cards, i did not know that, children's clothing, the posh food we mentioned. if you use it or not, let us know, you know how to get in contact. joanna gosling is in the bbc newsroom with a summary of the rest of the day's news. good morning. homeowners in england are to be set a target of how much water they should use, in an effort to prevent future water shortages and damage to rivers and wildlife. the environment agency also says water companies lose 3 billion litres a day through leaks — enough to supply a third of the uk's population. the government has agreed to set a target in future, although its not yet clear how this will be achieved. north korea has agreed to let in a team of south korean journalists to watch the dismantling of its nuclear test site in the north of the country.

pyongyang had earlier refused them visas, though international experts and journalists from other countries, including the us, had been invited. the move comes as president moon jae—in visits washington to try to salvage plans for a summit next month between kimjong—un and president trump. david willis reports. by by the time president moonjae—in arrived at the white house, a meeting to set the agenda for an historic summit had changed into a discussion about how to save it.|j don't want to waste a lot of time andi don't want to waste a lot of time and i am sure he does not want to waste time so there is a substantial chance that it won't work out and thatis chance that it won't work out and that is ok, it does not mean it will not work out over a period of time. but it may not work out forjune i2. the us wants north korea to com pletely the us wants north korea to completely dismantle its nuclear weapons and demolition of a test site in the north—east of the country is due to take place

sometime this week with journalists including now some from south korea present to watch. but having talked about denuclearisation, kim jong—un then threatened to cancel the summit and walk away, an about—face which followed a trip to beijing, think president trump to conclude that china's president xijinping mike bode at hand in it. he is a world class poker player. -- might have had a hand. and i might be doing the same thing that he would but i would say that there was a somewhat different attitude after that meeting and i'm a little surprised. president moon was happy about the possible to a piece on the korean peninsula but some here are wondering if he overstated north korea's willingness to strike a deal and it is equally possible that american officials simply misunderstood the signals they received from the north, among them the release of american hostages.

yet despite the doubts, one of the summit‘s architect was more upbeat. chairman kim ask for the meeting and president trump agreed to undertake it and we got a date and location set. and we are driving on since then. it is clear we are working to make sure there is a common understanding about the content of what will be discussed, but i'm optimistic. all this coincided with the release of a common motive coin to mark the first ever summit between the leaders of the united states and north korea. whether it will prove embarrassingly premature remains to be seen. the security minister, ben wallace, says the uk is rapidly becoming the cocaine capital of europe. he's told mps that technology is making it easy for young people to trade drugs, and make connections. for labour, the mp david lammy warned that demand for drugs was "driving violence". there have been 67 murders in london so far this year. oxford university says

it needs to do more to improve its student diversity after releasing figures which showed thatjust 2% of its new students were black. overall, the number of ethnic minority students being admitted is rising, as ross hawkins reports. 0xford oxford university, gateway to thousands of brilliant careers, but who gets to study here? figures from the university show of its new uk undergraduates, almost 18% were from ethnic minority background, more than in the past. just over 60% were from state schools which is up but private schools only educate a tiny minority of children. and almost half came from london and the south—east compared to just 2% from the north—east of england. the labourmp the north—east of england. the labour mp david lammy accused 0xford of social apartheid when he revealed some of their colleges took no black student in some years. these figures

show just 2% of student in some years. these figures showjust 2% of new student in some years. these figures show just 2% of new students student in some years. these figures showjust 2% of new students last year we re showjust 2% of new students last year were black. although there are issues in oxford is an attitude and appetite for change and there is a real effort on the part of the university to engage with student societies like the oxford acs to enhance how they engage with bme communities around the uk. the university says it is evolving fast but that too slowly to meet the public expectations —— bame communities. people in hawaii have been given fresh warnings about toxic fumes from a major volcanic eruption which began in early may. the fumes are produced when molten rock flows into the ocean. one person has been seriously injured by lava which was thrown into the air, and residents near mount kilawea are being advised to move to safety. the lava has also blocked part of a coastal road, cutting off a key escape route for residents. philip roth, who was hailed by some as the greatest american novelist of the late 20th century, has died at the age of 85.

reports from the us say he died of heart failure. born in newjersey in 1933, he wrote more than 30 novels about themes including sex, american ideals, and being jewish in the united states. that's a summary of the latest bbc news. more at 9:30am. thank you. some of you have been getting in contact about marks & spencer. a text from someone who did not leave their name saying, i love marks & spencer ‘s kids clothing they have some hidden gems in the beauty range. steve has said that the decline in and s has coincided with that position to manufacturer abroad instead of using uk supplies —— the decline in m&s. victoria had said to go back to the buyers you had when the clothes were better. advice for m&s as they struggle with those declining profits. let's get some sport now with katherine downes. do you shop at m&s? for some things.

their food is pretty do you shop at m&s? for some things. theirfood is pretty good. do you shop at m&s? for some things. their food is pretty good. we were saying it is a bit posh. i wonder if lucy bronze, the england player who has been voted the bbc‘s women footballer of the year, i wonder if she shops there. that is a great award for her. they would be well advised to hook up with her because her star is on the rise, particularly when it comes to becoming an enormous name on the global stage in women's football and women's sport in general. very prestigious award. thousands of people from around the world cast their votes to give her the trophy ahead of the netherlands title winning player and also semantic who was the australian leading goal—scorer —— samantha kerr. —— samantha dirks kerr. this

this was the moment when she found out. they surprised her in front of the lyon team—mates with the trophy and the announcement to say she had won the award. she is quite a shy person and she said on twitter that she was already quite an awkward person! she said that this was a real surprise. i'm a bit surprised gum i didn't know why everybody was clapping at first. obviously very grateful to have received the award. i was grateful to even be nominated. people have been nominated on alongside me and they were great players so it is special to have won it. the occasion made even more special by the fact that her auntie made the journey

especially to lyon especially to give her the trophy. absolutely, and i went to the women's fa cup final a few weeks back, chelsea against arsenal and took my kids along and the talent on display was amazing, the talent on display was amazing, the standard of the game has really improved. lucy faced an awful lot of competition in this. what do you think tipped it? the surprise was that she was a defender. a lot of the winners in the past and this year are strikers and get recognition their goals but for lucy a timely wonder goalfor recognition their goals but for lucy a timely wonder goal for her in the semifinal of the champions league which knocked out former club manchester city. look at that at that. that was just a couple of weeks ago. the women to champions league final takes place tomorrow. and her team, lyon, league final takes place tomorrow. and herteam, lyon, will league final takes place tomorrow. and her team, lyon, will be in that final against wolfsburg who are defending champions. they have won

the french league 12 years in a row, they are, as she said, the best team in the world and it was wide she wa nted in the world and it was wide she wanted to move there from manchester city who have come up through the ra nks city who have come up through the ranks here in the english league. they are one of the dominant forces in english women's football but lucy felt the need to swapjullien because they are so incredible and have such a vast array of talent —— swa p to have such a vast array of talent —— swap to lyon. she's got that incredible goal and that boosted her ratings. she is the first english player to win this award which bodes well for the women's world cup which ta kes pla ce well for the women's world cup which takes place in france next year with the final being held in lyon which is of course her home city at the moment. england fans will be hoping she is at home when that world cups rolled around. thanks very much. see you later. with a whole host of recorded crimes on the rise — knife crime by 22%, gun crime by 20% and robbery by 33% — and morale among our police officers

low, it's a difficult picture that greets the new home secretary, sajid javid. he will address officers at the police union's conference for the first time this morning. the prime minister, when she was in his job, accused the police federation of "crying wolf" over cuts. but sajid javid is expected to strike a very different tone. he's going to say he is "listening" and he "gets that there's increased demand". something of an olive branch from sajid javid, then — trying perhaps to distance himself from theresa may when she addressed the same conference three years ago? we were warned that the police and the public were being put in danger, in 2001, 2004, and 2007. the truth is that crime fell in each of those years. so please, for your sake, and for the thousands of police officers who have worked so hard every day, this crying wolf has to stop. so, what impact have cuts have and how is morale among officers?

with us from the conference in birmingham are liz groom, chair of the cambridgeshire police federation, pcjohn apter, who represents officers in hampshire, and clifford tomkinson, who's a neighbourhood sergeant in the west midlands. good morning. in your deductions, you represent three very different sorts of police forces and three different areas of policing. starting with you, liz and moving through the group, i tell is the precious your officers face at the moment. personally, from my perspective in cambridgeshire, we area rural perspective in cambridgeshire, we are a ruralforce predominantly perspective in cambridgeshire, we are a rural force predominantly with two major cities. we have maintained front line numbers. we are quite lucky in that respect that we have dry quite hard to do that. the issues really are those back—office functions. the support mechanisms

for officers such as human occupational health, and of course, those are the people that could help front line officers. when it comes down to it, we need more officers. demand has increased in cambridgeshire and other forces and it takes longer to do with incidents and to safeguard people. and my officers, they are not taking refreshment breaks, toilet breaks, they are working extremely long hours. rural offices of feeling extremely vulnerable because of the demand pulled into the cities and it isa demand pulled into the cities and it is a real concern for me. it is affecting not only their worklife, but their private lives as well.|j would add that liz's force, cambridgeshire, has had little reduction in offices, in hampshire, we have lost 1,000 police officers, 2596 we have lost 1,000 police officers, 25% of our warranted police officers. several hundred police staff. the demand is higher. my colleagues are broken. policing in hampshire is most certainly in crisis, were struggling to respond

to 999 calls, to do with the volume of calls we have. and my colleagues are contacting me daily to say they simply can't cope. in addition to this, they are struggling with the pay freeze that many people in the public sector have had. we have had a police officer evicted from her home because she could not afford to pay the rent. we have had other office rs have pay the rent. we have had other officers have to go to a police charity for food vouchers to put food on the table. this is not how policing should be in today's day and age. whatever the home secretary says today, it has got to be more thanjust says today, it has got to be more than just hollow platitudes, says today, it has got to be more thanjust hollow platitudes, more thanjust hollow platitudes, more thanjust hollow platitudes, more thanjust saying thanjust hollow platitudes, more than just saying he thanjust hollow platitudes, more thanjust saying he is going to listen, we need action. we are desperate for officer numbers to increase not only across hampshire, but across the country. clifford, you are in the west midlands. the home secretary sajid javid's brother, he is a chief superintendent in the west midlands. do you think that family connection, does it give you any hope that sajid javid is trying to understand some

of the problems we have just heard about? i would hope so. i don't think his brother would be bringing politics into the police force and vice ve rsa . into the police force and vice versa. the problem is, we are letting the public down. we are juggfing letting the public down. we are juggling numbers here there and everywhere. i have sat on meetings asa everywhere. i have sat on meetings as a front—line officer every day. and weekly, where leaders within the police force have to juggle and weekly, where leaders within the police force have tojuggle numbers, moved to priority areas, moved to critical incidents. and then ultimately, letting lower—level crimes down, signal crimes down, things that make a massive difference. the old pensioner living oi'i difference. the old pensioner living on theirown, difference. the old pensioner living on their own, sitting with shards of glass around them because we can't respond to something in an emergency. simple things, neighbourhood issues, long—term problems we could resolve quite quickly. they are progressing to longer and deeper issues that manifest into something we can't deal with or respond to. i think

ultimately, we are massively, massively letting front line office rs massively letting front line officers down, new officers are joining with massive debt because of degrees they have to take to get into the police force. i supervise these officers, younger officers, whereby they cannot do overtime because doing overtime would mean they would lose more money, having to pay back debts which causes a knock—on effect for offices or experienced officers that have to cover those overtime shifts. i myself over the christmas period had to work double shifts, and double time because we could not get the office rs time because we could not get the officers to cover shifts, that is what it is like. that is a really important point, the impact on police officers. only last weekend, i was contacted by a number of office rs forced i was contacted by a number of officers forced to stay on duty. there was no critical incident or exceptional demand, this was a normal duty day and officers forced to stay on duty. they don't want to be working overtime, way from their

families, and they are really struggling to cope. the demand on them is exceptional and that is purely because of the lack of numbers, but the demand has increased, it isjust not sustainable. i would just echo what dons is about family, it is really important to consider the families of officers. it is the entire family life. when they have a day of cancelled, which is quite frequently, it affects everything they have with their families, spending quality time and getting the home life balance right and i am not convinced that is happening. clifford, do you still want to be a police officer? yes, i get up every day wanting to do it. i go to bed every day still wanting to do it. i stilljuggle my policing life, my home life and my family life, i would suggest suffers as a consequence. would suggest suffers as a consequence. bearing in mind that struggle for you and for your family, i wonder what it would come what it would take to convince you

that this is a career that she will indeed be in for the rest of your working life? because i imagine a lot of officers say, once upon a time, i thought this was a career for life, now i am not convinced. time, i thought this was a career for life, now i am not convincedlj would for life, now i am not convinced.” would suggest every person that joins the police does so for a reason and that is a hard decision and reason to give up on. there is always that hope tomorrow brings that hope. every day, i get up knowing it is difficult, but tomorrow brings another day. liz? it isa tomorrow brings another day. liz? it is a good job. i still love what i do. i had been a police officerfor nearly 20 years i still go out occasionally on the front line. i love it. the officersjust occasionally on the front line. i love it. the officers just want the tools to do the job, enough of them tools to do the job, enough of them to do thejob tools to do the job, enough of them to do the job properly. tools to do the job, enough of them to do thejob properly. it tools to do the job, enough of them to do the job properly. it is tools to do the job, enough of them to do thejob properly. it is really sad that sometimes, they feel they are letting the public down because it takes them so long to get there. 0r it takes them so long to get there. or they have limited time with a victim because they know they have to go to the next incident. everybody wants to do the right

thing and we love what we do. it is a way of life, it is notjust... thing and we love what we do. it is a way of life, it is notjust. .. are their changes that the home secretary could make that would not necessarily cost him more money, but which could make yourjob is easier and address some of these concerns? it is all about money and it is about numbers. however, bureaucracy, the home secretary is for as long as i have been in the police, and that is 22 years, and chief constables around the force have said they will cut the red tape in policing, that has not happened. we wrapped around processes which makes ourjob harder and harder every day. bureaucracy, i am sure that the home secretary will come here today and say he is going to listen, he will say he cares and he will say we are the best police service in the world. well, now it is about proving it because words are really cheap. i know i sound a bit cynical because i have heard this all before. what i get daily from messages from my colleagues are

that they are broken and not coping with the demands placed on them. policing is a vocation, police office rs ca re policing is a vocation, police officers care and politicians know that. and i do think they take advantage of that unique situation. clifford, j think there is a single message sajid javid could give today that would convince you that he is on side in the way he is?” that would convince you that he is on side in the way he is? i would suggest it is quite an easy thing that he could release some of the pressure on leaders within organisations that could trickle down to officers, that we don't chase false targets bureaucracy. and i think that would overnight make a big difference, that is not monetary influence. he needs to bring his cheque—book, let's be honest. he needs to inject money into policing because until that happens, the troops on the ground, the people we represent a day in and stay out will not feel the release of that pressure. so, home secretary, if you are watching, bring your cheque—book. you can say all the nice things and that will be lovely and make us feel warm inside, but it

has to come with money as well, we need an injection into policing to undo the damage that has been done over the past eight years. well, we will see what he has to say in little over one hour. you will be in that hole behind you. thanks very much for outlining some of the pressures you all face. let's see what that messages later. thank you very much indeed. the marks & spencer story has got you exercise. sheila has said, my nephew would not be seen dead in m&s clothes, neither would i went i was young, go back to concentrating on the oldest person which you always did so well. that was always the best place to go for and where, child ren'sclothes was always the best place to go for and where, children'sclothes and clothes for men and women over the age of 30. we have had a message from diane, i use m&s, food for treats, the m&s range is fabulous,

great christmas gifts, my local store is pleasant to visit, i hope it does not close, and would be gutted. susan used to use m&s regulate picking up lunch most days and buying other things for convenience. food, cards, present and clothes. i used to order online, and clothes. i used to order online, and pick it up in store, but they shut my local one in the neat and several years ago, i am not travelling 15 miles on the off chance of buying something. they we re chance of buying something. they were not loyal to me so they lost my custom. that is part of the balance m&s has to strike as it says it is going to close 100 stores across this country. the results out this morning show that we are falling out of love with the stores. but it seems that as a whole we're falling out of love with the stores as they announced this morning a big fall in profits. just a day after it said more than a hundred of its stores would be closing by 2022. the firm's chief executive, steve rowe, told charlie stayt on bbc breakfast that the closure programme was essential to the store's future. pre—tax profits were largely

reflecting the underlying charges that we put into the business as a result of those future store—closure programmes, and really reflects the scale of the transformation that marks & spencer is going to embark on over the next five years. it's important, it's vital that we react to the changing dynamics of the customer base and get a marks & spencer that is sustainably growing profitably. and important to make sure it's special again for our customers. in terms of the high street, what does that look like? does it look like job losses, for example, for the stores that you have already announced will be closing and this reorganisation you're talking about, how manyjobs will be shed? well, we are in consultation with our employees at the moment in those stores that are affected and these are really tough decisions. what i can tell you is, in the closure programme we had to date, 86% of our colleagues have been able to be transferred into other local stores. and our priority for our colleagues is to make sure wherever possible, there's continuity of employment.

but what we announced last year was a transformation that reflects the customer's shopping habits. more and more people are shopping online or out of town. and we have to modernise our estate to make sure our customers get a great experience. to do that, we are going to change our footprint, we're going to take 25% of the clothing footprint out. what we want to do is make sure we have better, bigger stores for our customers, with a better experience. i noticed in some of the comments marks & spencer is making, you talked about accelerated change. that sounds like business terminology, possibly for almost panic. the speed at which you're changing things, it's gearing up in a different way than you'd envisaged? no, i mean, we talked very clearly about the level of change we needed. the business faces some very hard external factors. we want to be clear about that. we want to make sure we change it for the better, for the future. but what we are clear about is, we can't do this slowly. we need to make sure

we are reflecting the changes in society and the way people shop, and that means it is urgent that we do this, to return the business to growth. the store—closure programme is important because it reflects our changing customer habits. as i said, i believe a third of our business will be online within the next five years. so, on the online issue, which is clearly so crucial to retailers now, you're trying to target a figure over five years. as i understand it, john lewis are already reaching those figures you're talking about, the amount of business done online. why has m&s fallen so far behind? well, i think when we make comparisons in the total online market, we have to reflect the different types of merchandise that people sell. and clearly, we have a weighting to garments which is different to john lewis. the key thing is, though, we need to make sure that our website experience is better, it needs to become faster, we need to make sure that the proposition we give to customers in terms of delivery gets quicker, that's what they want, and we need to make sure that we are able to offer them the garments they want — and w‘ere working really hard to make sure that we've got the right merchandise our customer.

still to come... how young children can help older people living with dementia. who was that? me! in a bbc documentary, psychologists found they could help adults with their memory loss. we'll be speaking to the daughter of david, who you can see in this clip, and the psychologist and care home owner who took part in the research. that's coming up in a few minutes. singer r kelly is being sued for sexual abuse by a former partner, aged just 19, who says he deliberately infected her with an std. she's given her first interview to the bbc. that's coming up in about ten minutes. time for the latest news. here's joanna gosling. marks and spencer has reported a 62% fall in annual pre—tax profits. profits were hit by a one—off charge of more than £300 million to cover the reorganisation of its stores

across the uk. yesterday the retailer announced that it would be closing more than 100 stores by 2022. in other news, homeowners in england are to be set a target of how much water they should use, in an effort to prevent future water shortages and damage to rivers and wildlife. the environment agency also says water companies lose 3 billion litres a day through leaks — enough to supply a third of the uk's population. the government has agreed to set a target in future, although its not yet clear how this will be achieved. president trump has said there is a substantial chance that next month's meeting with kim jong—un would be delayed. he said the north must meet conditions for the summit to go ahead though if it did not, it might happen "later". last week, north korea threatened to pull out if the united states continued to insist on one—sided disarmament. oxford university says it needs to do more to improve its student diversity after releasing figures which showed thatjust 2% of its new students were black.

new figures also reveal that last year almost half of its british undergraduates came from london and the south—east. the university says that, overall, its number of ethnic minority students is rising. philip roth, who was hailed by some as the greatest american novelist of the late 20th century, has died at the age of 85. reports from the us say he died of heart failure. born in newjersey in 1933, he wrote more than 30 novels about themes including sex, american ideals, and being jewish in the united states. that's a summary of the latest bbc news. thank you very much. some breaking news coming in, the inflation figures have been announced and unexpectedly, they are down slightly, down to 2.4% and we will try to get more on that later in the programme. now we have some

more sport. good morning, thank you. simon yates is one step closer to becoming the first briton to win the giro d'italia but he had to fight in the time trial and he did lose a whopping 75 seconds to milan but he still leads by over a minute —— tom doumoulin. lucy bronze has become the first whisper to win the bbc women's footballer of the year award, voted for by the public. andrew strauss has said he will step back from his role as england director of cricket while his wife undergoes treatment for cancer after she was diagnosed in december. former england coach andy flower will fill in. and lee westwood will be one of four vice captains for the european ryder cup team. captain thomas bjorn also named padraig harrington, graeme mcdowell and luke donald as europe looks to regain the

cup in paris in september. those are the main sports stories. as you started talking, we have heard that arsenal have confirmed the news that unai emery is going to be their new head coach. yes, it was obviously our sports correspondent who broke that story late on monday night that unai emery, the former psg manager, would be coming to arsenal to take over from arsene would be coming to arsenal to take overfrom arsene wenger would be coming to arsenal to take over from arsene wenger after his 22 yea rs over from arsene wenger after his 22 years in charge. mikel arteta, a former player, was the frontrunner former player, was the frontrunner for a long time in the weeks after arsene wenger stepped down. arsenal had been having these discussions with mikel arteta but at the final moment they swapped and said it would be unai emery coming in from psg. we were expecting confirmation this morning and we think there will

be some sort of formal press conference this afternoon. he will be formally unveiled, is what they say, as the new arsenal manager. that will come through, that he is the new boss at the emirates. thank you very much. let us know if you are an arsenal fan, what you think about that in the last couple of minutes. one in every three children born this year in the uk will eventually develop a form of dementia, for which there is currently no cure. now, psychologists have come up with an experiment to see whether toddlers might be the secret weapon in helping fight the condition's often crippling effects. a bbc wales documentary team worked alongside experts from bangor university. they brought together a group of toddlers and a group of older people with dementia. the idea — to see if the children could help the adults with their memory loss. let's take a look at how they got on. we've got payton, payton is looking at the doll.

whose is that? this is hers. do you like it? i'm baby—sitting. that was nice, mo was trying to keep payton's attention. she doesn't really engage like that a lot of the time, especially in the way and for as long as she did. seeing her sat down there was probably the longest period of time i've seen her sit in one place and occupy herself with one thing for a long time. it's lovely. she is playing with you. getting involved. there you go. wow!

we have already had one message about this from robin saying it was about this from robin saying it was a good issue to cover and much of the —— much of the action in the film was carried out in wales in her hometown, and in the hospital where her dad was treated. we can talk to several people involved with this. let's now talk with christine williams, who managed the day—care centre where the experiment took place. christine layton is the daughter of david, a former chauffeur, who featured in the programme and who you saw in that clip. both are in our bangor studio. and with me here in london is dr nia williams, a child psychologist from bangor university, who worked on the experiment. good morning to all of you. let me start with christine. what did you think when you were first approached about this experiment?” think when you were first approached about this experiment? i was very keen to see how it went and excited

about it because whatever we can do to help people with dementia is a bonus, definitely. iwas to help people with dementia is a bonus, definitely. i was optimistic and quite positive about it. the tea m and quite positive about it. the team were as well, and the authority behind me. we were going to make it work but i had no idea how the residents would react to it or what impact it would have on the individuals with dementia that we ca re individuals with dementia that we care for. it obviously had a significantly positive impact. why do you think it worked? people lose confidence with the dementia. the children were honest, they were not judgmental, the individuals were able to be themselves and they felt listened to, i believe. they had fun and it was just unbelievable. it was so exciting to see. i had a lump in

my throat all week watching it. you could see some pink —— something opening up in the residence, like a light shining, like they had not seen light shining, like they had not seen for a long time. we could see a different side of them, a total difference in the residents. one of the ladies, mo, she would not engage with us, but we gave her a doll for the therapy because she wanted to express her love and affection and it worked for the doll but we saw another step, she was absolutely beaming and smiling and enjoying the children and showing her affection. even now, after the programme, we have a hug when i see her and she smiled at me. it is a massive step forward. it is so heart-warming. we hear so many horror stories about dementia and it is obviously a

difficult condition for many people and their relatives. christine, you are the daughter of david who was featured in one of the films. and he has dementia. what have you seen, i suppose many relatives can feel pretty helpless in the face of dementia and i wonder what your experience has been of this whole experiment? i am really elated by what i have seen. my dad is very outgoing, and he tries to be sociable. although his tools have been taken away from him, he cannot communicate as well as he used to, the release tries to engage with people and reclaim some power. —— he really tries. it is sad to see him do that. he has a stock room of frasers, he will say, are you

winning, or nice to see you, to see you nice, or bingo. and a lot of people don't know how to deal with it. i took him into a doctor's waiting room a week ago, and the first thing he said when he walked in is, bingo! and everybody looked around am embarrassed. one man raised his eyes to heaven, and it hurt so much, because they did not understand. and what i have seen is the children saying bingo to my dad, and loving it. he isjust david who says bingo, not somebody who is weird or frightening or strange and i have just accepted it and that empowers my dad and that is what i want. it has clearly had a massive emotional impact on you in a very positive manner. we can have another look at a part of the film so people getan look at a part of the film so people get an idea. outside is a vintage

austin westminster, just like the one david used to drive. where is it? shall we come this way? look at this one here. david's memories of cars on memories of happy times. we want is to help trigger those by taking him on a reminiscence journey, and it's one that leo canjoin in. austin, eh? it's a nice one. there we are, i'll go in here. very nice. are you driving? crikey! who was that? where shall we go? i don't know. who was that! me! and they get to have a spin around the car park together. what we're aiming to do

is achieve good moments, it may be the person doesn't remember five or ten minutes later exactly what's happened, but that doesn't mean it's not having a good effect. wonderful. you will be a chauffeur, driving along, changing gear, pumping horns. and when it's raining... switch it on. and it... it clears all the wet off the window. when you're driving. oh, dear. ican i can see smiling, christine. does

it feel in those moments that you get your father back? yes. i am one of three sisters and we love my dad in tensely. of three sisters and we love my dad intensely. we felt for a long time that we had lost him. i think what i saw in that clip is the most sustained conversation that my dad has been able to contribute to for a long time. because when... his short—term memory went straightaway. his long—term memory is deteriorating rapidly. and if you ask him about hisjob, and he loved being a chauffeur, he was so proud to bea being a chauffeur, he was so proud to be a chauffeur, and if you asked him about thatjob, you would tend to get one word answers or a simple sentence. and then he will deflect the conversation onto something like, look at those sheep in that field excellent because he can't remember and he is embarrassed and frustrated. he just wants to deflect

it. what i saw there was him in the moment. he was reliving driving a car. sorry. he was finding, he could not find the word for windscreen wipers and he substituted it with the actions. and that little boy, they were engaged with each other and that is the big thing about dementia sufferers. they are going to forget, they are not going to remember what they did five minutes ago, a day before. but if they are in that moment and safe ringgit and they are living it and they are enjoying it, that is what you treasure. and that is what the three of us treasure about our dad.” treasure. and that is what the three of us treasure about our dad. i bet you do, wonderful. doctor neil williams, you are the child psychologist that worked on this. we have seen the impact on older people with dementia. there is also the impact on the children. yes, in terms of improvements in their behaviour, we saw that, theyjust settled down, there were much

calmer. nurseries can be a busy, hectic environment. bringing them into that calm environment had a really positive effect on them. and also, in nurseries, they are usually dominated by female workers. and the childrenjust loved dominated by female workers. and the children just loved having the attention of men. men interact with children ina attention of men. men interact with children in a different way, they are more playful, they are more active and the children loved that. christine was talking about her father very much being in the moment. and we know that children are in the moment. is that the scientific explanation as to why this works so well? the children are living the moment, they are in the here and the now and that is why they were the magical key in all this. what do you think should happen as a result of this experiment? we would love for intergenerational systems to be set up. a nursery worker who worked with us on up. a nursery worker who worked with us on this is in the process of

setting up her own intergenerational daycare centre and we hope this is the start of something new, notjust for people with dementia. older people in general. they have huge experience, they have so much more to give, to offer, and we should not just put them away and ignore them. it is so inspiring, i would like to see another clip. i'm going to show you one more clip from this bbc one documentary. at the final lunch, it's clear that after only three days, they're happy to share more about their lives. i think i'm having fish and chips, i think so. i was told yesterday, but i can't remember. you see, i have a problem. it's an old people's problem. it's called dementia. so, i don't always remember everything. david's revelation leaves eleanor unfazed, butjust as curious. do you remember what happened in the old days? iremember.

what did you do when you were young? football. i can do football. david, are you older than me or younger than me? if you had a team with david, what would you call your team? the super footballers. how old are you? maybe 13 or 15. 13 or 15. you'll feel happy. it is so inspiring. christine williams, christine leighton and doctor neil williams, thank you very much forjoining us. ‘the toddlers who took on dementia' is on bbc1 in wales tonight at 9pm. it will also be available on the bbc iplayer. the us president, donald trump, may extend his visit to the uk

injuly in order to play golf in scotland. since the president was inaugurated less than a year and a half ago, he has made 108 visits to golf clubs — much to the outrage of many of his critics. so it comes as no surprise that the president looks likely to visit his own golf resorts in scotland when he comes to visit injuly. the visit to the uk isn't a state visit, but he is expected to meet the queen and will hold talks on the 13th ofjuly with the prime minister, though those talks may not be in london, as there are worries he could be confronted by protesters. well, thomas scotto is a professor of politics at the university of strathclyde and a keen golfer and joins us from glasgow. while nick wright is the editor of golf world and has played a round of golf with donald trump on his course in aberdeen. what is it like playing golf with

donald trump? it was very interesting. when i played with him, it was just about when he was about about to start his political, presidential campaign. it was while he was still on tv in the states as the host of the apprentice. he was not actually the president at the time, it wasjust not actually the president at the time, it was just considering running for president. i had this kind of idea he was going to be loud and boy stress but he was anything but, he was very genial, and very helpful and he played very quickly. and he is very knowledgeable about golf, so it was a good way to spend three orfour hours. golf, so it was a good way to spend three or four hours. is it good news that he is coming up to scotland in the summer? a busy time for golf. it is, yes. not sure if it is good news or not. the interesting thing about donald is, politics aside, he is

very good for golf. as you know, he owns a couple of courses in scotland and one in ireland. he has trump international in aberdeen and turnberry in turnberry that has recently been redesigned and under his ownership, they have grown into something very special indeed so golf is a real passion of his. not his main business, so he is happy to invest money and not see immediate returns. it is a personal project. and he has developed quite a reputation for having very strict attention to detail on everything he doesin attention to detail on everything he does in and around golf. so whether or not his visits will be positive or not his visits will be positive or not, his involvement in golf, in my perspective, certainly is. thomas, a bit like donald trump, you straddle the worlds of politics and golf, being a keen golfer, what do you think of this? i am not so sure about how good... presidents have always played golf. eisenhower, before donald trump, was the most

prolific golfer. and then golf became passe and a lot of presidents, especially obama was criticised and so was george bush for playing too much and they put —— and they cut back quite a big and now donald trump is kicking up the numberof now donald trump is kicking up the number of rounds he plays. it is an interesting perspective of whether or not trump is good for the game of golf. golf has an age gap right now. in scotland, we are really trying to grow the game and notjust my part—time hobby is golf and i am interested in seeing young people get more involved and women get more involved. so the question is whether or not this type of celebrity, president, will actually be good for growing the game of golf. there has beena growing the game of golf. there has been a lot of controversy. while these courses do have very, very high ratings in terms of their aesthetic quality, they are always

coming in top ten in of the rankings, but this is also done on the backs of stories of how the people of aberdeenshire have been treated. and that might hit scots the wrong way. in terms of the behaviour. was it rory mcilroy who played golf with donald trump last year and played golf with donald trump last yearand said he played golf with donald trump last year and said he got so much abuse online for doing so that he wished he had not? i know rory mcilroy has played and so have a number of professional golfers, i don't know that story. but one of the beautiful things, to me, of coming to scotland, is how much more of a people's game it is. where i grew up, asa people's game it is. where i grew up, as a kid that did not have a lot of money, golf was always seen as, i played it because i was a golf caddy. here, it is very much a common game.

caddy. here, it is very much a common game. nothing is more exciting to me than going up to a small fishing village to play these golf tournaments for £10 and singer golf tournaments for £10 and singer golf clubhouse double as the community centre. and we need to make sure we are investing in that pa rt of make sure we are investing in that part of the game. there are a lot of golf courses in scotland, beautiful golf courses in scotland, beautiful golf courses, over 100 years old, that don't necessarily have the reputation of carnoustie or trump aberdeen. but also, they are hurting for members because the aged and the graphic is changing and we need to think about that. this is a presidential visit, this is what i am passionate about. but there are politics involved. golf has that reputation as a stuffy old man's game. all right, thank you both very much indeed. 0n the news that donald trump is most likely heading to scotla nd

trump is most likely heading to scotland in the summer to play golf. the latest weather update with simon king. beautiful weather for golf with lots of sunshine. this is in cornwall at the moment. the sea looks quite inviting. for central and eastern parts at the moment, still quite a bit of cloud. this is the scene in lincolnshire. it is across eastern areas where we have cloudier skies this morning. and across the midlands. gradually, it burns back towards the north sea coast. if you are living in the north and east of scotland, you will continue with cloud. further west, you notice blue skies and sunshine. it will stay sunny for much of the day across much of scotland, northern ireland and most of england and wales. just right on the coastal part of the north sea, it could be a bit cooler because of the low cloud and mist. elsewhere, the heat is building up

and make yesterday, temperatures in the high teens and perhaps the mid—20s in some locations. later into the afternoon, a risk of heavy showers developing across kent and east and west sussex. showers becoming more widespread overnight tonight. thunderstorms with that. elsewhere, mist ran the north sea coast, clear spells further west. during thursday, you could wake up to heavy rain across southern parts of england and south wales. the thundery downpours continue into the afternoon. further north, we from the north sea coast, plenty of dry and sunny weather and it is going to feel warm, if not very warm, for many, and muggy across southern parts. temperatures into the 20s. showers and thunderstorms across the south linkedin with this weather front which, on friday, will move further north. so this is what we expect on friday. heavy and thundery rain. in north and west wales into

northern areas of england. sunshine to the south, sunshine to the north. another beautiful day for scotland and northern ireland with sunshine and northern ireland with sunshine and quite muggy with temperatures up to 16, 23, 24. into the weekend, warmerair to 16, 23, 24. into the weekend, warmer air speeds up from the mediterranean. a southerly wind. temperatures on the rise. but with it, humidity rises as well so it will turn quite muggy with the risk of heavy and thundery showers as we go through the bank holiday weekend and into monday, temperatures getting up into the mid—20s. goodbye. hello it's wednesday, it's 10 o'clock, i'm matthew price. there's been a hefty fall in annual profits of retail giant marks and spencer — declining sales of food, clothing and homeware meant pre—tax profits dropped by almost two thirds. it comes after yesterday's announcement that it plans to close 100 shops by 2022. the firm's chief executive is steve rowe. the pre—tax profits

were largely reflecting the underlying charges we put into the business as a result of those future store closure programmes and really reflect the scale of the transformation that marks and spencer is going to embark on over the next five years. it is vital we react to the changing dynamics of the customer base and get a marks & spencer that is sustainably growing profitably. the environment agency has warned that parts of the uk could face serious water shortages by 2050, with climate change and population growth partly to blame. could personal targets be part of the solution? new home secretary sajid javid is due to face rank and file police officers this morning — can he convince them he's standing with them? we've been hearing from some officers about the difficulties they face doing the job they love. i get up every day wanting to do it, i go to bed every day

still wanting to do it. ijuggle my policing life, my home life. my family life, i would suggest, suffers. and new research shows that less than a third of young people would be friends with someone with a visible difference such as a mark or scar. we'll be speaking to two young people with facial disfigurements. good morning. it is just after ten o'clock. here's joanna gosling in the bbc newsroom with a summary of today's news. good morning. marks and spencer has reported a 62% fall in annual pre—tax profits. profits were hit by a one—off charge of more than £300 million to cover the reorganisation of its stores across the uk. yesterday the retailer announced that it would be closing more than a hundred stores by 2022. the retail analyst catherine shuttleworth told us the store has to modernise. i think m&s is all about getting the right product in front of people

and selling it at the right price. you talk about primark, they don't have an online business but they have great prices and products that people want to buy so they have to get the product right, number one. and then they've got to make sure that the stores are the kind of stores we want to shop in and they have got a bit dated and boring and they are just not exciting. the cost of living as measured by the consumer prices index rose by 2.4% in the year to april, compared with a rise of 2.5% for march, sending the pound sliding. the fall was partly blamed on the timing of easter, which meant a seasonal rise in air fares was not included in april this year. it means it is less likely the bank of england will raise interest rates. the home secretary, sajid javid, is to give his first speech since being appointed to the role, at the annual conference of the police federation. in his address to rank and file officers in birmingham this morning, he will attempt to reset the relationship between the government and the police. from the conference,

here's our home affairs correspondent, danny shaw. how is he planning to do it? he is going to try to effect a radical breakfrom going to try to effect a radical break from the past. these conferences have been characterised by distrust between police and the former home secretary and now prime minister, theresa may. last year amber rudd had a tricky time here, talking about cuts and the pace of reform but what sajid javid will do is tell the conference he is standing with them, listening and he gets it. he will acknowledge the fa ct gets it. he will acknowledge the fact that police are stretched and overburdened and say, you deserve to be respected and valued. he will use exa m ples of be respected and valued. he will use examples of the experiences police officers have suffered from his brother, who is a police superintendent in the west midlands, and we are expecting quite a different tone in his speech and also the reception will be different i think, to what theresa may had

when she came here several years ago. she told police officers that they were scaremongering and crying wolf about the impact of cuts. i don't think you will hear that kind of language from sajid javid to date. thank you. oxford university says it needs to do more to improve its student diversity after releasing figures which showed thatjust 2% of its new students were black. new figures also reveal that last year almost half of its british undergraduates came from london and the south—east. the university says that overall, its number of ethnic minority students is rising. people in hawaii have been given fresh warnings about toxic fumes from a major volcanic eruption which began in early may. the fumes are produced when molten rock flows into the ocean. one person has been seriously injured by lava which was thrown into the air, and residents near mount kilawea are being advised to move to safety. the lava has also blocked part of a coastal road, cutting off a key escape route for residents. philip roth, who was hailed by some as the greatest american novelist

of the late 20th century, has died at the age of 85. reports from the us say he died of heart failure. born in newjersey in 1933, he wrote more than 30 novels about themes including sex, american ideals, and being jewish in the united states. that's a summary of the latest bbc news. more at 10:30am. thank you. do get in touch with us throughout the morning. use the hashtag #victorialive and if you text, you will be charged at the standard network rate. here's some sport now with katherine. thank you. it is the news we have known for the last few days, arsenal finally confirming that unai emery will be their next head coach. the former psg manager will take over from arsene wenger and he says he is thrilled to bejoining one of from arsene wenger and he says he is thrilled to be joining one of the great clu bs thrilled to be joining one of the great clubs in the game. wayne rooney is in washington to look around the club he could leave

everton for this summer. these united have reached a deal in principle with him and he is in the us to learn more about what the club have to offer. everton are aware of his visit and a final decision on his visit and a final decision on his future will be made by the club as he has a year left on his contract. lucy bronze has been awarded a bbc women's footballer of the year after a public vote. she helped lyon reach the champions league final this week by scoring this win against old club, manchester city, the semifinals.” feel a bit surprised. manchester city, the semifinals.” feela bit surprised. i manchester city, the semifinals.” feel a bit surprised. i didn't know why everybody was clapping at first! lam why everybody was clapping at first! i am still surprised and obviously very grateful to receive the award. i was really grateful to even be nominated and the people nominated alongside me were also great players so alongside me were also great players so it is really special to win it this year. simon yates is favourite to win the giro d'italia despite having his lead cut in half. you can see from the grimace on his face he

was digging in because the man in the campus is defending champion tom dumoulin. simon yates lost 75 seconds but is still leading by almost a minute. england's director of cricket andrew strauss is going to step back from his role while his wife undergoes treatment for cancer. this role will be filled by former head coach andy flower. his wife was diagnosed in december and is about to enter a new period in her treatment. he will keep a very steady hand on the tiller while i'm away. it is obviously disappointing when we are here at lord's full of optimism about what the summer holds for us, but i need my focus to be my family for this period of time and i'm grateful to the ecb for supporting me through that. thomas bjorn has picked his four vice captain for his europe team to face the united states at the ryder cup this year and one of them is lee westwood lewers won be about seven

times as a player. he has also gone for luke donald, graeme mcdowell and padraig harrington as europe look regain the cup in paris in september. and finally, some astonishing pictures from a race meeting at chepstow yesterday. presenter hayley more caught a loose horse that was clearly in distress after unseating its rider —— hayley moore. what an act of bravery! fortu nately moore. what an act of bravery! fortunately she was not injured and the horse was ok as well. that is all the sport, back to you.” the horse was ok as well. that is all the sport, back to you. i do not fa ncy all the sport, back to you. i do not fancy that! thank you. now we're going to speak to a man called neil whitfield. he's a former salesman. he's got a brain tumour. and he's suing nokia — the mobile phone company — for compensation. neil believes that heavy use of his mobile in the late ‘90s caused an acoustic neuroma tumour on a nerve between his ear

and brain, which has left him partially deaf. caused an acoustic neuroma tumour on a nerve between his ear and brain, which has left him partially deaf. now, the world health organisation says that a large number of studies have looked into mobile phone safety and that no adverse health effects have been established, but neil and his lawyer have spent six weeks building up the case, and he'll be the first brit to sue a mobile phone company on these grounds. hejoins us now in his first television interview. good morning. tell me about when you first realised there might be something wrong with your health. probably after a couple of years of using the mobile phone that i started to develop headaches and a bit of facial twitching and memory loss. i went to my gp, as you would, and they referred me for a health check. and a hearing test and that resulted ina scam and a hearing test and that resulted in a scam and ultimately found this tumour which my consultant at the time identified as a acoustic neuroma. and he sort of suggested,

do you use a mobile phone, and i said yes, quite excessively, for my job. and he said, it is the smoking of the 21st century. and i wondered what he meant by that. i interpreted it as it meaning there is nothing thatis it as it meaning there is nothing that is safe with the radiation coming from the phone. and worth pointing out that cancer research say that scientific evidence shows it is unlikely mobile phones could increase the risk of a brain tumour orany increase the risk of a brain tumour or any other type of cancer but they say they don't know enough to com pletely say they don't know enough to completely rule it out but they say it is unlikely and the world health organisation thinks the same so i wonder why you are pursuing the case. we have sufficient evidence from quite a few leading world experts in the field and there have been recent cases that have been settled in other parts of the world and there are a lot of other european countries who have taken action. they have put in

precautionary measures, especially for young children. that is my passion, trying to find out, as a father and a grandfather, that children should be protected, given that their heads are smaller, their skulls are thin and they absorb ten times more radiation than an adult would. i think it is our duty as pa rents would. i think it is our duty as parents and citizens of the uk to protect those children of future generations. why do you think the courts are the right place for this? if this is not handled sensitively, and the weight you are speaking it is very sensitive to the wider scientific concerns, —— with the way you were speaking. but there will be concerns in the scientific community that the research does not back up your instinct. the research they have, some of it is quite old hat, and they rely on some very dated evidence. we have up—to—date evidence. we have up—to—date evidence and testing and obviously

the testing that has been done on phones of that era in the mid—90s and onwards, specifically they operate and function a lot differently to most modern phones. nokia, they say they cannot comment on individual cases, they said product safety has always been a key consideration and all nokia products comply with relevant international exposure guidelines and limits set by public health authorities. i suppose one of your concerns if you do not believe the limits and guidelines set internationally are adequate? the levels are set differently in different countries. in the uk the level is what it is. is it higher or lower in the uk? in the uk the level is what it is. is it higher or lower in the uk7m is higher than some other european countries and that needs to be looked at. of course nokia will say that. i did contact them, going back to maybe 2002 now, and i asked if

their phones were safe and would they cause health effects. simple yes or no pulls up i got no reply other than a long winded, we stand by the information or lily published. i found it by the information or lily published. ifound it difficult by the information or lily published. i found it difficult to understand why a world leading communications company could not communicate and give me a definitive answer. it made me suspicious. later in that decade, they issued something in their manual that the phone must be at least 12 millimetres away from your body at all times. not a lot of people know that. i wonder if you think there is a realistic chance that your case can progress and go the distance.” wholly agree that there is. i think there is the opportunity here, and there is the opportunity here, and the best opportunity we are bad in this country so far, to find the evidence to give parents sufficient and accurate information that they can make informed choices on whether

or not they should give their children a mobile phone. and you see it all the time, young children in procedures watching something on mobile —— in pushchairs. it winds me up mobile —— in pushchairs. it winds me up when! mobile —— in pushchairs. it winds me up when i see that because they are the most vulnerable and we need to protect them. thank you so much for telling us about your case and we will watch with interest how it progresses. thank you. still to come... a warning from the environment agency that part of the uk could face serious water shortages and we will be talking about what you can do to save water. r&b star r kelly has become one of the most controversialfigures in music. he's been accused of many things — relationships with underage girls, running a sex cult. now one of his former partners, faith rodgers, has accused him of deliberately infecting her with an std. in an exclusive interview with benjamin zand for bbc three, faith has spoken about her claims. tell me about when you first realised you had an std.

there's a stigma, you know, and... sorry. it's ok. i tried to ignore it sometimes, but that's just the reality of it. it just. .. it's clearly hard for you to, kind of, deal with it. you're dealing very well to deal with it. why have you decided to go public? you know, they are coming out with stories, but there's another side of the story that this man is going around transmitting stds to people, nobody is telling that story. if i knew that, i probably wouldn't have even got involved with him, that's a big deal. that's something you just don't skip over. so i definitely feel like, if not me, then who? benjamin zand is with us now. you got that exclusive interview. so tell us more about the claims faith is making, ben. some of them are too explicit to talk about on this programme, some

of them are not. she says that r kelly has knowingly given her a std and she says he knew he had herpes and she says he knew he had herpes and he did not tell her and he has impacted her and therefore it is sexual battery and she has put in a lawsuit on those terms. she also says he had nonconsensual sex with her and pressured her into having sex, things like, he locked her in ca rs sex, things like, he locked her in cars as punishment for not sexually pleasing him and painting quite horrible picture of her time with him. his people are coming back quite forcefully. they have a statement, i will read a few bits of it. kelly supports the pro—women goal of the time's up movement, we support the power of women to make their own choices. they are talking about him supporting women and that is the nature of the scandal surrounding him? yes, this is not just faith rodgers, allegations have been coming out of for the last 20

yea rs, been coming out of for the last 20 years, able saying she married dashing married somebody who was 15 when he was 27. and there was a sex tape purportedly showing him having sex with a 14—year—old, that was quashed but he went to trial. now it is coming out, the six called allegation, his mistreatment of women. the difference with the faith rodgers case, she is willing to put herself forward and go to court potentially with a jury and a jail sentence attached. so i think r kelly is now taking notice, for a long time, he'd not. he kept quiet and assumed it may blow over. you can rightly assume now it is not just going to blow over. his lawyers have said specifically in relation to what faith rodgers has said in her lawsuit, he categorically denies all claims and allegations. so you are saying that is more of an engagement with that lawsuit than there has been in the past perhaps?

yes, for example, this is second documentary i have made about r kelly this one coming out on saturday on iplayer and bbc three. first time round, it was almost impossible to get any communication with his people. i tried to speak to his manager and there will not a nswer his manager and there will not answer the phone. after the first film, it has opened again and there are film, it has opened again and there a re co nsta nt film, it has opened again and there are constant news reports against him and they are actively engaging him. r kelly spoke to her the american company tmz and his manager spoke to us. he has started to engage a lot more. engaging a lot more, more of what they are saying in relation to the numerous sexual misconduct allegations by former girlfriends, he has constantly denied any wrongdoing. and this, do wonder if you could just at the end of this interviewjust now wonder if you could just at the end of this interview just now talk about this. we will vigorously resist, say his publicists, this attempted public lynching of a black man who has made extraordinary contributions to our culture. that

is an extraordinary statement. yes, i put that retort to a guy called remarriage, a civil rights attorney, the attorney of faith rodgers. he said it is a ridiculous thing to suggest, considering pretty much every single person, his apparent victims, they are all black. the only community he is supposed to be affecting is the black community. to make such a claim to seem quite unusual considering the only community involved and affected by it, if this is true, is the black community. thank you very much for that story, another story to watch with a lot of interest. ben's full film — ‘r kelly: the sex scandal continues' — will air on bbc three later this week. thanks a lot. when you last took a shower or a bath or watered your garden plants, did you stop to think how much water you used? the environment agency says it will work with the government and industry to develop targets. they're warning that if water continues to be wasted at the rate it is now, much of england could see significant supply shortages.

let's talk to the environment agency's director of water, pete fox. nicci russell from waterwise, which says it independently promotes water efficiency. michael roberts is from water uk, which represents water companies in britain. thank you forjoining us today. starting with the environment agency, give a summary of what it is you are concerned about. thank you very much. we are most concerned about the amount of water drawn from the environment to supply people and industry with the necessary water to live their lives and for industry to deliver our goods and services. projecting forward, the impact of climate change and population growth means that if we don't stop planning soon, in the next 30 years by the 20

50s, we could be facing quite serious deficits in reductions to the amount of what we have got. especially in the south and south east of england. and all the water we use comes from the environment. it is the environment agency's job to keep a close eye on wildlife and land—use, 20 oh we have got right the balance between what we need for people and what the environment needs for itself. -- to ensure we have got. is the problem the amount of water we as individuals and companies use, or is the problem water companies allowing too much water companies allowing too much water leak away? it is all of those things. average consumption per person across britain are something like 140 litres per day. and government through the 25 year plan is challenging everybody to think more about whether we can be more ambitious about the amount of water we use. there is lots people can do.

our we use. there is lots people can do. 0urjob at the environment agency is to raise that awareness and work with water uk and waterways and others to raise the awareness and to bring its people as much attention that for every litre pulling out of ourtaps, that for every litre pulling out of our taps, that is a litre less for fish, birds and wildlife in the countryside. pete, and let's talk about nicky russell and michael roberts about what we can do. pete mentioned what we can do as individuals. nicky, slightly personal thing from my perspective, i change my shower the other day and i got i change my shower the other day and igota i change my shower the other day and i got a new eco—friendly one which reduced the amount of water that goes down the tube and the amount of water that comes out of the head. and the boiler would supply the water because it is not drink enough water, so i have had to go back to the old one. it is fairly easy to replace something like this, but how do we deal with infrastructure problems like that? one thing we needis problems like that? one thing we need is a label to tell us how water efficient and energy—efficient the products we buy are, and we can save

water sets of on water bills and energy bills at the same time. so absolutely, we're working with the government to make sure we are joined up at the infrastructure level and there are simple things we can do. it is great you are taking action in your home. i tried! i have cut down on using this lot. we're not doing much for plastic today! this is a different spray gun. it would use less water from the hosepipe. i have got a water but in the back garden, which helps, i presume? you are a poster child for water efficiency! sprinkler can use 1,000 litres a day are sorry, one hour, more than a family of seven would use in an entire day so sprinkler could use in one hour 20 of these. some of these simple gadgets, the water companies are giving them away for free. water efficient shower head, using one of

these and knocking a minute from your shower today could save one litre a day. sorry, go back to that. that could save one of these bottles ? that could save one of these bottles? yes, it depends on your shower. 18 metres? yes, an average shower. 18 metres? yes, an average shower is between 15 and 30. and you spend less money on heating the water and if you have got a water metre, you spend less money on the water. yes, and as a country, we could save three and £60 million on energy bills if we had one of the shower water efficient devices or knocked a minute from our shower. you represent the water companies. they want us to use water because they want for us to pay for the water we are taking from them. is this in the water companies interests for us to cut down? our mission is to provide a key public service to everyone in the country and we depend on water for our basic ability to live and we will do that in the best way for customers and

the environment. pete is absolutely right, from the environment agency. asa right, from the environment agency. as a country, we are facing growing risk from climate change, population growth in order to deliver our public service to the country. and it is everyone's issue. people are right to say in the home, we have got to do our bit and is companies. the good news is that domestic consumption has been coming down for the last decade and in terms of leakage which you mentioned, we are leaking a third less than we did 30 years ago. still 3 billion litres. yes, there is a lot more to do both as individuals as you are trying to do and as companies. companies already are in the process of delivering reduction in leakage and planning to do more. but the criticism often levelled at the water companies is that often people say they charge too much, and also that they are not replacing the old pipes, the infrastructure. they're

not making water supply more efficient which presumably would have quite an impact on helping people save water and helping the system save water. it would make a big difference. why is that infrastructure improvement not happening at the rate be popping it showed? don't forget 150 billion has been invested in improving the infrastructure. much more needs to be done. at the moment, the industry is putting together plans for the next five years which will be pretty ambitious. the regulator has asked the industry for plans to reduce leakage by 15% over the forthcoming five years and the companies are rising to that challenge. we need to think about this over the longer term and it is about people at home doing more. three quarters of the use of water at the home is how we wash ourselves, our clothes and how we flush the toilet. the way we wash ourselves and the products we buy, the sorts of things you have shown today, those things have to be part of the mix. at waterwise, you are

putting the onus on customers, people like us to use less water. do you think the water companies are doing enough? they are certainly doing enough? they are certainly doing a huge amount more on water efficiency than they were doing five, ten years ago, and it is mainstream across the companies. we would love to see a really ambitious target of per capita consumption of around 140 at the moment, we would like to see 100 or less which is perfectly doable in the next 20, 25 years. peter box, what does 2050 look like if we don't do anything, in terms of the ecology of our streams and our ability to use water? i think we have got a chance now to ensure that the look and feel of 2050 isn't as bleak as it could be. if we don't take action now, by thinking about, talking about and planning for investments in reservoirs may be in the south east

of england connections and better connections between catchments and that focus on usage by people, then we could see some quite severe impacts of dry weather and drought across our country impacts of dry weather and drought across our country in that 30 year time frame. and we will all suffer from that. we will have less freedom to use water in the ways we enjoy today. and of course, wetland wildlife and all of the environment will be suffering as rivers dry up and ground waters continue to shrink further into the soil. but we have a chance now to really focus on water usage and the supply of water, to make sure that we are in a great place, as we are now working together to ensure that people have the luxury of turning the taps on and having clean water coming out every time. thank you very much.

representing the water companies, thank you forjoining us this morning. we have had comments on the news that marks & spencer is has had a serious reduction in its profits over the last quarter. steve from bournemouth has said, it would be a great shame to see such an iconic round, as he calls it, lost from the high street, maybe they could turn around their fortunes by introducing the first totally plastic free store which would certainly bring me back andi which would certainly bring me back and i am sure millions of others. interesting marketing idea. caroline says, women's clothes, they are often very dull and often not a good fit. as a 60—year—old woman, there is not much i would choose to buy. i was like two as i have been a regular customer, am looking for quality and a good price with each fashionable choice, sadly, that is not to be found at m&s. still to come... growing up with a facial disfigurement — we get reaction from two young people to new research that suggests less than a third of their peers

would choose to be friends with them because of their appearance. she rode 250 winners as jockey vince smith. today, victoria smith becomes the first ever jockey to race as a man and a woman. we'll speak to her shortly. time for the latest news. here's joanna gosling. marks and spencer has reported a 62% fall in annual pre—tax profits. profits were hit by a one—off charge of more than £300 million to cover the reorganisation of its stores across the uk. yesterday the retailer announced that it would be closing more than a hundred stores by 2022. consumer price inflation fell to 2.4% in april — its lowest level since march 2017 the fall from 2.5% in march was partly blamed on the timing of easter, which meant a seasonal rise in air fares was not included in april this year. it means it is less likely the bank of england will

raise interest rates. the home secretary, sajid javid, is to give his first speech since being appointed to the role, at the annual conference of the police federation in birmingham. he will tell rank and file officers he understands how the service has been stretched and overburdened. he's expected to say he will give them the powers and resources they need to do theirjob. and we'll bring you that speech by sajid javid live just as soon as it happens. oxford university says it needs to do more to improve its student diversity after releasing figures which showed thatjust 2% of its new students were black. new figures also reveal that last year almost half of its british undergraduates came from london and the south—east. the university says that overall, its number of ethnic minority students is rising. people in hawaii have been given fresh warnings about toxic fumes from a major volcanic eruption which began in early may. the fumes are produced when molten rock flows into the ocean. one person has been seriously

injured by lava which was thrown into the air, and residents near mount kilawea are being advised to move to safety. the lava has also blocked part of a coastal road, cutting off a key escape route for residents. berlinah wallace has been given a life sentence for the acid attack on her former partner, mark van dongen. the judge has said it will be a 24—year sentence and has set a minimum term of 12 years. the judge described berlinah wallace as "a minipulitive and controlling women" and he also said her "conduct can properly be described as sadistic". that's a summary of the latest bbc news. thank you. here's some sport now with katherine. it is the news that we knew that unai emery has been confirmed as the

new arsenal edge and he said he is thrilled to bejoining one of new arsenal edge and he said he is thrilled to be joining one of the great clu bs thrilled to be joining one of the great clubs of the game. lucy bronze has become the first english player to win the bbc women's footballer of the year award having helped her club, lyon, to another league title and a champions league final. it is voted for by the public. simon yates is one step closer to become the first briton to win the giro d'italia. he lost 75 seconds to tom dumoulin in the time trial but is still leading by about a minute with five stages to go. andrew strauss, the england director of cricket, has said he will step back from his role while his wife is treated for cancer. former england coach andy flower will fill in. thank you. myrtle has got in touch about the dementia story, great to see the response between kids and older people. i take my registered therapy doctor to nursing home every week and the response is brilliant. there's going to be a small moment of history made

later today in warwick. a transgender jockey is going to become the first to race professionally as both a man and a woman. vince smith rode over 250 winners over a 17—year professional career. after retiring in 2000, vince began training race horses. but after a relationship broke down in 2015 he started exploring feelings that he was not truly male. in 2017 vince started taking female hormones, and changed his name to victoria. victoria returns to the saddle for the first time since transitioning at a race meeting in warwick this evening. shejoins us from she joins us from newmarket. shejoins us from newmarket. how she joins us from newmarket. how do you feel about this moment? i'd describe it as a small moment of history. i don't really look at it like that. it is just something i have felt dumb once i started my

transitioning, that if an opportunity came along then i would ta ke opportunity came along then i would take it. the racing community have been very good towards me and the trainer today, john berry, offered up trainer today, john berry, offered upa trainer today, john berry, offered up a horse for me to write. —— ride. and i have been training for today. you mentioned the racing community being good to you, what has been the reaction about your transition?m has been very acceptable to a lot of people. i was fortunate in my career in that i rode with some very respected people for some very respectable trainers. and i still know them all today. i think it has helped with everybody else, that they have accepted it and people have felt, if they can't accept it, why can't we. and all around,

through work, close friends, family and just generally people within racing, they have been unbelievable andi racing, they have been unbelievable and i have been totally overwhelmed. from what you are saying i wonder if you think it helped that some people who sound to be near the top of the hierarchy, because they accepted your transition, that led others to do so. 0r, your transition, that led others to do so. or, more generally, have you found that people have just got on with it? i think it has helped. everybody has a fear factor when you tell them you are changing your gender. i put it as, if you had a very bad illness or a very bad injury ora very bad illness or a very bad injury or a bereavement, people in them situations don't know how to approach you. obviously nobody else had a choice in this, it was my choice at the end of the day, and i

just think they have that fear back of how you will be as a person. but everybody is exactly the same inside. you do change a bit of your looks change, but you are still the same person. i think once your close friends realise that and they totally accept you, then other people follow suit and they know that you are just a normal person. it has been a while since you have ridden professionally. do you think you can win today? it isjust about getting there. to get a horse to a racetrack fully fit is an awesome thing to do. for both of us to get there, to turn up and compete is one thing. if the horse turns up in his best possible way, he would definitely have a chance and then it is down to me to make sure i steer

him properly. victoria, thank you for joining him properly. victoria, thank you forjoining us and good luck in the race, we will look out for you. thank you. still to come... sajid javid makes his first speech to rank and file police officers in a few minutes' time. he'll be hoping to improve the home office's fractious relationship with the police federation and convince them he's on their side. growing up with a facial disfigurement can be difficult, and new research suggests that less than a third of young people would choose to be friends with someone with a disfigurement. the charity changing faces surveyed 1,500 young people about appearance—related bullying and ‘looking different‘. back in 2016, ashleyjohn—baptiste made a film about what it was like for kids growing up with a facial disfigurement. here's a clip of it. i want to see the world through the eyes of children who have facial disfigurement. billy's family has struggled to even take him out in public. at times it can be soul destroying,

it really can, because as a parent you just want to protect your child. how do you feel about that? annoyed. gets annoyed. you feel annoyed ? yeah. because they are staring at you, yeah. you don't like it, do you? no. you can see the head is quite a... you know, it's not a normal shape. billy is nine, he is a twin. he was born with apert syndrome. it's a craniofacial condition. all this part here and around his nose, it only grows at a third of the rate. the paediatric registrar didn't even referred to billy as a baby, hejust said, i have never seen anything like it before. he wasjust called "it." because he looked so different. you've had kids who have seen billy and started crying.

yeah, not just crying, hysterically crying, because they are scared of him and they think he's horrific looking. billy is still really young, he's nine years old. yeah. you worry about his future? massively. because there is so much prejudice with people who look different. he would just say things to me, mummy, why is that boy staring at me or why those children pointing at me? you don't want to keep saying to him, well, your face is different and that's why they are looking at you all the time. hello, marcus, nice to meet you. marcus's disfigurement isjust skin deep. he's 12 and a talented trampolinist. but he was born with a cleft, a gap in his face. in reception i was known as the boy with the face.

people actually bullied you because of the way your face looks? yeah. some people have called me scarface. one time, i was like, ten, and someone came up to me and said, if they looked like me, they would kill themselves. really? after, when i came home, ijust burst into tears and lay on my bed. did you tell your mum? yeah. that really hurts. i'm like, right, ithink i need to go into school and sort this out. he said don't, you will just make it worse. they don't listen, that was his big thing: they don't listen. i tell the teacher and nothing changes. something had to be done. i got in touch with changing faces then and they came to school and spoke to school about how they could help marcus. some of the impact on some people with facial disfigurement. we can speak now to 14—year—old sophie parker, and her mum, frances. sophie was born with

a birthmark on herforehead. lucy ritchie, who's 22 and has treacher collins syndrome. she was born with no ears and no cheekbones. and rob murray, from the charity changing faces. that was mentioned in the report. sophie, can you remember when you were first aware of your birthmark? i think probably around eight or nine, that was in year four when i think probably around eight or nine, that was in yearfour when i started to get the lead and it made me realise i was different and being picked on because of that. it made me more aware when i picked on because of that. it made me more aware when i went out that people would stare and point at me. have there been really difficult times growing up, when you became aware that people were looking at you ina aware that people were looking at you in a different way and treating you in a different way and treating you in a different way and treating you ina you in a different way and treating you in a different way and treating you in a different way? yes, when i first started realising i was being stared at it was hard because i did not want to go outside or be in a space where there was no one i knew

andi space where there was no one i knew and i would get pointed at. and also when i moved to secondary school and i got bullied, that was probably the worst i experienced. what sort of things? just constant name-calling, walking past and they would be like iron ahead, iron face, and it was that repetitive part that knocked me down. was it everybody? no, just one person. as a mother, knowing that is what your daughter went through, how we re what your daughter went through, how were you feeling? every time she tells that story it breaks my heart, it's horrible. i feel like i'm going to cry. she was keeping that to herself for a long time, the secondary school bullying. i think she is very strong in that way and she is very strong in that way and she tries to deal with it herself but that particular incident went on for weeks before i knew it was a problem and it only came to light because she told her sister who is above her in school and she told me.

isaid to above her in school and she told me. i said to sophie, it has always been her decision, how to deal with this, because sometimes she is ok dealing with it on her own but because this was repetitive and not going away she let me contact the school and she let me contact the school and she spoke to the tutor and it stopped quickly. it did stop, that is positive. absolutely and it was dealt with immediately and i kind of wished she had brought it up weeks before because she would not have had to put herself through it. and yet it is hard to bring up as a job and talk to your parents about it. did you have the fears we saw in the film that, not to do this, it would draw attention even more? any time when i used to go out and people would stare, i would never tell my mum and it would only be when i came back that i would tell because i knew if i made a deal out of it and it would bring more attention and i never want that. lucy, thank you for coming in. tell us about treacher collins. it is a mutation of one of

the genes. when my mum was pregnant she had no idea, there is no indication in any of the scams that anything was wrong and i was born with no ears, no cheekbones and i have a very small airway in comparison to others. you obviously do look different visually, how has that been for you growing up? have you gone through the same transition that sophie did? yes, i was born this way. there has never been a point i can remember that i realised i was different. the parents brought me up as equal, you are no different to anyone else. i have had that outlook and perspective on it since a very young age. whenl perspective on it since a very young age. when i do get stared at or anything like that, i am not aware of it so much. i was going to ask

about that, i hope you don't mind me saying that people will inevitably stare at you. yes, and i know that. how should they feel about that, should they approach you how would you feel about that car? everyone is different, but how would you feel?” think it is human nature. when you do think about something that is not the norm, ithink do think about something that is not the norm, i think we do. i'm always happy to talk about that, i will answer any questions. if people do wa nt answer any questions. if people do want to stop and ask, it is not a problem. the flip side is, he pulled taking a quick covert photographs of you. i did have one experience of that when i was 12. i was in the car with the family, at a set of traffic lights waiting for them to change. there was a group of schoolkids who we re there was a group of schoolkids who were trying to take photos. as you are saying, my family was more angry and upset than what i was. my

brother wanted to shout out of the car. i brother wanted to shout out of the car. lam brother wanted to shout out of the car. i am like, just leave it. i think it is a lack of understanding and sometimes ignorance. hopefully, we can and sometimes ignorance. hopefully, we can raise more and sometimes ignorance. hopefully, we can raise more awareness and sometimes ignorance. hopefully, we can raise more awareness and that will get reduced. robert, you are nodding. tell us about the key findings from this report. yes, the headline was that less than a third of young people would be friends with somebody with a visible difference. that is a horrifying statistic. as you saw on the clip with marcus and you have heard from sophie and lucy, school is a really important thing for us so we are keen to get in early, to run away is a —— awareness raising workshops and change attitudes. it is not a k that one in ten young people are depressed about the way they look. it is not ok, lucy mentioned staring. almost half the young people we spoke to had experienced staring. a quarter had experienced pointing. sophie mentioned. one in

six experienced their picture being taken. that six experienced their picture being ta ken. that is six experienced their picture being taken. that is a massive invasion of privacy and it is just disrespectful. how do we begin to change this? and what you are saying, lucy, it helps to normalise everybody with all sorts of different features. that surely has got to help? yes, i think the more people who are aware that this is completely normal and there are so many people, there is a statistic that there are 83 list —— 83,000 people in school in the uk with a visible difference. that is a huge numberof visible difference. that is a huge number of people. there are people that live with this. sophie, from your perspective, do you think there are things people with facial disfigurement can do... you are an empowered young woman, but to empowered young woman, but to empower themselves and also to teach people who do regard them as different? i think talking to people like me. i recently met someone,

they were not like me, but they had they were not like me, but they had the same experienced and it was amazing because we can relate so much. we can relate differently to how other people can relate to me. talking to people like you really helps. also, just talking to people who are not like you. i often took to my friends about being stared at andi to my friends about being stared at and i hope they understand more what it is like. is there any help out there you know of for parents? when you are in this situation, did you get support committed feel lost?” didn't really, we just out with it ourselves, at home. it was sophie who got help online and found the changing faces website. i know she has downloaded various helper pamphlets, information she could read about building self—confidence and things. as a parent, i admit i did not actually do that. i was just always trying to encourage sophie to be positive and if she wanted to wear her camouflage make—up, i would

give her that choice. but i always made it her choice and i did not wa nt made it her choice and i did not want to say, cover up, we are going out and i don't want you to have a difficult time. she felt differently each day as to whether she felt confident to go out without it or whether she felt she might need it, so it was always her decision. really, sophie has led us through this process, she has actively got help for herself and she tells me what she has read and i can do this andl what she has read and i can do this and i want to get involved in that. she has done all this, she is the one who has put herself out there and said, i want to be an ambassador for this cause and help other people like me. that is very inspiring. robert, it it is about schools, celebrating diversity in its senses and helping everybody understand? absolutely. we know that as you get older, you are more likely to bully somebody make negative comments. if we can get into schools really early and raise awareness and say that it

is ok to be different and to look different, wejust is ok to be different and to look different, we just need to respect each other, that can have a positive impact in future years and stop the negative comments you heard from marcus, lucy and sophie. we see, with your disfigurement, you could have gone either way. it could have been a terribly depressing childhood can make you could have been terribly negative about it. you have not been. you have empowered yourself and it sounds like you have got through it better than your brother in many ways! ijust wonder, do you know how you manage that?” think it will have to be down to the parents. yes, ithink think it will have to be down to the parents. yes, i think they brought me up to know that i am no different. they have been doing everything every other child would do. i completely agree, i believe i could have gone down a path of being really negative, but instead, i have got on with life and just kick going. well, lucy, sophie, thank you

both very much and also francis and robert. and sitting here talking about it this morning as much as anything helps people. let's hope the message gets out there! thank you very much forjoining us this morning. oxford university has acknowledged it needs to do more to improve the diversity of its students, after figures revealed about a third of its colleges accepted three or fewer black applicants, during the past three years. we can now speak to taiwo 0yebela, president of the african caribbean society at oxford university. what is your reaction to these figures? initially, seeing the stats is quite disheartening. especially realising i am also part of the figures. i am realising i am also part of the figures. iam part realising i am also part of the figures. i am part of the numbers. i think what is an important part of the report is it shines a light on what still needs to be done. the

different access schemes that we do. our vision is programmed and all the other access work we do is really, really important in affecting change and making sure that we can change these numbers and improve them, improve the rates and the amount of representation of black students in oxford. where does the problem lie, does it lie with the university, does it lie with the university, does it lie with the school system? i think definitely, there is a structural issue. especially for me, coming from a state comprehensive and being the first person from my school to even apply to uxbridge, i knew that from a very young age about the disparity in terms of the engagement in oxford. and in general, the academy my school had compared to private schools in terms of knowing how to prepare me for the interviews, for the admissions test. also, generally for black students

and students of african and caribbean descent, within key stage three, there is a lot of disengagement with students. with teachers and how to better eclipse them to raise their aspirations. so i think there are so many factors that go into admission reports and i guess the overall statistics report and is dealing with oxford. what about the comments from david lammy mp who is accusing the university of ignoring its institutional failings? obviously, and stand what he is saying. david lammy is my mp and it is great he is shining a light on these issues. i think it is also important to focus on the failings. it is also good to shine a light on the positives that could be going on, like access, access schemes i have mentioned. but also, the work

on the student body to change this and how you can't ignore the fact that statistics have gone up. since we have done our annual access conference focusing on year 12 students, applying to oxford, application rates for applied to oxford has gone up by 24.1%. there has been some increase but it has been very gradual. i do agree the university could do more, but i think it is also a shame to ignore the fact that there is a lot going on, just more needs to be done.” wonder what it has been like for you more broadly in the university on arriving there. you very definitely represent a minority in oxford and at oxford university. once you have got there, i wonder whether you still experience any sort of discrimination that you feel on a daily basis? so, i study classics. asi daily basis? so, i study classics. as i said, i came from a state

comprehensive that did not send people to oxford so i have no idea about the environment. most people, mostly what affected me was the social cues. there are things people would not know. i have a sister and sometimes i say things and she has no idea what i am saying. for more balls and matriculation is, so many things happen in oxford that are so different. even to a russell group experience. ifound different. even to a russell group experience. i found that in the first year, especially first term, very weird in terms of adjusting to the life of oxford. the social life, just as much as i did adjusting to the pace of that, the academic work and how academically demanding it is. but i found a home, ifound people that support me, from the same background. who understand my culture. it is great we have had a chance to celebrate that within

society within oxford. thank you very much indeed forjoining us on that story from oxford university this morning. some comments people have been sending in on water. we we re have been sending in on water. we were talking about water and shortages in a couple of decades. david says, yes, we need to save water. it will save us money, but the water companies will put up the price to compensate for the loss of income. angie has said, considering it rains here in the northwest ten months of the year, maybe it should be harvested better. fracking will be harvested better. fracking will be pumping gallons of water into the ground, which is a total waste. leave us consumers ground, which is a total waste. leave us consumers to showers and come down heavily and industry. the most uplifting story this morning was the dementia story we showed you earlier. involving children and older people with dementia. coming together. kelly says, i work with people with dementia and i see the

i°y people with dementia and i see the joy on theirface people with dementia and i see the joy on their face when they have a cuddly toy or when people bring in animals or even their children. the purejoy on theirfaces animals or even their children. the pure joy on their faces is priceless and so heart—warming to see. bbc newsroom live is coming up next. thank you for your company today. have a good day. hello. good morning. we started with quite a bit of cloud and some mischievous across central and eastern parts of the uk. that is burning back towards the north sea coast and many of us will have sunshine like this which we have had since first thing this morning in cumbria. you can see the remnants of the cloud burning back towards the coastal areas and it will be a little bit chilly in these areas. elsewhere, with lots of sunshine, it feels pretty warm with temperatures into the high teens to below and

even mid—20s. later this afternoon, the risk of heavy and thundery showers in the south east of england. those become more widespread through tonight and into the early part of thursday. coastal mist and low cloud working its way back further west into thursday. that clears way back to the coast throughout the day with sunshine for northern areas. there is the risk of heavy and thundery rain across parts of england and south wales. still warm and humid day for. goodbye. this is bbc news and these are the top stories

developing at 11.00am. the home secretary is about to give his first speech since being appointed to the role at the annual conference of the police federation. marks and spencer suffers a big fall in annual profits linked to the cost of a store closure programme. we need to make sure that we are reflective of changes in society, and the way people shop. and that means it is urgent we do this to return the business to growth. an "act of pure evil". a judge sentences berlinah wallace to at least 12 years in prison for throwing acid over her former partner as he slept. also, oxford university says it must do more to attract talent from all backgrounds after figures reveal that just 2% of its new students are black.