hello, it's thursday, it's 9 o'clock, this is victoria derbyshire — welcome to the programme. theresa may is to meet senior ministers to try to resolve tensions over the government's brexit ‘backstop' plan to avoid a hard irish border. britain's man in charge of brexit — david davis — is understood to be calling for a firm end date to be included in the deal before it's published. the detail of this is being discussed at the moment. it's been through one cabinet committee, it's going to another one, and it would be improper of me to pre—empt the negotiation. we'll bring you the latest. people who need end of life care in the north of england are likely to be offered a place in a hospice or palliative care at home far later than those in the south of the country. it did upset me that the last few weeks, when she really lost communication, i couldn't speak to her about anything and i didn't know how to speak to her about it. and actually i'm sure there would have been people here who could have supported me with that six months ago. families and hospice owners say action needs to be taken now to help people access the care they need earlier. and the nightclub owner peter stringfellow has died at the age of 77. here he is on our programme last year debating feminism and brexit

with a certain cambridge professor. you're quite a pretty lady. you know... get that on camera! get it on camera. maybe it's. .. call me inconsistent! you can watch more from that film later in the programme. hello, welcome to the programme. we're live until 11 this morning. now, new research says 1.5 million people in the uk were destitute last year — that means they had to go without basics like food, heating or shelter, or had less than £10 a day to live on. thejoseph rowntree foundation says widespread reform of the welfare system is needed to tackle the problem. are you struggling to get by, day—to—day? what do you think needs to be done to help people afford the basics? 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 — theresa may will meet with senior ministers later in an attempt to resolve tensions over the government's brexit ‘backstop‘ plan. in the proposal, the uk would match eu tariffs temporarily in order to avoid a hard irish border post—brexit. number 10 had been expected to publish the plans today, but faced resistance from brexit secretary david davis. our political guru norman smith can tell us more. norman, first of all explain what this plan would be. well, this is the fallback position if the government is unable to reach a deal on ourfuture government is unable to reach a deal on our future customs arrangements, and get the technology up and running. because the fear is the technology might not be ready for double—mac, four years, so the

government has arranged a sort of temporary position, pretty much carrying on with the existing eu customs rules until we have the technology in place, but the problem is in the proposals put together by downing street there is and bait, no cut—off point, no time limit, and the of mr davis and other brexiteers is we would be stuck in a sort of perpetual limbo land, half in and half out of the eu, so they are pressing for an actual date, at which point this temporary period will come to an end and we will definitely come absolutely, leave the eu. the other concern of mr davis, he says if we have this sort of half then, half out position with no end point, it weakens his negotiating hand because there is no pressure on you to agree a trade deal because they will take the view, we could just go on and on with these temporary customs arrangementss. what we now seem to

be facing, basically, is a showdown between mrs may and your brexit secretary, david davis. is this embarrassing for mrs may to come out and make this so public, for david davis to make this a public? sorry, couldn't hear you there.|j davis to make this a public? sorry, couldn't hear you there. ijust wondered how embarrassing it was for mrs may to come out and make so public his point of view. reflects how sour relations have become, so much so there is even talk david davis could will the plank, say he is not putting up with this and quit. —— could walk the plank. a lot of his colleagues are saying to him, don't do that because you will throw the whole brexit process into disarray, and as for mrs may it would be an absolutely catastrophic blow. see what you make of body language coming out of downing

street this morning... are you about to lose your brexit secretary, prime minister? will you give into mr davis' demands? difficult to kind of read mrs may. she gives very little away. but the view of many of mr davis' colleagues, this is days before parliament is to hold a series of critical votes, and if he was to leave it with your brexit up into the air. even if he is minded to walk out the door, therefore, a lot of his brexit colleagues want to strap him into the chair and say, no, you stay. don't go. thanks for

that update, norman. let's get the rest of the day's nears. annita mcveigh is in the bbc newsroom with a summary. good morning, thank you. the supreme court will today rule whether northern ireland's strict abortion laws are a breach of human rights legislation. unlike other parts of the uk, a termination is only permitted if there's a serious or permanent risk to a woman's health. our ireland correspondent emma vardy reports. chanting: we made history! last month, people in the republic of ireland voted overwhelmingly to repeal the eighth amendment of the irish constitution. here, abortion is now expected to be legalised up to the 12th week of pregnancy but in northern ireland, the law on abortion remains one of the strictest in europe. terminations are banned, including in cases of rape, incest or fatal foetal abnormalities. northern ireland's controversial laws have been the subject of a three—year battle through the courts.

in 2015, the belfast high court ruled northern ireland's abortion laws denied human rights, however this was overturned byjudges at the belfast court of appeal, and it's now being considered by the highest court in the uk. whatever the outcome, northern ireland is currently unable to consider changes to the law because power—sharing in the stormont assembly collapsed 17 months ago. the supreme court will deliver its judgment later this morning which has the potential to increase the pressure on westminster politicians to act. emma vardy, bbc news. retailer house of fraser has announced plans to shut 31 of its 59 stores as part of a rescue deal, affecting 6,000 jobs. the stores scheduled for closure, which include its flagship london oxford street store, will stay open until early 2019. we can now speak to our business correspondent ben thompson. ben, why has it come to this, and with these closures will it mean the remaining business will be actually viable? yeah, we should be really

clear, this is not yet a done deal. in17 clear, this is not yet a done deal. in 17 days' ten creditors of the company will have to vote on whether or not they accept this proposal —— 17 days' time. this will leave the company with just 28 stores on the high street. they say they need to do that because frankly they can't afford to pay the rent they are currently paying for these huge stories on these high street up and down the country. those stores are big and no longer attracting the sort of custom that pays those bills. what they are asking for is to close some stores and maybe get a reduction on rent on others. it is interesting you talk about that 0xford about that oxford street store, its flagship, and many telling me this morning if it can't make that store work it is very difficult to see how they will make others work, but it

will leave a huge gap in many high streets if this deal gets the go—ahead. for example the store in wolverhampton has been theirfor1a0 yea rs, wolverhampton has been theirfor 140 years, which would wolverhampton has been theirfor140 years, which would leave a huge gap on its high street, something that would be repeated up and down the country. creditors will perhaps be relu cta nt to country. creditors will perhaps be reluctant to agree this deal but we have already heard from house of fraser and they say if this deal is not agreed the future of the entire company hangs in the balance. thank you very much, ben thompson. the nightclub owner peter stringfellow has died at the age of 77. known as the king of clubs, his most famous venue — stringfellows — is one of london's longest—running clubs having first opened its doors in 1980. the businessman had been suffering from cancer which he had decided to keep private. jon donnison reports. have i got the bestjob or what? peter stringfellow, the self—declared king of clubs, was a feature on the british entertainment scene for half a century. he opened his first club in his hometown of sheffield in 1962, after trying his hand as a barber, a car mechanic and a merchant seaman. when i was 21 years old, i decided, as per usual, i was chasing money, anything to get me some money extra, and i started booking a church hall called st aidan‘s in sheffield, which i renamed the black cat club.

his move into adult entertainment in the 1990s with table dancing and lap dancing sometimes brought him into conflict with the authorities. calling it... sexual encounters establishment is a derogatory term, it is kind of penalising. "we don't like what you do so we are going to give you a nasty name." he preferred to call his establishments "gentleman's clu bs," and eventually opened venues in new york, paris and beverly hills. he famously once claimed to have slept with more than 2000 women. critics accused him of objectifying women. undoubtedly, peter stringfellow built his life and business around them. the collapse of construction giant carillion will cost taxpayers around £148 million, the government spending watchdog has warned. a report from the national audit office said the cost of providing public services after the firm's liquidation will not be covered by income received as the business

is wound down — and the final figure could climb higher. carillion had around 420 uk public sector contracts when it went into administration in january with debts of £1.5 million. new figures suggest that 1.5 million people in the uk were destitute last year. the findings have been published in a report by the charity, thejoseph rowntree foundation, which funds research into social policy. the government is now being urged to reform the welfare system, to ensure that fewer people are living in destitution. ministers insist that work is the best route out of poverty. one of the world's most active volcanoes — kilauea on hawaii — is still erupting. a wall of lava has engulfed two entire seaside housing developments at the eastern tip of the big island, an area where nearly 280 homes once stood. but despite the almost constant eruptions, hawaii has seen no fatalities. that's a summary of the latest bbc

news — more at 9.30. thank you very much. 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. let's get some sport now with tim. a positive story to talk about mental health. and we've talked before on this programme about mental health in sports men and women — and we've heard some real honesty and bravery from england's danny rose, haven't we? yes, absolutely brilliant comedy has done a great thing, revealing his struggle with depression in a really open and frank interview and hopefully it can help more men and women talk about their mental health, wider societal problem, as everybody knows, but in sport the often find it difficult to talk openly. he said his illness was

triggered by a combination of illness and family tragedy. speaking to several national newspapers he described how he was getting very angry very easily, that he didn't wa nt to angry very easily, that he didn't want to go into football and didn't wa nt to want to go into football and didn't want to do his rehab, and that feeling of hopelessness is something many people can identify with. rose also described how england had been his salvation. let's have a look at some quotes from him. this is what makes what he has done even more impressive. he said this. "view", the press. —— "you", the press. keeping it to himself, as a lot of people do. he also said an eight—month knee injury sustained in january 2017 was the start of the problem. his encore also committed suicide in 2017, and in august that year his mum was racially abused,

which she was really upset about, and it obviously upset her son, too, and it obviously upset her son, too, and to top things off, somebody came to this family home in doncaster and fired a gun, which he said nearly shot his brother in the face too. with all that going on, it is no wonder his mental health suffered, chloe. absolutely, and talking about the abuse his family had to face, thatis the abuse his family had to face, that is one reason he is telling his family not to go to russia? yes, that's right. he said he was personally numb to racism but he had no faith in russian authorities to punish it, or to address it. he said it was emotional and sad telling his dad he may never get a chance to watch his son in person in the world cup, and he also said, "it shouldn't be like this, but it is." here are the thoughts of the england manager gareth southgate. .. i know danny in his quote said we cannot change the world but maybe he can have a small impact on the way we conduct ourselves. the guys, all the communities

they came from, our they came from, are fantastic role models for kids in terms of the way they are able to show what is possible and the way they interact with each other so there is a possibility to change people's thinking and have an impact. what a brilliant role model danny rose has been. and just a reminder that danny rose and england are playing theirfinal world cup warm—up match this evening in leeds against costa rica. you can hear it on radio 5live. see you after 9:30am. thanks, tim. the aim of palliative care is to help those who are dying to live as well as possible and to die with dignity. but if you're a dying patient in the north of england, you and your family are likely to receive almost three weeks less end—of—life care together than a family in the south. it's prompted one hospice owner in leeds to say that with a 25% increase in the number of people dying over the next 20—25 years, action needs to be taken now to get it right, not just for now, but for the future.

bbc look north's nicola rees has been finding out more. are you ready? you'll feel them going up a little bit. tell me when to stop. jenny bowes doesn't have long to live. lung cancer has spread to her bones. i've been sort of fighting it best i can, but there are some days when it's... yeah, you just wonder why you're still here. but at st gemma's hospice in leeds, jenny's getting expert end of life care. i didn't see the point in carrying on, but everybody has time to talk to you and make you feel wanted again, so there is a reason to keep going. palliative care isn'tjust about the final days of life. according to the latest clinical trials research, people need to be referred 3—6 months before death to have their quality of life improved. but that's not happening and for many terminally ill people, crucial end of life care comes far too late. it should be before you get to that

point where you're in that stressful situation. susanne white's mum hilary was diagnosed with stomach cancer 18 months ago, but her referral for palliative care came just a few weeks before she died. we found out when she was in hospital that she had two to three weeks to live and that was when we were told that we could access palliative care here at st gemma's and we would receive support at home. that was the first time that we'd found out. so did you feel that that referral came too late for you? yeah, absolutely. it would have been brilliant to be able to access that information so that i could have supported mum a bit more, because it did upset me that the last few weeks, when she really lost communication,

i couldn't speak to her about anything and i didn't know how to speak to her about it and actually i'm sure there would have been people here that could have supported me with that six months ago. today, a national survey of hospices was published. it found that patients in the south were only referred for palliative care 55 days before death, and the situation is worse in the north of england. here, terminally ill people were referred just 35 days before death. it could be that health care professionals in the north are more reluctant to refer until the very late stages. it may be that patients are reluctant to accept referrals, they may be more stoic. it could be that hospices aren't as well integrated, potentially, in the community as they might be, to encourage earlier access or to facilitate that. good to see you, i'm mike stockton, one of the doctors. the hospices themselves have limited control over when they see patients, but all agree sooner would be better.

people are being referred into palliative care a little too late to gain maximum benefit from what palliative care can offer. i think even if we were to be able to identify people maybe a month or two earlier, then the benefits to people — pain control, symptom management, doing what's important for that person — are all going to be strengthened and made much more consistent. we were told 2—3 weeks and actually it was longer than that, and i'm sure, i'm positive it was being here, that extended that life for her. because she was pain—free, relatively pain—free and they managed her symptoms every day, which would have been very difficult at home, very difficult. in a statement, the government said... but with more older people living for longer than ever before,

today's report shows there's still a way to go to ensure all of us live well before we die. we need to find ways of identifying people earlier, having that initial difficult conversation about the fact that treatments are beginning to fail, are not effective and we're looking at a different future. we need to have ways, then, of people being referred more effectively and earlier, and through that, patients will be able to receive that holistic package of palliative care provision. how much of a difference did it make once you were in here? yeah, complete, immediate relief that we had all this support here and everybody was, everybody was amazing. they really were. and still are, you know, even having come back today, they're still amazing and like coming back to old friends.

it's just been, yeah, a total different experience to anywhere else that i've ever been. it's incredible. what we know is over the next 20—25 years, there will be a 25% increase in the actual number of people dying. we need to start to get this right now, notjust for now but for the future. let's talk now to dr sarah russell, who is a palliative care nurse and carried out this research for hospice uk. lesley goodburn lost her husband seth to pancreatic cancer. she wishes palliative care staff had informed them better about their choices at the end of his life. india haresignjoins us from london. both her mum and grandad had palliative care in a hospice in leeds and she said the experience helped immensely. thank you forjoining us. leslie, if

ican thank you forjoining us. leslie, if i can start with you, tell me a bit about the support that you and your husband received after his diagnosis. seth was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and we literally got thrust into a world of palliative and end of life care overnight. 0ne palliative and end of life care overnight. one day, he was at work, the next day, he was dying. he was admitted to hospital initially. we talked about where seth wanted to die. he wanted to die at home. he was discharged to home but it took 14 days before we had the first conversation with the palliative ca re conversation with the palliative care health professional about what seth wanted at end of life. we did not know at the time that seth's diagnosis would mean he would die 33 days after his initial diagnosis. in hindsight, partway, halfway through our journey was the first

conversation we had about palliative care. subsequently, the disease was rampant, seth got very poorly, very quickly. the day after the first conversation about what seth wanted in terms of palliative care, he was admitted to hospital and u nfortu nately, admitted to hospital and unfortunately, the disease progressed so rapidly that seth was never discharged from hospital and he died in the acute hospital, two days before his death, we had a conversation about what seth actually wanted because things change as people's diseases progress. he decided he wanted to go to the hospice but unfortunately because there was no bed available, seth died at 9:45am on the saturday when he was due to be transferred to the local hospice at 10am. do you feel let down by the palliative care system because it was not there at the time when you clearly were both

in shock and desperately needing it? i thinkjust... the system is so big and so complex and so many people are involved in people's care, the ca re are involved in people's care, the care that we got medically was fantastic care but ijust don't think people were listening and responding to what seth and i both wa nted responding to what seth and i both wanted to achieve and the complexity of the system, the fact the disease progressed so quickly meant that the system was not responsive enough to be able to help seth and i achieve what we wanted at end of life and thatis what we wanted at end of life and that is about, you know, thinking about people who are diagnosed with about people who are diagnosed with a disease at late stage with a short prognosis that actually, the system needs to be different for those people. but also, the system needs to have the conversations with people much earlier, and asked as the public have a duty to have conversations with family, friends

and loved ones about if we are diagnosed with a disease that will result in our death, what do we want, what do we want to achieve so that we can have, not difficult conversations with palliative care health care professionals but courageous ones are ones that actually outline what people want to achieve as they come towards the end of life. dr russell, how common is that really sad story from lesley about the support she received? first of all, lesley, thank you for sharing your story and i think that while lesley was talking, i was thinking that it shows how important it is for us to look at how people can be referred earlier to hospice and palliative care. there's a lot of variations in when people are referred to hospice and palliative care. but i think that we know from this study which has been done by the university of leeds that if we understand how and when people are referred to hospice and palliative

ca re referred to hospice and palliative care and we know there are benefits for that, lots of research studies have told us that it improves quality of life and i think lesley's story illustrates that, it improves the sense of control. if we can understand how and when people are referred to us, we can then understand why people are not being referred to hospice and palliative ca re referred to hospice and palliative care earlier and if we understand that, we can make sure we get the right care for people. india, both your mother and grandfather had a com pletely your mother and grandfather had a completely different experience to the one lesley has outlined. yes, my mum was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and they told her she would have six months to live. we were straightaway given a palliative care nurse that came to the house, and basically, my mum could not get her medication right. she was in co nsta nt medication right. she was in constant pain. there were no happy moments and the palliative care nurse said that is not how it should be and they were there to make sure that she had happy moments in her last few months. the palliative care nurse came every week to try to sort

her medication out. she was really amazing. she was so friendly, was on call any time we needed to speak to her. they just could call any time we needed to speak to her. theyjust could not sort out the pain medication so she went into a hospice for symptom management. u nfortu nately, we a hospice for symptom management. unfortunately, we did sort the pain management out but it was too late and the disease had just completely taken over and she died in the hospice six weeks later. but it was amazing because you know, the hospice, you stay there for the last couple of days of your life, it is not a place you go in for long—term care. but because she said she wa nted care. but because she said she wanted to die in the hospice and not at home, they were willing to keep her there so she could die there and did not have to come home. it was amazing and i think we got all the ca re we amazing and i think we got all the care we could possibly get. india, how much easier was it for the family to deal with... it is a traumatic time, a time of grief but

knowing that your mum and your grandad were happy during their care, what difference did that make to you? it makes a massive difference because my mum had said straightaway she did not want to die at home, she didn't want the house to become the place where she had died and he did not want my dad to go through that. straightaway, we knew she wanted to be in a hospice. also, people forget how difficult it is. my dad had a job. people forget how difficult it is to care for someone constantly. if you are retirement you have to gather that person, it is really difficult, —— if you are at home and you have do ca re if you are at home and you have do care for that person. we are not doctors and nurses, we are co nsta ntly doctors and nurses, we are constantly panicking we would do something wrong, we didn't dare leave her alone and then when she was in the hospice it was amazing because she was pain free, she was happy, she had people to talk to, we could spend the whole day with her and the night but it was more like we got to spend time with her and talk, and got to have the last quality moments we could as opposed

to her being in pain at home and asked not knowing what we were doing. it was a massive difference. i could not have asked for a better way for it to have been. it was amazing. for you, lesley, i know in the last couple of days you had a conversation with seth, your husband, and he realised that although he had said he wanted to die at home it was actually about being with you and if you had known that he could have gone to the hospice and you could have been there, too, it would have been a different choice. yes, i think seth realised that i could be with him co nsta ntly realised that i could be with him constantly in the hospice. i knew that but it wasn't until a couple of days before he died when we started to have more detailed conversations because the disease was progressing so quickly. seth had not realise that i could be with him all the time and maybe if we had realised that earlier, he might have made the choice to go to the hospice earlier

if the place had been available. i think it is something about that understanding and for health care professionals not to presume that people understand all the details they take are granted every day. that people who are dying have difficulty understanding things because actually, they are dying. do you think that is a fair krizsan of the current system, that sometimes the current system, that sometimes the messages are not getting through. —— a fair criticism of the current system. that going into a hospice can be a positive experience? india and lesley say it all about the importance of why hospice care early as useful and important people, and while they we re important people, and while they were talking i was reflecting on the study which looked at people who died in 2015, over42,000 study which looked at people who died in 2015, over 42,000 deaths for people who had been referred to the hospice. while they were talking, i was reflecting on hospices, they are notjust was reflecting on hospices, they are not just about the last days of life or where you are going to die, there

are other parts of the service that can help people certainly examples of what they do in the community and also what they do with outpatients but i think if we refer people, if people are seen earlier, then we can see what we can do to help that person, what are the significant or courageous person, what are the significant or courageous conversations that can help? what are the practical things? india mentioned about caring, so what can we do to help carers, people, family members looking after people, family members looking after people at home or visiting people in hospital, what can we do to help them during this time? i think that what is so important about this study is that it shows we need to look at how we improve awareness and understanding of what hospice care has two offer, wherever somebody maybe when they die. thank you for joining us. still to come... we'll be looking into the case of a ten—year—old girl who was one of the tens of thousands of children working in pakistan as child maids. and we'll be remembering 50 years since female machinists

at ford dagenham went on strike to get their work recognised. time for the latest news — here's annita mcveigh the bbc news time for the latest news — here's annita. the bbc news headlines this morning... theresa may will meet with senior ministers later in an attempt to resolve tensions over the government's brexit ‘backstop' plan. in the proposal, the uk would match eu tariffs temporarily in order to avoid a hard irish border post—brexit. number 10 had been expected to publish the plans today, but faced resistance from the brexit secretary david davis. the supreme court will today rule whether northern ireland's strict abortion laws are a breach of human rights legislation. unlike other parts of the uk, a termination is only permitted if there's a serious or permanent risk to a woman's health. the ruling follows last month's referendum in the republic of ireland in which voters decided to repeal the country's near total ban on abortions. retailer house of fraser has announced plans to shut 31 of its 59 stores as part of a rescue

deal, affecting 6,000 jobs. if the plan is approved, 2,000 house of fraserjobs will go, along with 4,000 brand and concession roles.the stores and concession roles. the stores scheduled for closure, which include its flagship london oxford street store, will stay open until early 2019. the british businessman and nightclub owner peter stringfellow has died at the age of 77. the yorkshireman, who is best known for establishing the world famous gentlemen's club in london, was suffering from cancer. a 39—year—old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder after a 100—year—old woman died following a robbery. zofija kaczan sustained injuries, including a broken neck, when her handbag was stolen in a street in derby last week. the man had initially been arrested on suspicion of robbery before. mrs kaczan died yesterday morning. that's a summary of the latest bbc news. thanks very much.

here's some sport now with tim. and as we heard a little earlier in the hour, in a really open and honest interview with the press, england defender danny rose has revealed his battle with depression, triggered by a long—term injury and the death of his uncle. he also said playing for england had been his salvation, and he's expected to start when they take on costa rica this evening in theirfinal world cup warm—up match before travelling to russia. rafa nadal will resume his bid for a record 11th french open title this morning. he was a set down to diego schwartzman in their quarterfinal when rain interrupted but he'll be serving for the second set when they continue at 11am. and expect more sledging from australia's cricketers in their one—day series in england this summer. their coach says the verbals are all part of the fun of the game and that there's a difference between "ba nter" and abuse. more on that and everything else just after ten o'clock. thank you very much, tim.

tens of thousands of young girls and boys work in pakistan as child maids — helping cook, clean and babysit for richerfamilies. the case of one ten—year—old — employed by a judge and his wife — caused fury in the country when pictures of her looking bruised and battered were uploaded onto social media. but her family, who sent her off to work, instead of calling for her employers to be prosecuted, tried to have the case dropped. secunder kermani has been investigating for an our world documentary. ten—year—old tayyaba is learning to be a child again. she is... very fair. she used to work hundreds of miles away from her family in the home of a judge and his wife in the capital, islamabad. television. very good. these pictures of her, taken in late 2016, after she was allegedly beaten by her employers caused outrage on social media. tayyaba is currently being looked

after at a children's home run by a charity. sitting with her best friend and her carers, she agreed to talk to us. the couple employing denied mistreating tayyaba but she told me she was beaten by the wife just for losing a broom. the children here are divided into houses, each with a specific carer or "mother" to look after them. azmat has been tayyaba helping recover from her ordeal. translation:

tayyaba grew up in a small village about 200 miles south of islamabad. i went to meet her father, to find out why the ten—year—old had to leave home to go work for a judge and his wife. children aren't legally allowed to work in most businesses in pakistan, but despite calls from campaigners, in the vast majority of the country there's no ban on them working inside homes. there are thought to be over 250,000 children working as domestic servants. many suffer abuse, but few employers are ever punished. most criminal cases in pakistan aren't filed

by the state but by the victims or theirfamilies. that means that they have the right to drop the charges and to reach a settlement. all they have to do is tell the court that they forgive a suspect in the name of god. usually, the real reason, though, is that they're being paid off. in the case of 10—year old tayyaba, the accused did end up on trial. maheen zafar was accused of assault, and her husband, judge raja khurram ali, was accused of cruelty to a child. before the trial, tayyaba had told the police and a government official that she had been beaten. when she came to give evidence, she initially confidently repeated the claims, but under cross—examination, tayyaba contradicted herself and withdrew them. the court apparently noticed a change in her behaviour. in the notes here, it says that whatever the defence

lawyers were asking her, she responded with a simple, "yes, sir". tayya ba's father azam, with the help of his lawyer, had tried to drop the charges, but in this instance, the court refused to allow them to do so. as long as there are poor families in poor villages, there are likely to be child maids. these employment agents are visiting a village around four hours south of islamabad to meet potential new recruits. this family say they want to send their ten—year—old daughter

to work in islamabad. a few weeks later, i get a call from a tayyaba's father azam. he says he wants to tell me the truth — that tayyaba was beaten. but he claims his lawyer was paid for by the suspects and convinced him to try and drop the case. it's hard to tell what really happened, but his account

was corroborated by a second source involved in the negotiations. his former lawyer says the claims are completely untrue and that tayyaba's father testified in court that he wasn't under any pressure. the lawyer representing raja khurram ali and his wife maheen zafar said the claims were malicious and false. they were convicted of neglecting an injured child and each was sentenced to one year in jail. they were acquitted of all other charges, including assaulting tayya ba. they remain free whilst they appeal the verdict. for tayyaba at least, though, there's the chance of a happy ending. when she grows up, she wants to be a teacher, because, she says, children should be in school and not working. you can watch the full documentary

on pakistan's child maids this weekend on the bbc news channel or on bbc iplayer. lots of you are getting in touch about the story we had at quarter past nine about palliative care, and the difference in care you get in the difference in care you get in the south, far more, three weeks more, and average. pat got in touch via e—mail. "my husband had a rare blood cancer and after many treatments was told blindly in hospital there was no point continuing with the more as it wasn't working." "we were referred toa wasn't working." "we were referred to a local charity that offered pain relief but told nothing about expected outcomes. he was readmitted as emergency to a local hospital who then referred us to the palliative ca re then referred us to the palliative care team, but we were never offered hospice care, and within three days my husband was in a coma and we were

never able to talk to him again. he died four days later at home. a very harrowing time. we had a nightmare trying to administer —— we had a night nurse to administer drugs but no one to palliative care would be that maybe her opportunity to get life—saving treatment and surgery might have been missed. another person in touch, why are our hospices seemingly so reliant on charitable donations? shouldn't they be properly finance as an essential pa rt be properly finance as an essential part of the nhs. thanks for those comments, and of course you don't have to give your name if you don't wa nt have to give your name if you don't want to. you can use the hot hashtag —— you can use the hashtag,

victoriaalive. coming up... nightclub owner peter stringfellow has died at the age of 77. we will have a look at when he appeared on this programme. we're going over now to the supreme court where we are expecting the ruling about whether northern ireland's strict abortion laws are a breach of human rights legislation. we can listen in. on the preliminary issue, a majority of the court four members, are agreed that the commission does not have the standing to bring these proceedings. it follows that the court has no jurisdiction to make a declaration that the law is incompatible, even though a majority of the court are clear that it is. thus on the ec was substance, a majority of the court, four members including myself, our

of the firm and clear opinion that the law is incompatible with articulate in cases of rape, incest and fatal but not serious foetal abnormality, lady black agrees in the case of fatal foetal abnormality. lord kerr and lord wilson are also of the view that the law is incompatible with article three. i shall ask lord mance to explain the court's reason on the issue of standing, and lord kerr to explain the court's reason on the incompatibility issues. lord mance. in these proceedings, as lady hale has explained, the department of justice and attorney general raised an initial objection to the northern ireland law commission's challenge to the compatibility of northern ireland law with the convention of rights, namely that it is outside the commission's competence in the sense power to institute abstract proceedings of this nature. the releva nt proceedings of this nature. the relevant northern ireland law is found in sections 58 and 59 of the offe nces found in sections 58 and 59 of the offences against the person act

1861, an act of the uk parliament, and section 25.1 of the criminal justice act northern ireland act, 1945, and acted by the northern ireland legislature, which acts relies abortion save when undertaken in good faith to preserve the life of the mother, a phrase which was hailed in king against born in 1939 to extend to prevent the mother from becoming a physical or mental wreck but no further. the courts below considered that the commission —— commission had competence. the supreme court conclusion, as lady hale as expense, by a majority... that is the ruling from the supreme court, just to be clear, human rights campaigners have lost a supreme court ruling over the legality of northern ireland's strict abortion law. what was interesting was, the judgment was the majority of the judges there do believe that the law should be changed. however, they also ruled that they don't have jurisdiction to change the law. an interesting

judgment coming from the supreme court. we will talk about this later in the programme to get analysis of what that means and of course, what happens now for people who have been campaigning for the change in the law. it's 50 years since the female machinists at ford dagenham went on strike to get their work recognised as skilled and equal to that of the men they worked with. the strike was one of the triggers for the 1970 equal pay act, which made it illegal to pay men and women differently for the samejob. it was also the inspiration for the 2010 film made in dagenham. women working at ford's plant in halewood, near liverpool, downed tools in solidarity with their southern colleagues, and their role is also being recognised today. some of those women are currently travelling down to dagenham for the anniversary event. we can speak to frances kerwin and marie taylor — former workers who went on strike. and also drjana javornik, director of the centre for equality

and diversity at the university of east london, is here. frances and marie, i want to start with you if i can. 50 years ago, when you went on strike, for you, what was it that said enough is enough? we didn't really know, it is just what you go through when you are working,... you just all cling together and stay with each other. you thought it was important to show solidarity with your colleagues in dagenham? oh, yes, we joined willingly. we just... just stuck it out and waited until the end of the whatever was going on because at first, we did not really realise

what was going on until we got right into, you know, the thick of it and eve ryo ne into, you know, the thick of it and everyone was saying it was about equal pay and skilled work and everything else we were supposed to be fighting for. when i was on strike and coming back, we thought we would stay and see it through. strike and coming back, we thought we would stay and see it throughm was a learning curve all of you and frances, i'm interested to know if you got the sense of important that moment was with regards to equal rights for women. it was the beginning of such a long journey. good morning, lovely to speak to you. we love the programme. thank you! and i lit a candle for you when you! and i lit a candle for you when you are really unwell. yes, when we we re you are really unwell. yes, when we were on strike, it was confusing, as marie said because the girls came up from dagenham and it was quite

confusing really because we went out toa confusing really because we went out to a meeting outside the gates and it was about equal pay because we didn't even realise how downtrodden we were! we found out it was 70, 80% less than the men's wages at that particular day. when we went out on strike, and it was daunting, really daunting, i went home and said to my husband, "i'm on strike for equal pay", and he said, "you'd better get back to work because you won't get it!“ back to work because you won't get it!" he was wrong because in the end you accepted and 92% pay deal. yes, he had to bite his tongue then. really, originally, we were afraid, we didn't know what we were doing, we didn't know what we were doing, we went out on strike and the banks to —— the yanks, the company, i said to —— the yanks, the company, i said to myself, the act came in at the end of the ward to help us. we said

who is going to come in and back us? i want to bring in my studio guest now because it is difficult to really quantify the significance of what these ladies did and it was incredibly brave, as they said, women didn't go on strike back then. they made history and that was such a crucial first step for all of the women in this country. 0nly a crucial first step for all of the women in this country. only two yea rs women in this country. only two years after this historic event, the new legislation was put in place and i think that was also thanks to barbara castle at the time he was working closely with the strikers. i think it made a huge difference to eve ryo ne think it made a huge difference to everyone in this country. and i'm not sure women were aware of it, but with made in dagenham, women got the glory and the rest of the world forgets about the women in liverpool but if you speak to women in

dagenham, they will tell you, no, it was a joint effort and everybody mattered at that time. frances as you look today, 50 years on from the moment he walked out on strike and said he wanted equal pay for equal work, do you feel disappointed with where we are now in 2080 or do you think enough progress has been made? -- in 2018. i think enough progress has been made? —— in 2018. i don't think so, all those years ago and ladies are still struggling now, in the different workplace environments, i don't think it has all but very much. 0k, two years after we went on strike, but nothing happened. nothing went ahead, really disappointed, really, really disappointed. 50 years on, and we are still, i think, in the same position. marie, did you think we would be further down the track towards men and women being paid the same amount for the same job? it sounds so simple yet we are such a

long way from it. yeah, we've still got to keep on fighting. we still got to keep on fighting. we still got to keep on fighting. we still got to keep on trying to get our equal, you know, keep the work equal with men because we are doing the work. we are doing everything else so we might as well get the money. work. we are doing everything else so we might as well get the moneylj don't so we might as well get the money.” don't think anyone would disagree with that! and frances, your children, i don't know if you have daughters and granddaughters but they must be incredible you proud of what you did. i told them they were like, "what did you do all those years ago? you made history". and then when! years ago? you made history". and then when i told them we went on terry wogan, marie and myself, many years later, they said they didn't believe me! you have to get the vhs out and then they will have to see it and believe you. when we look at how far we have come or not in some cases with equal pay, what do you think companies can learn from the

way forward dealt with the women and their strike back them? that is a very good question and a lesson for all employers to listen to their employees but now there is legislation in place which sets the rules of the game. not paying your employees equally for the same role is now unlawful but that doesn't mean the gender pay gap does not exist and the gender pay gap measures something else than pay equity and pay equality. basically, this is like when people come together in solidarity and put their foot down, they will win. i think this is something, a lesson learned for the new generation, i think. and we also see from research that trade union membership is very important and where there is a trade union presence or people are members of trade unions, the pay gap is lower. frances what are you doing today, you are heading down to dagenham and

what are you doing? we are meeting our colleagues down there, the ladies. i would like to say, we didn't realise we were making history at that particular time. and now we are going down to meet our colleagues, which, it is very sad, really, because a lot of the colleagues from halewood passed away, because 50 years is an awfully long time. have a wonderful day a nyway long time. have a wonderful day anyway and thank you so much for speaking to us. thank you very much. it's a pleasure. let's get the latest weather update — with sarah keith lucas. for many of us, it is looking fine out there. some glorious early summer sunshine to be enjoyed but not everywhere, as is usually the case, a few flies in the ointment as well. this was the scene taken by one of our weather watchers in wales, blue skies and sunshine, more cloud towards southern and eastern parts of the country but spells sunshine today and also the chance of catching a shower, particularly

across the far south of england and also later in the day towards the north—west. this is the recent satellite image showing the cloud and the radar with the showers. a few fairly sharp showers across the south coast, anywhere from essex towards devon, we're likely to see some of those sharp showers today and we could catch the odd rumble of thunder as well. further north, most places looking dry and fairly sunny and later in the day, one or two isolated showers for western scotla nd isolated showers for western scotland and northern ireland. in the sunshine, 20—22, will feel pretty pleasant but on the east coast, we are drawing the breeze from the north sea so more cloud. this evening and overnight, the cloud becomes a bit more expensive across the country, drifting from east to west, still a few showers to the midlands and parts of wales but it is set to be a mild night and the cloud and temperatures staying in double figures. tomorrow, fairly similarto double figures. tomorrow, fairly similar to today, perhaps a bit more cloud. fewer heavy showers around southern parts of england but you could catch one or two for wales and

the south—west of england and also western scotland. temperatures about 19-21 western scotland. temperatures about 19—21 where western scotland. temperatures about 19—21where you see the sunshine and a lwa ys 19—21where you see the sunshine and always a bit cooler again around the east coast. through the weekend, still spells of warm sunshine and the threat of a few sharp showers and the odd rumble of thunder, particularly by the time we get to sunday. saturday drive for much of the country, still a few sharp showers for parts of wales and south—west england but also for northern ireland and western scotland, fairly perky showers, further east looking dry but somewhat cloudy at times, cool around the east coast but in sunny spells, temperatures getting to the low 20s. into the second half of the weekend, an area of low pressure that has been sitting across france for some time. it will drift further north so into sunday, more of a threat of catching some sharp showers and thunderstorms, particularly later in the day, drifting in from the south. still the threat of heavy showers in the far north—west. elsewhere, are largely dry story. if you can avoid

the showers, feeling reasonably warm, 23 degrees with light winds. you can find a full 14 day forecast for your region on the bbc website. hello it's thursday, it's 10 o'clock, i'm chloe tilley. thanks for being with us. new research suggest that 1.5 million people in the uk were destitute last year — meaning they have to go without basics like food, heating or shelter. we'll hear from three people who are struggling to get by, day—to—day. we'll look back on the life of nightclub owner peter stringfellow, who's died at the age of 77. last year he appeared on our show to debate feminism and brexit with classicist mary beard. you're quite a pretty lady. you know... get that on camera! get it on camera. maybe it's. .. call me inconsistent! you can hear more of that interview in the next ten minutes. and presidential clemency for a grandmother who was jailed

for life on drugs charges — but is now being freed after kim kardashian's personal appeal to the white house. and we'll be finding out why a dead snake can still be potentially deadly. it's after a man needed 26 doses of anti—venom, when he was bitten by a rattlesnake he'd already killed. good morning, it's 10.02. here's annita mcveigh in the bbc newsroom with a summary of today's news. good morning. theresa may will meet with senior ministers later in an attempt to resolve tensions over the government's brexit

‘backstop' plan. in the proposal, the uk would match eu tariffs temporarily in order to avoid a hard irish border post—brexit. number 10 had been expected to publish the plans today, but faced resistance from brexit secretary david davis. 0ur assistant political editor norman smith is at downing street. norman, or act downing street, not quite in it, as we can see. how much ofa quite in it, as we can see. how much of a showdown is this going to be —— or at downing street. a critical moment for theresa may because if david davies decided he cannot put up david davies decided he cannot put up with this and that he is leaving it would be a shattering blow and an absolutely critical moment in the whole brexit negotiations, because we are moving on to trade and the eu summit at the end of this month and then we have those critical votes in then we have those critical votes in the commons this week, and were he to say he was quitting it would draw

the whole brexit process into disarray, which is why brexit mps are urging mr davis not to go, but his concern is that the so—called backstop agreement floated has no end debate and the fear of brexiteers is that it could just go on and on and britain would rein —— remained ina on and on and britain would rein —— remained in a perpetual limbo land, half in and half out of the eu. so theresa may really needs to keep david davis on board but she will have to come up with some sort of compromise package. for now, norman, thank you very much. human rights have lost a supreme court appeal over the legality of northern ireland's strict abortion law. however a majority of the seven justices at the hearing stated that the current legislation is "incompatible" with european human rights laws in the cases of fatal foetal abnormality, rape and incest. the ruling was announced in the last half an hour. 0n the preliminary issue, a majority of the court — lord mance, lord

reed, lady black and lord lloyd—jones — are agreed that the commission does not have the standing to bring these proceedings. it follows that the court has no jurisdiction to make a declaration that the law is incompatible, even though the majority of the court are clear that it is. retailer house of fraser has announced plans to shut 31 of its 59 stores as part of a rescue deal, affecting 6,000 jobs. if the plan is approved, 2,000 house of fraserjobs will go, along with 4,000 brand and concession roles. the stores scheduled for closure, which include its flagship london oxford street store, will stay open until early 2019. the british businessman and nightclub owner peter stringfellow has died at the age of 77. the yorkshireman, who is best known for establishing the world famous gentlemen's club in london, was suffering from cancer. a 39—year—old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder after a 100—year—old woman died following a robbery.

zofija kaczan sustained injuries — including a broken neck — when her handbag was stolen in a street in derby last week. the man had initially been arrested on suspicion of robbery before mrs kaczan died yesterday morning. that's a summary of the latest bbc news — more at 10.30. do get in touch with us throughout the morning — use the hashtag victoria live and if you text, you will be charged at the standard network rate. here's some sport now with tim. good morning. england defender danny rose has admitted he'd been suffering with depression during what he called a "testing time at tottenham" last season. the left back believes it was triggered by a knee injury that kept him out for eight months,

and the death of his uncle during his rehabi. he said he hadn't even told anybody. rose said, "you are the only people who know about a lot of this stuff." talking to the press, obviously. "i haven't told my mum or my dad, and they are probably doing to be really angry reading this but i've kept it to myself until now." asa as a lot of people do, of course. rose also said that playing for england had been his salvation — although he's told his family not to travel to the world cup in russia, where racism is still a major problem. england take on costa rica tonight, in their final warm—up game. i know danny in his quote has said, we can't change the world, but maybe

he can have a small impact on the way we conduct ourselves. the guys, all the communities they came from, are fantastic role models for kids in terms of the way they are able to show what is possible and the way they interact with each other so there is a possibility to change people's thinking and have an impact. in england's world cup group are belgium, who beat egypt in a friendly last night. manchester united's maurane felliani scored the final goal. england face belgium in their last group match on the 28th ofjune. defending champion rafa nadal has some work to do, in his bid for a record 11th french open title. he was a set down in his quarter—final against diego schwartzman yesterday, when play was abandoned because of rain — although he was fighting back and he'll be serving for the second set when they resume at 11 o'clock. maria sharapova is out, though — wimbledon champion garbine mugurutha dropping only three games in their quarter—final. she'll play world number one simona halep in the semis. after all the problems in australian cricket — not least the ball—tampering scandal — are they coming to england this summer to play nice? not in the slightest...

head coach justin langer says they won't be cutting back on the sledging — that's the verbaljibes they aim at opposing players, although he doesn't want it to go too far. call it banter or sledging or whatever you want. everyone talks about this word sledging, but there is difference between banter and abuse. and abuse is no good, no matter if you are four on the field. —— and abuse is no good, no matter if you are on or off the field. there is no room for abuse anywhere but there is room for banter, or what we call sledging. it's a fun part the game and it's actually part of the game. that's all the sport for now. i will see you after half—past, chloe. thanks, tim. the legendary nightclub owner peter stringfellow has died at the age of 77. the so—called king of clubs opened venues around the world — known for their topless girls and after—hours entertainment.

he was a hugely successful businessman even though his behaviour, often described as outrageous and sexist, sparked criticism from many. however, this time last year, we did a series called election blind dates, where we brought two people with very different views together for a dinner date. one of them was with peter stringfellow and tv historian mary beard. both of them claimed to be feminists, but who won the argument? this is how they got on. i am a feminist. right. i am a feminist. i don't necessarily agree with front line troops being female, but they want to be. therefore, the feminist of me says, they must do what they wish to do, because i interpret feminism as saying quite simply, women can do what they want to do and not be told not to by a man. that's simplistically. .. so if they want to take their clothes off. they can. they can do anything. it's not a matter of just being beautiful. you've got to be smart. and what they do is they then target them within the scope of the law. have any of them gone on from this wonderful career start to make money at your level?

no, of course they don't, but they make money and then they go to their own businesses. these people are young entrepreneurs themselves, and they are going forward. they come from all around europe. this is one of the reasons of course that i am a remainer. of course. so you can get girls! i like the idea of... peter, this is wonderful! can ijust slightly parody you and say, "i'm a remainer because i want all those nice eastern european girls to come and take their clothes off in my club". no, i would like all those european people to come and earn money in my club. the english are more than welcome to. i've no reason to think that you're anything other than sincere. what i would challenge is your kind of, well, what i would say is a simplistic notion that feminism is about what women want to do, because the whole point, it seems to me, about women's choices is that they are deeply determined by a whole range of sexist structures. mary, what you're saying to me is...

they haven't got a free choice. you're saying that women can do what they want to do provided you agree with it. no, i'm not. that's what you are saying to me. you're quite a pretty lady. you know... get that on camera! get it on camera! maybe... call me inconsistent! maybe you're not photogenic but, yeah, you've got a great smile, you've got lovely, sparkly eyes. i am what i am. i've had... you know, i've had quite a lot of major run—ins with people who were really saying to me, "look, darling, you're grey—haired, why don't you diet? "can't you do something about your teeth? "please make yourself look prettier for us if you are going to invade our living rooms". it's another world to me, mary. i don't know that world. i don't know the world of people who would say that to you.

i don't know those kind of people. but don't you think in a way you underpin it? it is a very different world for a man with grey hair than for a woman with grey hair. what are you saying, mary? you look kind of gloriously distinguished. right, hit me with it. slightly hunky. i'm good—looking, aren't i? come on! of course, everybody is in a way. if you're a woman with grey hair, you are constantly told that you should do something about yourself. now, you might say that has nothing to do with your business, but i would say that you have to look to what underpins and justifies that particular way ofjudging women, and one of the things that underpins it is your... yourgirls in yourclubs. i enjoyed it. oh, good! trust me, so did i. i mean, really. i thought, you know, i didn't convince you on anything.

not really, no. and i think within the uk, you do have the opportunity to aspire and go forward. well, that's where i think... that, i think, is where on reflection, our fundamental disagreement comes. ok, then i have to say this. i am the living proof that you're wrong. i left school at 15, from the back streets of sheffield. you couldn't get any more working—class than me, and i've done it. if i can do it, anyone can. yes, you are the living proof that you could do it. you're not the living proof that anyone else can. no, i'm not saying that. if you have ambition in the uk, you can go places, we'll have dinner in my club. and then we can have lunch. and then after, we can keep on being friends. have i got to go for the door? absolutely, no, no, that is how it is with me. my mother would turn in her grave! i'm from that era, mary. i forgot how good that was!

there have been many tributes to peter stringfellow, including from tony blackburn, who tweeted that peter stringfellow was a "terrific guy who lived life to the full," who was "a wonderful person to be with". comedy actress su pollard, who knew stringfellow and had worked with him said "he was a fantastic role model for other entrepreneurs." let's speak to our correspondent simonjones who's outside stringfellows in soho. simon, no way to get away from it. peter stringfellow was a colourful, controversial man. an absolutely colourful and controversial figure, as we heard in that report you just played. he very much enjoyed his time in the limelight, and this was his pride and joy. the club here in covent garden, which she described really as his life and soul. he in fa ct really as his life and soul. he in fact met his third wife bella here in the club and had the naming ceremony for his two children take place here at the club, because he said he was offered

westminster cathedral but he felt that would be hypocritical, and that religion didn't sit well with him. he decided to hold the event here, typical you might say of the type of man he was and how he very much like to do things in the public and the limelight. he described this club, which opened in 1980, as the premier gentleman's club in the world. he said if you came here, you would be promised attractive women, you would get luxury, opulence, but you would also get discretion. he started in the world of clubs back in the 60s and he really made his name looking at the time not very well—known bands who went on to become very big, for example in his first years he said a couple of women told them he said a couple of women told them he should book a band called the beatles. he had never heard of them, they had a song out cold love me do, he contacted their manager, negotiated a fee which at the time

of the eye—watering unbowed, £80, for them to come and play in this club. he got the public spirit. and he was a successful businessman. whatever you thought about the nature of his business, it went worldwide? he had clubs all over the world, not a lwa ys he had clubs all over the world, not always a success, some of them are broad left him in a large amount of debt because it did not work out but ultimately clubs like this one made his name. but they also made him a controversial figure because he was accused of objective eyeing women, of using women, as we have heard in the pc you played, his response was, rather strangely, he was a feminist because women should be able to do what they want and he would not dictate what women should be able to do, even if it was taking their tops off, that was their choice. many people saw it rather differently than that. we know ye died in the early hours of the morning. he had only told his family and close friends about his cancer. for a

public figure, he wanted the final moments to be private. he was diagnosed with lung cancer ten years ago and once again, he kept it private for six years until the news lea ked private for six years until the news leaked out and then he told people about it but really, for the man who spent so much time schmoozing with celebrities, enjoying his time in front of the camera, he has passed away surrounded by family but very much away from the limelight. simon jones outside stringfellow‘s in soho. thank you forjoining us. still to come, as the supreme court rules on northern ireland's strict abortion laws, we speak to a woman forced to travel to england to have a termination. food, clothing, heating and basic toiletries — bare essentials that we all need. but according to new research, 1.5 million people, including more than 360,000 children, faced destitution at some point in the last year. the findings have been revealed by the charity thejoseph rowntree foundation, which funds research into social policy. the government is now being urged

to reform the welfare system, to ensure that fewer people are living in destitution. ministers insist that work is the best route out of poverty. well, we can speak now to three people who have experience of destitution. from leeds, we have brendan faulkner. gaz thompson now works for the debt charity christian aid. from barnard castle, we have louise barrow. thank you forjoining us. brendan, i wa nt to thank you forjoining us. brendan, i want to start with you because you can tell us a bit about your life right now and how tough it is. are you able to have the basics every day, food and shelter and clothes and heating? well, i'll start by saying that about two weeks ago, quite possibly the most humiliating time of my life, i asked for food. i

had nothing in. i'd run out of money. it really was a question of heating or eating. i'm pretty much on my knees. it is quite degrading. eventually, i got hold of a key workerfor an eventually, i got hold of a key worker for an organisation who helps disabled people, who is my key worker, and we managed to get together enough money for a food parcel because in my area, it is really ha rd to parcel because in my area, it is really hard to find people who do food banks. so yeah, there wasjust no choice. i had to contact her. i had absolutely nothing. all my money had absolutely nothing. all my money had gone to the electric and obviously, i got my seven—year—old son to feed and clothe also. it is just getting really tough out there. people coming work—shy. i can't work

yet, i'm waiting for two operations, you know. —— call me work—shy. i'm wondering where the hell is for disabled people that the government keeps saying we have helped for the people who need it but for disabled people, at this moment, no, i can't see it, not unless it is for palliative care may be something. nothing is coming our way. stay with us because i want you to speak to louise and also to gaz. louise, i know you have had pretty tough times as well, at one point you were sleeping in your car? that's right, iwas, yes, sleeping in your car? that's right, i was, yes, in 2014, sleeping in your car? that's right, iwas, yes, in 2014, i had had a mental breakdown. i had suffered with borderline personality disorder, and the situation was that i had disorder, and the situation was that ihada disorder, and the situation was that i had a beautiful, lovely live with a loving husband and children but due to my illness, i would behave

irrationally. i would fear abandonment so to avoid that, i ran away, which sounds a bit silly now to me but at the time, it mate pavic sense. when you are —— it made perfect sense. when you are in the throes of a mental health episode like that, you don't have the choices that people generally have when they are not facing those demons and i ran away and i was actually living in my car, which is not particularly big. i was showering in the local leisure ce ntre showering in the local leisure centre and eating biscuits and anything that you could eat that did not require cooking. i spend my time in cafes and restaurants and libraries and things like that. and what did that do to you? well, my health suffered obviously. my mental

health suffered obviously. my mental health suffered. i ran up a massive debt cause whilst i had a small amount of savings, that went quite early on in my escape because to make up for the fact that i had abandoned my children, i was showering them with gifts and staff generally —— and stuffed generally so generally —— and stuffed generally sol generally —— and stuffed generally so i started racking up debts because i had no income whatsoever. in orderto because i had no income whatsoever. in order to have clothes, i would buy clothes and discard the ones that were dirty. i had no washing facilities. i had no heating or lighting or friends. it was an incredibly alone time and i felt suicidal frequently. i want to incredibly alone time and i felt suicidalfrequently. i want to bring in gaz, who is with us from christians against poverty, i know you have experienced poverty

yourself as well. share with us your example being destitute. yeah, so, for me it was a marriage breakdown which caused me to end up in the situation i was in, i went from living in a home which was two incomes and quite stable, everything paid for, to suddenly being on my own ina paid for, to suddenly being on my own in a box room on benefits. i was depressed, i lost myjob due to the marriage breakdown and i had to decide between paying my council tax or putting food in my stomach and for me, keeping myself fit and well was my priority and so i ended up in debt because of that and things were not getting paid. my benefits did not getting paid. my benefits did not stretch far enough and i found myself having to make those decisions. i was homeless at one point. when you are living in a skip and you have no place to go, you have to do what you have to do to survive. i think there are plenty of people, particularly people i see in my work you have to make those decisions between paying what they feel they need to pay against

keeping themselves and their children and family safe and well and fed. it's a crying shame that is the situation we are in but you know, i feel grateful to christians against poverty that they could help me at the time i needed and now i can visit people in their own homes and help them. there is always hope but we have to let people know that we are there to help but it should not be this state of affairs that people are ending up, like you say, destitution by design, ifind it such a troubling thing to think that there is work poverty, fuel poverty, child poverty across the country. we need to do something to tackle that. ican need to do something to tackle that. i can see brendan is nodding away as gaz is speaking and people watching at home will say, "how on earth can we live in one of the world's richest countries, in 2018, and each of you have such a devastating story about being destitute" ? of you have such a devastating story about being destitute"? how has it got to this point for you, brendan?

how long has it been like this? since universal credit, since i was put on universal credit, it got really tough, i lost £100 per month, roughly, just over, when i crossed over from the old employment support allowa nce over from the old employment support allowance on to universal credit. then you had to wait six weeks. you asked for a certain amount brought forward on universal credit so you could get through the six weeks. i am still paying that of so i could not get a dwp loan to get my electric so then i have to fall back on my sisters and my daughters and my son, you know. dads are meant to be heroes, not scrounging off their kids. the taxi on the way over, the quy kids. the taxi on the way over, the guy was telling me there were homeless people in leeds last year that died, people are dying out there, starving, kicked out of their homes because of debt and starving. these aren't bad people. you know,

we are not bad people criminals. we've never committed a crime and yet we are treated like dirt sometimes. my best friends six years ago threw himself ten floors of a block of flats cossey was being threatened by the dwp to have these benefits cut if he did not look for work and he was disabled. he had type one diabetes, problems with his feet. it is that kind of thing going on, it is a whole culture... brendan, we can't get into the specifics... i understand what you are trying to illustrate and clearly the dwp are not here to talk about that. i understand. everyone understands the point you're trying to make and i wonderfor you, louise, have you managed to turn things around? yes, basically, i ended up obtaining benefits and a flat but i literally not managing the way that i paid my bill is —— my bills so i would pay off my credit

ca rd bills so i would pay off my credit card because that was the thing that was threatening me, people were sending letters, they were making phone calls so i would pay that and literally, one day, ijust googled, who can help me? i am an idiot in debt and christians against poverty came up as the number one search result and i contacted them and i was in tears, but there was no judgment and i explain to them i was not a christian and could they help me? it was no problem whatsoever, they support anybody. i gave them my details and she basically said, "i will arrange for a debt coach to come to your home", and they worked out a budget for me where i would pay them £380 every four weeks and they contacted my debtors, my creditors, sorry, and i would not have to contact them at all. ijust

said everything that was said to me straight off to cap... so the pressure was taken away from you and gaz is nodding, it is the point about getting some kind of support which is clearly so important. thank you forjoining us. i am very grateful. neville has been watching you this morning, and has e—mailed to say, "i can manage now but only because i get personal independence payment. before i got it, i was only existing, not living. ican before i got it, i was only existing, not living. i can live properly now but i feel deeply for those who cannot manage, especially with children. there should be a minimum income, working not, eve ryo ne minimum income, working not, everyone should have enough money live and notjust exist". 0ther comments coming in, "heartbreaking stories of exceptional poverty in our country, shopping but also incredible courage to share their stories on live tv". add another

comment on twitter, "if work is the best route out of poverty, why are so many working people still in poverty? " so many working people still in poverty?" abigail has said, "three people talking about the impossible choices they are facing, eating or heating, humiliating experience of living in uk destitution". if you wa nt to living in uk destitution". if you want to add your thoughts, use the hashtag victoria live. we asked the department for work and pensions for a statement — and they told us that "work is the best route out of poverty and our welfare reforms incentivise employment while having the right support in place for those that need it. universal credit lies at the heart of our commitment to improve lives, and it is seeing people move into work faster and staying in work longer than under the old system. this report fails to take this into account, nor the recent improvements we have made to universal credit. since 2010, one million people have been lifted out of absolute poverty and employment is at a record high, with 1,000 people moving into work every day. meanwhile, we continue to spend £90 billion a year on welfare to support those who need it most." time for the latest news.

here's annita mcveigh. theresa may will meet with senior ministers later in an attempt to resolve tensions over the government's brexit "backstop" plan. in the proposal, the uk would match eu tariffs temporarily in order to avoid a hard irish border post—brexit. number 10 had been expected to publish the plans today, but faced resistance from the brexit secretary david davis. retailer house of fraser has announced plans to shut 31 of its 59 stores as part of a rescue deal, affecting 6,000 jobs. if the plan is approved, 2,000 house of fraserjobs will go, along with 4,000 brand and concession roles. the stores scheduled for closure, which include its flagship london oxford street store, will stay open until early 2019. a human rights organisation have lost a supreme court appeal over

the legality of northern ireland's strict abortion law. however a majority of the seven judges at the hearing stated that the current legislation is "incompatible" with european human rights laws in the cases of fatal foetal abnormality, rape and incest. unlike other parts of the uk, a termination is only permitted in northern ireland if there's a serious or permanent risk to a woman's health. the british businessman and nightclub owner peter stringfellow has died at the age of 77. the yorkshireman, who is best known for establishing the world famous gentlemen's club in london, was suffering from cancer. that's a summary of the latest bbc news. thank you very much. here's some sport now with tim. thanks, chloe. and as we heard a little earlier in the hour, in a really open and honest interview with the press, england defender danny rose has revealed his battle with depression, triggered by a long—term injury and the death of his uncle.

he also said playing for england had been his salvation and he's expected to start when they take on costa rica this evening in theirfinal world cup warm—up match before travelling to russia. rafa nadal will resume his bid for a record 11th french open title this morning. he was a set down to diego schwartzman in their quarterfinal when rain interrupted play, but he'll be serving for the second set when they continue at 11am. and expect more sledging from australia's cricketers in their one—day series in england this summer. their coach says the verbals are all part of the fun of the game and that there's a difference between "ba nter" and abuse. that's all the sport for now. i'll have more on the news channel throughout the day. thank you very much, tim. house of fraser plans to close 31 of its 59 stores across the uk and ireland with the loss of 6,000 jobs. the department store says the proposed closures, which include its flagship oxford street store — are part of a rescue plan to ensure a ‘viable future'. phil mackie is in wolverhampton now. so, phil, just explain a little more

about the troubles which house of fraser have been facing. well, like a lot of big high street stores, chloe, it struggled with high rents, people switching probably to shopping online. even though it does have a big online shopping department itself, it is paying a lot of money for sites like this, in the heart of wolverhampton. a massive site, as you can see, iconic in a city which has really struggled economically over the past couple of decades, so this is another blow, and it is almost a psychological moment for a city like wolverhampton, to hear that something here everybody has grown up something here everybody has grown up with for generations could be causing. we got here a short while ago and this store was shut until ten o'clock and that has been the picture across the country where staff meetings have been taking place. cardiff, i understand, staff meetings have been taking place. cardiff, iunderstand, is staff meetings have been taking place. cardiff, i understand, is not opening until 11:30am. there are signs in the doors of many of those stores to let people know it will be

opening and trading. this isjust a list of stores earmarked for closure, because of the troubles house of fraser has been having, and it may be that in some cases they will hope to save some of them. i mentioned beatties, which has been here since the late 19th century, employs hundreds of people, very fondly considered and sort of store. looking at some of the tweets on social media, the editor of the star said it is a terrible blow for the city on the whole of the black country. local mps have both tweeted, about this really important significant place, a part of the economy, and the author and columnist have said it is so sad," central to wolverhampton, like it has always felt too posh to us,. one

of those places he remembers from his childhood. we be hearing more about this throughout the day, talking to people here. thank you, phil mackie, in wolverhampton. human rights campaigners have lost a supreme court appeal over the legality of northern ireland's strict abortion laws. let's hear the moment the ruling was made. 0n the preliminary issue, a majority of the court — lord mance, lord reed, lady black and lord lloyd—jones — are agreed that the commission does not have the standing to bring these proceedings. it follows that the court has no jurisdiction to make a declaration that the law is incompatible, even though a majority of the court are clear that it is. so the majority of the judges said they believed the law preventing abortions where a pregnancy arises from rape or incest, or involves a serious foetal abnormality, was incompatible with human rights laws. but they ruled that the northern ireland human rights commission had no power to bring a challenge, and therefore, the court didn't have and therefore the court didn't have jurisdiction on the issue.

sarah ewart is someone whose experience of abortion placed the issue back in the courts. last year, our reporter catrin nye went to meet her. hi, i'm sarah. hi sarah, catrin. hi, nice to meet you. come on in. thank you. hello. this is my mum, jane. hijane, i'm catrin, nice to meet you. 0h, you've got brews on. yes, organised! it was just a few weeks after sarah ewart‘s wedding that she found out she was pregnant. it was all planned and she was delighted. everybody had talked about the 3d scan, so we thought, we want to see the baby in 3d. it was private, it wasn't at our hospital. the stenographer had put on, the baby on the screen. she had started, there's the feet, legs, she said

you're having a wee girl. she went up the body and then when she got to the baby's head, there was nothing above the baby's eyes, basically. there was no skull or brain formation. sarah's baby had anencephaly, which occurs in about six of every 10,000 births. there is no treatment and babies with it die before they're born or shortly after birth. and this is your scan that you got? sarah's baby had anencephaly, which occurs in about six yes. the skull was formed, there was nothing above that, it should be round and it's not. so the baby wasn't going to be able to survive. as soon as the baby was cut from me, if you like, when the umbilical cord was cut, then the baby would have passed away. when i realised what — that the baby wasn't going to survive and how bad the condition was i felt i couldn't continue on for nine months, with people asking me when you are due, wass your nursery set up, did you know what you're having...

when you are due, was your nursery set up, did you know what you were having... to not have a baby at the end of it, ijust felt like i couldn't go through with that. we didn't call it an abortion, we said we wanted a medical termination. that's what it is. and they said, "sorry, we can't help you", and we were absolutely shocked. we were like, "what you mean you can't help?" they said, "sorry, with the law here, we can't help you. you'd have to go abroad, go across the water." unlike the rest of the uk, abortion is illegal here in northern ireland in almost all circumstances. that meant that at 21 weeks pregnant, sarah had to travel to london to have her abortion. it's that experience that means she's involved in this court case. what was the experience like, making that journey, going all that way? awful. i should have been at home with my family round me, my friends supporting me. what do you want to see from this court case? the politicians be able to help us, and women like me.

so we're hope we get the help through the court. let's speak now to sarah ewart who you saw in that film, and grainne teggart from amnesty international. both outside the court, where that's ruling took place today. first of all, sarah, your reaction to the ruling? i am extremely relieved and i want to thank the judges in the supreme court for recognising there has been a breach of human rights for women who go through this situation of a foetal abnormality, and they have made a loud and clear the law needs to be changed for women living in those circumstances, and we will, i will, continue, to get the changes needed so we can have these medical procedures done at home and our own, —— in our own hospitals with our own consultants. the court said they had a majority

felt the law had to change but said they had nojurisdiction felt the law had to change but said they had no jurisdiction to change they had no jurisdiction to change the law, therefore for women today in northern ireland, grainne, nothing has changed? today is a very important and long overdue vindication of women's rights in northern ireland. we are delighted and relieved that a majority of supreme court judges have and relieved that a majority of supreme courtjudges have ruled that the cruel new total abortion ban in northern ireland must change. theresa may, all eyes are now on theresa may, all eyes are now on theresa may, all eyes are now on theresa may and her government. she cannot allow women in northern ireland to continue to suffer on her watch. she must assure that lake us she trusts all women in the uk, including those in northern ireland —— like us. and that she will move to legislate for change so women can access free, safe and legal abortions in ireland. we are not second class citizens and we will not accept this differential treatment. you say that now is the time for theresa may to act, but,

sarah, politically it is very sensitive. 0f sarah, politically it is very sensitive. of course there is no devolved storm on the assembly right now. politically, very difficult for westminster to step in and change the laws, because haven't come to a power—sharing? the laws, because haven't come to a power-sharing? -- storm have not come to. this is not a political issue. it is for a medical procedure that needs carried out with care at home for women. devolution is not now, nor has it ever been, justification for the denial of women's rights. the westminster government is ultimately responsible for ensuring change happens, and the supreme court judges have for ensuring change happens, and the supreme courtjudges have been very clear, and they have listened to the suffering of women in the restrictive regime in northern ireland and they, like us, are urging this change. you also have to accept there is still a great deal of opposition, isn't there, in northern ireland, the jude of opposition, isn't there, in northern ireland, thejude law? according to uronen poll 28% of

people don't even support abortion in cases of incest or rape. at least —— a majority of people want to see the lost his —— your own poll. and we can change this using the domestic violence bill in this term. theresa may and her colleagues now have time to consider today's judgment and urgently legislate for change because women in northern ireland deserve this change, they have waited for this change, and the law in northern ireland is 157 years old, it predates the light bulb. that is what women's bodies are being governed by and it is unacceptable. it preaches women's rights and now is the time for change. to be clear, sarah, you don't support abortion on any grounds? just on strict grounds? yes, just for foetal abnormality is.

i personally can't think of destroying a baby that would survive when i have gone through a pregnancy carrying a baby that will not survive, so i can only speakfrom my own personal experience. until i have walked on somebody else's shoes i would notjudge them and i would ask the same somebody else, don't judge me until you have what can my shoes. there is one example, sarah, saying she would not back a complete change in the law allowing anyone to have an abortion? if we look at the northern ireland life and times survey, the most recent testing of public opinion on this, a clear majority want reform of our laws. political opinion in northern ireland has most recently been tested in belfast city council, bringing forward laws on abortion, and it received map support of every party except for dup. is it now time for a referendum on this? people will be familiar with the referendum recently in the republic of ireland,

looking at whether abortion laws should be changed. sarah, do you think the fairest way to move forward is to hold a referendum in northern ireland ? forward is to hold a referendum in northern ireland? no, we have gone to the high court in belfast and they, thejudge, suggested the law needed to be changed. we have had working group report as requested from the dup, and they said the law needed to be changed, and we have now been to the supreme court and they said the law needed to be changed in cases of foetal abnormality, so i am asking theresa may and westminster to help us, women who go through the situation ofa women who go through the situation of a fatal foetal abnormality to have this, we have been waiting five yea rs have this, we have been waiting five years and it is five years too long. sarah ewart and grainne teggart, thank you for speaking to me this morning. donald trump has freed a 63—year—old woman, who was given a life sentence for a drug offence, after a campaign by a news website that was taken up by kim kardashian west. alicejohnson was jailed in 1996 as a first—time offender and her case found its way to the white house last month with a personal visit from the reality star.

now, donald trump has commuted her sentence. kim kardashian west said on twitter it was "the best news ever." this is what she had to say as she campaigned for alice's freedom. we can now take a look at the moment alice mariejohnson was released. this is the first time she's seen her family out of prison in 22 years. i got you. watch it, guys. ok, let's... 0k. good luck to you. thank you. god bless all of you for covering this. i have to say this, god bless america, too. thank you. journalists from the news site mic were the first

to take up the story. let's talk now to jake horowitz, one of its co—founders. good morning. for people who are not familiar with the case, tell us about alice johnson and what familiar with the case, tell us about alicejohnson and what she familiar with the case, tell us about alice johnson and what she was sentenced for. so this all started backin sentenced for. so this all started back in october last year when we interviewed alicejohnson back in october last year when we interviewed alice johnson from federal prison in alison bell, alabama. she had been there for 21 and a half years, forfirst time, non—violent drug offence. the way america's sentencing laws are written, she was involved in a drug conspiracy case, two decades ago, and she was put in federal prison with no opportunity for parole for that charge, essentially, she had a job and she lost it when she was in her 40s, she was doing what she could to support her family and she turned to drug trafficking which was

a very serious charge but 21 and a half years in prison for that charge with no opportunity for parole, a lot of americans and now president trump felt that was too long. people watching this at home may ask how common this is, is this an anomaly or many other people in the prison system in us like this? it's a great question, there are so many others like her, 3000 peoplejust like her with similar stories. it is the way america's laws are written. alice johnson's story is one of the quintessential examples and stories of what people talk about when they say america's criminaljustice system is out of whack. there's lots of people like her and all of the activists who have been behind her case for decades now are hoping this is just the first of a deeper commitment on behalf of the trump administration to take on issues like this. so why did kim kardashian west get involved in the case? was it through you highlighting it? west get involved in the case? was it through you highlighting mm

really was. the first time i spent time with kim kardashian west, we sat down for an interview and i asked the question and she said it was our video, she was on twitter and she saw it on her news feed and shared it with her 60 million twitter followers and got deeply involved in the case. it spoke to her as a involved in the case. it spoke to herasa human involved in the case. it spoke to her as a human being because it is such a heart—wrenching story. in the months after that, she began paying alice johnson's legal months after that, she began paying alicejohnson's legal fees, corresponding with her directly from prison, and ultimately speaking with jared kushner, and then ultimately with president trump about securing her release. she was potentially going to be pardoned at the end of president 0bama's timing of this because he pardoned many people and there was some sort alice's name was on the list but it did not happen. no it didn't and she was at the top of many of the lists, lots of activists had flagged her case as the quintessential case, someone who deserved clemency. her case has been reviewed twice before this. there

we re reviewed twice before this. there were a series of technicalities that each of these cases needs to go through in order to be approved and at various stages, through the department ofjustice, she did not meet the requirements of course, that all changed when this new administration came into office and kim kardashian west got involved in the case. have you spoken to alice or herfamily the case. have you spoken to alice or her family since she has been released? we saw in your footage that it was incredibly emotional after she had been imprisoned for 22 yea rs. after she had been imprisoned for 22 years. it's just after she had been imprisoned for 22 years. it'sjust amazing and we have spoken to alice, we have a team on the ground who has spent the last evening with her, as soon as she was released. she is just evening with her, as soon as she was released. she isjust emotional and it is just amazing to watch some of the videos of her reuniting with her family, thanking god, thanking president trump and going to the mat for the trump administration. even

simple things, she has been in prison for over two decades and somebody on our team said that she looked at the cell phone, you know, a smartphone and said, "wow, those have changed since i was in prison", doing things you wouldn't imagine, soa doing things you wouldn't imagine, so a joyous moment for the family and an incredible thing to watch.” guess people will wonder now if this is the way people get president trump's attention, get a celebrity, he isa trump's attention, get a celebrity, he is a celebrity, a reality tv star, get a reality tv star involved and he will listen. varies that element and our reporting and others guess that the president is thinking about pardons very intensely. —— there is that element. he has sort of become obsessed with the pardoning power, two weeks ago, he pardoned someone else, a boxer when sylvester stallone went to the white house about that. it seems to be a growing thing where he recognises he

has pardoning power and he can get things done quickly that way. has pardoning power and he can get things done quickly that waym has pardoning power and he can get things done quickly that way. it is a trend. and celebrity weight certainly helps with the president. thank you forjoining us. a man in texas has had to receive 26 doses of anti—venom after he was bitten by the severed head of a rattlesnake. he was working in his garden when he saw the reptile and decapitated it. but when he picked up its remains, the snake's bite reflex was triggered. the man was airlifted to hospital from his home near the city of corpus christi for treatment. let's talk to dr nicholas casewell, an expert in snake venom at the liverpool school of tropical medicine. thank you forjoining us. i read this story this morning and was horrified, as i'm sure most people we re horrified, as i'm sure most people were as they were looking at it on the bbc website, it was the most read story earlier this morning. but

how common is it? it is quite unusualfor something how common is it? it is quite unusual for something like this to happen but not unprecedented. a number of cases have been recorded where snakes have been killed and it updated and bitten individuals before, in the same way this individual in texas was bitten. how does it work? presumably, you decapitate a snake presumably you would have thought the danger was passed but apparently not. for snakes, the biting reflex is in volu nta ry snakes, the biting reflex is in voluntary so they don't rely on the heart pumping blood around the body, for example but it relies on a stimulus, in this case because the person picked up the head, the stimulus released some chemicals which ultimately led to the contraction of muscles in the mouth, ultimately causing the bite in the person. this has been shown to happen between one and two hours after an animal has died so it is unusual. before people start panicking, we don't have that many venomous snakes panicking, we don't have that many venomous snakes here. we don't permit the uk we only have one

species of venomous snake, the adder, which is quite rare, they are difficult to find and they only by the handful of people every year. but we have snakes, i was talking to a colleague earlier whose friends dog was bitten by a snake on the walk. it is possible to encounter a snake in ourdaily walk. it is possible to encounter a snake in our daily life if you are out in parks or wherever. absolutely it is and dogs get bitten more than people because they are sniffing around and finding snakes more easily than we do. the ad in the uk has a characteristic dark zigzag along the back of its body so if you see a snake with that pattern, it is best to leave it alone. they are not aggressive and they don't attack people but if they are picked up, they might bite in a defensive manner. to be honest, ifi saw a snake, no matter the pattern on its back, i would snake, no matter the pattern on its back, iwould probably snake, no matter the pattern on its back, i would probably leave it alone! but if you do encounter a snake, if you've got your kids with you or you are walking your dog, what should you do? it is bestjust

to give the safe area away from the snake. they are not out to bite people, that is not what they do, they are only biting prey to feed so they are only biting prey to feed so they will only bite defensively if they will only bite defensively if they are provoked, such as someone going close to it or trying to pick it up or move it so as long as you stay well away, there is no threat from the animal. should we be freaked out by snakes? do they get an unfair press? the press they get is bad because of the impact they have in other parts of the world so throughout the world every year, over 100,000 people die from venomous over 100,000 people die from venomous snake bites and this is mostly in the tropical regions of sub saharan africa and also in south asia. for people working in those areas, farmers in the fields and agricultural workers, areas, farmers in the fields and agriculturalworkers, herdsmen, snakebite is a daily threat. many people are bitten and they can leave both long—term injuries and also cause death. they have a reputation because there is the potential for them to cause great harm to people but in the uk we obviously relatively safe. thank you for joining us. lots of you have been getting in

touch with us about the conversation about destitution in 2018, which effectively means you have to give up effectively means you have to give up eating food or lighting or clothing in 2018 in britain. a text says, "i'm 62 and work part—time. previous work pension pays my rent and council tax. i can no longer live on my weight. i have huge debts and called the samaritans as i have no way out". "i'm getting treatment for prostate cancer and the dup have stopped my benefits which has put me ina lot stopped my benefits which has put me in a lot of debt. they have told me to live off my savings. we have become worse than a third world cou ntry". become worse than a third world country". someone else on the text, "i had a baby but because i have kids from a previous relationship, i'm not entitled to help. i think the government should help with a third child up to the first four yea rs third child up to the first four years and this is financially hard. i have worked and paid taxes as a single mum but i am still struggling to get the essentials with my baby". sarah says, "i've been out of work

for several years and can relate to the stories on your show, i've been lucky with a charity helping me through the complex is dim, having worked all my life. 0thers through the complex is dim, having worked all my life. others are much worse off than me as i have found a charity but if i hadn't, i don't know where i would be". so many more. thank you for telling me your stories. bbc newsroom live is coming up next. thank you for your company today. have a good day. i will be back at the same time tomorrow. hello. it has been a largely dry and fine start to the day, variable amounts of cloud and sunshine around the country. some of us will keep the country. some of us will keep the blue skies and sunshine through the blue skies and sunshine through the day but elsewhere, more cloud and the chance of a shower. the areas most prone to seeing those showers, first off around the south coast of england, a few sharp

showers with the odd rumble of thunder and some of them drifting further north later in the day. in the sunshine, 19—21, feeling quite pleasant, always a bit cooler around the east coast. 0ne pleasant, always a bit cooler around the east coast. one or two showers as we head into this evening across the west of scotland and maybe one or two for northern ireland. many places staying dry but more cloud tonight making its way in from the east and a bit of wet weather first thing tomorrow for the wales and midlands but a mild night. tomorrow pretty similar to today, most places dry but a bit more cloud compared to today. still a few showers around towards the west will stop in sunny spells as the cloud breaks, top temperatures between 15—21. this is bbc news and these are the top stories

developing at 11am. another blow for the high street: house of fraser announces plans to close half of its stores, putting 6,000 jobs at risk. another retail giant in big trouble and lots of towns and cities across the country are losing department stores that have been there for generations. bt is hearing in wolverhampton has been here for 100 yea rs wolverhampton has been here for 100 years and is now earmarked closure. theresa may is to meet with senior ministers amid tensions over her brexit customs backstop proposal, due to be published today. campaigners lose a supreme court appeal over the legality of abortion in northern ireland, but judges say the law there is "incompatible" with human rights. also in the next hour — tributes are paid to nightclub