this is bbc news. i'm vicky young. the headlines at 2. a second major fire in four years at one of scotland's architectural landmarks, the glasgow school of art. the scale of damage is extensive. the government promises to help with restoration. we do not know what the structural damage is, the damage to the stonework, so i think it is too early to say what is going to be required, but what i can say, absolutely, is we will be there to help. the home secretary uses an exceptional power to release illegal cannabis oil to severely epileptic billy caldwell after doctors said it was a "medical emergency". billy is getting the best care in the world here, and i feel safe here at this particular hospital with billy. so, again, it isjust one step at a time, praying for a miracle, really. andy murray will make his competitive return from hip surgery at queen's next week. also in the next hour:

a crucial game for england's rugby players and a stunning goal from ronaldo in the 2018 world cup. commentator: it's ronaldo! he's done it! he has only gone and done it! cristiano ronaldo! this 88th—minute equaliser gave cristiano ronaldo a hat—trick, as portugal drew 3—3 with spain. eddie jones‘ england will try to avoid a fifth test defeat in a row, when they face south africa in bloemfontein. in my childhood, i was known as the boy whose mother had run off with an english man. and indian writer and publisher anuradha roy speaks to gavin esler at the hay festival. that's in half an hour, here on bbc news. good afternoon and welcome to bbc news.

around 50 firefighters are still working to extinguish a significant fire at glasgow's world —famous school of art. the alarm was raised just after 11 o'clock last night and the mackintosh building was said to have been engulfed by flames within minutes. the scottish fire and rescue service has said that the historic building has been extensively damaged along with some surrounding buildings. it was undergoing a multi—million pound restoration project following a similar blaze four years ago. let's go over live to the scene and our correspondent lorna gordon. yes, it is hard to overstate the importance of this building. it is a working art school as well as a work of art. it is considered the

masterpiece of charles rennie mackintosh. there is a sense of disbelief in the city at the expense of damage that has happened as a result of this fire. we are rather constrained in our position, but perhaps you can see that the roof looks to have been completely destroyed, the windows have been blown out, and it is still smoke drifting across the streets behind me. more of the details of what happened overnight in my report now. this was a sight glasgow never expected to see again. its world —famous school of art engulfed by fire once more. thick black smoke and flames spreading quickly, rising high into the night sky. i looked up and i saw this massive orange cloud. and i just thought to myself, surely that's not the art school, because it was on fire recently as well. weird that it is happening again. yeah, it feels like a dream.

it can't be real. yeah, it can't be real. it isjust, like, strange. glasgow's not got very much luck with fires these days. i think pretty much everyone isjust in shock because, i mean, it is iconic, isn't it? the fire spread to other buildings, including a nearby nightclub and a well—known music venue. some local residents were moved from their homes for safety. at its height, more than 120 firefighters were involved in the operation, water pumped from the river clyde to help dampen down the flames. every floor of the art school building at the centre of this fire is thought to be extensively damaged. the building in which the fire started has been extensively damaged by fire. it has reached from the ground floor right through to the roof. it is significantly damaged. we were focusing our attention to preventing it from spreading. the mackintosh building

had been damaged in a previous fire four years ago. its restoration, costing £35 million, had been well under way. artisan craftsmen from across the uk working to recreate charles rennie mackintosh‘s designs which had made the building so well known. i was shocked, heartbroken, devastated for the people that have worked so hard to try and bring the building back to its former glory. i know that the staff at the glasgow school of art, all the architects and crafts people involved, have been working so hard, and they were nearly there in terms of getting the work done as well. so it is absolutely devastating to see it in the state that is in now. there is shock that a building so central to glasgow's creative history has been so extensively damaged. the investigation into why this happened will be for the days that follow. for now, firefighters continue to work on stopping the fire flaring up once again. disbelief and devastation at what

has happened here, and of course, shock. so many famous artist spent their formative years here, shock. so many famous artist spent theirformative years here, turner prizewinners, some famous actors as well, among them peter capaldi, for instance. many of them have been tweeting this morning, talking about their sentiments, there are feeling sad seeing this building engulfed in flames. and really, so many asking how on earth can this happen again to such a much loved building? a building that is so central to glasgow's history and so central to its creative history as well. we have heard from both the uk and scottish government is today. the uk government says it is ready to help financially and in any other way required. the scottish government saying it is ready to provide any

support that may be required now and in the period ahead. nicola sturgeon, scotland's first minister, has been visiting the site in the last hour to see the damage for herself, and to speak to firefighters. we are expecting heard down here within the next few minutes to speak to the waiting media and tell us what she saw, and how she feels that the news that this building has gone up in flames again. thank you very much. lorna gordon in glasgow. we will bring you that reaction from nicola sturgeon and others throughout the afternoon. the home office says it has granted a licence to allow a severely epileptic boy to be treated with cannabis oil after the drug had been confiscated from his family. billy caldwell is in hospital after suffering two life—threatening seizures overnight. his mother had obtained more of the drug from canada, but it was taken away after she landed at heathrow. keith doyle takes us through the story. when billy caldwell and his mother

returned from canada on monday with medicine containing cannabis oil, it was confiscated by customs after they declared it at heathrow airport. billy was taking the oil to help control violent epileptic seizures. now he has been admitted to hospital in london where this morning his mother said the attacks have returned and his condition is life—threatening. billy is getting the best care in the world here and i feel safe here at this particular hospital with billy. so, again, it isjust one step at a time, praying for a miracle, really. this afternoon the home secretary gave permission for matt to use the medication. in a statement, sadly javid said... —— sajid javid said. my

javid said... —— sajid javid said. my experience throughout this leaves me in no doubt that the home office can no longer play our role, in fact play any role, in the administration of medication for sick children in oui’ of medication for sick children in our country. matt has intractable epilepsy, which can cause up to 100 serious attacks a day. —— billy has. two years ago, he was given medicine containing cannabis oil in the united states, which slowly shortened the length and number of attacks. back home, his gp took the decision to prescribe the cannabis oil, but the home office later told him to stop because it contains the element thc, the psychoactive chemicalfound in marijuana. this cannabis is being grown legally in canada for medicinal use. while there is some evidence that some formulations may have medical benefits, it remains illegal in the uk. but this afternoon, billy caldwell is once again being treated with the

medication his family says life—saving. let's talk to to orfhlaith begley, mp for west tyrone, who has been campaigning for billy. thank you forjoining us this afternoon. can you explain to us the campaign that matt's mother has been running, and how you have been involved in that in the last few months? —— billy's mother. iam involved in that in the last few months? —— billy's mother. i am the mpfor months? —— billy's mother. i am the mp for west to run, the constituency of charlotte caldwell. i have been in contact with her for several weeks, trying to get the treatment that billy caldwell needs. since sunday, i met charlotte caldwell at the airport and we went straight to the airport and we went straight to the minister to ask whether he would return billy caldwell‘s medication. i have been in contact with the home office on a daily basis... inaudible i have enforced the need for a...

inaudible when billy caldwell became ordeal, it became more necessary for him to have that medication. what has his mother being saying about it? she must have been devastated when that medication was seized at the airport when she came back from canada? she was devastated. she knew how valuable the medication was for her son. he had up to 100 seizures a day before he took the medication and since taking the medication, the seizures have dramatically declined so seizures have dramatically declined so it was life—saving medication for billy caldwell. on monday... inaudible the medication was confiscated and taken from her. inaudible we arranged a meeting to help solve this matter, in the interests of billy caldwell, and to help keep them alive. thank you very much. we are going to leave it there because there is some problem with the sound on your microphone by thank you for speaking to us this afternoon. thank

you. sinn fein will debate changing the party's policy on abortion at its annual conference in belfast. we're going to stop their one minute. nicola sturgeon is arriving to give her side signed the fire which we have been seeing pictures of which has devastated the glasgow school of art. here she is. it is heartbreaking. the fire, as i think eve ryo ne heartbreaking. the fire, as i think everyone can see from the pictures last night, has been a devastating blaze, much worse than the one that too hold of the mackintosh building four years ago, so the damage is severe and expensive. obviously assessments and discussions are ongoing with the fire service and building control, about the structure of it, and safety, and all of us hope the building can be saved, but i think it is too early to draw any conclusions from that. it is heartbreaking and hard to find

the words, given what happened four yea rs the words, given what happened four years ago, the fact it was so close to being reopened after the restoration, that this has happened again, and my heart goes out to everybody associated with the art school. this is an important point, there was no loss of life last night, nobody was injured. sometimes we ta ke night, nobody was injured. sometimes we take that too much for granted and that is down to the speed of response and the skill of the firefighters that we are not mourning the loss of life today. inaudible asi inaudible as i understand it, the fire brigade we re as i understand it, the fire brigade were here very quickly. obviously none of those now yet the cause of the fire, what started the fire, and what unfolded. it would not be helpful to start to speculate, without as much as a scrap of information. there will be plenty of time injude information. there will be plenty of time in jude course information. there will be plenty of time injude course to discuss and deliberate on all the questions, and

people understandably have questions, including me, buti people understandably have questions, including me, but i do not think it takes us anywhere today to speculate. fire investigators are already at work trying to get the a nswe rs already at work trying to get the answers those questions. inaudible i have spoken to the principle of the art school this morning. the scottish government stands ready to do anything we reasonably can to help insure that the building has a future. it is too early to say what that might entail or what that might look like. we do not know yet what the structural condition of the building is. without trying to dodge the question is, it is too early to give definitive answers, but i am determined, as i was after the fire four years ago, that the scottish government will do then you can, and i have given that we should ince to the principle this morning. inaudible it is devastating. we see a building, andi it is devastating. we see a building, and i am a layperson, not an expert on building control or a

firefighter, but looking at it, the building a shell. the external structure looks as if it is damaged. there is also some damage which i hope is more cosmetic, to the mere building across the road. it has been fired for much greater intensity than the one in four years ago. —— muir building. it is hard to find the words to describe what it feels like, to look at such an iconic building, notjust an iconic building in glasgow scottish terms, but the building with significance of people across the world. four yea rs of people across the world. four years ago i was struck by the outpouring of support globally. we are starting to see that support for the mackintosh again today. it is heartbreaking. that is probably the only word that can be used at the moment. inaudible

the fire crews from all over scotla nd the fire crews from all over scotland and that is a sign of the scale of the response. it has been scaled back slightly now. we have all seen pictures of the hose which stretched from the clyde to hear, so this has been an enormous response andi this has been an enormous response and i want to thank the firefighters and i want to thank the firefighters and the police and members of the ambulance service. it brings it home just what a dangerous job firefighters in particular do and i'm so grateful to them for their response last night. label be working hard for days to come —— they will. they deserve all of our gratitude. inaudible there is concern at the moment, still, the aerial pictures of the

roof collapsing, and the focus is on the internationally famous mackintosh building but this is a devastating tragedy for the o2, mackintosh building but this is a devastating tragedy for the 02, as well, a historic and much loved building in glasgow. it is too early to speculate what the future might hold but i know the firefighting teams are still very focused on making sure that the fire is com pletely making sure that the fire is completely extinguished. inaudible it is too early to draw any conclusions about the cause of the fire. by investigation teams are starting their work just fire. by investigation teams are starting their workjust now, —— fire investigation. i don't think it is helpful and there is not much point speculating on what caused the fire or what enabled the fire to develop in the way it did. there will be plenty of opportunity to do that. if i can finally say, everyone

owes a debt of gratitude to the firefighters in british kilobyte or the emergency services and the macintosh building is such a special building but it is a building —— to the firefighters or the emergency services for the. we have got to thank the firefighters for their skill and speed with which they have dealt with this. stadium-macro nicola it has been assessing >> studio: nicola sturgeon, assessing the damage, there, to the glasgow school of art. she said it is an iconic building and she has broken about the disbelief, partly because about a similar devastating fire just four yea rs a similar devastating fire just four years ago “— a similar devastating fire just four years ago —— spoken. £34 million was spent on the restoration which was and was coming to an end and then

last night the fire taking hold once more. nicola sturgeon asked about the extent of the damage, whether the extent of the damage, whether the building can be saved at all, she said she is not an expert, but she said she is not an expert, but she said she is not an expert, but she said it is just a shell. that is her view, saying disbelief in glasgow and around the world, and our correspondent is at the scene. everyone has said, people can barely believe this has happened again. absolutely. this world —famous building was engulfed by flames four yea rs building was engulfed by flames four years ago and there has been a 35mm and is restoration programme —— 35mm and is restoration programme —— 35mm and is. post a completion, in fact, in the hope was students would be working in the mackintosh building at the start of the next academic year —— nearing completion. that now

seems absolutely impossible to imagine. because the second fire as nicola sturgeon has just imagine. because the second fire as nicola sturgeon hasjust said, to all intents and purposes, it looks far more serious than the first one, and they are still images that the police have released which showed that the top of the building has com pletely that the top of the building has completely caved in, the fire has spread from the ground floor to the roof, and those restoration works was so close to completion. the famous henry one was completed —— hen kicking. —— run. that building behind me is absolutely gutted. nicola sturgeon has been here today speaking to fire crews, looking for herself at the level of damage and

she is keen to emphasise that the most important thing is the fact there has been no loss of life but like so many others she has said she is devastated that this building has been so badly damaged. thanks for joining us. lorna gordon, live at the fire. a news update on the story about cannabis. the family had medication, cannabis oil seized, when they came back from canada, but this has now been released. chelsea and westminster hospital said the medication has arrived and it has been administered at two o'clock today. they say the oil is under a special 20 day license and is not to be taken home, of course this is the case of billy caldwell who suffers from severe epilepsy and his mother

says it helps with his seizures. it seems that this has now been administered to him as a special licence, but it can only be administered by a specialist. this was after the intervention of the home secretary today. to return the medication, so that billy caldwell can be treated in chelsea and westminster hospital. sinn fein will debate changing the party's policy on abortion at its annual conference in belfast. the president, mary lou mcdonald, will also give her first leader's address since replacing gerry adams. our ireland correspondent emma vardy is at the conference in belfast. well, sinn fein, in fact, brought this party conference foward to allow the party to have this debate on abortion much sooner. in the past, sinn fein has only supported access to abortion in very limited circumstances but following the overwhelming referendum result in the republic of ireland to overturn the ban on abortion there, the proposal being put

forward here, if it passes, would mean that sinn fein politicians would have to support the party line on new laws in the irish parliament, in dublin, to legalise abortion up to 12 weeks of pregnancy, but to some degree, the party is still divided on this. its leader, mary lou mcdonald, campaigned to overcome the ban on abortion in ireland, but some members oppose it. and 24 branches have put forward a motion saying they believe sinn fein members should be able to vote according to their own personal beliefs. that is what will be debated here later on this afternoon. the un's special envoy to yemen has arrived in the capital sana'a in a bid to persuade rebels to give up control of a key seaport. pro—government forces backed by saudi arabia have been fighting to take hodeidah from iran—backed militias. most of yemen's aid passes through the port, and aid agencies have warned that a prolonged battle could worsen an already critical situation. spain's government says it has accepted an offer from france

to take in some of the migrants from the aquarius rescue ship. the vessel is currently en route to spain, with more than 600 people onboard, who were picked up off the libyan coast. last weekend the boat was denied permission to dock in sicily after italy's new government promised a tough stance on immigration. the prime minister says she's disappointed after one of her own mps blocked plans to make upskirting a criminal offence. the new law would have seen offenders who secretly take photos up victim's clothes sentenced to up to two years in jail. but tory mp sir christopher chope was able to block the legislation by shouting "object". our politcal correspondent iain watson reports. i was at a festival with my sister on a blistering hot day, waiting for my favourite band to come on stage and two guys took

pictures up my skirt. gina martin was a victim of upskirting, the practice of secretly taking pictures under someone's clothes. a liberal democrat mp wanted to make it a criminal offence in england and wales, with offenders being jailed for up to two years. it's already outlawed in scotland but yesterday in parliament, this happened. object! objection taken, secretary. conservative mp sir christopher chope uttered that one word, object, and under parliamentary procedure, the proposed law was halted in its tracks. many of his colleagues cried, "shame!" the ministerfor women was one of them. i was shocked, i was angry and i was disappointed and, for the record, i shouted "shame" very loudly after the member objected, because it seems to me this is a case where the law has not kept up to date with what's happening in the modern world so parliament needs to be flexible, and parliament needs to react. in a tweet, the prime minister made her views clear. gina martin contacted sir christopher to find

out why he objected. he just said he objected to it on principle and i said, "what about the subject matter of the bill?" and he said, "i'm not really sure on that, "i'm not sure what that is, upskirting." and i said, "i can help you with that," and i asked for his e—mail address and he said, "yeah, absolutely, e—mail me," and i said, "i'd like to talk to you and find out why you objected "and explain to you what this really is and how much it's going to affect "women and girls and protect women and protect women and girls," and he said, "ok, well, let's meet then". opposition mps have also criticised sir christopher chope's actions but government ministers now seem even more determined to outlaw upskirting. iain watson, bbc news, westminster. we are going to go back to the story

regarding the fire at glasgow school of art. i'm joined regarding the fire at glasgow school of art. i'mjoined by regarding the fire at glasgow school of art. i'm joined by susan aitken, leader of plaistow city council, you we re leader of plaistow city council, you were up there singing for yourself the extent of the damage —— glasgow city council, you were up there seeing for yourself. it is very much a live incident and the firefighters are still working and fighting a fire. it is under control, they have reduced it considerably, but this will not be over for another few days yet, the next couple of days will be a live incident, ongoing. the damage is considerable, but the council building control guys, as much as is said, they are starting to ss that, and they will be able to make an assessment “—

to ss that, and they will be able to make an assessment —— they are starting to assess that. the main thing is public safety and after that it will be about preserving the building. this is a mixed area with businesses and also residential, flats, where many people moved out? —— were. flats, where many people moved out? -- were. afew flats, where many people moved out? -- were. a few people were evacuated, about 25, and they have all been accommodated in one way or another. they have made their own arrangements or we have made them for them. we had arrangements or we have made them forthem. we had a arrangements or we have made them for them. we had a rest centre which has now been closed down, that isn't needed any more. we hope people will be able to be back in their homes pretty soon. possibly even by the end of today. business continuity is a priority for us and we have started talking about that already, talking to partners, and on monday the council spearhead a task force

to block the way ahead and we want to block the way ahead and we want to get things back to normal as soon as possible. did you get any information from the fire crews as to whether there was any fire reta rda nt system ? to whether there was any fire retardant system? it was a building site, of course, the building was not in use, it is still a building site four years ago, the work was ongoing, and until... there will clearly be an investigation and the priority at the moment is putting the fire out. and securing the site and the building, making sure that the building is not dangerous in any way. that first and foremost is what they are focusing on, and what my colleagues are focusing on and other colleagues are focusing on and other colleagues like with environment scotland, who are also focusing on this. how do you feel? very emotional, and a bit numb. it is

ha rd emotional, and a bit numb. it is hard to believe this has happened. it is very upsetting. it is part of the soul of glasgow and we want to keep it that way for the future. susan, the leader of glasgow city council, thanks for joining susan, the leader of glasgow city council, thanks forjoining us. a couple of dozen people had to be evacuated overnight but they might get back into their homes, but the priority remains on dampening down this fire. lorna, thanks forjoining us. thank you very much indeed. lorna gordon, live in glasgow. time for an update on the weather. i'm not going to move you very far. this is the scene in south lanarkshire. if you know sheila, tell her she has been on the telly, and it may cheer her up. the weather is not looking good. it will