hello, it's friday, it's nine o'clock. i'm martine croxall, welcome to the programme. "no amount of apologies will bring her back" — the husband of a pregnant women who died of sepsis tell us he and their two young children are struggling to cope with the loss. reeta sadhia was 15 weeks pregnant when she died. her husband, bhooshan, says it's been so difficult watching his children cry for their mummy. medicines derived from cannabis will become available on prescription, says the government — parents say they're delighted. this announcement today gives every person in that situation hope. that they can try this medication and that itjust might work. i've always been clear that it doesn't always work for everyone but when it does work it works like a miracle and every person should have the chance to try it. also ahead, storms may finally dampen the hot temperatures, but why the extreme heat is causing misery for holiday—makers. two and a half hours queueing from the motorway down to the check—in terminals.

sat on the motorway embankment in sa degrees heat with ants crawling over our feet. no water. absolutely ridiculous. moon hello, welcome to the programme. we're live until 11 this morning. later, the government has said it will make it easier for doctors to prescribe medicines derived from cannabis. the decision to relax regulations around its use comes after a number of high profile cases involving children with severe epilepsy. we'll be speaking to one mum who says medicinal cannabis has helped to control her daughter's seizures. i'd be interested to hear what you think about this or indeed any of the stories we're talking about today — use the hashtag victoria live. if you re emailing and are happy for us to contact you 7 and maybe want to take part in the programme — please include your phone number in your message. if you text, you ll be charged

at the standard network rate. our top story today — it's been called furnace friday, but it now seems unlikely that today's temperatures will reach an all—time british record. storms broke out overnight in the north east of england and the east of scotland, dampening chances that the uk will experience a temperature above 38.5 centigrade — the level set in 2003. however, much of the country will see it rise above 30 degrees, with a high of 3a expected in east anglia. the heat is causing misery for eurotunnel passengers, where continued disruption is being blamed on the extreme heat. thousands of tickets have been cancelled in an attempt to ease queues. let's get more from simonjones, who's in folkestone. simon, what are the problems people are having to contend with? the bad news is i have spoken to eurotunnel and they are preparing for another day of problems. they

say they simply cannot control the weather. people turning up at the terminal are expecting a weight of around 90 minutes. to actually get onto the terminal and check—in they are waiting for 90 minutes. it will ta ke are waiting for 90 minutes. it will take about three hours to get on a train. we are expecting around 12,000 cars at the terminal today. it was going to be a busy day anyway with people heading off on holidays. many of those cars packed with holiday—makers. the big problem is being blamed on the air conditioning, which may sound a bit strange. but eurotunnel says, if you imagine hot cars driving onto already hot trains, in some of the carriages the temperatures were too high. for a welfare reasons they decided they could not use those carriages. that meant trains were going not fully packed and the backlog was quick to build. how flexible are eurotunnel being of tickets? if you were due to travel

ona tickets? if you were due to travel on a day ticket today, simply heading to france to enjoy a day out, those tickets have been cancelled. they affect around 400 passengers. the company is also saying if you don't have the trouble today they will offer you a refund. what they want to do is try to clear the backlog as quickly as possible and get holiday—makers on their way, because that is what they are concentrating on, the families who are going to be caught up in this at the start of their holidays. we have been here since dawn. it is getting hotter and hotter. the hotter it gets, the company says it will have to start taking out some more of the carriages. when that happens the build—up of delays is very quick. simonjones, build—up of delays is very quick. simon jones, thank you. build—up of delays is very quick. simonjones, thank you. we will be talking about the impact this heatwave is having on various types of travel around ten o'clock. if you are experiencing difficulties on the roads, rail or trying to get away on

holiday from one of the airports, to get in touch. annita mcveigh is in the bbc newsroom with a summary of the rest of the day's news. good morning. a controversial move to privatise some probation services in england and wales is to be reversed, costing the government £170 million. the contracts will end two years early, after ministers admitted they are not delivering the reduction in reoffending they promised. here's our home affairs correspondent, tom symonds. this is the kind of innovative idea the government hopes to encourage when it privatised probation services. it's a sobriety tag, which detects if the wearer has been drinking. it is designed to be worn by offenders who broke the law while under the influence. the scheme is operated by a community rehabilitation company, set up three years ago to manage lower—level offenders not in prison, orjust released. in england and wales there are 21 crcs. they are paid by their results — how much they cut reoffending. but they have been criticised

for not maintaining the crucial relationship between offenders and their probation officer. there has been a 2% fall in the numbers of people ending up back in prison. but the government says the companies bid too low for their contracts, resulting in the need to cut costs and services. so, ministers are rethinking. it is important that we have a probation system that helps people rehabilitate. the existing contracts are not working as well as they might do. they are not working as well for us in order to ensure that we can help rehabilitation. so we want to bring those to an end early, we want to improve some of the services in the interim. the government will spend an extra £170 million to shore up the service for the next two years. ministers admit the changes were ambitious, but they say they want the private sector to continue to be involved in a future system. tom symonds, bbc news. police have appealed

for help to catch a man found guilty of killing a woman in a speedboat crash on the river thames. jack shepherd, who went on the run after skipping bail before his trial, will be sentenced today for the death of charlotte brown. ben ando reports. december 2015 and jack shepherd takes his date, charlotte brown, for a late—night trip on the river thames in his speedboat. after reaching the houses of parliament, they turned back, but moments later the boat capsized after hitting something floating in the water. police filmed at the moment shepherd, who was clinging to the wreckage of upturned boat, was rescued. but charlotte, who liked to be known as "charlie", spent too long in the icy water and died later in hospital. shepherd, who had been warned before about speeding on the thames, admitted to police that he hadn't asked her to wear a blackjacket.

—— life jacket. neither of us were wearing life jackets, although there were two in between the two seats in the front, but she wouldn't have known they were there because i didn't point them out and we weren't wearing them anyway and like, i didn't ask if she could swim or anything. tests reveal the boat had faulty steering, shepherd, who had been bailed, went on the run but yesterday was found guilty by manslaughter of gross net negligence. _by —— by gross negligence. if anyone knows where jack shepherd is, i would ask them to contact police immediately. we are all fully resolved to ensure that charlotte's family get the justice and closure they deserve. a warrant has been issued forjack shephard's arrest, but if he's still on the run he can be sentenced here this morning in his absence. for manslaughter, the maximum term available to the judge, although it's rarely given, is one of life imprisonment. ben ando, bbc news, at the old bailey. five people have died in a crash involving a minibus and a four—by—four car in aberdeenshire. police say that the collision, which took place last night on the a96, has left one other

person with life—threatening injuries. ken gibson is in our aberdeen newsroom. ken, what more do you know about the circumstances of this horrific crash? good morning. this crash happened shortly before midnight on the a96 via the small town of keith in moray. it involved an suv and a minibus. five people were killed in that accident. five more have been taken to raigmore hospital in inverness. we don't know the condition of all of them. but we have been told one of them is potentially life—threatening. police so far haven't given any details about the casualties or what they we re about the casualties or what they were doing on the road at that time of the night. 0bviously, were doing on the road at that time of the night. obviously, this is quite a serious tragedy this morning. ken, thank you. ken gibson in aberdeen.

north korea has started to hand over the remains of american soldiers killed during the korean war in the 1950s. their repatriation was agreed at last month's singapore summit between president trump and kim jong—un. it's estimated that more than 5,000 us soldiers went missing in action between 1950 and 1953. 1800 migrant children have been reunited with theirfamilies, after a judge ordered the us government to stop its zero tolerance policy aimed at tackling illegal immigration. campaigners say there's currently no coherent plan to reunite hundreds more children with their relatives, including those whose parents have already left the us or been deported. theresa may is travel to austria today, to try and get european support for her plan for a brexit settlement. she'll meet the austrian leader and the czech prime minister, as she seeks to reduce the risk of britain leaving the eu without a deal. it comes a day after the eu's chief negotiator ruled out the uk's proposal for a future customs arrangement.

the online retail giant, amazon, has reported record profits, after it branched out into groceries and artificial intelligence. it made $2.5 billion in the past three months — 12 times more than the same period last year. the firm now plans to take on the global healthcare industry, although some us politicians say they're concerned by the company's increasing dominance. there'll be a spectacular sight in the skies tonight, as we witness the longest total lunar eclipse of the century. the moon will pass through the widest point of the earth's shadow from 8.15 this evening. rain clouds and thunderstorms could scupper the view for some skygazers. victoria gill explains. 0ur familiar satellite is heading into our own planet's shadow. tonight, as it rises over the uk at 9pm, the moon will be turned blood red, as the earth passes between it and the sun. this particular lunar eclipse, or blood moon as it's known, will be the longest this century, lasting for one hour and 43 minutes. you need to be able to have a clear,

south—eastern horizon as the moon comes up. see low down to the south—east and then as it rises, you will see it more and more clearly. and then the eclipse finishes about quarter past ten. it's just lit by the light that's fitlered through the earth's atmosphere, which is why it looks this sort of dusky red. at the same time, our solar system neighbour mars will reach the nearest point to earth possible in its own journey around the sun. when they are at their nearest point to each other it is known as a close approach of mars. the minimum distance is 54.6 million kilometres, but that significantly improves our view of the red planet. so, clouds permitting, there could be a celestial show tonight with a brighter red planet in the same sky as a blood red moon. victoria gill, bbc news. you've heard of fake news, but this might be more a case of fake zoos. a zoo in egypt has denied painting black and white stripes on a donkey

to make it look like a zebra. a visitor to the zoo in cairo posted these images online, which have since been shared around the world. aside from its small size and pointy ears, there were also black smudges on the animal's face. hope they find the person who did that and try painting them in black and white stripes and see how they like it. that's a summary of the latest bbc news — more at 9.30. thank you very much. let's get some sport. azi farni is at the bbc sport centre. good morning. it's a big day for geraint thomas in the tour de france? yes. he maintained his new two—minute lead after stage 18. if you can keep that through today's mountainous stage he will have a very good chance of being crowned tour de france champion for the first time. thomas stayed tucked

away in the peloton yesterday to c0 nse rve away in the peloton yesterday to conserve energy for the next two stages, which will be more demanding. that did not stop any accidents. quintana injured his arm after falling off his accidents. quintana injured his arm afterfalling off his bike. the stage was won by a french rider. thomas came home safely. the welshman leads by one minute and 59 seconds. this is what thomas will have to do on friday, stage 19. a tough mountainous stage. 125 miles. that is the equivalent of riding from cardiff to birmingham. just look at the mountains in the way. the first peaks that are there are nearly twice the height of the shard in london. they have three major peaks to write over, which are much higher than ben nevis in scotland. the highest peak in the middle is nearly double the scottish mountain. stage 19 will get under wayjust

after 11 o'clock this morning. and there was a big shock at the hockey world cup? yeah, ireland caused a huge upset, beating india 1—0 to guarantee their place in the quarterfinals of the women's hockey world cup. the lowest ranked side in the second pool are through to the knockout stage. two of the world's top ten teams will miss out after sunday's final group games. it's absolutely incredible. this group of players, the players before us, we have worked so hard for this. we have been banging on the door for so we have been banging on the door for so long. we might not necessarily have gotten the brakes that were coming our way. this one came and we took it with both hands. we are absolutely delighted. it is nothing more than this group of players deserve. ireland's result makes it harder for england to reach the knockout

stages. the two teams play on sunday. a win for england would see them finish second in their pool, then play the third placed team from then play the third placed team from the first pool in a play—off. cricket now, and england leg spinner asked —— adil rashid has responded to former captain michael vaughan's comments about his recall to the test side. rashid was named in the squad —— team against india next week despite only signing a contract to play limited overs cricket at yorkshire. vaughan had described the decision is ridiculous. but rashid said if your country once you you can't say no. he does talk a lot on twitter, or whatever. i don't know if his opinions are heard if he isjust saying things the sake of it. i don't think his opinions matter to anybody. he can say a lot. he thinks people might listen but i don't think they will. there will be out there who are not happy. it's not my

fault. i said to yorkshire, not available. but if you want to pick me, it is up to them. if your country asks you, you can't say no. that is all the sport for now. thank you. the husband of a pregnant woman who died of sepsis, says he and their two young children are struggling to cope with the loss. reeta saidha was 15 weeks pregnant when her waters broke in december. she died five days later at basildon hospital. an inquest found insufficient monitoring and missed opportunities to remove the infection surgically had contributed to her death. basildon and thurrock university hospital trust has apologised. reeta's husband bhooshanjoins us exclusively this morning. he wants medical staff to be better equipped to spot the warnings signs of spesis which is the leading cause of maternal death in the uk. we're talking now to bhooshan saidha and his lawyerfrom fieldfisher, iona meeres—young. ina

in a statement earlier in a little while from the hospital. first, shannon, we are going to a little bit about your wife. we appreciate you talking to us. you have good reasons for wanting to speak out. tell us about reeta ? reasons for wanting to speak out. tell us about reeta? what sort of woman was she? she was a genuinely special person. she always had a smile on herface. she always had a lot of time for everybody. but most importantly, she was my everything. and she was to me, a perfect mother to our two young daughters, who she put before everything else. nine and six. you were expecting your third baby? that's correct. tell us about the pregnancy? reeta was 15 weeks

pregnant. unfortunately, at that stage her waters broke. it happened in the morning. reto was genuinely physically well. she made her way to the hospital. when she arrived there she was effectively just told the hospital. when she arrived there she was effectivelyjust told to wait. wait for what? wait for a natural miscarriage. she was told to wait for 24 to 48 hours. at that stage she wasn't given any options as to what she wanted to do, or what the risks could be medically. when did you find out that she was in distress and that she had to go to hospital? i was home at the time her waters broke, because the children

we re waters broke, because the children were on their school holidays. i was looking after the children at the time. i saw the situation at home. her waters broke and she went to hospital. so initially, that is how i know. at what point was she concerned about her health? well, she wasn't concerned initially. but when she went to hospital, naturally she was very emotional because we we re she was very emotional because we were all looking forward to the new baby. it's very hard to deal with the fact that you are going to lose the fact that you are going to lose the baby, because that what —— that is what she was effectively told, that the baby would not survive. and if it did, it was likely to be born with a number of defects. so, emotionally she was affected by this. 0bviously. emotionally she was affected by this. obviously. i emotionally she was affected by this. 0bviously. iwas emotionally she was affected by this. obviously. i was with her in hospital very shortly after. i was with her in hospital throughout her time. what did you notice about her

condition, why it began to deteriorate? what were the symptoms she was displaying? right. just to make here, she was in hospitalfor a few days. the first couple of days she was absolutely fine. there were no symptoms as such. but on the third day, when nothing happened, conditions started to deteriorate. now she knew that there was something wrong because she summons me to the hospital. she demanded that i get there fast. 0nce me to the hospital. she demanded that i get there fast. once i got there she was experiencing shaking and shivering. from that point onwards i was with her throughout. and i slowly watched deteriorate throughout the day. no doubt you

kept asking for intervention of some sort, did you? you kept asking for clinicians to come and look at her? no, ididn't clinicians to come and look at her? no, i didn't ask specifically. at the time the main focus of everybody at the hospital was the fact that a delivery needed to take place. the focus was on having this natural delivery. but nobody spoke about intervening as such. but more importantly, she was diagnosed, when she was getting the symptoms, she was diagnosed with sepsis. and the shocking thing is there has been some poor communication at the hospital, where doctors are not communicating among themselves or nursing staff. and more importantly, with reeta or myself. we did not know she had sepsis. it had been diagnosed but you had not been told? that is correct. from my understanding of it, pregnant women are more prone to sepsis, is that

right? that is correct. pregnant women are in a high—risk category, according to the national guidelines. so, doctors and clinicians should exercise extreme caution when dealing with pregnant women, especially if they come in with ruptured membranes. what with the treatment normally be? the treatment first sepsis normally is intervening as fluid and antibiotics in the first instance. that is to control the sepsis. if you don't respond to that, if the sepsis progresses and becomes more severe, ultimately you going to septic shock. add all of these stages, the chances of a person dying, they increase slowly. —— at all of these stages. the most important thing is that sepsis rapidly spreads within the body. diminishing your chances of survival. every hour is critical.

what treatment did she received? who came to see her regularly? that's been one of the biggest failures, because no senior doctor, i mean a consultant, saw reeta for approximately 16 hours after she was diagnosed with sepsis. she was diagnosed with sepsis. she was diagnosed with sepsis and a doctor did see her a few hours later. then there was another gap of seven hours between another doctor seeing her. but no consultant saw her. and that should have happened. at what point did become evident to you that her life was at risk? when she was wheeled off to intensive care. prior to that i was none the wiser. nobody told me she had sepsis. nobody told reeta she had sepsis. all the doctors and nurses and medical staff we re doctors and nurses and medical staff were busy taking, monitoring her

temperature and whatnot. and ultimately focusing on the baby. it was more like tunnel vision. they didn't focus on the most important thing that she had sepsis and how dangerous this is. they bypassed all of that. and by that time it was too late and she had to be wheeled off to intensive care. that was the first time i heard the word sepsis. as we know, the reason we're here now, is because she died as a result of that infection. there has been an inquest into her death. what were the findings? the coroner has provided a narrative conclusion. some of the things included are ineffective communication by the hospital staff, amongst nurses, doctors, relatives and patients. she should have been given a choice,

some options, from the outset, whether to terminate the pregnancy at that stage. that wasn't done. 0nce at that stage. that wasn't done. once the diagnosis of sepsis was made, they should have escalated the situation and sought multidisciplinary help at that stage. and again, insufficient monitoring. and by far the most important thing was they failed to control the source of the infection, which gave rise to the sepsis, which was the baby. that is something they should have removed far earlier.|j will come back to you in a minute to talk about what you hope will change, particularly to help other people in the future. first, iona, you have been acting for the family. why did he need representation? you have been acting for the family. why did he need representation7m order to make sure that the questions he had were answered, and in orderto questions he had were answered, and in order to assist the coroner in making her findings. it

in order to assist the coroner in making herfindings. it was in order to assist the coroner in making her findings. it was a three—day inquest. we heard from 17 oral witnesses. the trust were represented by a qc, the top level of barrister. and so, to engage properly with the process, he needed representation. how many cases these days are you seeing of sepsis, in particular it not been diagnosed properly? it feels to me as a journalist with the bbc, we are doing quite a lot of interviews about this condition? you are right. it isa about this condition? you are right. it is a significant proportion of my caseload and my colleagues' caseload. it is a life—threatening condition. it has to be diagnosed quickly. and correctly. and if it doesn't, it results in death, like in poor reeta's case. 0r doesn't, it results in death, like in poor reeta's case. or can result in life changing injuries. how unusual is it for a hospital to apologise in this way? all health

ca re apologise in this way? all health care professionals are under a duty of candour to be open and honest with patients where there have been failings in the treatment and either that has resulted in ilhan, or may put other patients at risk. the apology, and it should be said it was eight months after reeta's passing, is in line with that duty of candour. and it is absolutely right given the failings that were identified by both the hospital themselves in their investigation report and by the coroner. it is entirely appropriate and apology has been issued. why is it that sepsis seems to be, well, not being diagnosed? in reeta's case it was particularly apparent that the clinicians and that goes right from the top, consultant all the way down to the nursing staff, were not really thinking about sepsis. had not, in reeta's case, basil and were not, in reeta's case, basil and were not even using the latest guidelines

—— basildon. the difficulty is there isa —— basildon. the difficulty is there is a lack of understanding about the condition. with reeta's case, the coroner has said the hospital needs to demonstrate that it's putting training in place, that progress is being made. is that right? that's right. the coroner has prevented —— created a prevention of death row —— form. in that it demonstrate evidence the trust are implementing their own action plan. that the clinicians understand and are complying with the latest guidance on sepsis. and also, that they are understanding and implementing their obligation to discuss treatment and diagnoses with their patients. for your part you are supporting your two little girls and trying to help them cope with their mum having

died. what do you want to see change, not just at the died. what do you want to see change, notjust at the hospital where your wife died, but across the nhs? i think what i might -- what i would most like to see now is far more awareness of sepsis because it is so dangerous. the severity can't be understated. we hear a lot about other conditions such as cancer and what to do if somebody has a stroke. but with sepsis, former education is required in this area. —— far more education. as i said before, itjust rapidly spread in the body and you have very limited time to do anything about it. in reeta's case, it's different. she was actually in hospital. and i expected all that care, all the right steps to be taken to ensure it didn't progress to death levels, like they did.

i have grave concerns about this because again, i am not entirely convinced these changes will take place as quick as we would like to. you will keep pushing to make sure they do? i will do whatever i can to ensure nobody else dies and reeta's death is not in vain. it was only in 2013 they were placed in special measures and now, even though they were given and now, even though they were given a clean bill of health by the quality care commission, we are in this situation today, which is worrying for me. i sincerely hope the hospital does actively change

andi the hospital does actively change and i hope they train all medical staff tojunior and i hope they train all medical staff to junior and senior so the right symptoms can be identified. we appreciate you talking. it must've been incredibly difficult. thank you for coming in. in a statement basildon and thurrock university hospital we are offering mr saidha and his family a full and sincere apology for missing the opportunity to prevent mrs saidha s death. we have had comments from viewers. anon on text: "my sister died in march after the hospital she was admitted to failed

to identify sepsis. she was failed on many occasions." christine on email: i am appalled at this. i am the grandmother of little sam morrish who died of sepsis in torbay hospital in dec 2010. since then, his parents scott and sue morrish and melissa mead, mother of baby william, have along with the sepsis trust fought hard to raise awareness of the disease. jeremy hunt raised it many times in the commons. how on earth did this happen? ?but good to hear about the duty of candour being acknowledged. thank you for the comments. still to come. thousands of families could struggle to feed and entertain their children over the summer holidays as research shows more than ever before are reliant on foodbanks. we'll speak to holiday clubs who are providing cooked meals and activities for children in some of the most deprived parts of the country. this programme has learned that no evidence has been found of an institutional cover up in the football child abuse inquiry — we'll get the latest from our reporterjim reed shortly. time for the latest news —

here's annita mcveigh. it now seems unlikely that today's temperatures will reach an all—time british record. storms broke out overnight in the north east of england and the east of scotland, dampening chances that the uk will experience a temperature above 38.5 centigrade — the level set in 2003. however, much of the country will see it rise above 30 degrees, with a high of 34 expected in east anglia. the heat is causing misery for eurotunnel passengers, where continued disruption is being blamed on the extreme heat. thousands of tickets have been cancelled in an attempt to ease queues. police and firefighters are

searching for a 17—year—old boy who went missing after swimming in a quarry. he was swimming near leamington spa. specialist mortar crews have been used to try and find the boys and emergency services are on the scene. a controversial move to privatise some probation services in england and wales is to be reversed, costing the government £170 million. the partial privatisation of the system, which was introduced three years ago, had been strongly criticised. the contracts will end two years early, after ministers admitted they are not delivering the reduction in reoffending they promised. police have launched an appeal for help to catch a man found guilty of killing a woman in a speedboat crash on the river thames. jack shepherd, who's on the run after skipping bail, will be sentenced today for the death of charlotte brown. she was thrown overboard from the boat in december 2015. five people have died in a crash involving a minibus and a four—by—four car in aberdeenshire. police say that the collision, which took place last night on the a96,

has left one person with life—threatening injuries and four more seriously hurt. north korea has started to hand over the remains of american soldiers killed during the korean war in the 1950s. their repatriation was agreed at last month's singapore summit between president trump and kim jong—un. it's estimated that more than five—thousand us soldiers went missing in action between 1950 and 1953. that's a summary of the latest bbc news. here's some sport now with azi. good morning. geraint thomas is three stages away from the first tour de france title leading by one minute and 59 seconds ahead of the mountainous stage 19 today. rangers got a vital away win in europa league qualifying beating a croatian

side 1—0 and the second leg is at ibrox next thursday. ireland are through to the quarterfinals of the hockey world cup after a shock win over india. the result means england cannot now qualify automatically. adil rashid said you cannot turn down playing field country. he drew criticism playing limited overs cricket for yorkshire. sir paul mccartney ‘went back to where he once belonged' with a secret gig at the cavern club in liverpool. about 250 people crammed into the club to hear the 28—song set — ranging from classics he performed when the beatles started out at the cavern in the early ‘60s, to songs from his new solo album. cheering. thousands of families in some of the most disadvantaged areas in the country could benefit from a new free healthy meals summer programme.

it's been set up by feeding britain, with the backing of £2 million of government funding, after worries that low—income families would struggle to cover the additional food costs during six week period that children are off school. as well as a balanced diet being offered, a range of activities will be put on such as free football classes, play sessions and cooking classes. let's talk now tojo durkin, who s in newcastle this morning. she runs hebburn helps and is one of the organisations who s received and in london is daphine aikens, who holds breakfast and lunch clubs over the summer holidays and says she wishes smaller groups like hers would have been recognized. i beg your pardon, your name is daphne. i renamed you! jo, good morning, you started running clubs last year. what has the uptake be like? last year we provided packed

lunches for 1100 children and this year it is a big boost to help more. we can reach out to more children in the community. how has demand changed from last year? demand is higher this year. we saw our first activity club last monday, starting, and we saw 70 children registered. daphne is that the experience you are seeing with your club? yes we operate on a smaller scale but we have had increase year on year since we have been running them, about three years. what about parents who send their children, what does the service mean? one commented to me after the easter club that the clubs are great fun but the most important thing is the children and the family got to eat two meals a day when we

served meals on those days, they came to the club. that is a stark statement. how much more stressful forfamilies are statement. how much more stressful for families are must holidays? you have five children and know how difficult it is to keep people fed and happy? it is finding a balance between budget and feeding them and taking them out for activities across six weeks. these clubs are a lifeline for these families. how much difference will be extra government funding mean to you and what you can provide? it will mean a massive difference considering the last couple of years we relied on donations and small funding granted here and there. this funding from the government will make a huge difference and be brilliant. daphne, why have groups like yours not been included? i suspect because they are

smaller and we operate a few days a week in different locations. the clubs are half a day. what we do is important at the same time. where does yourfunding important at the same time. where does your funding come from? how difficult is it to keep things running? we have to keep applying for grants which is challenging. we do more than just for grants which is challenging. we do more thanjust the holiday for grants which is challenging. we do more than just the holiday clubs although they are important, this year we have funding from a crowdfunding type grant, big give. and also from the local council. we had funding from different sources. how many families are you able to help? we will help between 45 and 50 families. it is small scale but really important. the summer holidays can feel endlessly long to pa rents. holidays can feel endlessly long to parents. the activities must be immensely welcome. absolutely, we are excited this year because of the

extra funding we are taking the children to football clubs, a city farm. we have a dance club coming in and we have things for mothers, so we are excited. they will not be stuck in small homes with not much to eat. how many people do you have to eat. how many people do you have to turn away? so far we have been able to expand. last easter expected 30 children to our white city club and 40 turned up and fortunately we had over provided and we had plenty of activities and were able to welcome everybody but space is an issue. we can only fit 40 children at that club this year. what other services would you like to see increased in your area? perhaps extra things you could do, particularly given the fact we hear that food bank use is increasing. food bank use has increased by 300%

since 2015. i would like to see more youth clubs and activity clubs that are available free like years ago. lately, youth activities over the holidays, a lot of parents have to pay and there is not the money to do it. it is expensive, sending children to a day camp? very expensive, some places can charge up to £35 per day. at what point do these children no longer qualify to come to your clubs? teenagers also have long holidays and there seems to be less available for them compare to a small child who can ta ke compare to a small child who can take part in a soccer camp. it is a concern. 0ur club is primary aged

children and because parents come they often bring their younger children so we have babies in pushchairs, also but there is a need for the older children that we do not have the ability to work with all the children. jo, how useful would it be if anybody listening to you fancied volunteering? oh, just, longer! give us a message, we are on facebook. drop us a line and we will see about letting you volunteer. we need plenty. and you, also? never turn help away? we would love more donations. we are also a food bank and we like to give families and extra food bank pass also if anyone wants to donate food please let us know. more power to your elbow, hard work but much appreciated, i am sure. thank you. coming up...

the midwife in liberia who has a very special bond with some of the thousands of babies she's delivered. that's coming up shortly a number of former coaches, managers and others involved in running football clubs will receive letters next month criticising their handling of historic sexual abuse allegations, this programme understands. the letters are being sent by lawyers working for the fa's independent inquiry into abuse in the sport. 0ur reporterjim reed is here. so what have you found outjim? the enquiry was set up 18 months ago after a large number of former footballers talked about the abuse they went through as children, we're talking 25—40 years ago. the first man to come forward was a former player andy woodward, who spoke to the guardian and this programme about the abuse he went through at crewe alexandra football club. the impact it's had on my life

isjust catastrophic. and you live with that all your life. and i can't put it into words, what that has done to me. but other people out there will understand what it does to you. because everybody always says to me, how do you cope with it, how do you deal with it? i think we survive, and that's it. that was andy woodward speaking 18 months ago and since then we have had court cases, his abuser, barry bennell, was sentenced to another 31 yea rs bennell, was sentenced to another 31 years in prison for abusing other young players. now we expect the results of this wider football association enquiry into abuse at some point this autumn. it was set up some point this autumn. it was set up18 some point this autumn. it was set up 18 months ago and we are getting details coming through. the team of lawyers have looked at around 13,000

documents relating to abuse hurled in the big warehouse by the fa in their archives, about 1.3 millions of documentation. and these are individual cases that have gone to the fa. we think 60% are connected to child abuse. and they have carried out more than 100 interviews, including 35 victims. this is gearing up for the publication of the report. tell us about the letters. as we understand it, the report will look at between ten and 12 professional clubs, so what people there might have known, whether more could have been done to protect players. we are talking manchester city, chelsea, aston villa, crewe. the man running the enquiry, clive sheldon, is not... has not so far foundered institutional conspiracy, which i

mean is an organised cover—up across the game as we have seen in other parts of society, religious institutions, for examples. he has found individualfailings institutions, for examples. he has found individual failings by individuals and clubs and he is in the process of writing to the individuals and giving them an opportunity to respond to criticisms before the report is published. that will start now and we expect him to give the individuals four weeks to respond. when is the final report likely to be at? perhaps at the end of september, beginning october. this is just the of september, beginning october. this isjust the english fa. the scottish fa published interim findings yesterday of a similar report. the chief executive there apologising to players for the abuse they went through as children. also backed report criticising policies, current child protection policies in scotla nd current child protection policies in scotland is not fit for purpose, in

particular a lack of resources going into that side of the game which is presumably something the scottish fa will want to deal with and correct. thank you. next we want to bring you the amazing story of a woman called alice sumo. she's a midwife in liberia in west africa and has delivered thousands of babies during her 30—year career. and the 48 year—old has a very special bond with many of those she has brought into the world. caroline loyer from bbc africa what's new? has been speaking to her. my name is alice. alice. my name is alice. i am a midwife. i have delivered many thousands of babies, and thousands were named alice, after me. my name is alice.

her name is alice. my name is alice. my name is alice! extraordinary. alice sumo was speaking to caroline loyer from bbc africa what's new? in a moment a full weather forecast

— but in this extreme heat how are those sleeping rough on britain's streets coping with the high temperatures during the heatwave? as homelessness charities hand out extra bottles of water and sun cream, we hear from those struggling to find shelter from the sun. there can we have it. let's get the latest weather update — with lucy martin. there has been some sort of respite but not for everybody? we saw storms overnight working up from the south—eastern areas, but it has still been humid. today, a little bit cooler and then it will turn fresher. when we say a little bit cooler, barely noticeable for some. that is very true, especially in east anglia, the south—east where you could see up to 34 celsius.

still feeling heart. so what does the weather have installed? it will get fresher. the winds will pick up and we will see showers. you can see a picture of one of the thunderstorms we saw earlier and there will be further thunderstorms as we move through today. temperatures up to 35.1 yesterday, making it the hottest day of the year so far, that was in wisley in surrey, but it is turning fresher. thunderstorms as we go through the day and turning fresher at weekend, thanks to low pressure out to the west that will bring showers and also some breezy conditions into the weekend and introducing something fresher. we mention storms. these are the storms earlier. working slowly north as we move through this morning. further thunderstorms this

afternoon. i think storms in eastern england and scotland have potential to cause disruption. potential downpour, thunder and lightning, that sort of thing. there will also be sunny spells. cloudy in the west. the cold front bringing showers. the temperatures today cooler than most yesterday. but still fairly warm. 0vernight, further thunder showers particularly in the east and more prolonged rain working its way north east and we will see wind picking up in the south. there is a lunar eclipse tonight and there is a chance you could see it, but also there are thunderstorms around so maybe too much in the way of cloud. we start the day tomorrow with a fairamount of we start the day tomorrow with a fair amount of persistent, heavy rain. working its way north east and rain. working its way north east and rain coming up from the south—west.

becoming drier in the south—east, but those are the temperatures tomorrow, significantly cooler than today, 24 in the south—east. as much as 10 degrees cooler than we expect people to see today. sunday, we have the next area of rain pushing into the next area of rain pushing into the south—west. sunday, more windy than saturday and plenty of cloud. rain spreading north and east. becoming showery in the afternoon and temperatures fairly similar to saturday. hello, it's friday, it's ten o'clock, i'm martine croxall. "no amount of apologies will bring her back" — the husband of a pregnant woman who died of sepsis tell us he and their two young children are struggling to cope with the loss. she was actually diagnosed with sepsis and the shocking thing is

that there has been some very poor communication at the hospital where doctors aren't communicating amongst themselves or nursing staff, more importantly, with myself and reeta. we didn't know she had sepsis. reeta sadhia was 15 weeks pregnant when she died. her husband, bhooshan, says it's been so difficult watching his children cry for their mummy. medicines derived from cannabis will become available on prescription, says the government — parents say they're delighted. this announcement today gives every person in that situation hope that they can try this medication and that it just might they can try this medication and that itjust might work. i've always been clear that it doesn't always work for everyone. but when it does work, it works like a miracle and every person should have the chance to try it. and we'll also be speaking to the mother of six—year—old alfie dingley who suffers from 150 seizures a month and we'll ask a government adviser how quickly prescriptions could be handed out. also ahead, storms may finally dampen the hot temperatures, but why the extreme heat is causing misery for holiday—makers two and a half hours queueing from the motorway down

to the check—in terminals. sat on the motorway embankment in 34 degrees heat with ants crawling over our feet. no water. absolutely ridiculous. we'll be hearing from one group of travellers who were delayed for six hours about their experience. and get the latest from air traffic control. here's annita mcveigh is in the bbc newsroom with a summary of the day's news. good morning. it has been called furnace friday. but it now seems unlikely that today's temperatures will reach an all—time british record. storms broke out overnight in the north east of england and the east of scotland, dampening chances that the uk will experience a temperature above 38.5 centigrade — the level set in 2003. however, much of the country will see it rise above 30 degrees, with a high of 34 expected in east anglia. the heat is causing misery

for eurotunnel passengers, where continued disruption is being blamed on the extreme heat. thousands of tickets have been cancelled in an attempt to ease queues. police and firefighters are searching for a 17—year—old boy who went missing while swimming at a disused quarry near harbury in warwickshire. the teenager first disppeared yesterday evening whilst swimming in bishops bowl lakes — near leamington spa . specialist water crews from local fire crews have been used to try and find the boy and emergency services are still on the scene. police have launched an appeal for help to catch a man found guilty of killing a woman in a speedboat crash on the river thames. jack shepherd, who's on the run after skipping bail, will be sentenced today for the death of charlotte brown. she was thrown overboard from the boat in december 2015. five people have died in a crash involving a minibus and a four—by—four car in moray in scotland. police say that the collision, which took place

last night on the a96, has left one person with life—threatening injuries and four more seriously hurt. north korea has started to hand over the remains of american soldiers killed during the korean war in the 1950s. their repatriation was agreed at last month's singapore summit between president trump and kim jong—un. it's estimated that more than 5,000 us soldiers went missing in action between 1950 and 1953. 1800 migrant children have been reunited with theirfamilies, after a judge ordered the us government to stop its zero tolerance policy aimed at tackling illegal immigration. campaigners say there's currently no coherent plan to reunite hundreds more children with their relatives, including those whose parents have already left the us or been deported. theresa may is travel to austria today to try and get european support for her plan for a brexit settlement. she'll meet the austrian leader and the czech prime minister,

as she seeks to reduce the risk of britain leaving the eu without a deal. it comes a day after the eu's chief negotiator ruled out the uk's proposal for a future customs arrangement, the online retail giant, amazon, has reported record profits, after it branched out into groceries and artificial intelligence. it made £2.5 billion in the past three months — 12 times more than the same period last year. the firm now plans to take on the global healthcare industry, although some us politicians say they're concerned by the company's increasing dominance. tonight will see the longest total lunar eclipse of the century, as the moon passes through the shadow of the earth for one hour and 43 minutes. it will be visible from 8.15 this evening but rain clouds and thunderstorms could scupper the view for some skygazers. the event will coincide with the closest approach of mars in 15 years. wherever you are, i hope you get a

good view. that's a summary of the latest bbc news — more at 10.30. thank you. see you later. do get in touch with us throughout the morning — use the hashtag victoria live. if you re emailing and are happy for us to contact you, and maybe want to take part in the programme, please include your phone number in your message. if you text, you ll be charged at the standard network rate. let's get some sport now. azi is at the bbc sport centre. good morning. it is a big, big day for geraint thomas. he has still got a near two lead after state 18 of the tour de france. if he can keep that through today's mountainous stage, he will have a very good chance of being crowned champion for the first time. it was a flat stage yesterday. thomas stayed tucked away in the peloton to conserve energy for the next two stages, which will be much more demanding. that didn't stop any accidents. this was

wednesday when kim tanner injured his arm but got back on his bike. he got some treatment from the open top car as he rode. the stage was won by arnold r. thomas came in safely in the peloton. —— arnaud demare. ireland have guaranteed their place in the quarterfinals of the women's hockey world cup with a shock victory over india. a 13th minute penalty corner put the lowest side in the second pool through to the last eight after a successive victory. it means england can't macro now qualify automatically and face a play—off. they play ireland on sunday to determine where they will finish the group. it's absolutely incredible. this group of players, the players before us, we have worked so hard for this. we have been banging on the door for so long. we might not necessarily have gotten the brakes that were coming our way. this one came and we took it with both hands.

we are absolutely delighted. it is nothing more than this group of players deserve. it was a pretty good night for a scottish clubs in the race to reach this season's europa league. hibs came back from two goals down to win 3-2. came back from two goals down to win 3—2. aberdeen held burnley to a 1—1 draw. and rangers got an away win in the first leg of their qualifying tie. they played siaka in croatia. england leg—spinner adil rashid has responded to former captain michael vaughan's comments about his recall to the test side. rashid was named in this team against india next week despite signing a contract to play on the limited overs cricket at yorkshire. vaughan had described the decision as ridiculous. rashid said you can't synod your country. —— you can't say no. he does talk a lot

on twitter, or whatever. i don't know if his opinions are heard, or if he isjust saying things the sake of it. i don't think his opinions matter to anybody. he can say a lot. he thinks people might listen but i don't think they will. there will be some out there who are not happy. there will be hayters. it's not my fault. i said to yorkshire that i wasn't available. but if you want to pick me, it is up to them. if your country asks you, you can't say no. there was an extraordinary finish in the super league were leaders sent st helens came behind to beat warrington with the last kick of the match. the scores were tied at 12—12 isa match. the scores were tied at 12—12 is a full—time hooter sounded. but danny richardson kicked this penalty from inside his own half to secure a 14-12 from inside his own half to secure a 14—12 win. from inside his own half to secure a 14-12 win. it from inside his own half to secure a 14—12 win. it extends their lead at the top to 12 points. that is all the top to 12 points. that is all the sport for now. thank you. ‘furnace friday‘ forecasts are no more, as predicted rain today means temperatures are set to be lower than expected. a record heat forecast has been

halted by thunderstorms arriving earlier than expected. temperatures will still be high though — around 30 celsius for many — but it could be as high as 34 celsius in east anglia. but those temperatures won‘t break records today. loads of people will be on the roads and trains and in the air today as they go on holiday. and it is a big day, with uk air traffic control expecting a record 8,841 flights over the next 24 hours. so is the heat casuing travel chaos? let‘s get more from simon jones in folkestone. it has been causing disruption on the eurotunnel. what are they coping with?m the eurotunnel. what are they coping with? it may not be furnace friday, it may not be going to break records, but certainly there are ongoing issues. we have come down from the cliffs to get a view of what it is like at the

entrance to eurotunnel. just behind me you can see that lorries are queueing up. they are facing delays of more than two hours. lorry drivers are hardy souls even in these conditions. it is a big concern for holiday—makers. you can see some of the tourist traffic there. the delays were tourist traffic is around 30 minutes just to get to check—in. there are queues further down. 0nce get to check—in. there are queues further down. once in the terminal there are delays of about 90 minutes. 0vernight some passengers we re minutes. 0vernight some passengers were telling me they had delays of around seven hours. eurotunnel is working hard to try to shift some of the backlog. but they are warning there is likely to be disruption throughout the day. the big issue is the temperature is continuing to rise. as it gets hotter, that means some of the train compartments get hotter and some have to be taken out of service because the air conditioning simply can‘t cope. the warning is, check before you travel.

day trips on eurotunnel today have been cancelled completely. yes, i had a tweet from lydia guthrie saying that she had her ticket cancelled, her day ticket, but was not notified by e—mail and find out about it last night on bbc radio. some people are having pointless travels to folkestone only to be disappointed? as ever i think it can bea disappointed? as ever i think it can be a dedication is you getting this across. i think it was late yesterday that eurotunnel decided to cancel around 400 day trips, because it was —— what it wanted to concentrate on with the backlog of tourist traffic. there are expecting around 12,000 cars today. —— they are expecting. many of those will be jam—packed with families and their good telling off on holidays. they we re good telling off on holidays. they were saying to day—trippers, dogs travel today, we‘re not going to let you travel today because we need to sort out the people going on holiday and their families first. some

people have turned up not knowing that. it has been disappointing for them. eurotunnel are apologising to people caught up in the delays. they say they simply cannot control the weather. simonjones, weather. simon jones, thank you. weather. simonjones, thank you. in a moment, the latest on the air travel situation. i am joined by kim o‘connor from thejumbulance trust, a charity that helps make travel possible for adults and children who are disabled or who have serious or complex health conditions. kim was delayed this morning for six hours on the way to lourdes carrying six severly disabled passengers. what has been happening for you? well, we arrived in folkestone last night and had a two—hour wait to get to the check—in. 0nce night and had a two—hour wait to get to the check—in. once we got there we we re to the check—in. once we got there we were really looked after and they did give us priority because of the

people we are carrying on board. we only had to wait five hours. we are five hours behind. you sound quite sanguine about it. we're really lucky. we are on an air—conditioned bus. we have supplies. it is good to hear you were looked after. what did they do to help you? the driver dealt with the staff. i will let you talk to andy. andy, how did they help you? have to waiting for about two hours ina have to waiting for about two hours in a queue just to speak to a service agent, we have got passengers with special needs, terminal illnesses. they prioritised and we got on the next train. we we re and we got on the next train. we were supposed to travel at 20 past nine. we travelled at ten to three. how are you sharing, because you

have to drive the bus macula i‘m not too bad. we are a lot behind time. i'm doing 0k. too bad. we are a lot behind time. i'm doing ok. we have two drivers so i don't have to do all the work myself. i hope it is straight through to lourdes. good luck to everybody. thank you. jamie hutchinson is the director of air traffic control over england, welsh and scottish airspace. it‘s europe‘s businest air space. candace gurlack is from roadside assistance experts, green flag. and kathryn leahy is the operational director at heathrow airport, britain‘s busiest airport. welcome to all of you. thank you very much. let‘s start with jamie. how busy is busy for you? traditionally this last friday in july is our busiest day of the year. it is shaping up that way. we are expecting more than 8800 flights to

fly through uk airspace today. this is just fly through uk airspace today. this isjust one of fly through uk airspace today. this is just one of many busy days. this summer we have broken her daily record five times. how do you prepare your team to make sure everybody stays safe? it is a stressful job. everybody stays safe? it is a stressfuljob. there is a lot of planning that goes into a busy summer. it starts months ahead. in association with airlines and, importantly, the airports, so we understand the schedules and we can match her staff to the demand we see. an increasing constraint is airspace. the airspace in the uk is very busy. it is getting busier every day. we are reaching the point where it is almost full. if we are going to meet the demand in future yea rs, going to meet the demand in future years, then the time is right to sta rts years, then the time is right to starts to modernise airspace in the uk. i'd like to come back to that in a minute. 0ne uk. i'd like to come back to that in a minute. one final question, along

those lines, if you are coping with 2596 those lines, if you are coping with 25% ofair those lines, if you are coping with 25% of air traffic in europe but you only have 11% of a space to play with, you squash them all in? we have got a very complicated aerospace design. we split it into many different segments. we call them sectors. we allocate controllers to those sectors, opening and closing them based on the demand of the day. it is a very complicated and carefully choreographed operation. we have got very highly trained individuals who are very capable, confident and competent at handling large volumes of traffic that we see in the uk through the year. for that we all give much thanks. i will return to that in a minute. we‘re used to there being a lot of problems with brea kd owns there being a lot of problems with breakdowns in the winter. what sort of problems are you going to get this weekend? similar to jamie, this is one of our busiest periods in the

summer. with the heat there is pressure on engines. we see the volume of breakdowns increase. there isa volume of breakdowns increase. there is a 10% increase year on year because of the soaring temperatures. and actually, put that in perspective. that is one break down every four seconds, which is 17 breakdowns a minute. how much of this is down to was not looking after our cars properly? that is the thing. the heat doesn't help. there are straightforward things you can do before you get into the car. whether you are driving to the shops are going a long distance journeys. many of us are taking family and friends in our car. there are some things simple things you can do. pop your bonnet before you get in your carand get your bonnet before you get in your car and get that water coolant level. —— car and get that water coolant level. — — check car and get that water coolant level. —— check the water coolant level. —— check the water coolant level. philip up if it is below the minimum. make sure it is topped up. go to the garage and get some if you don't have some. another tip, there

isa don't have some. another tip, there is a sell by date on coolant. if it goes past its sell by date it can be quite damaging for the car. you normally think of food products and beauty products when it comes to sell by dates. make sure it is in date. 0ver sell by dates. make sure it is in date. overtime it could be damaging. check your oil. if you haven't got any, go to the garage. i thought you were going to ask me a question! it is so obvious. it is. i have been guilty of that. you get your kids in the car, you have to go somewhere quickly, you don't think to check. but every four seconds somebody is breaking down across the nation. that is quite a powerful start. take the time to open your bonnet, check your water levels, check your oil, pump up the tyres when you are going to the garage. make sure you plan. lots of planning is needed. cars are under a lot of pressure. this heat is starting to damage component parts because it is underso damage component parts because it is under so much pressure. don't be one of those four. if you're -- if you

had kids, water, water water. even if you break down it can be difficult in the soaring heat. catherine, at heathrow, very stressful sometimes going on family holidays, trying to drag children‘s suitcases with you. how do you make the process as painless as possible for your passengers? no matter what the temperature is outside, we have worked extremely hard across the year. our worked extremely hard across the year. 0urengineering worked extremely hard across the year. our engineering teams have teams on all the time to make sure temperatures within the buildings are cool and horrible for everybody. no matter where you are in the process of your journey. no matter where you are in the process of yourjourney. so within the check—in area 's process of yourjourney. so within the check—in area '5 many of our check—in areas are very bright and airy. they are cooled. we have installed a number of water coolers across the terminal so people can refill their water bottles. they don't have to buy bottled water. how

well prepared are you to get everybody through x—ray security? that also can cause backlogs. yeah. today we are expecting 223,000 passengers to travel through heathrow, but arriving and departing. 135,000 departing passengers. all of our security lanes are opened. today we call a red a day, where we have all hands on deck. we have additional resources. we picked out of crowds families and people we think need a bit of additional assistance. i have two young children myself, so i know how stressful it is to travel through. we go the extra mile, especially during the summer holidays, when people are less used to travelling. it may be the only time to go through an airport at this time of the year. therefore we do everything we can to make their journey as seamless as possible.

nice to have that guidance on hand. jamie hutchinson, you mentioned the fa ct jamie hutchinson, you mentioned the fact this invisible infrastructure, which is the sky, how do you create more space up there if we have more planes that need to fly? the structure in place now was created in 1950 structure in place now was created in1950 and it structure in place now was created in 1950 and it has evolved over time. this year we expected to be a record—breaking year. 2.6 million flights. probably well in excess of 3 million. we need a fundamental redesign of the airspace if we are going to need that level of volume of traffic. so we are seeking to bring forward proposals for airspace redesign in 2020, which will be fully consulted on. and we would hope that that will create the capacity we need for the future, deliver more efficient routes, from an efficiency point of view. really,

that needs to be the focus in the coming years if we are going to meet the demand of the future. a fascinating puzzle. i would like to examine it more with you at some point. for now, thank you all. good luck to all of you this weekend. coming up... we‘ll talk to chris smith, the organiser of the long—running world music festival womad, which kicks off this weekend. he says artists are being kept out of the uk because the visa process is so difficult and humiliating since the brexit vote. specialist doctors in the uk will be able to legally prescribe medicinal cannabis from the autumn, following a review by the home office. ministers decided to relax the rules after a series of high—profile cases of children with severe epilepsy being denied access to cannabis oil. other forms of cannabis will remain illegal. in a moment we‘ll talk to alfie dingley‘s mum hannah, but first our health correspondent

fergus walsh has been taking a look at what‘s in these medicines and what different will the change in law make? fergus walsh. to discuss this, i‘m joined by hannah deacon, who became the first person to legally enter the uk with cannabis oil, after she traveled to amsterdam to obtain it for her son, alfie, who suffers from severe epilepsy. and from newcastle, i‘m joined by dr mike barnes, a consultant in neurology and rehabilitation medicine, who has campaigned to legalise access to medical cannabis. dr stephen alexander joins me from nottingham, and is an associate professor of molecular pharmacology, who advised the home secretary on the re—scheduling of cannabis for medicinal purposes. welcome all of you. thank you. doctor alexander, how reluctant has the government bin to make this change, even in the light of the pressure from all sort of high profile cases we have seen recently?

i think it is a difficult one to gauge the reluctance of government. certainly there has been a rapid movement recently precipitated by the events you have described in terms of the childhood epilepsy cases. i think this has been something that has moved on at a much more rapid pace than people would have thought maybe six months ago. hannah, how welcome will this be to other parents who have children like alfie, who you believe really benefits from it? it is extremely welcome. it is really important the government acted so quickly and looked at rescheduling cannabis. i do have a grave concern about the medicines that will be available to doctors to prescribe. suchis available to doctors to prescribe. such is my son's medication. companies are making medical grade oil out of cannabis under legislation from the likes of canada and holland. they are safe. if those

products are not made available to doctors to prescribe, alfie would still need a licence for his medication. we must and from acidic allows this. we mustn't allow drugs that have been through these arduous trials. parents are still going to be suffering. we will still be waiting many years for these drugs because it takes time to develop these drugs. doctor mike barnes was nodding as you are speaking. what concerns do you have aboutjust how much less restrictive the rules are going to be? i think hannah is quite right. we have to guard against this being quite restrictive. it is great news. we have to make sure this is not a false dawn. many thousands of people will benefit. my main concern is the comment will insist the products go through clinical trials. that may sound reasonable. actually, it has been difficult to get trials done because the drug is illegal. you are

disadvantaged in well over half the people if not more forever c only who want the drug who have not been through a clinical trial process. there is huge experience of hundreds of thousands of people in 44 countries where this is the —— is legal. we have to make use of that expertise, that experience, that knowledge of the safety, and not insist it is a pharmaceutical product that goes through the clinical trials process. dr alexander, how do you make sure the right products are permissible, evenif the right products are permissible, even if they have not been through the trials that you would normally expect a drug to go through? there are clinical trials that have gone on with particular preparations of cannabis. in the united states, the drug administration recently licensed one for epilepsy. there is evidence from other sources that could be used by the mh i and the regulatory authority, to inform them

about the choices of particular cannabis derived preparations they cannabis derived preparations they can make available. one of the things rescheduling doors is it will prompt a lot more interest in conducting properly controlled clinical trials to evaluate the benefits and ensure that we minimise risk. doctor mike barnes, some of these products, which might contain psychoactive ingredients, how concerned are you they might be used in the wrong purposes recreationally? there is confusion between street cannabis and medicinal cannabis and they are two products. street cannabis is high in thc, which makes people i. generally speaking, medicinal cannabis is lower in thc and the effect is counteracted by the cbd. take children with epilepsy, they need cbd and need a little bit of thc but

that thc is not enough to make them high. we are talking about different products. i do not think there is a significant risk. there is some risk but not a significant risk of these medicinal products being leaked into the recreational market. hannah, how well informed on many of the doctors you have come across in pursuing this sort of treatment for alfie? u nfortu nately, this sort of treatment for alfie? unfortunately, many doctors are not informed about this medication and i think now we need to look at educating health professionals. there is a concern this announcement, talks about... doctors with specialisms, it should go wider and gps should be trained and be allowed to prescribe this. it should be available to everyone, notjust people who are seriously ill. the cannabis plant works in the

entourage affects so the cannabinoids are needed to get the best results and if we talk about research into individual cannabinoids so companies can make specific drugs, they will not be as effective as whole cannabis. i am carrying on working as an ambassador to carry on this work and ensure people like my son will be able to get these products on prescription, as other people do in other countries, and not have to go through arduous fighting to get medication, because they are well used around the world and should be available under prescription in this country. why are we lagging behind other countries, if it is so effective? that is a good question and it has puzzled me why politicians are so slow. the evidence they say is enough to reschedule the drug has been out two

years. i think it comes back to the confusion between street cannabis and medicinal cannabis. they are different products and we need to recognise that difference and get this product out to the tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands who would benefit and the sooner the better. doctor alexander, what plans are there that with the loosening of restrictions, to make sure the medical profession in particular understands what is asked of it? that is a good question. the understanding about what positions can offer in the future should be something incorporated into the curricula at medical schools and pharmacy schools and there should be an awareness pharmacy schools and there should be an awareness of what is on the horizon. part of the problem is we have so much to pack into the medical curriculum that doing the scanning in the future, uses of new

medicines, is not so easy to pack in. people will be concerned if there is a change in law regarding attitudes towards medicinal cannabis oil, how long will we wait until a change in attitudes politically regarding the use of recreational cannabis which people are concerned about, because of the damage it can do to some people, particularly in terms of psychosis? doctor alexander. 0ne terms of psychosis? doctor alexander. one of the problems is we do not know for sure what people on the street take and say what they report to us in general would be things like skunk, a high thc version, but often that is not up your substance so it is not impossible that they are combining a variety of other things. we do not know exactly what is going on. it is logical there would be some issues

with panic attacks and psychotic episodes because we can see that with high thc in other circumstances, but we do not know for sure what is going on with street versions and if we can distance the pharmaceutical level consistency, where we know the composition of the medicinal cannabis and we are happy in five years we are giving the same stuff as now, that would give more reassurance about the quality and safety of cannabis derived drugs. you are nodding again, doctor barnes. do you sense a change in attitude towards the recreational cannabis politically, or is it very much confined to medicinal use?- the moment in the uk and europe it is mainly confined to medicinal use andl is mainly confined to medicinal use and i think after some years when we convince the public and politicians cannabis is a safe drug and we have

produced it to good quality, good manufacturing practice standard and we can show consistency and quality and limited side—effects, it is a different debate, three, five years down the road, to see if we want a social change but i would not want to confuse the two. we need medicinal cannabis and very soon, to a high quality, let's wait another few years for the recreational debate. hannah, how is alfie? he is doing amazingly well. he really was ata doing amazingly well. he really was at a point where we thought he would die, or have psychosis, because of the intravenous steroids ironically he was using to rescue him from his clusters. those drugs children are given all the time cause horrendous effects on brains and growing bodies which is why it frustrates me when people talk about the side—effect of thc. as doctor barnes said, cbd

cou ntera cts thc. as doctor barnes said, cbd counteracts that. he is doing extremely well because of medical cannabis and i speak to people everyday suffering and it has to stop and this medication should be available quickly, so people can enjoy a good quality life like i am with my family and little boy, because he is doing so well and it is because of medical cannabis. thank you all forjoining us. the organiser of the long—running world music festival womad, which kicks off this weekend, has said government immigration policies are causing artists to stay away. chris smith says some artists to stay away. are being kept out of the uk, because the visa process is so difficult and humiliating . he puts it down to a tightening of the rules and a hardening of the political climate in britain since the brexit vote. we can talk to chris now, from the womad festival in wiltshire. also with us are david jones — director of serious, who produce international live music.

and from france, seun kuti, a nigerian musician and youngest son of the late musical and political revolutionary fela kuti. thank you very much. chris, tell us about difficulties your artists have faced? the visa process is complicated but the change this year is that artists are not prepared to go through it and we find ourselves in the situation where we offer shows to artists and they say, actually we do not want to go through the process, so no thanks. what impact is it having on the festival? at this point, there are lots of artists we can bring in but the worry is what happens next year and a year after that. it is a major threat to the cultural sector in the uk generally. how does that compare with what you‘re seeing with your artists, david? there is a

perception british immigration is hostile and devoted to keeping people out of britain, rather than welcoming, in the artists who support and help us develop the cultural industries in this country which is one of britain's success stories. everything going on at present with the system is working against that success. how much of thatis against that success. how much of that is a desire to keep people out, rather than it being a flaw in the system ? rather than it being a flaw in the system? it is a flaw in the system. 2010 when the new system was introduced, it was a world leader, a good system for moving international artists and doing security checks and work effectively and red tape have been put on top of it and costs have been put on top of it and costs have been put on top of it and costs have been increased and that is the problem. britain has a sensible syste m problem. britain has a sensible system that just has too many layers put on top of it. there is the doctrine of unintended consequences

where things have happened and nobody realise the impact. all people have no desire to live in britain, they want to do a performance and — — britain, they want to do a performance and —— our people, and then they will go away and play at other places internationally, but it is doing damage right now. seun, how do you view the system, how does it affect you and your musician colleagues? my case is peculiar. i have a really big band. we are 14 when we tour. i am in the south of france right now. i have to deal with embassies from all over the world. i have to save that yes the syste m world. i have to save that yes the system is flawed, but there are some good people working in the embassies who are human and try their best and because of these people, i am able

to make any show happen, any talk, because if you were to follow the system, there is no way we would be able to make any tour happen. i think it is definitely deliberate. i do not think this red tape... gaining visas in nigeria lays in the hands of someone in sheffield. nobody can do anything to help. you have to wait it out. it gets more difficult. you say you think it is deliberate, why would britain design a system that deliberately tries to keep out musicians like you, who wa nt to keep out musicians like you, who want to come and play and tour the rest of the world? i do not think it isjust music. it is the immigration, the rhetoric. the west. they are backing it up with their

political power. that is why i feel it is deliberate. what musicians go through is hell. you need to see what normal people trying to maybe visit england for a holiday, how they are treated at the embassies, i mean, it is just... they are treated at the embassies, i mean, it isjust... anyway i do not wa nt mean, it isjust... anyway i do not want to go into that but i think people need to change their outlook to the world and understand as humans we have things to share. chris, you have talked about the impact of the brexit vote, but we have not left the eu so how is it having an impact? we talked to a lot of promoters and artists and there isa of promoters and artists and there is a perception that walls are being built around britain because of brexit and britain is opting out of europe and integration. that is my issue with this discussion, is perception. there are a lot of

people working in the immigration service who want to help to get artists in, but the perception of britain is negative, that people are not welcome, the door is closing. that is something that has been triggered by the brexit debate and lack of significant progress or understanding what it means. david, many people might say it is only right we have a robust system and musicians are no different, they have to navigate it, and if they are entitled to come they can come. the question is why do you want to make it difficult, more difficult than other countries, for people to come and work because they are creating britishjobs as well as and work because they are creating british jobs as well as performances for themselves. the womad festival brings lots of international artists but it employs many british people and if it does not take place britishjobs will and if it does not take place british jobs will suffer, it and if it does not take place britishjobs will suffer, it is not just a case for foreign artist

coming here, they are coming here a short time and creating prosperity for venues and festivals all over the country as well as giving people in britain access to the artists they want to see. there are things that could be done to fine tune the syste m that could be done to fine tune the system simply without having to rewrite the rules and some kind of task force that brings people together and says, where does britain want to be? what impact do we want to make on the world? do we wa nt we want to make on the world? do we want to give the impression of a fortress, or the impression of a place that welcomes people and understand security and disproportionate. what are the small changes that should be easy to bring in? someone last year who has been to britain and left are performed, he has done many times and should not be waiting weeks to get a visa, people know who he is and there should be a system that says when someone like him has been through

the hurdles, they can come back into work and we can make it light touch. that would be one thing that would make it easier for him to work here, but would be easier for the system to process people because time could be spent on people they do not know, checking them, rather than checking the same people over and again. nothing changes for him because he has been here many times. seun, how does britain compare with other parts of the world when it comes to travelling? which country makes it easy? no country makes it easy, it isjust the british is easy? no country makes it easy, it is just the british is the easy? no country makes it easy, it isjust the british is the most expensive. it is a western thing. we are going tojapan expensive. it is a western thing. we are going to japan on sunday. the process was are going to japan on sunday. the process was straightforward. very cheap, 26 euros. the hurdles are the same. everybody is putting up walls. ido same. everybody is putting up walls. i do not think it isjust britain,

everybody is putting balls up. america, even the french are putting walls up. i feel like, as... —— putting — — putting walls —— putting walls up. we are citizens of the world and humanity. i mean, this is an opportunity to prove our humanity. to allow people to move as freely... chris, the last word to you. what can people look forward to at womad? we will give them a fantastic global show with some of the finest artists in the world, exchanging culture and messages and having a really good time. chris, david and seun, thank you for joining. a home office spokesperson said: ? we welcome artists and musicians coming to the uk from non—eea countries to perform. ? there is a long—standing route,

which womad festival uses, where festivals can apply to invite performers without the need to issue a certificate of sponsorship. coming up... if there are clear skies tonight you should be able to see the longest lunar eclipse this century. we‘ll speak to an astrophysics lecturer at the university of york who will explain to us why this happens. earlier on the programme, we spoke exclusively to the husband of a pregnant woman who died of sepsis. reeta saidha was 15 weeks pregnant when her waters broke in december, she later died in hospital. an inquest found insufficient monitoring and missed opportunities to remove the infection surgically had contributed to her death. basildon and thurrock university hospital trust has apologised. she was in hospital a few days and the first couple of days she was fine. there were no symptoms as such but on the third day, when nothing

happened, there was a natural miscarriage, her condition deteriorated. she knew there was something wrong because she‘s summoned me to the hospital and demanded i get there fast. 0nce summoned me to the hospital and demanded i get there fast. once i got there, she was experiencing a condition where she was shaking and shivering initially. from that point, i was with her throughout and slowly watched her deteriorate throughout the day. no doubt you kept asking for intervention, kept asking for clinicians to look at her? no, i did not ask specifically because, at the time, the focus of everybody at the hospital was the fa ct a everybody at the hospital was the fact a delivery needs to take place. the focus was on having the natural deliveries so no 1‘s spoke about

intervening as such. more important, she was diagnosed when she was getting the symptoms, she was diagnosed with sepsis and the shocking thing is, there has been poor communication at the hospital, where doctors are not communicating among themselves, or nursing staff, and more importantly with reeta and myself. we did not know she had sepsis. it had been diagnosed, but you were not told? that is correct. from my understanding, pregnant women are more prone to sepsis? that is correct. pregnant women are in a high—risk category according to national guidelines so doctors and clinicians should exercise extra caution when dealing with pregnant women, especially if they come in with ruptured membranes. what would the treatment normally be? the

treatment for sepsis normally is intravenous fluids and antibiotics, in the first instance. that is to control it and if you do not respond, and it progresses and becomes more severe, ultimate leading to septic shock, but at all these stages, the chances of a person dying, they increase slowly. the most important thing is sepsis does rapidly spread within the body. diminishing your chances of survival, so every hour is critical. what treatment did she receive, who came to see her regularly? that has been one of the biggest failures, because no senior doctor, and i mean a consultant, saw reeta for approximately 16 hours after she was

diagnosed with sepsis. she was diagnosed with sepsis. she was diagnosed and a doctor saw her a few hours later. there was another gap of seven hours between another doctor seeing her. but no co nsulta nts doctor seeing her. but no consultants or her. that should have happened. at what point did it become evident her life was at risk? when she was wheeled off to intensive care. before that i was none the wiser, nobody told me she had sepsis and overly tall reeta she had sepsis and overly tall reeta she had sepsis. the doctors and nurses and medical staff were busy monitoring her, her temperature and ultimately focusing on the baby, but it was more like tunnel vision, because they did not focus on the most important thing, that she had sepsis and how dangerous it is. in a statement basildon and thurrock university hospital told us:

sky gazers will be treated to a "blood red" moon this evening. it marks the beginning of the longest total eclipse that the earth will see this century. the eclipse is caused by the earth passing between the moon and the sun, and completely obscuring sunlight from directly hitting the moon , this will last for one hour and 43 minutes. take a look at this. that was restful. we can do more science. we have with us emily brunsden, an astrophysics lecturer at the university of york, who can tell us more about this. how does this compare to other

celestial events ? how does this compare to other celestial events? this is an exciting example where we have three objects are in alignment. i have a model to show you how it works. we have the sun represented by this light and the earth and then we have the moon and at this time we have the moon and at this time we have the moon and at this time we have the moon passing into the shadow of the moon passing into the shadow of the earth caused by the sun shining on the other side. we love it when guests bring props. thank you. why is the event happening now? what makes it a special thing, better than anything else this century of its type? that are two wonderful things, the first is it is a micro moon, which means it is far away in its orbit. it looks fractionally smaller than it normally would and

we get a micro blood moon. the other thing is the reason we have such a long eclipse makes it exciting because it is so far away and it will last one hour and 43 minutes, which is close to the longest possible lunar eclipse in the year. where will you get the best view in this country? we have to wait for the moon to rise, tonight it will rise in full eclipse, from 8:50pm. the best place to view it is somewhere when you can see the south—east horizon clearly. hopefully no trees blocking the view. it will be low in the sky. at the moment we have hardly had any cloud in the sky, how helpful is that? it helps the eclipse is long, so if there is cloud, hopefully you will see the moon between the clouds and it will last aunt till after 12.

what special equipment do you need? none at all, you can see it with the naked eye and appreciate the beautiful red colour and see it as it moves out of the earth‘s shadow. with the naked eye it is safe? during a solar eclipse it is dangerous to look directly at the sun but during a lunar eclipse, not much light is getting to the surface of the moon so it is safe to watch. it might be my imagination, but i feel i have done interviews in the last 12 months with different astrophysicists that different eclipses. do we see more of this current time? we are not seeing any more than usual. we are lucky at this point. we normally get between one and four every year, lunar eclipses, and about half the world can see them but for the uk to see

the next really good lunar eclipse, it will be 2029. if this is going to be the longest total eclipse this century, what else, are we going to be spoiled? what will we have to look forward to? we do not have a lot in the uk to look forward to in terms of eclipses. the next for the lunar eclipse is years away and the next solar eclipse we will not see in the uk for some time. emily, astrophysicist at the university of york, thank you forjoining us. that is it — thank you for your company this morning. bbc newsroom live is coming up next. we‘re back on monday from 0900. enjoy the weekend — and if you‘re travelling , good luck. keep cool. it is going to turn fresh as we move

into the weekend with the breeze picking up. some sunshine around, scattered thunderstorms working north but in eastern parts of england and scotland the potential for disruption this afternoon and into this evening. cloudy conditions in the west with outbreaks of rain and temperatures up to 34 in the far south—east. 0vernight, further storms possible. there will be some clearer spells but becoming drier in the south as we move into the early hours. tomorrow, starting with more prolonged rain in the north, working its way east through the day. there will be another band of rain that is

increasingly showery working its way north east and becoming drier in the afternoon in the south—east. temperatures feeling increasingly fresh tomorrow. the breeze will pick up, as well. this is bbc news. the top stories developing at 11am. the heatwave continues to cause have travel disruption as people head abroad on holiday bass heavy rain is forecast in other parts of the country. we had a two our weight to get to the check—in. 0nce country. we had a two our weight to get to the check—in. once we got

there... we only had to wait for five hours. the government ends its contracts with private companies running probation services england and wales. five people have died, and five have been injured, in a crash between a car and a minibus in northern scotland. donald trump‘s former lawyer, michael cohen, is claiming that the president had advance knowledge of a meeting between his campaign team and russian officials.