hello, it's friday, it's nine o'clock, i'm joanna gosling, welcome to the programme. e—cigarettes should be given out on prescription to help people stop smoking, according to a group of mps. there is a danger that of the common perception of smokers in public places is that papers are treated the same as smokers again we miss an opportunity to encourage people to give up smoking. members of the science and technology committee say e—cigarettes are much less harmful than smoking — and there's no public health reason to ban vaping in public spaces. as £10 million in funding is announced to tackle drugs and violence in england's worst prisons, we've got exclusive access to a jail where prisoners get a say in the running of the jail.

and some work as mentors to other inmates. five years has been like five months to me because i have been busy. it has been a privilege to be able to leave my cell at 7:1i5am and finish at liz30pm. in other prisons you are locked up for 23 hours. oakwood has been described as an "impressive institution" in a recent inspection report. and this programme is the first to be allowed inside, also, mourners have been gathering in detroit to pay tribute to the soul singer aretha franklin — who's died aged 76. # i say a little prayer for you # oh, yes i do # for ever and ever # you'll stay in my heart # and i will love you # for ever and ever # we never will part # oh, how i love you we'll speak to her first biographer. hello. welcome to the programme. we're live until 11 this morning. do you think your boss is spying on you? a new survey of more than 2,000 workers found more than half believe they are being monitored by their employer. the trades union congress says employees should be consulted

if they're going to be watched. so do you think your boss is taking notes on how long you spend making a cup of tea, or looking at your social media to see if you're really off sick or are having an unauthorised holiday? do get in touch on all the stories we're talking about — 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. our top story today. the nhs should do more to promote e—cigarettes as a way of helping people stop smoking, according to a group of mps. the recommendations have been criticised by some public health experts who say the report relies solely on accounts by "e—cig champions". but the science and technology committee calls on the government to make it easier to use e—cigarettes in public places and to consider vaping on presciption. we will go to our correspondent in a

moment, we have a correspondent, and slightly confused, caroline, is this likely to happen, how influential is this committee? it's interesting that the science and technology committee were asked to look into the impact of e—cigarettes to get an idea of how popular they are, 2.9 million people in the uk use them and 470,000 of those are thought to use them to move from normal cigarettes to e—cigarettes to stop them smoking. they are looking to see if this could be a way to get people out of smoking. 0ne recommendation found in this report by this group of mps is, they

decided that e—cigarettes were less damaging than conventional cigarettes, according to public health england, 95% less damaging than conventional cigarettes. because of that it has led them to make a variety of recommendations. they have suggested that it could be more widely used in public places, they have said that they could perhaps be given greater freedom to be able to advertise, they have also said they should be able to relax duties and taxes on them as well and as we've heard earlier from duties and taxes on them as well and as we've heard earlierfrom norman lamb people see e—cigarettes in a different way to conventional cigarettes in the hope that they can get them off conventional cigarettes and using something healthy. thank you caroline. we will talk about this late in the programme. lead us know your faults, have you switched from cigarettes to gaping, what do you think about the potential

long—term risks from gaping, are you concerned? we long—term risks from gaping, are you concerned ? we do long—term risks from gaping, are you concerned? we do love to hear from you. now to the news with ben. ten of england's most challenging prisons are to be given a share of £10 million to improve security and living conditions, as part of a government drive to tackle drugs and violence in jails. ministers also want to raise leadership standards by sending prison governors to military—style colleges. the prisons‘ minister rory stewart told us more about the extra funding. let's take a specific example. a prison like leeds, which has had huge problems with drugs, huge problems with violence, and targeting the things you need to do. so with the scanners, this money allows you to identify drugs inside people's bodies, it is an airport—style scanner. it is making sure that the governor is really able to focus notjust on fixing the windows, but getting the grills up to prevent people using drones.

but above all, it is providing the money for the training and the support, often for young prison officers, to make sure that they can develop the right relationships with the prisoners and make these places stable, calm, in order to do all of that education that works. that is the prisons minister, rory stewart. the italian government has opened an investigation into the private operator of the motorway bridge that collapsed in genoa on tuesday, killing at least 38 people. autostrade has been given fifteen days to show it met contractual obligations. the company says it made regular safety checks on the viaduct. 0ur correspondent dan johnson is in genoa. this company, autostrade come increasingly under the spotlight, dan. yes, trying to defend itself, saying it's too early to reach conclusions about what could have caused the bridge collapse because the investigation hasn't properly began, they are still busy digging through the rubble with heavy cranes

and excavators moving the huge blocks of concrete to dig down so that they can try and account for the ten or 20 people who they think could still be missing. a lot of what to do to make the area safe. 0vernight they have moved some of the trucks and cars stranded on parts of the bridge that remain but it will be a long time before they make this area safe before they work out what to do with the remaining bits and before people can go home because there is a large area of housing and the bridge that has had to be evacuated. that debate does intensify, politicians levelling criticism at the company in charge of the motorway network, in control of the motorway network, in control of this structure, saying they hadn't lived up to the maintenance requirements. there have been calls for the executives to stand down, for the executives to stand down, for its contracts, for moves to be made to contracts are ways that it doesn't have responsibility for this infrastructure any more. there's also been criticism of the eu,

saying they blocked funding for infrastructure during the years of austerity imposed on italy won its economy was in crisis. the eu says no, it provided money and infrastructure projects. politicians pointing the finger in different directions but families are still missing loved ones, waiting for news and today funerals will begin for those who lost their lives in the disaster and tomorrow there will be a big state funeral in genoa, a moment for everyone to think about those who lost their lives and think about what went wrong. thank you, dan. dan johnson in about what went wrong. thank you, dan. danjohnson in genoa. house of fraser has cancelled all of its online orders, because of a dispute with its warehouse operator. the retailer was bought out of administration by sports direct a week ago. it says it has pulled all orders that hadn't been sent to customers and would be issuing refunds. american researchers have warned

that low—carbohydrate diets could be shortening people's lives. the study followed 15,000 people for 25 years, and found that those getting half their energy from carbs lived the longest, while people who cut them to less than a third of their diet had their life expectancy reduced by four years. new research indicates that the average gp now works less than three—and—a—half days a week — and just one in 20 trainee doctors intends to do the job full time. patients' groups say that the situation could become alarming, fuelling longer waits for an appointment. the study was carried out by the king's fund, a think—tank specialising in health care policy. a teenager is in a critical condition after four boys aged 15 and i6 were stabbed on a housing estate in camberwell in south london yesterday evening. another boy is in a serious but stable condition. six boys, also aged 15 and i6, have been arrested. most workers believe they are being watched by their boss amid increasing surveillance

methods, according to a new study. research by the tuc showed that two out of three employees believe the trend fuels distrust and discrimination and could be used to set unfair targets. a third of those polled believe their social media activity is being "snooped on" when they are not at work. astronomers say they have identified some of the oldest galaxies in the universe. they're right on our cosmic doorstep — orbiting the milky way. the faint objects could be more than 13 billion years old and scientists say it's like finding the remains of the first humans to inhabit the earth. that's a summary of the latest bbc news — more at 9.30. thank you, ben. some comments coming in and play bingo, phil on twitter says, it is disgusting mps want to allow gaping in public. they seem to ca re allow gaping in public. they seem to care more about smokers than those with health conditions who will have

to put up with the potentially toxic stea m. to put up with the potentially toxic steam. pete on e—mail says i am an ex smoker and an ex—e—cigarette user, it's a good idea, the one thing annoying to passers—by is a hideous smile, users may like the taste but the smell is overpowering and gives users a hell headache. when you see papers walking it's like a steam train going down the track. anonymous says i smoked a pipe the 20 years but gave it up after i had a mild heart attack after i had a mild heart attack after fading. after i had a mild heart attack afterfading. i give it up in a day, afterfading. i give it up in a day, after starting gaping i could not smoke might pipe, it tasted terrible, i've reduced my consumption of the four years, i wish my company would let me babe at my desk although i would not want to sit near those who make huge clouds. do get in touch with us throughout the morning — use the hashtage victoria live and if you text, you will be charged at the standard network rate. let's get some sport.. holly hamilton is at the bbc sport centre. hello, holly. ben stokes back

training after his trial. some have been left surprised by this decision, just this week he was found not guilty of affray. during the trial some pretty ugly details. 0n the trial some pretty ugly details. on my and brawling while on international duty but he's back training. head coach trevor bayliss said the decision to play him was for the player ‘s well—being. although he was found not guilty he could still be sanctioned by the ecb over his behaviour, many people are urging ben stokes to make a public apology, trevor bayliss reflects on

apology, trevor bayliss reflects on a number of changes made since that incident. if there's a lot of work being done that will be ongoing. certainly we've had to make one or two changes with curfews and that type of thing. but as i say, there will be an ongoing work done on team coach and what it means to play for england. i should say it is yet to be seen whether ben stokes will play in the third test tomorrow. trevor bayliss says he will need to be assessed before that decision is made. and stanley cipriano also making headlines for the wrong reasons. he's said dutch danny cipriani. he has apologised for this incident which happened injersey, it has put his future in doubt with england, says, he was with his side,

gloucester, but his offence was over and done, he was found guilty and the punishment imposed within 48 hours, he has been fined £2000, ordered to pay £250 in compensation toa ordered to pay £250 in compensation to a police officer but gloucester are sticking by him. he's had a fair amount of support from across the world of rugby including his boss at sale. but this is something that a lot of people are concerned about. with his club backing him some say the rugby union will stick by whatever the club says. you think back to when he was on the tour of south africa, he was in the form of his life and at that time eddie jones made it clear that if he stepped over the line he would be on the first flight home from johannesburg. but this time it's been up to the club to deal with

that incident and with the world cup around the corner a lot of people will hope that eddiejones follows suit. thank you, holly, see you later. body scanners and sniffer dogs are to be brought in to ten of england's worst prisons as part of a £10 million plan to tackle drugs and violence. the government says it also wants to improve the leadership of the jails in yorkshire, nottinghamshire and london by sending prison governors to military—style colleges. this programme has been given exclusive access to 0ak—wood prison, near wolverhampton. operated by g4s, it used to be referred to as "jokewood" — yet an inspection report last month said it was now an our home affairs correspondent, danny shaw, went to find out how they've turned things around. a lot of those guys come in with a vengeance. this is the jail that holds 2,000 of the country's most dangerous prisoners — sex offenders, violent criminals and drug dealers.

the old school of thinking was very much rehabilitation, what can we as staff do to prisoners to make them better. but at this privately run prison, they are dealing with offenders differently. every prison in the country has a problem with drugs. the governor here has opened the gates to give us an exclusive glimpse behind bars. punishment is the sentence, coming to prison is the separation from loved ones. we need to take it to the next level, you need to be able to tie down a job. prisoners are given a say in how things are run here. oakwood is a community and everyone has to work together for the betterment of the prison. could this be the way to make prisons safer and turn lives around? i do it because i feel like it is my way of giving back to society, pay my dues, if you like. ben has got a job in prison.

he is nearing the end of a 19—year sentence for plotting to supply cocaine. he has been at 0akwood for five years and is using his experience to help other inmates. five years have been like five months to me because i have been busy. it has been a privilege to be able to leave my cell at 7:45am and finish at 4:30pm. in other prisons, you are locked up for 23 hours. try and get in touch with them and they should help you with that... the 42—year—old from london is a mentor, a middleman between prison officers and prisoners. you know, if you get a job, it would help. basically dealing with problems, tensions in society. a lot of these guys come in with a vengeance against authority. for me, it is about the individuals. the young boys coming in at 22, 23, who have got no other way of going than down, you know?

a lot of it has to be empathy, shared experiences, reliving your own experiences to the individual. it is about connecting with the individual and not making anyjudgment. this is actually 0akwood, it is as safe as this. it hasn't always been like that. after 0akwood opened six years ago, staff struggled to keep control. prisoners staged a rooftop protest in 2013, and a year later, there was a riot. one of britain's biggest and newest prisons was a laughing stock. i was here when we were tagged as "jokewood". it was very difficult for me as the leader, it was very difficult for my staff, but also very difficult for the men who reside here. so we had to work together to resolve that. there were some hard yards, there were some difficult days, but i am very, very content about the progress that we have made and where we are today.

and they have done it by giving prisoners a say in how things are run and treating them with respect. 0akwood was one of the first prisons to have in—cell telephones so inmates could keep in touch with their families. some prisoners can wear their own clothes and staff are encouraged to defuse tension through dialogue, they do not carry batons. batons are weapons, as i see it. i have no time for them myself. that is my own personal choice. i would rather have people engaging with each other and finding solutions than resorting to drawing a baton to resolve an issue. my prison operates without batons very, very successfully. everywhere you walk at 0akwood, there are uplifting messages, the positive mood was reflected in a glowing inspection report which praised the way inmates are consulted and involved in decision—making. there are 13 prisoner—led groups on health care, education and safety. they are supervised

by katie potts, one of 234 female staff members, almost half the total. prisons are meant to be places of re—obliteration, and the old school of thinking was very much rehabilitation, what can we as staff do to prisoners to make them better. and i think at 0akwood, we are very much shifting away from that now. for a man to have gone through working with one of our mentors and come through the other side, it gives us that level of assurance that actually these projects are working and that we are actually providing a place where prisoners in here can develop and they can grow as men and hopefully be released into the community as men with something to offer. and that means being employable.

in this workshop, prisoners are assembling parts for a private company, learning skills and getting experience that will help them on the outside. we are empowering them. we are using all of their skills and abilities, we are using their intellect and their experiences to make oakwood a better place. they have some fascinating ideas about how a prison should be run, they share those with me. not all of them get a starting point, but where we can see sense, we will allow that to happen, and we have reaped the rewards of that. but 0akwood still has a long way to go. like manyjails, violence has increased, illicit drugs are readily available, and incidents of self—harm remain high. nevertheless, ben is showing that there is hope. prisoners can take the initiative, help each other to get through their sentence and stay on the right side of the tracks. i now understand that it is not a done deal to actually go against society by breaking the law. so giving them that opportunity here helps their integration. it helps them understand that they can live within the constructs of the law, don't bring that violence into the community.

we will be speaking more about that a little later. now, is your boss spying on you? we'll be discussing a new report, which claims more than half of workers believe they are currently being monitored by their bosses. let us know what you think. do you have those fears? tributes are being paid this morning to aretha franklin, the so—called queen of soul, who died of cancer yesterday aged 76. in a moment we'll hear from the man who wrote her first biography. but first, let's take a look at what fellow musicians have been saying about her. # i've been so many places in my, in my life and time #. the heart and the soul of the spirit of god that poured out over audiences was infectious. she felt, she identified, when she sang it was not

just singing, it was deep from within herself. # i've sung a lot of songs and i've made some bad rhyme she had a power to her voice. just the grace and the class and the poise that she carried knowing the things that she may have had to carry. # freedom... # yeah, yeah, yeah, free... # let it ring #. a singer whose music impacted

the world, but whose sense of global justice was global. she also fought for dr king, she fought for nelson mandela, she fought for barack 0bama. the sense of community service was a broad base as was the music. she's obviously known as a solo artist and a soul singer but a contribution to music is universal. it's not just about soul. it's about pop. it's about dance. # i'm singing a song for you #. rolling stone magazine named aretha franklin the greatest singer of all time, but her fame went beyond music. in 1985, the us writer mark bego met and interviewed the queen of soul before going on to write the very first published autobiography of the 76—year—old.

i was just amazed. she was very gracious, very lovely. she was very real, which is something that comes through in her music, she is very real and genuine. and very gracious. i met her in her home in suburban detroit. i was there to do a radio interview. i brought in professional radio equipment. and i spent over 2.5 hours with her on her sofa, in her living room, so it was kind of like a visitation with the queen of soul. the word that you used there, gracious, is a word that has been used again and again by people who met her to describe her, she seemed to project, therefore, this very sort of serene exterior, but inside she was troubled. tell us more about what you discovered about her through the interviews that you did. absolutely. in fact, when i went to her home to conduct this interview for the radio, i was given a list of things i could not ask her. i could not ask her

about her father, her sons, her marriage, her weight, her smoking. it was like, well, i guess i am left with talking about her music. and i think that is the way she really felt that she could communicate with people is through her music, and i think she was much more comfortable that way. so, obviously, you, therefore, were faced with wanting to paint a picture of this woman who really wanted to communicate through her music, but in terms of what you knew about her private life and what she has come through and what we all know now, she was a mother at a very young age, she came through some difficult and challenging times to be where she ultimately got. absolutely.

it was very challenging for her to be a mother at the age of 14, and then again at the age of 15, and it is something that really was kept from the public for a long time, and it was something that was very guarded in her past. she really kind of had a history of being taken advantage of by men in her life, so i think that is what happened to teenager aretha, that she ended up pregnant at an early age and she ended up dropping out of high school, but the one thing that really helped her to survive was her love of music. she had this brilliant outlet. her father was a very prominent minister or preacher in detroit at new bethel baptist church, so every sunday she and her sisters, erma and carolyn, would go to the church and sing in the choir. when 14—year—old aretha franklin opened her mouth before the church and did her first solo, people were amazed at this incredible voice that could come out of this young girl. so she knew she had something, she had a love of music, and she'd studied classical piano. so as jerry wexler, the producer at atlantic records once told me, "once i sat aretha down at the piano and she began singing

and playing her own music, her soul absolutely opened up. " did she have to graft at it? did itjust come naturally, did itjust come easy? for aretha, her musical talent came very easily, itjust was second nature to her. she grew up singing, she grew up in a household where all these very prominent singers would come to visit, sam cooke who she had a real crush on at the time, came to their house, the blues singer dinah washington, mahalia jackson, the brilliant gospel singerfrom the ‘50s, would come into the house. so aretha saw all of these legends under her very roof so she had all of this inspiration, this raw talent, and i think that the problems she had as a teenager were something that she could forget when she enveloped herself in her music. and you said that in her personal life, she was vulnerable to being taken

advantage of by men. the way she wanted to tell her story and communicate with people was to her music and, of course, respect, the anthem of empowerment that is probably one of her best—known songs. absolutely. that song works so well for her because she had a father who tried to dominate her, she had herfirst husband who physically abused her, she felt that she was being pushed around in life, so by the time she got through herfirst recording contract at columbia records, where they really didn't know what to do with her commercially, though they came up with some beautiful recordings, she got to atlantic records, she was put in the studio with jerry wexler. jerry spent time with her, realised who the true aretha was, and picked songs for her that really spoke of her life, and i think her command and demand for respect is something that really comes out in that record. it really resonated with a lot

of people, especially women who had been held down by the men in their life. aretha franklin made it an anthem for those who were downtrodden. did she ever get real confidence within herself? because she had some well—known spats with others in the music industry, in spite of her incredible success and domination of that genre, the queen of soul, she still seemed insecure inside, is that fair? she was very much so. she wanted to be the glamour girl, the pretty girl, the thin, lovely model type. and at different phases of her career, especially in her early ‘70s, she lost a lot of weight, really looked svelte, but she was someone who had a tendency to overeat and, as we saw in the ‘80s and ‘90s, she expanded a bit and was not that svelte person. i think she looked in her mirror and saw whitney houston

when she looked back, or that type of woman. and aretha was, of course, known for low—cut dresses and form—fitting dresses, so i think inside was a skinny girl wanting to come out all those years. # feel all right # oh, yes! #0h!# remembering the queen of soul who has died at the age of 76. later we will be talking to rosetta from the

happy mondays to talk about the legacy she has left behind. still to come. we'll be looking at new technology that's been created to help those no longer able to speak, and who are only able to move their eyes to communicate. and should the nhs be doing more to promote e—cigarettes, as a way of helping people stop smoking? that's what a group of mps is suggesting — we'll discuss. time for the latest news, here's ben brown the nhs should do more to promote e—cigarettes as a way of helping people stop smoking, according to a group of mps. the science and technology committee is calling on the government to make it easier to use e—cigarettes in public places and to consider vaping on presciption. but the findings have been criticised by some health experts. the prisons minister, rory stewart, has promised to quit hisjob in a year's time if he hasn't reduced the level of drugs and violence in england's most challenging jails. in yorkshire, nottinghamshire

and london, are to be given a total of £10 million to improve security and living conditions and provide better training for prison staff. the italian government has opened an investigation into the private operator of the motorway bridge that collapsed in genoa on tuesday, killing at least 38 people. autostrade has been given fifteen days to show it met contractual obligations. the company says it made regular safety checks on the viaduct. house of fraser has cancelled all of its online orders, because of a dispute with its warehouse operator. the retailer was bought out of administration by sports direct a week ago. it says it has pulled all orders that hadn't been sent to customers and would be issuing refunds. american researchers have warned that low—carbohydrate diets could be shortening people's lives. the study followed 15,000 people for 25 years, and found that those getting half their energy from carbs lived the longest, while people who cut them to less than a third of their diet had their life

expectancy reduced by four years. that's a summary of the latest bbc news. here's some sport now with holly hamilton. ben stokes is back in training and he will be assessed before a decision is made if he plays in the third test against india. and danny cipriani is sorry for his behaviour that put his future in doubt. but others are saying eddiejones should stick by him. steven gerrard is unbeaten in eight matches as rangers manager. they threw in the europa league aftab golla straw. great britain won seven more medals on day four of the european para checked

swimming championships. that is all the sports and now, more for you at ten o'clock. new technology has been created to help those no longer able to speak and only able to move their eyes to communicate. the portable device has only been launched in the uk this week and is designed to give people who are locked—in the ability to speak through blinking. unlike other technology there's no need to carry around a screen, with patients wearing a headband to pick up eye movement. here's a section of the developer's promotional video — showing how it works. it is a winnable screeners and easy—to—use communication device which enables communication by intuitive eye gestures and vocal feedback. it is lightweight and portable, designed to be comfortable enough to be worn 24/7.

a head mounted infrared camera tracks the eye movement. this information is then sent to a small processing unit which translates the movements into communication. bone conduction earphone provides audio feedback to the user before the communication is transmitted to the output speaker or connected bluetooth device. that was part of the promotional video about the device the people who are unable to speak. let's speak now to chris james from the mnd association and debbie burrells, who was diagnosed with mnd in february and has seen her speech deteoriate. and from tel aviv we have 0r retzkin the chief executive of eyecontrol, which is the company behind the technology. explain why it is way you wanted to

develop this new type of technology, it was a result of personal experience in your family? yes, the founders of the company are related with a personal collection of locked in patients. 12 years ago, my grandmother passed away from als. also a friend died from muscular neurone disease. we wanted to create a device that would be wearable and you could wear it 24 hours a day, for the first time. als, is the same thing stephen hawking had and he was well known but the way he managed to communicate. this is going to be very different, potentially for people? yes, this device, unlike existing communication devices, we don't use any screens. patients when

they want to communicate, they have to get it calibrated to a screen and this is like the communication is not available 24 hours a day because not available 24 hours a day because not always the person isn't in front of the screen. when he wakes up in the middle of night the and he wants to communicate, or any situation when the user is not in front of the screen. the eye control means the device is wearable and the user can have the communication available all of the time. chris, losing the power of the time. chris, losing the power of speech is one of the cruel in packs of this very difficult disease that people find themselves having to deal with, how much of a difference does technology make when someone difference does technology make when someone knows they are losing their speech, but there is something there that means they can keep communicating. it is amazing the patience of als and mnd, that they

can carry on communicate. people can die within two years of diagnosis so it is important for people to have the right equipment so they can communicate with their health professionals and their families and then they can have the highest quality of life. debbie, you were diagnosed in february, how quickly has the disease been progressing for you? it is quite progressing. i was 0k at first and got on with my life. but gradually, you start to see quite a big decline. i am getting to the stage where my speech is going. solam the stage where my speech is going. so i am very interested in this new device that we have here. how did you feel when you were told about what you had and then you have the knowledge of where you are going to

90, knowledge of where you are going to go, the impact it would have?” knowledge of where you are going to go, the impact it would have? i am a very positive person. so that's it, thatis very positive person. so that's it, that is what we have been given, let's make the best of what we can. for others around us and make their lives as easy as well as my own. how have your family been? they have been brave because i laugh and enjoy life as much as i can. but it is heartbreaking. of course. how much has technology progressed, because there was a time when people who had locked in syndrome didn't have the technology and could literally only communicate by blinking and by others looking literally at a

written down alphabet, reading out an alphabet? i remember myself communicating with my grandmother with a communication board, a wooden board with letters on it, so you could move very slowly between the letters. we believe that communication is a basic need and eve ryo ne communication is a basic need and everyone should be able to communicate and communication should be something that is 24 seven. technology has all the elements to close this gap until there is a cure. the main idea of eye control is to give independence to the users by enabling communication to be 20 47 and there is a lot about technology these days that can assist in many situations. chris, what about progress towards a cure, how good is treatment? as you know, there is no cure for mnd and there

is no treatment. there is one drug that can slow the progress of mnd in a small number of cases, but there is no treatment. progress is slow, it isa is no treatment. progress is slow, it is a complex disease. we have made huge progress in research over the last few years and i think there is some hope in the next ten to 20 years we will move towards treatment for people like debbie, so we can really get rid of mnd. how many people are affected, how many people get to the point of needing these electronic medication devices? there are about 25,000 people in the country with mnd and about five, 6% will need something like this. debbie, is it something you are interested in? very much so. in particular, it gives you freedom to

be at least a little bit normal. also, my mother is hard of hearing so also, my mother is hard of hearing so 24 hours i can use that anyway. i think it is so much better than these big devices. at the minute, i am writing things down. so it will help tremendously. not only myself, but everyone. as you can see, it is such a small computer compared to the big devices that are available now. you said you are writing things down, obviously you are communicating very clearly right now? when i get very tired, it goes worse. i do know eventually, it will completely go. so this is another

means of communicating. how is it going to work in terms of availability and affordability? one of the things on the agenda of the company is, we are doing a crowdfunding campaign and you can find it through our social networks. the idea is to start awareness for the opportunity to use the eye control and the affordability of the device, we will subsidise the pricing of the device said that the company will match the prices. you can either buy the device for £1000 or you could also support us in our mission to enable any user to communicate by supporting the company. we are working today with local organisations that will provide the devices for relevant

users. obviously, it is a business, but it is also very personally important to you. when you think about what you are creating and doing here, what is the most important thing for you? doing here, what is the most important thing for you ?|j doing here, what is the most important thing for you? i think for all of us, all of the founders, we are working with ngos in israel and outside of israel and we can see how the device can improve people's lives and we can see the potential. it is about the users, but it is not only about improving the user's live, it is to improve the family and the caregiver. it will be available 24 hours a day so it will give the use the feeling of much secure. debbie, you nodded when you

heard that? yes, it is important for everyone to be able to communicate. that is what we do in our everyday lives. chris, funding and support to make sure people can get access to the best sort of support they can out what is a difficult time, what sort of help is there in this country? it is important for someone when they are diagnosed with mnd they are put in touch with a speech and language therapist so they can discuss early on about the type of communication aid they need. that might change as time goes on but it is important they have access to that communication aid as and when they needed. thank you forjoining us they needed. thank you forjoining us and debbie, we wish you all very best. thank you very much. now, latest comments on vaping.

people saying it should be available on the nhs because it is much safer than smoking and why can't people vape in public. some money mail says it should be banned in all public places because i don't want to be in an area where people are vaping. chris says, i have stop smoking thanks to vaping and now i have stopped that as well. someone else has said, there is no money for this and they cannot fund e—cigs. also, what do you think of our next story?

is your boss spying on you? a report from the trades union congress claims more than half of workers believe they are currently being monitored by their bosses. it includes checking internet use and timing toilet breaks. the tuc says its threatening to undermine morale. but should we be worried about workplace surveillance, or is this just part of living in the modern age? i'm joined by kate bell, head of economic and social affairs at the tuc. edward houghton, head of research for the cipd, the professional body for hr and henrik nordmark, head of data science at profusion, a data consultancy company that has run a workplace surveillance trial. thank you all very much for coming in. kate, people feel like they are being spied on, are they? how many companies are doing that sort of thing, what is the evidence? that is what we wanted to find out with this survey so we asked 1000 workers and half of them said this technology was being used in their workplace. that is what we're hearing from our

member unions the increased use of monitoring at work. our employers transparent about it? not always. people were finding out later down the line that cctv was being used in their break room and also perhaps their break room and also perhaps their toilet breaks were being monitored, using access cards. most people have an access card. not cctv in the toilet? we haven't heard back yet, but there were concerning reports, people thought the line between sensible monitoring and intrusion was being breached. edward, why are companies doing this? it is an interesting area of technology in the workplace now. more opportunities to collect data. organisations are doing this for a numberof organisations are doing this for a number of reasons. there are legitimate reasons around health and safety, so high risk rolls around gas and oil industry, data is

collected and geography data is collected. but more traditional desk —based roles are using these data points. what is the justification for that? it is around productivity and performance and the key is transparency around individuals about the data you are collecting and how it is going to be used. when you said it is about productivity and performance when somebody is sat at the desk, it is notjust about if somebody is on facebook when they should be working? not at all, it can help people, showing them the best way they can work. but a line management and better relationships within organisations. monitoring, which is a more interesting view. explain how it would be working in a company because surveillance implies cameras watching people and it is the technology in your computer you are not aware of? organisations will

look to the way that you use your time in your calendar to see if you are bean production —— being productive. it is interesting to see how individuals are using their time better but there is a line between their home life and work life which could be crossed. it is around trust and where the role is for individuals in their workplace and their home life. we will pick up on that, but henrik, what is possible and what is happening? because profusion is the company that loves to experiment, we decided to try out different things and experiment with meditation at one point. a few years back, we decided to equip employees, those who volunteered for it, to be tracked for ten days. we tracked

their location across london and we tracked up to 171 metrics across the time. some had to report how they felt every four hours. it was more like a sociological, fun experiment rather than us trying to implement some kind of hr nightmare. we got some kind of hr nightmare. we got some curious insights. people who had unusually high or low heart rates seemed had unusually high or low heart rates seemed more had unusually high or low heart rates seemed more likely to buy online so we could see they were engaged more with amazon, argos and stuff. we also used a mathematical technique to map out heart rate across london and you could see some hotspots like soho, where heart rate would go up. kate, it sounds very

big brother. it sounds like the person wanting to sell you something, the person employing you has a vested interest and they are the ones getting the benefits, what are the benefits for the employees or the one being monitored? you might have cctv to protect worker safety, but the critical thing is workers know it is happening and they have given their consent. there are some examples, if your heart rate was being monitored, a lot of people would be disturbed by that, particularly if they didn't know it was happening. that is the principal, people agreed to the use of this technology in their workplace. often it can be used as a lazy management tool which is a means for bosses to spy on their workers, rather than do anything useful in the workplace. our companies are not absolutely obliged to be transparent? the law does say they should be telling people what is going on. is the law not clear?

yes, they have to justify it and they have two and tell people what is going on. but we think there are exa m ples is going on. but we think there are examples in unfair dismissal cases, some are using covert surveillance tactics to attack people. edward, our companies always responsible about the way they use technology? the way space is changing in technology terms is rapid. an organisation sees the shiny new toy and they implement it. without looking to see if it is the best. they think about the policies they put in place, the tension will perhaps shift. it is important they think about the way they implement technology and are very clear with employees. what about the blurring of lines because a lot of employees

invite bosses into their private lives by being engaged on social media. that is a matter of free choice. it is not always a matter of invitation and we found a third of people who thought their bosses were looking up the social media. people ina call looking up the social media. people in a call centre had been asked to monitor people in her team, twitter and facebook but she wasn't happy about that. it is stuff going out there publicly, there is nothing to stop anyone looking? there is a line that there is a line between our private lives and work lives. if you go out for a drink after work, you don't expect your boss to be listening in. there should be some clear guidelines on separation and how it works. edwards, what are your thoughts that people can be monitored in their private lives as well? it is a sticky in dangerous place to get into. individual employees need to understand these boundaries exist and they own those

boundaries. it is the organisation's place to think about how appropriately they use these to lodges. we have an online life, made up lodges. we have an online life, made up of our fridges and friends but increasingly colleagues as well who become friends. thinking sensibly about the way you use technology as an individual and the responsibility of the organisation to be transparent and how they use the data they collect. thank you all very much. some more comments on vaping. a text message says i don't think descriptions for e—cigs should be handed out. after they find the money for normal cigarettes, so why should an already struggling nhs fund this ludicrous suggestion from mps. let them fund their own habits. any mail says, don't forget the nonsmokers and their desire to breed clea n nonsmokers and their desire to breed clean air in public spaces. —— breathe. an e—mail says, does it

affect people passively? for those who object, you walk through towns and cities with a face mask on, the pollution is more to worry about. lots of teenagers who have never smoked or vaping. we will try to a nswer smoked or vaping. we will try to answer your questions because we'll be talking more about it later. keep your thoughts coming in. now let's catch up the weather. we have a sunny start to the day across central and eastern parts of england. lovely blue skies in essex. but further north and west we have a weather system moving in and you can see this area of low pressure spreading in from the west. rain spreading in from the west. rain spreading in from the west. rain spreading in an quite a bit of cloud. the cloud is spilling in and towards eastern parts, you have the brightest and the sunniest of whether through the morning. but

with the cloud there will be outbreaks of rain so the cloud is already looking dark in north wales. a few showery outbreaks of rain expected. the majority is across northern ireland and in to the north and west of scotland at the moment. showery rain into north—west england and north and west wales. head back, cloud increasing in the south—east but bright spells in the afternoon. breezy with the area of low pressure, gusting potentially 30 to 40 miles an hour in the far north—west of scotland. those black wind arrows indicate if of gusts. 17, 18 degrees wind arrows indicate if of gusts. 17,18 degrees in wind arrows indicate if of gusts. 17, 18 degrees in the south east with sunny spells. temperatures up to 22 celsius, so warmer than yesterday. tonight that area of rain will ease but it will stay cloudy, damp and drizzly across northern ireland into southern scotland, the far north of england. overnight temperatures down to 13, 16 celsius. for the weekend, it is going to remain cloudy for many others,

bright or sunny spells but rain particularly on sunday. this is saturday and rain is likely at times across northern ireland, central and southern scotland, the far north of england. staying dry and bright to the north—east of scotland and for much of england and wales it will be a bright day on saturday. warmer day and more humid conditions. temperatures 23 to 25 degrees and similarto temperatures 23 to 25 degrees and similar to today in the north. we have a tropical storm manuel miele antic. by sunday it will move in. by this stage it will be the scraps of the tropicals. it will bring a spell of heavy rain jarring the day on sunday particularly to northern ireland, to wales and northern part of england and southern scotland. that could be issues with the rain. gusty winds across southern parts but largely dry with bright or sunny spells. bit of sunshine in the far north of scotland for most of the

day on sunday. quite warm and humid conditions with temperatures about 19 to 25. goodbye. hello, it's friday, it's 10 o'clock, i'm joanna gosling. rules around e—cigarettes should be relaxed so they can be more widely used and accepted in society — that's according to a group of mps. there is a danger that if the common perception in public spaces is that papers are treated exactly the same as smokers, again we miss an opportunity to encourage people to give up smoking. members of the science and technology committee say vaping is much less harmful than normal cigarettes — and e—cigarettes should be made available on prescription to help more people quit smoking. as the government announces £10 million to improve security and conditions in england's worst prisons... we've got exclusive access to a jail where prisoners get a say in the running of the jail. we are actually providing a place

where prisoners in here can develop and can grow as man and hopefully be released into the community as men with something to offer. oakwood has been described as an "impressive institution" in a recent inspection report. and this programme is the first to be allowed inside. also the rise of the part time gp. the average family doctor now works less than three and a half days a week, according to research. is it a sensible way to combat burn—out, or does itjust mean that getting an appointment with your gp is even harder? here's ben in the bbc newsroom with a summary of the day's news. morning joanna. the nhs should do more to promote e—cigarettes as a way of helping people stop smoking, according to a group of mps. the science and technology committee is calling on the government to make it easier to use e—cigarettes in public places and to consider vaping on presciption. but the findings have been

criticised by some health experts who have warned about the safety of the devices. thejustice minister, rory stewart, has promised to quit hisjob in a year's time if he hasn't reduced the level of drugs and violence in england's most challenging jails. he was speaking after announcing that ten prisons — in yorkshire, nottinghamshire and london — are to be given a total of ten million pounds to improve security and living conditions — and provide better training for prison staff. i will quit if i haven't succeeded in 12 months in reducing the level of drugs and violence in those prisons. i want to make a measurable difference and that is what this investment is around. i believe in the prison service, i believe in our prison officers and i believe this can be turned around and i want you tojudge me on those results and i will resign if don't succeed. the italian government has opened an investigation into the private operator of the motorway bridge that collapsed in genoa on tuesday, killing at least 38 people.

autostrade has been given fifteen days to show it met contractual obligations. the company says it made regular safety checks on the viaduct. a teenager is in a critical condition after four boys aged 15 and 16 were stabbed on a housing estate in camberwell in south london yesterday evening. another boy is in a serious but stable condition. six boys, also aged 15 and 16 have been arrested. house of fraser has cancelled all of its online orders, because of a dispute with its warehouse operator. the retailer was bought out of administration by sports direct a week ago. it says it has pulled all orders that hadn't been sent to customers and would be issuing refunds. let's get more on this from our correspondent emma simpson. emma, bring us up to date? this time last week we were announcing the

news that mike ashley had come riding to the rescue and had bought house of phrase out of administration for £90 million. one week and things have got messy. the logistics company which processes all of house of fraser's online orders from two warehouses, they are now ina orders from two warehouses, they are now in a dispute with sports direct overpayment. they have stopped processing orders so on wednesday the house of fraser website was taken down and now house of fraser are saying they have cancelled all online orders and are issuing refunds to customers. of course when mike ashley brought that business out of administration he was under no legal obligation to pay the debts or to suppliers when he did the deal. harshly, that's what happens in an administration. he's told suppliers he will pay them once he's taken over. suppliers he will pay them once he's ta ken over. so suppliers he will pay them once he's taken over. so clearly there is a dispute but it does need to be

sorted out because online sales are hugely important. emma, thank you very much. new research indicates that the average gp works less than three and a half days a week and just one in ten trainee doctors intends to do the job full—time. patients groups say the situation could become alarming, fuelling longer waits for an appointment. the study was carried out by the kings fund, a think tank specialising in ca re fund, a think tank specialising in care policy. american researchers have warned that low—carbohydrate diets could be shortening people's lives. the study followed 15,000 people for 25 years, and found that those getting half their energy from carbs lived the longest, while people who cut them to less than a third of their diet had their life expectancy reduced by four years. that's a summary of the latest bbc news — more at 10.30. thank you, ben. keep on getting in

touch with us about what we are talking about this 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. lots of you are getting in touch about raping. just a couple of comments before the sports news, one anonymous viewers says these poor people with these they been things in their hands, it is like they can't put them down, they should only be used outside, i don't want to inhale vapour mist. kirsty on facebook mike says it should not be encouraged, my daughter is asthmatic and taping triggers an asthma attack when she passes by because this work has goodness knows what in it, people need to think of others, when they do this. right now let's get they do this. right now let's get the sport. holly hamilton is at the bbc sport centre. morning, joanna, we don't know if ben stokes will play in the third test but back training with england,

he was recalled to the squad immediately after he was cleared of affray on tuesday. head coach trevor bayliss said it was for own well—being and he would assess whether to put him in the side. stokes may yet face sanctions from the ecb. there's a lot of work being done on teen culture with the two ca pta i ns done on teen culture with the two captains and that will be ongoing. we've had to make one or two changes with curfews we've had to make one or two changes with cu rfews and we've had to make one or two changes with curfews and that type of thing. but as i said, they will be ongoing work done on team culture and what it means to actually play for england. kate cross, england's women cricketer has opened up about her battles with anxiety and depression, she was one of the first players to receive a professional contract from the ecb but says she missed out competing for two years after having a breakdown. all i did was to go downstairs and get would go to the toilet, i did not show, did nothing

for three days, just slept and cried. my dad came in and opened my blinds and i shot them straightaway. my way of trying to hide from the world, i guess —— i shot them. my way of trying to hide from the world, i guess -- i shot them. danny cipriani has received a firm and support from the rugby world after the incident in jersey support from the rugby world after the incident injersey which put his future in doubt. steve diamond his old boss at has urged england coach eddiejones to stick by him as his clu b eddiejones to stick by him as his club gloucester have done. diamond said it would be too harsh of the incident ended his international career. danny cipriani has said he is truly sorry and has been fined £2000 and made to pay £250 compensation to police officer. sean dyche said it was a massive badge of honour to be in european condition

after his team reached the europe play—offs, they will face creekside olympiakos. in the second leg against maribor it finished goalless, thanks largely to goalkeeper mcgregor. they go through 3-1, goalkeeper mcgregor. they go through 3—1, so steven gerrard is still not beaten since he took over as rangers manager. hibernian and the new site at. gold in the 100 metres at the swimming championships in dublin, she said she had gone out too fast but it was a dominant performance, she finished nine seconds ahead of the field as great britain won seven more medals. that included a second gold for the paralympic champion hannah russell in the is 12 100 meter backstroke, three wins in a row for her in this event. when i'm in the race it's me against the clock. i never think about the others, of course it is a competition but i want to beat my personal best and get my hand on the

world — record personal best and get my hand on the world—record again. personal best and get my hand on the world-record again. serena williams has revealed that just world-record again. serena williams has revealed thatjust minutes before the worst defeat of her career last month she found out that the man convicted of killing her sister had been released from prison. she said she could not get the news out of her mind as she lost 6-1, 6- 02 the news out of her mind as she lost 6—1, 6— 02johanna konta to. serena ‘s half—sister was shot dead 15 yea rs ‘s half—sister was shot dead 15 years ago. that's all the sport for now, we'll have the latest at half past ten. thank you, holly, just one comment from wendy on facebook on the conversation we were having about the new device developed to help people with locked in syndrome to communicate. wendy says, my sister has locked in syndrome due to multiple sclerosis and has not been able to communicate for four years except for blinking in response to closed questions. of course that presupposes we are asking the right questions. this eyecontrol device is something i will be looking to get more information about, i can't think of anything more important than two give her voice. thank you,

wendy, we wish you and your sister all the best. almost three million people in the uk vape. but according to an influential group of mps, the nhs should be doing more to push e—cigarettes as a tool to help people stop smoking. their report says the government is missing an opportunity to tackle what is one of the biggest killers and the single biggest cause of cancer in the uk. the science and technology committee want to see an overhaul of regulations, advertising rules and levels of taxation on e—cigarettes. and they want limits on their strength and use in public places reviewed. it comes just days after a study suggested vaping is actually more harmful than previously thought. so who's right? let's speak now to norman lamb, lib dem mp and chairman of the science and techology committee. rosanna o'connor, from public health england. dr davinder dosanjh, who co—authored a report warning of some of the health dangers of e—cigarettes. dave holder, who gave up smoking for vaping.

professorjonathan grigg, a paediatrician from queen mary university london. sarah jakes from the new nicotine alliance, and dan marchant, who co—owns vape club, an online e—cigarette store. thank you all very much forjoining us. thank you all very much forjoining us. first, deal, norman lamb. it sounds as if you want to make it as easy as possible for people to vapour and to get it free on the nhs. we will certainly be doing more than we do know to enable people to give up smoking. remember this important fact. 79,000 people every yearin important fact. 79,000 people every year in england alone die from smoking—related diseases. and so the big public health goal is to encourage more people to give up smoking and therefore save lives. we know they bring is one way to achieve that and i think we should be doing more, especially people with mental ill—health with the smoking rates still remain stubbornly high at 40%. it is very worrying for me that one third of nhs mental health trusts have banned

vaping from their premises. this is a chance when somebody is an impatient to change behaviour to encourage and enable them to give up smoking and in that way critically saving lives. are you at all worried that to deal with something that is a public health issue, there may be a public health issue, there may be a desire to promote something of which the long—term risks are not clear at this stage? the committee report clearly says there should be continuing research into any long—term risks of vaping. i welcome the report that came out this week. it's important to contribute to the scientific debate but witnessed base ourjudgment now on the basis of the wide consensus of opinion in this country. so we took evidence from the british heart condition, from cancer research uk, from nice who say that vaping is 90% less harmful

than smoking. and when you get influential bodies being clear about the evidence, surely in government policy we should follow that evidence to save lives? will talk more about that in a moment, a lot of people are getting in touch to say it is anti—social and they do not want it out in public. that is another point. we just want a public debate about public spaces. restau ra nts debate about public spaces. restaurants are free to ban whatever they want but we should at least recognise that the same public health risk that applies to secondary smoking does not apply to vapour in. —— apply to vaping. secondary smoking does not apply to vapour in. -- apply to vaping. let's speak to dr dosanjh. you one of the authors of this report. what have you found ? authors of this report. what have you found? we were founded by the british lung foundation. we did study looking at the possible effects of this e—cigarette vaper on

a cell that keeps our lungs healthy. we found that when we exposed those cells to the vapour from the e—cigarettes, it not only kills them but when you expose them to a lower dose and make them produce inflammatory chemicals and inhibits their function. the key thing to ta ke their function. the key thing to take from that is that if we were to ta ke take from that is that if we were to take those same immune cells from people with smoking—related lung disease, like chronic pulmonary disease, like chronic pulmonary disease, would expect those cells to react in the same way. that is the concern. react in the same way. that is the concern. what we are suggesting is, by no means does our study answer this question but we need much more research into the long—term effects of chronic exposure to e—cigarette smoke. would you start vaping know you know that? no. norman lamb, do

you know that? no. norman lamb, do you vape? i don't, i don't smoke but our oldest son gave up smoking 20 a day and night vapes instead. as a pa rent day and night vapes instead. as a parent i am immensely relieved that he is no longer smoking. 0f parent i am immensely relieved that he is no longer smoking. of course the committee endorses that there should be continuing research into long—term risk that toxicologists who gave evidence made it clear that vaping does not contain the same chemicals that cause can in cigarette smoke. so we have to apply the evidence that is that the present about the difference between vaping and smoking. i think we can save lives as a result. rosanna o'connor, public health england, your research is that vaping is 90% safer than conventional smoking, headed get this statistic? we undertake reviews each year to make sure we have all the evidence, it is

significantly sure we have all the evidence, it is significa ntly better for people sure we have all the evidence, it is significantly better for people to vape and a smoke. the risk of vaping is minimal. we welcome the report from norman's committee because hopefully, it will help to bust some of the myths about the risks of vaping in relation to smoking. professorjonathan rigg. you are a paediatrician. what is your view of the impact of vaping? this report contains some sensible suggestions, nobody would argue that someone who wa nts to nobody would argue that someone who wants to give up smoking and can't choose a safe alternative would go to e—cigarettes. yet they are not without risks, as we know from this evidence. my concern is that this report hasn't focused on the uptake by young people in adolescence.

that's a big emerging issue. it dismisses the gateway hypothesis, the idea that vaping can lead to cigarette smoking. that is controversial, is a big review in the states concluded that there is substantial evidence. the weight is marketed as a lifestyle choice is attractive to young people, the flavours are attractive to young people. i think the idea that we can release the advertising and say this isa release the advertising and say this is a safe activity i think is deeply flawed. that is a major issue with this report. we've been inundated with comments from this, janet by e—mail servers, i worry about the long—term use of e—cigarettes, my husband give up smoking with help from patches and inhalers. when he gave up patches he became addicted to inhalers and had one in his hand

must all the time, puffed co nsta ntly, must all the time, puffed constantly, developed a constant cough and a dry mouth and a sore throat, and convinced this is because of the use of inheritors. by these are not e—cigarettes i am sure they cause similar problems. adam by text in principle it's a good thing that people are taking quitting smoking seriouslyjudging by the reduction we've seen in recent years but i still think it's early to say what is the health effect of vaping on the body, could would be storing up on the body, could would be storing up another disaster? another viewers says, they are a time bomb, the batteries and concentrated nicotine they use involves even more intensive manufacturing processes than making cigarettes. yvonne says, what a silly idea to put the onus on the nhs, smokers already take advantage of extra breaks at work while their non—smoking colleagues cover their work. this will only encourage people to take up vaping

and glamorise it as they once did with cigarettes. tony says, and 46 and smoked since 17, i started vaping one year ago and the difference in my well—being is night and day, i believe the switch to vaping has saved my life and i help others follow suit. dave, on that note, he was smoking up to 30 a day until recently, you started smoking at 16. but you switched to vaping? it has been a revelation for my health. 20 to 30 a day, i was a 20-30 a health. 20 to 30 a day, i was a 20—30 a day smoker, i struggled with other means, tried patches, tried inhalators and it did not cut it, after talking to my wife i visited a vape shop and was sound advice. i was recommended the setup, and on january four, 2016 that was the last

timei january four, 2016 that was the last time i had a cigarette. it is so ingrained in my head, i never thought i would kick the habit, the date is there because i'm so proud of kicking habit which probably would have ended my life earlier and affected my other smoke, because i am asthmatic. since i switched to vapingi am asthmatic. since i switched to vaping i very rarely use my inhaler. it is mainly if i have a chest infection from a cold. i could not breathe, couldn't play with my kids and not worry about being out of breath. i've kicked habit that i've wa nted breath. i've kicked habit that i've wanted to for a long time and vaping was an avenue to help me kick that terrible habit. norman lamb, you have to go so one, and from a viewers to you, by text they say, i don't think prescriptions to e—cigarettes should be given to encourage people to give up. why should struggling nhs fund this suggestion? let people finance their own habits. just listen to the

testimony of your guest. that was incredibly powerful. we are talking about the initial upfront cost of the vaping equipment. once somebody has given up smoking and switched to vaping they will save money so there's no need for any continual big subsidy of that, but getting people on low incomes over that hurdle, if that results in more people up smoking, saving lives, surely we should be in favour of that? what about the potentially stored up problems, if it does emerge that there are long—term problems with vaping? back to the evidence we've heard, just to correct the guest, we are not saying this is completely safe. this is about harm reduction. and the wealth of evidence we've researched from cancer research uk, a recognised organisation, from the british heart foundation, from the british medical

council, all saying that this is a significantly less harmful thing to do than to smoke, surely we should follow that advice? thank you, we will let you go, i note you have to rush off. sarahjakes, from the new nicotine alliance, in terms of switching one addiction from another, what other risks with vaping? another, what other risks with vaping ? we've another, what other risks with vaping? we've had people getting in touch saying they couldn't quit smoking but they managed to do it with the help of a vape. but nicotine is very addictive and you are still getting nicotine. nicotine is addictive. i would argue that people are swapping one addiction for another, the same dependency, a safer route. if a person is addicted to smoking via nicotine and switched to smoking via nicotine and switched toa to smoking via nicotine and switched to a delivery method that is 90% safer, and i appreciate that there is some argument about that figure, and some unknowns in the long—term,

then those people should be supported to do that. i take on board wholeheartedly one of the strong recommendations of this committee report, which was, for ongoing research. that is necessary. consumers want that. we welcome studies like the one from birmingham but they need to be put in context. and the context is, the very great harm that people are doing to themselves by smoking. so we need to put this in the right place in the public mind, risk lies because of the of the moment the misperceptions are probably killing people. dan, you are the owner of vape club, an online e—cigarettes store. it's been amazing how quickly this alternative to smoking has grown and the potential impact of it. in terms of the people buying stuff from your store, is it people wanting to kick

the habit or are people coming to vaping having never smoked in their life? fisher it's almost 100% people who have previously smoked. we've had countless stories like you are getting from the texts and the tweets saying how it has changed their lives. the health benefits, their lives. the health benefits, the benefits to their family, financial benefits, its people from all walks of life. it has been great to talk to you all. we had a lot to get in, perhaps haven't been able to discuss as much as we would like but it has been great to talk to you. please keep your comments coming in, obviously this is a subject you are very interested in. yesterday hundreds of thousands of students across england, wales and northern ireland got their a level results. and one grandmother, who was particularly proud of her grandson's acheivements, got in contact with this programme. here's what marianne wanted us, and the rest of the uk, to know about 18—year—old max and just how well he did. i must read this e—mail before the end of the programme. it's about a young man called max, who's just received excellent grades.

which, as his grandma said, "we didn't dare hope for", because in march, when max was revising for his a—levels, his younger brother by 18 months was diagnosed with a malignant, grade four brain tumour on which he was operated. the operation was successful, but miles then relapsed into a coma for nearly four weeks at st george's hospital in tooting. his recovery was slow. he had intensive chemo and radiotherapy. during this worrying time, max was a devoted brother and spent nights at the royal marsden, where miles had been moved, to keep his brother company. facetimed him continuously and kept his spirits up. inevitably, we were convinced this disruption to his a—level revision would have serious repercussions when he sat the exams injune and when his brother was still in poor health. however, to our delight, the results out this morning have ensured that max has achieved his predicted grades and can accept the offer to reading university next year. oh gosh, that makes me want to cry, that's amazing. marianne, you have two amazing grandsons. you may have more, but i know

about two of them, miles and max. well we were so impressed with max and touched by his grandmother's email to the show that we decided to get in touch, and i'm delighted to say we can speak to them now. thank you forjoining us. marianne, what made you want to get in touch with us and tell everyone what max had achieved? well, good morning to you! it was a spur of the moment decision. i'd been watching the a—level results coming in and i heard victoria mention that perhaps it was a good news story, if so, let her know. i went to the computer, sent the e—mail, never expecting to have a response. it's been quite amazing what has happened since, and iamso amazing what has happened since, and i am so pleased for macs because he worked very hard at a—levels, and

justly deserved the results he got. max, is it nice to know how proud your granny is max, is it nice to know how proud yourgranny isa max, is it nice to know how proud your granny is a view? yes, of course, when your granny is a view? yes, of course , when your your granny is a view? yes, of course, when your family is happy and is very good, it's nice. how ha rd and is very good, it's nice. how hard is it been? obviously, when the whole situation started, a—levels we re whole situation started, a—levels were not massively in my head. it was still early march, i was just about revising, and then, when it all kicked off with miles, and he was taken to hospital, my exams had just started. it was difficult, seeing him, managing time at school and suchlike was difficult but i'm glad i got through and happy with

the results i got. and how is he now? he's doing well. he has re cove red. now? he's doing well. he has recovered. he's had six weeks of intense chemotherapy and radiotherapy which has obviously taken radiotherapy which has obviously ta ken its effect. radiotherapy which has obviously taken its effect. that means he lost his hairand taken its effect. that means he lost his hair and suchlike, that he is now able to talk and walk and suchlike, he's still a bit wobbly but that was expected. and what does the future hold feel, max? what would you like to do next? hopefully i'm going to go on a gap year, and work for some of that, and after earning some money i will hopefully go and volunteer somewhere across the world, and yeah, go to university. marianne it is quite moving watching you as max talks. you are clearly such a proud

grandmother. yes, it makes me feel quite tearful! it has been a difficult six months for all the family. his parents and all our friends and relatives, and to have such happy news yesterday, the fact that max is now on his way, he was 18 yesterday, it was his 18th birthday as well. now he can get on with the rest of his life. we know miles is going to recover, we are very miles is going to recover, we are very sure miles is going to recover, we are very sure of that. sending all the very sure of that. sending all the very best wishes, good luck with your future, max, thank very best wishes, good luck with yourfuture, max, thank you very best wishes, good luck with your future, max, thank you for getting in touch, marianne. still to come. still to come: as £10 million in funding is announced to tackle drugs and violence in england's worst prisons, we'll be discussing the best way to change the culture in underperforming jails. and, would you mind if yourfamily doctor works part time? we'll be looking at new research, which suggests the average gp works for less than three—and—a—half days per week. time for the latest news,

here's ben with the bbc news headlines this morning. the nhs should do more to promote e—cigarettes as a way of helping people stop smoking, according to a group of mps. the science and technology committee is calling on the government to make it easier to use e—cigarettes in public places and to consider vaping on presciption. but the findings have been criticised by some health experts who have warned about the safety of the devices. thejustice minister, rory stewart, has promised to quit hisjob in a year's time if he hasn't reduced the level of drugs and violence in england's most challenging jails. he was speaking after announcing that ten prisons in yorkshire, nottinghamshire and london, are to be given a total of £10 million to improve security and living conditions and provide better training for prison staff. i will quit if i haven't succeeded in 12 months in reducing the level of drugs and violence in those prisons.

i want to make a measurable difference. that's what this investment is around. i believe in the prison service, i believe in our prison officers. i believe that this can be turned around and i want you tojudge me on those results. and i'll resign if i don't succeed. house of fraser has cancelled all of its online orders, because of a dispute with its warehouse operator. the retailer was bought out of administration by sports direct a week ago. it says it has pulled all orders that hadn't been sent to customers and would be issuing refunds. that's a summary of the latest bbc news. here's some sport now with holly hamilton. ben stokes is back in training with england. trevor bayliss says it is for his own well—being and he will assess him before he decide if you play in the third test against injury which starts at trent bridge tomorrow. danny cipriani said he is

sorry for the incident which put his england future in doubt. but his old boss at sale rugby club says eddie jones should stick by him. steven gerrard is unbeaten in eight matches as rangers manager and they are through to the last eight in the europa league after a goalless draw and burnley are also through. great britain one seven models on day four of the european para summing championships in dublin. the buzz of dominant display... more on the news channel throughout the day. £10 million plans to tackle drugs and violence in ten of the worst prisons in england have been announced today. the prisons — in yorkshire, nottinghamshire and london, will be given money to bolster security, improve living conditions and develop new standards of leadership. well this programme has been given exclusive access to one prison which has already been turned around. oakwood, which had previously been referred to as "jokewood", holds 2,000 offenders, more than any otherjail

in the country, yet an inspection report last month said it was an "impressive" institution. our home affairs correspondent, danny shaw, went to find out why. idoit i do it because i think it is my way of giving back to society. ben has got a job of giving back to society. ben has gotajob in of giving back to society. ben has got a job in prison and is at the end of a 19 year sentence for plotting to supply cocaine. he has been here for five years and has become a middleman between prisoners and prison officers. there are tensions in the prison society. guys come in with a vengeance against authority. a lot of it has to be empathy, shared experiences. reliving your own experiences to the individual. it is about connecting to the individual and not making any judgment. and it is about treating

prisoners with respect. oak—wood was one of the first prisons to have in cell telephones so prisoners can keepin cell telephones so prisoners can keep in touch with their families. some prisoners can wear their own clothes and the staff do not carry batons. they are weapons, i have no time for them myself. i would rather have people engaging with each other and finding solutions than resorting to drawing a batten in resolving an issue. my prison operates without them very successfully. after oak—wood opened six years ago staff struggled to maintain control. there was a rooftop protest and then a year later there was a riot. one of britain's biggest and newest prisons was a laughing stock. now there is a different mood at the jail and it praises the way inmates were

consulted and involved in decision—making. consulted and involved in decision-making. for a man to go through the other side after working with one of our mentors, it shows these provisions are working and we are providing a place where prisoners can develop and they can grow as men and hopefully be released into the community as men with something to offer. that means being employable. in this workshop, prisoners are assembling parts for a private company, learning skills and getting experience that will help them on the outside. but oak—wood still has a long way to go. like many prisons, violence has increased, illicit drugs are readily available and incidents of self harm remain high. ben is showing there is hope. prisoners can take the initiative, help each other to get through their sentence and stay on the right side of the tracks.

let's talk to jackie hewitt—main from the charity cascade foundation, which provides training for ex—prisoners in doncaster. she has also set up prisoner mentoring schemes in prisons in chelmsford and doncaster. mark day from the campaign organisation the prison reform trust. angela levin a former chair of the independent monitoring board at wormwood scrubs prison. and carl cattermole an ex—prisoner who served time in four prisons including wormwood scrubs. wormwood scrubs is one of the prison is getting extra funding. welcome all of you. jackie, 12 years ago you set up the mentoring scheme so you have seen the long—term impact. how have seen the long—term impact. how have they worked? i went into chelmsford prison and we were mentoring, we taught prisoners to become teachers. two of them went on to our project in doncaster. it is the first time it has ever happened. we were working with people with

learning difficulties but working with prisoners who don't have learning difficulties. we were teaching them to be able to mentor. as soon as a prisoner teaching them to be able to mentor. as soon as a prisoner came teaching them to be able to mentor. as soon as a prisoner came in, we would mentor them straightaway, see what the issues were, could they write a letter home? the whole project has the reoffending rate, after nine years is 5.9%. what does that compare with? 7096. that after nine years is 5.996. what does that compare with? 7096. that is extraordinary. i have done two years in doncaster prison and now i have a hub outside, so prisoners can come out, and they can then come and see us we out, and they can then come and see us we and have opened up a community cafe so we have nx prisoner running back. we have different types of businesses. and after four years we have a 3% reoffending rate. businesses. and after four years we

have a 396 reoffending rate. crikey! the prison reform trust, those statistics speak for themselves?m sound extraordinary work that jackie is doing. the announcement today, 10 million from these ten prisons and hopefully it will find its way into some schemes which will help prisoners, but it isn't enough, probably to deal with some of the real difficult problems that we have in our prison system. we have also been here before. in 2016, michael gove announced his plan for reform prisons. these were quietly dropped without any reason or explanation, or indeed evaluations. the risk is, with the scheme announced today, we don't want it to see a similar fate. the minister has promised he wants to see tangible results out of this. we want to know what those outcomes will be and we need to have accountability about who will deliver them. angela, you wrote a

book on wormwood scrubs, one of the prisons that will benefit from this new support. with the prison property relation leaving prison and a reoffending rate of 70%, things have been going wrong for a long time and we were hearing from jackie about the impact of the mentoring where she has been. what do you think the potential outcomes could be? this started about 2012 when the ministry ofjustice cut the number of prison officers. in wormwood scrubs there were about 570 and they got rid of about 200. this changed the way the prison was run because you would have five prison officers looking after a wing of 200 and the only way to keep them safe was by locking them up. they missed out on education and they missed out on going to see the doctor, they missed out on visits and their lawyers couldn't come to see them. not much

has happened since to improve that. the money we are seeing today, £10 million, for ten prisons? there are silly things in it that governments pretend people don't know what is going on. repairing the windows, wormwood scrubs is a listed building and it costs a fortune. every day those windows are smashed because they are used to go fishing, an expression used to pick up drugs. they are thrown over the wall, the wire goes down. you have a huge job. the only way of stopping the drugs is by having daily inspections of cells. they haven't got the money to do that. we were hearing at okehampton, a very strong review now, is not perfect, violence is there and illegal drugs. a lot of self—harming, there and illegal drugs. a lot of self— harming, violence which there and illegal drugs. a lot of self—harming, violence which is gang—related. this money coming in, they recommend governors and

office rs have they recommend governors and officers have army training. i have never heard anything so ridiculous. they are to refit, most of the governors and prison officers are dedicated. in my view they need to send the prisoners to some sort of training, to give their motivation, discipline, routine and structure, which they don't have in their lives. it is degrading to say that about prison officers on the whole. carl, what are your thoughts on what would make the best outcomes for prisoners? the conservative government should leave their trumpets at home. i am cynical about it ever materialising. we have seen prisons minister is coming and going and very little changes happen on the ground. it only gets worse than when you have a prison system that gets worse, people are released and

they commit further crimes in society, you know? you have served time infour society, you know? you have served time in four prisons, including wormwood scrubs. what was it, what was it like when you were in there, did you think you were in there and it was going to be a productive time and you might turn your life around? that is what i would have liked to have done. we are struggling with some technical issues with the link to carl, so we will try to fix those and go back. but mark, you were indicating strongly that it is money thatis indicating strongly that it is money that is going to help provide the infrastructure and support that will mean inmates like carl, was, will be able to turn their lives around?m is partly about resources and certainly the fall in staff, which

we have seen since 2010, have had a detrimental impact on levels of safety in our prisons. it is also about the framework which the government creates four prisons to operate in. one risk about being announcement today, there is a lot about the minister telling governors about the minister telling governors about what they should be doing to improve their prisons. there is very little about the responsibility and accountability of government and parliament to provide the resources foran parliament to provide the resources for an effective prison system. if those resources are not there, then to do something about the levels of people and numbers of people we have coming into the prison system. rory stewart has recently been saying a lot of positive things about reducing the number of short sentence prisoners and using community orders. if it was achieved it would have a real impact, particularly on local prisons where the high turnover of prisoners coming in forjust weeks at a time

has a detrimental impact on the ability of governments to run those prisons safely and securely. but those welcome intentions have not been backed up by policy. in scotland, we do have a presumption against short sentences. we would like to see something similar introduced in england and wales. can ijust add, so many of the prisoners have mental health issues. in wormwood scrubs, there are seriously ill, mentally ill prisoners are held on board. if dealt with the prisoners it would help a tremendous amount, it needs reorganising, i think. thank you all very much. coming up... as tributes are being paid to aretha franklin, who died yesterday, we'll speak to the singer

rowetta from the happy mondays. the average gp works for less than three—and—a—half days per week, according to new research from the university of manchester. it suggests the stress of the job has become so intense that for many family doctors, working full—time is increasingly ‘untenable'. separate findings by the king's fund, which is an independent charity working to improve health and care in england, also shows that less than a quarter of new gps plan to be working in the role full time within one year of completing their training. patient‘s groups say the rise in part—time gps is ‘terrifying' given the national shortage and will lead to even longer waiting times for appointments. well i am joined here by beccy baird from the king's fund, which carried out that research, and from glasgow by dr sandhesh gulhane, who is a gp trainee and is currently negotiating reducing his working hours. thank you both. dr sandhesh gulhane, why are you

trying to negotiate your working hours down? there is a huge amount of pressure and as a trainee i feel like it would benefit me to prevent burn—out and be able to do the things i want to do and reduce my hours. you have been a doctor for 11 yea rs hours. you have been a doctor for 11 years but you are switching to becoming a gp, why is it you have decided to do that in the first place? the pressures within the hospital, the short staffing we have, it's not just hospital, the short staffing we have, it's notjust a workforce crisis within gps, it is across the nhs. the pressures were present in hospital, along with not seeing my family, not seeing my child. these we re family, not seeing my child. these were reasons i decided to switch to

being a gp where you can get a slightly better work, life balance. but as you can see from the report, once i qualify as a gp, the amount of work and pressure being placed upon us is quite severe. becky from the king's fund, how concerning is that if people are switching out of hospitals because the hours are too long and them being a gp, it is also the same? there is no doubt and our research shows the intensity of the gp's research shows the intensity of the gp's working day is becoming more and more. a working day for a gp is rarely 9—to—5, much more 8am until eight p:m.. some gps are being pushed away from full—time working in clinical facing general practice but they are choosing to work in other bits of the nhs, which is of benefit for them and their skills. they might be working in out—of— hours services, pain they might be working in out—of—hours services, pain clinic ora out—of—hours services, pain clinic or a hospice. they may be teaching a working in research. it enhances

their skills as a gp so it is not inherently bad thing but we need to think how it will affect the way general practice works in future. alan dunne e—mail says on the rare occasions i need a gp appointment, i am told by the receptionist i need to wait a week to ten days. now this report saying gps only work three and a half days a week, they should provide a five—day week service to their patients. it is not acceptable to be told you cannot have an appointment in a reasonable time. is that why there are problems, gps. working enough across the week? patients are finding it hard to access gp appointments. the money for general practice has been rising in recent years, but before that, it was falling. other bits of the health service has been going up faster than primary care. sorry to

interrupt, our patients paying the price for gps going part—time?m interrupt, our patients paying the price for gps going part-time? it is ha rd price for gps going part-time? it is hard to say gps are working part—time. they might be seeing patients part—time in general practice, but there are other ways in which they work as a team. if gps we re in which they work as a team. if gps were still seeing patients nine till five, five days a week they will probably see the same number of patients they would see three and a half days a week. we don't want overtired gps seeing patients every ten minutes all day making complex, clinical decisions, but is not sustainable for five days a week. we need to work on a health service that will deliver the kind of care we need. i want to find out how the hours can work from our example here in the form of dr sandhesh gulhane. are the hours you are trying to negotiate working equivalent of 95, five days a week? it is a fallacy to think gps work nine to five at any

point. it is a partnership model we are looking at here. the partnership model is the best in europe, it is the cheapest rate of seeing patients and we have many innovations because of it. sorry to interrupt but in terms of trying to get a grip on whether three and a half days for a gp is misleading because it is technically full—time in terms of the numbers of hours being worked, or is it really a public part—time job as other people would understand? job as other people would understand ? what hours job as other people would understand? what hours are you talking about working per week when you are negotiating? as a gp, nine to five and never happens. you are in at 8am and you do leave sometimes at 708 o'clock. those hours are essentially free and unpaid because seeing patients is 95 but i have to make sure i see the referrals, results and things i have said to the patient end up happening. all of this has to be done in my own time because there isn't enough time in

the working day because of the number of people that need to be seen. number of people that need to be seen. this is not unique to me, it is universal throughout the country. gps are struggling with this. becky, how many medics are actually seeking to either move out or go part—time because of the pressures? it is hard to say from our research up the numbers are, but increasingly doctors, notjust in general practice but in all areas are looking at ways they can expand their skills by working in different ways across the health service. i think absolutely, a gp's date might be 9—5 seeing patients but isn't because of the extra work. the solution is to think about how we can support gps, working in a less isolated way where they are working ina team isolated way where they are working in a team to help manage the demand that we don't have a lot of data in

general practice to know what the demand is, but we know gps are under pressure. we need different ways of meeting that and have different ways of working. thank you both very much. we've been talking this morning about the extraordinary life and music of the queen of soul, aretha franklin who died yesterday aged 76. we can speak now to the singer rowetta, best known for her work with the band the happy mondays. how will you remember aretha franklin? she was an amazing singer and this is what they should be, the greatest female vocalist. she made us greatest female vocalist. she made us feel every lyric. you could feel the pain, thejoy and that us feel every lyric. you could feel the pain, the joy and that is how singers should be. i remember as a little girl, not particularly wanting to be famous like little girls do now, she made me want to be

a singer and girls do now, she made me want to be a singerandi girls do now, she made me want to be a singer and i loved the feeling of being able to perform. she was special and we didn't hear about her private life, it was about her voice and her natural talent. the way she played the piano was incredible. for a little black girl to be able to look up to somebody like that was amazing to me. you don't have to look a certain way, you just need to bea look a certain way, you just need to be a certain person, be real and be respected. i hope people looked at her life as a singer and artist and respect her and want to be that rather than simply be wanting her to bea rather than simply be wanting her to be a stick and miming. it is about being a real singer and it is fantastic she is the greatest. she a lwa ys fantastic she is the greatest. she always will be. people i am fans of, they look up to her because she is they look up to her because she is the ultimate. why don't you singers and melody from one of your favourite songs from aretha franklin. # when you are weary, when you are

feeling small. # when tears are in your eyes. # when tears are in your eyes. # i will drive them all. # i will drive them all. # not as good as aretha franklin. how would you define her legacy? natural talent, naturally gifted and this is how little girls, what a real singer and a real musician is, a real woman with a real life who sings about real things. doesn't sings about real things. doesn't sing rubbish and she makes songs her own. she is amazing and she is what we should want to be. i still want to be like her now, that would be the dream. she is amazing. what is your favourite aretha franklin song? i loved bridge over troubled water because her version is amazing. rock

steady, highway 0f because her version is amazing. rock steady, highway of love. when i sing songs with others, i always play aretha franklin because of my boys. iam aretha franklin because of my boys. i am never going to be as good as her, but it is in my heart to be as good as i can be because our people like her. she is special and she is the best. like you so much. thank you for your company today. newsroom live is coming up next. we're going to leave you with one of soul legend aretha franklin's most famous songs. # say a little prayer for you # the moment i wake up

# before i put on my make up # i say a little prayer for you # oh yes i do # while combing my hair now hair now # and wondering which dress i'm going to wear now # i say a little prayer for you # oh yes i do. # for ever and ever # you stay in my heart # and i will love you # for ever and ever # we never will part # oh how i love you # together, together # we always will be # would only be heartbreak for me # i ran for the bus dear # while riding i'm thinking of us dear, # # and i'm saying

a little prayer for oh yes i am # at work i just take me sometime # and through mike coffee break time # i'm saying a little prayerfor you # oh yes i am # for ever and ever # you will stay in my heart # and i will love you we've got cloudier skies and outbreaks are moving into western areas at the moment. for central and eastern parts of england we have started off with some sunshine. this photo is from lowestoft. look at the sea, flat and calm with blue skies. of those blue skies will not last into the afternoon because the cloud

will increase across the east and south—east throughout this afternoon. more rain into scotland, northern ireland and rain into north—west england and north and west wales by the afternoon. gusty winds this afternoon. particularly in the north and the west. 30 to 40 miles an hour in the outer hebrides. as we go through this afternoon temperatures getting up to 17, 22, 23 celsius. warmer than yesterday especially with the sunshine. this evening it is cloudy and dump across northern ireland, to central and southern scotland and northern parts of england. as we go into sunday, we start to see heavy rain spreading from the west with a maximum temperature rising by the end of the weekend. goodbye. this is bbc news. i'm ben brown. these are the top stories

developing at 11am... mps call for rules around e—cigarettes to be relaxed so they can be more widely used and accepted in society. new plans to improve security and conditions at some of england's worstjails — the prisons minister says he'll resign if things don't improve. i will quit if i haven't succeeded in 12 months in reducing the level of drugs and violence in those prisons. house of fraser, which was bought last week, has cancelled all online orders after a dispute with its warehouse operator investigations continue into the genoa bridge collapse. the italian government is now formally looking into the private company that ran the motorway bridge. at least 38 people died after it suddenly collapsed on tuesday.