hello. it's thursday, it's nine o'clock. i'm victoria derbyshire. welcome to the programme a leading surgeon has exclusively told this programme that since the government ban on vaginal mesh, which was implanted in thousands of women to treat incontinence or prola pses, there's been a 30% increase in women coming to her to have it removed. we've had exclusive access to film one of those operations. so it is quite deeply buried, so we are going to have to sort of cut really close to the urethra to try and track it and get it out. and already we can see some parts of the mesh fragments peeling off the main mesh body. that film coming up at 9.15 this morning. also: should energy drinks for children and teenagers be banned? the government's consisdering that because of worries about kids‘ health and concentration at school. would you support a ban on selling them to under—16s? or what about under—18s? both options are on the table. get in touch if you consumer them, teach pupils who do, or run a shop where potentially

you could be fined for selling them to teenagers in the future. and what message do you think this front cover sends? us model, tess holliday, who is a uk size 26, tells us she cried when cosmopolitan uk asked her to be on the front of the fashion mag. good morning. welcome to the programme. we are alive until 11. another thing we want to ask you this morning, if you answer or send work e—mails on your commute, should you be paid for that time? because of better access to wi—fi on trains and because everybody has got a mobile phone, it is argued that that effectively extends the working day.

do you agree? what kind of work do you do on your commute, and do you think you should be paid for that? tony has tweeted, i e—mail seven days a week, during my daniel levy, i even answered days a week, during my daniel levy, i even answered an days a week, during my daniel levy, i even answered an e—mail on christmas day. my hourly rate must bea minus christmas day. my hourly rate must be a minus figure. and this tweet, absolutely you should be paid for working whilst commuting or any other time. from a business perspective, expecting employees to a nswer perspective, expecting employees to answer e—mails whenever they arrive, whatever time of day, is unreasonable. do get in touch. if you want to take pa rt do get in touch. if you want to take part in the programme, you and me have a conversation, please do include your phone number in your message. our top story today. children in england could be banned from buying high—caffeine, high—sugar energy drinks, as part of efforts to tackle childhood obesity. the government has launched a public consultation on its plans. one issue to be decided

is whether a ban should apply to under—16s or under—18s. ben ando reports. children are told these drinks will give them energy, but doctors say drinking them to excess can lead to headaches, sleep problems and upset tummies. evidence from teachers suggest they can even contribute to children becoming unruly and disruptive in the classroom. but more than anything, health experts believe they are part of the reason why britain's children are becoming obese. compared to other soft drinks, energy drinks contain a double whammy of very high caffeine and sugar levels. and children in the uk are guzzling half as much again as their counterparts in europe. energy drinks like these are attractive to youngsters, in brightly coloured cans, and often cheaper than regular soft drinks. but the ingredients list tells a different story. each of these cans can contain as much sugar as this, and as much caffeine as this. the caffeine can cause too much stimulation, the sugar — weight gain and tooth decay. as well as hearing from dieticians,

doctors and dentists, the government wants to hear from the public. many supermarkets already have a voluntary ban on selling energy drinks to children, but the government says most smaller retailers have not signed up. the british soft drinks association does not oppose a ban, but believes a voluntary code is enough, stating on its website: this consultation will last 12 weeks and is part of the second phase of the government's childhood obesity plan. ben ando, bbc news. particularly keen to hear from you if you are a teacher and you have experience of the kind of disruption that your pupils consuming these energy drinks can apparently cause. do let me know what it can be like in your classroom when kids have had one of these drinks before they get into the classroom. let's bring you the rest of the morning's news.

here's rachel. good morning. alex salmond, who led the scottish national party into government and was at the helm during the independence referendum, has quit the snp to fight allegations of sexual misconduct. scotland's first minister nicola sturgeon said she felt a ‘huge sadness' about the situation. mr salmond denies the claims, which relate to his time in office. our scotland correspondent, lorna gordon, reports. alex salmond's successor as snp leader nicola sturgeon had faced days of pressure to suspend mr salmond from the snp after sexual misconduct allegations emerged. she had said there was no legal basis to do so, but now mr salmond has taken matters into his own hands. in a statement, he said: mr salmond continues to deny any wrongdoing and says he intends

to reapply for party membership in the future. the former first minister had already announced he was taking the government he used to lead to court over its handling of misconduct allegations. but nicola sturgeon has defended the process. in a statement of her own, the first minister said: ms sturgeon added she is upset by mr salmond's resignation but any legal processes must be allowed to take their course. this programme has been told that there has been a huge increase in the number women enquiring about having their vaginal mesh implant removed since the government banned it in nhs hospitals earlier this year.

vaginal mesh was implanted in thousands of women to treat incontinence or prola pses, but it was banned after hundreds of women complained of severe, permanent pain and others were left unable to walk. we'll have an exclusive film following one patient as she underwent surgery to remove her mesh. that's just after 9.15. the troubled payday lender wonga has said that it is stopping taking new loan applications. in a statement, the company said that it was continuing to "assess its options" after reports suggested it was on the brink of collapse. it follows a surge in compensation claims against the firm, amid a government clampdown on payday lenders. wonga has faced criticism for its high—cost, short—term loans, which some said targeted the vulnerable. the police watchdog says high—risk sex offenders are not checked on enough by merseyside police, and their locations are often unknown by officers. an investigation said the force's sex offender unit,

which is also responsible for child protection, was "seriously overstretched" and highlighted 98 overdue visits to sex offenders in the area. the force says it's addressing the issues. an unmarried mother who is fighting for the right to claim bereavement payments after her partner's death will find out this morning if the supreme court has ruled in her favour. siobhan mclaughlin lived withjohn adams, her partner of 23 years, and their four children, until his death from cancer in 2014. she says the family is being discriminated against because the couple never married. researchers are suggesting that the daily commute could be treated as part of the working day because so many people check their e—mails on the way to and from the office. they say the growing availability of internet access has effectively extended the working day with extra unpaid hours. they say that employers could rethink what they count as "working hours".

england's schools are facing a severe teacher shortage, according to the education policy institute. the independent think tank says as well as teacher shortages, students face bigger class sizes and there are more subjects being taught by staff without a relevant degree. it suggests targeted pay increases could combat the recruitment problem. theresa may is announcing a security pact with kenya, on the final day of her tour of africa. she's already visited south africa and nigeria in an effort to increase trade. britain will build a cyber centre in nairobi, to help kenyan police stop child abuse images being shared online. there'll also be increased funding for airport security. prince harry has joked about playing his ancestor king george iii in a hip—hop musical that mocks the british monarchy during the founding of modern—day america.

the duke and duchess of sussex attended a special performance of hamilton at the west end's victoria palace theatre to raise money for the duke's hiv charity, sentebale. it's thought the evening raised nearly £300,000, and the audience was treated to harry briefly bursting into song at the end of the show. # you say... applause that is definitely not going to happen. he did try, but i said no. that would have been worth seeing! a small village on the southern coast of new zealand is planning to implement a radical plan to protect its native wildlife by banning all domestic cats. under the initiative, cat owners in 0maui will have to neuter, microchip and register their cats with local authorities. after their pet dies, owners will then not be allowed to replace their cat. officials say the measure

isjustified because cameras have shown roaming cats preying on birds, insects and reptiles in the area. that's a summary of the latest bbc news. more at 9.30. thank you very much. there is probably a gag for that last story, but i'm not clever enough to think of it in time. thank you for your m essa 9 es of it in time. thank you for your messages on whether you think you should be paid for your commute to work because you are answering work e—mails. cha ntelle says work because you are answering work e—mails. chantelle says would you choose to do work e—mails in your own time? presumably not, so if it is expected that you will it should count as work time. mark says, i am a lwa ys count as work time. mark says, i am always working on my phone around the clock. i work on the basis that a quick answer question here and there during the night... during the night?! makes the working day easier. and let's turn it on its

head, should your workplace be allowed to e—mail you outside of working hours? marty says, not in my line of work, i know what i do, boundaries are vital. this is about whether effectively the working day is extended because you're doing that work on your commute. a report today says you should be paid for that. let's get some sport, and andy murray is out of the us open? yes, he is. murray lost to fernando verdasco in four sets in the second round but showed a few flashes of his old self. he took one set, and showed a few flashes of his old self, but remember this is only his nights match back after that hip surgery at the turn of the year. he said some of the tennis he played was the best since his return, but he also admitted that some of the stuff he was playing was very ordinary, too.

very hot in new york, and the players were allowed to take a break after the third set. murray claimed that he caught verdasco chatting to his coach in the locker room during that break. that is not allowed, no coaching on or off court. he reported it to an official, but verdasco said he was innocently chatting to another player's coach, murray didn't buy that but he went on to lose anyway. the main talking point is will murray ever get back to reaching the sharp end of grand slams again? you just don't know what exactly is around the corner. if things keep going smoothly and physically i continue to improve, i believe that i will get back to competing for the biggest competitions, because there is no reason why i couldn't, but you don't know. it is all a bit vague, isn't it, victoria? just two rounds into the us open, no british players left in the singles draw. because seconds after murray lost,

cameron norrie lost his second round match as well. and in the women's draw, serena and venus are going to face each other? yes. this will be the 30th time the sisters have faced each other, the first time they faced each other was 20 years ago at the australian open. that just shows thatjust shows how much they have dominated the landscape of the women's game. both won their second round matches in straight sets to set up another williams clash. serena beat the german carina witthoft 6—2 6—2. she is chasing a record—equalling 24th grand slam. this is her comeback year after having a baby girl. the last time she played her sister at a grand slam was the australian open final last year and she won. she leads venus 17—12 on the head to head record, but venus hasjoked about this meeting, saying "the last time we played at the australian open it was two against one, so at least this time it will be fair."

and the fourth test starts in the next couple of hours, england can win this test against india in southampton? they can. england are 2—1 up, but they lost so badly at trent bridge that you just wonder whether india will carry that momentum into the fourth test down in southampton, and england have had to tinker. india were brilliant at trent bridge with bat and ball. chris woakes is injured so sam curran comes in, 0llie pope has been dropped and moeen ali gets his chance for his first appearnace in the series. he has scored a lot of runs for worcesterhire. that's what england are lacking. he'll also be a useful bowling option. johnny baisrtow will play despite a broken finger, he'll move up to number four in the order as a specialist batsman. jos buttler will keep wicket. so england chopping and changing a bit. india, though, are set to be unchanged for the first time in four years, that's 46 tests. that tells you how happy they are with their team as they look to square the series.

cheers, thank you very much. more from 0lly throughout the morning. first this morning, the latest in our coverage of vaginal mesh implants. for years, mesh was hailed as a quick—fix gynaecological solution — a small piece of flexible plastic which could be fitted in 20 minutes or so and do everything from holding up a prolapsed womb to curing stress incontinence. but for many women it caused severe physical and emotional problems. and last year we revealed that hundreds of women were sueing the nhs and manufacturers over it. following our regular coverage of this issue, the government effectively banned mesh in nhs hopsitals last month. now a leading surgeon has told this programme exclusively that since the ban, the number of referrals for women enquiring about having their mesh implant removed has "gone through the roof". dr suzy elneil says that her workload has increased by 30% since the ban and she's booking patients into may next year already. in a tv first we followed one patient as she underwent surgery

to remove her mesh. this is a vaginal mesh, it is used... back in april 2017 this programme revealed how thousands of women had been suffering extreme complications from vaginal mesh surgery. and 800 of them are suing the nhs and manufacturers. i can't walkk properly, i've lost myjob, i've lost my house, i've lost my partner. i've everything through mesh. i have steroid injections for the pain and i am an waiting lists to have this barbaric torture item removed. a top surgeon has told this programme that since the government effectively banned vital measure implied earlier this summer the number of women inclining about surgery to have their mesh removed has quote gone through the roof. we are just needing to do more than more, so it is about a 30% increase in our workload.

so we have patients who have come to see me from as far away as australia, from all of the european union, from ireland, scotland, from wales, all wanting help and input. now in a tv first, this patient, sue black, is allowing us to film her surgery in theatre as she has her vaginal mesh removed. hi, sue, i'm victoria, how are you? nice to meet you. you too. is it all right to come in? yes. sure. how is it going? a bit nervous. we are probably a couple of hours or so away from your surgery, where you will have your mesh implant removed. describe your emotions right now. obviously a bit scared,... what are you scared of? i don't know, really. it is quite hard to put into words.

i guess, i mean i would be scared for any operation so i was scared before i had it put in all those years ago. and i guess a bit annoyed really that this procedure has been recommended been done to me when who knows if the surgeon who put it in 13 years ago knew of all the risks? i don't know if he did not. describe why you had the implant. i had my daughter in 2004, and straightaway, within hours of her being born, because i'd had three children previously, i knew that something was wrong. my incontinence wasn't minimal, you know, basically i could walk, as long as i was walking along a level surface i was fine, but if i stepped off a kerb then i would have an accident, basically, so to me that is pretty major.

i couldn't do any exercise. after having the operation the same day i was fine, basically. so it cured it? absolutely it did, it totally did. in terms of an operation, to sort that out it was the right idea, i think it is the actual plastic off the mesh which is the thing that is wrong. so it has moved from the original position when you had it implanted 13 years ago? and it has got harder. and stiff i think, yes. what do you think about that? it is scary because it could then slice through my insides, that is how it seems to me. and of course i am going to be worried about that all the time if i don't have it taken out. the immediate outcome will be that i think if i have understood this correctly that you will be incontinent after this mesh has been removed? yes. i have been told that the chances are about 70—30 that i will be incontinent as i was previously, so obviously i am not looking forward to that. in a few months' time you will have

more surgery is my understanding, what does that involve and what will that do? so i think it is reasonably similar to the first operation that i had, so putting in the mesh sling to hold everything up, but instead of using mesh, using my own tissue, i think from my abdomen is what i understand. so that should hopefully be around christmas time if everything goes to plan. there are thousands of women with mesh implants, who have had them, like you, incontinence and for prolapse, and for many they have worked, like it has for you, you would say, until recently when you realised it had moved and hardened. what would you say to those women? i think get it checked out, we have the opportunity now to get it checked, you can have a scan which shows up where the mesh is, what kind of condition it is in, whether it has moved, whether it

might be affecting your organs, then make a decision for yourself because i am deciding that this is right for me, it doesn't mean it is the right course of action for everybody. everyone needs to make their own informed decision. thank you again for letting us be in theatre as you are having this operation and obviously we wish you lots of luck. thank you very much. i am with dr suzy elneil who is the surgeon who is actually... you are on your way to do your sixth and final procedure today where you are removing for the sixth time, mesh from a woman. describe what that operation evolves. we go ahead and we open up the anterior vaginal wall in this particular case and then we find the mesh, dissect it all out off the urethra, the bladder, the muscles, the vagina, everything, and then you have to obviously reconstruct the vagina and urethra and put everything back together again.

so that takes roughly between an hour and a half. you talked about dissecting the mesh as though it is separated, split off into different parts of the body. how often do you find that? in a lot of patients you will find that the mesh is not intact as you would have thought it would be, now it does not fragment fully but it does curl up on itself, become quite tight, it can be shifted into the position we expect it to be in. what are the risks to a patient like sue of having mesh implant removed? it's the drama to surrounding organs that is perhaps the most important, in a sense, to the bladder, trauma to the urethra... so you could end up inadvertently damaging... yes, you can. the government effectively banned mesh in nhs hospitals injuly. since that ban, what sort of demand have you seen from women wanting mesh removed? since the government banned, in of referrals has gone through the roof and we have to do modern morsel that is about a 30% increase in our workload.

we're now getting referrals from all over the world, from as far away as australia, we have patients coming from all over the european union, from ireland, scotland, wales, all wanting help and input. how many mesh implants are you currently removing every week? so almost ten week and certainly this week we have done ten. we are currently booking patient into may next year. has it been a scandal? to my mind it feels like that, and certainly something that has always been worrying me, almost throughout my career, that one day this is going to happen and ijust didn't realise it would happen this soon perhaps. thank you very much for talking to us, i know you've got to do your final surgery of the day, but we do we appreciate it, thank you very much. we followed dr elneil into theatre, her last patient

of the day was sue black. so it is quite deeply buried, so we are going to sort of really cut very close to the urethra to try and track it and get it out. and already we can see some parts of the mesh fragments peeling off the main mesh body. so when we remove this we have to do it really carefully, step—by—step, on either side to make sure we are removing all the mesh as much as possible. the mesh was so tight on dr black's urethra that you can... and we will show dr black this, that it actually has caused significant thinning of the urethral wall, it is ballooning out, so we have taken out the remaining bit of mesh and we are now doing the vaginal reconstruction, putting the vaginal skin back together again. sojust put a catheter in the bladder, we have come to the end of the operation,

we are going to take a photograph to complete the record for a patient. so she can see the end product of it all. hopefully now dr black will go to recovery, and hopefully she will have a nice smooth recovery period. that went well. it's not fun, i have not been in that much pain, but i have kind of felt like i haven't got that much energy, but again i guess that is to be expected. i have had a catheter in for the whole time so i've still got that, i'm looking forward to getting that taken out today, it is not that much fun walkking around with a bag of wee on your leg. i unfortunately have a urinary tract infection which has slowed me down a bit, i have antibiotics and so that will, that will go away and i am just looking forward to kind of having a reasonably normal life again.

we'll be getting an update from sue black alongside sling the mesh campaigner kath samson just after 10am. 0n on twitter, lisa hunter says, it is a terrible state of affairs, the lies we are being told, and treated like we are mentally unstable, is very dangerous territory. being mesh injured by two devices and not being fully informed takes away our freedom of choice. thank you for that. do get in touch, you can send us an that. do get in touch, you can send us an e—mail, or tweet us. if you wa nt to us an e—mail, or tweet us. if you want to talk to us on the programme, do put your phone number in, and we can do put your phone number in, and we ca n co nta ct do put your phone number in, and we can contact you. still to come. we'll discuss whether checking your e—mails or taking calls

during yourjourney to work should be classed as part of your working day. and we'll hear from the man who created the world's first lab burger — as campaigners say artificial meat could help tackle climate change and other global problems. nearly half past nine. time for the latest news. here's rachel. good morning. children across england could be banned from buying sugar— and caffeine—filled energy drinks, as part of efforts to tackle childhood obesity. one issue to be decided over the course of a 12—week public consultation, is whether a ban should apply to under—16s or under—18s. alex salmond — scotland's former first minister who oversaw the independence referendum — has quit the scottish national party to fight sexual misconduct allegations. he denies the allegations, which relate to his time in office. current first minister nicola sturgeon spoke of her huge sadness,

but said she understood mr salmond's decision. the victoria derbyshire programme has learned that there has been a huge increase in the number of women enquiring about having their vagina all mesh implant removed that the government bandit in nhs hospitals earlier this year. this programme has been told that there has been a huge increase in the number women enquiring about having their vaginal mesh implant removed since the government banned it in nhs hospitals earlier this year. vaginal mesh was implanted in thousands of women to treat incontinence or prola pses but it was banned after hundreds of women complained of severe, permanent pain and others were left unable to walk. the troubled payday lender wonga has said that it is stopping taking new loan applications. in a statement the company said that it was continuing to "assess its options" after reports suggested it was on the brink of collapse. it follows a surge in compensation claims against the firm amid a government clampdown on payday lenders. wonga has faced criticism for its high—cost, short—term loans, which some said targeted the vulnerable. theresa may is announcing

a security pact with kenya, on the final day of her tour of africa. she arrived in nairobi in the last couple minutes for a ceremonial welcome. britain will build a cyber centre in nairobi, to help kenyan police stop child abuse images being shared online. there'll also be increased funding for airport security. that's a summary of the latest bbc news. we have sunny messages from you about answering e—mails on your commute. i will read some more in a moment. let me know your own view. do you think you should be paid if you are doing that kind of work on your commute into work? send us an e—mail. now the latest sport. andy murray is out of the us open. he was beaten in the second round by fernando verdasco. he says he is not sure when he will

compete at the highest level again, but he is moving in the right direction. the williams sisters will face each other for the 30th time on tour, that's after both cruised through their second round ties. serena beat carina witthoft in staright sets as she chases a record equalling 24th grand slam singles title. she beat venus in last years australian open final newcastle were knocked out of the caraboa cup by nottingham forest for the second succesive year. despite equalising in injury time they were beaten 3—1 at the city ground. and in the next hour and half england and india face each other in the fourth test at southampton. england lead the series 2—1 and have made two changes with moeen ali and sam curran coming into the side should commuters answering calls on

their way into work be paid for their way into work be paid for their time? new research from the university of the west of england published today suggests that wider access to wi—fi on trains and the spread of mobile phones has effectively extended the working day. but is it really practical to expect people to work in that way? and would asking businesses to pay commuters put unrealistic demands on them? 0ur reporter rick kelsey spoke to commuters on their way home from work last night... on this two—hour commute from derby to london, many commuters are on their laptops and phones finishing off their work. and that should count towards the working day, according to researchers at the university of the west of england. yet one thing that could be restricting work is the quality of their signal. usually i send a few e—mails, check where i am. just between half an hour and an hour, roughly, depending on the length of my commute. do you always work on the train? yeah, mostly, when i'm travelling for business purposes, yeah. do you find it easy with wi—fi? sometimes it's difficult, because the free wi—fi is usually 15 minutes, and you then have to pay to get access to that. sometimes i'm using my mobile data.

how much work do you manage to get done on your commute? it depends. sometimes... well, an hour, half the time, never the entire journey. it depends. what type of work do you do? i do business analysis. so it depends on... it also depends on the work i have to do. some things are easier to do on the commute than others. what type of thing prohibits you from getting work done? mostly comfort and the internet connection. how much work do you get done on the train? none. i can't work on the train. why's that? i feel like i can't focus. i prefer to listen to music, watch tv or something like that. have you ever worked on a train? i've tried a few times and i give up within ten minutes every time. let solicit more views.

here this morning is melanie eusebe, a business analyst and chair of the black british business awards. peter izzard commutes on a four hour round trip on the days he works. and sara yirrell used to commute into london but gave up because she hated it so much and wrote the diary of an angry commuter. so many messages from people about this, unsurprisingly. peter, two hours there and back, how much work do you get done on that commute? well, two things to take into consideration, one is the time of your commute. if you leave it too late you will be standing and i defy anybody to stand on a packed train and try to send e—mails innate —— in and try to send e—mails innate —— in a corroborative manner. and the quality of the wi—fi. 0n a corroborative manner. and the quality of the wi—fi. on my a corroborative manner. and the quality of the wi—fi. 0n myjourney, when it works, it works intermittently and most often it doesn't. that is a problem of train companies across the network. do you not use your own data? yes, but you

have a series of tunnels, huge data restrictions, and also the signal is very poor. you can, wherever practical, do it. but it is not a lwa ys practical, do it. but it is not always that effective. would you expect to be paid for the time you spend working on that commute? interestingly, no. why not? it would set a very dangerous precedent. how effective can you be working? it is my choice. if i choose to put my ipad and phone on, and check e—mails, it is my choice, and it is my choice to commute. i choose to have a two—hour commute because i love the place i work in and the people i work with. it is not my company forcing me to do that. it is also about flexibility and productivity. that is the key issue for us. train companies need to come to the fore and offer more flexible pricing, so we don't have this massive peak of a huge surge of people travelling at the same time. the train companies seem to force

you into that road, and that is an important point to make. sarah, you commuted into london facility in yea rs. were commuted into london facility in years. were you productive on the commute? not really. what were you like? i used to observe people a lot, sit there and watch people, thatis lot, sit there and watch people, that is the reason i wrote the book in the first place. i used that time to chill, listen to music. i would do e—mail, but that is a choice, i chose to do that. you didn't always get the reception. why did you choose to do e—mails on your commute? just make sure i was a head when i arrived in the office. it's quite nice to eliminate the stress before you get there and not worry what e—mails you are going to be faced with. melanie, should you be paying your employees that do this kind of work on commutes? no, i don't think you should be paying employees to commute into the office. as you said, it is a very dangerous precedent you would be setting. however, ido dangerous precedent you would be

setting. however, i do think we should be paying employees for the work that they do, the time that they do it. so if they choose not to commute and work at the same time, they will not be penalised in the workplace. just like you said, sometimes on my commute i have to clear my inbox. that would be an hour and clear my inbox. that would be an hourand a clear my inbox. that would be an hour and a half of work, even before i have set foot in the building. but thatis i have set foot in the building. but that is not what i think we are debating here. ithink that is not what i think we are debating here. i think we are actually debating a gig economy, where you are paying people for the time their work, whether they do it from home, on the train, this is what we're talking about, paying people for the time they work and what they produce. but if they were working from home, you would pay them. so if they are working on the train, pay them? exactly, but that means we worry for the president, all of a sudden you have to be telling people, i did an hour of work on the train, so you're not penalising the person that is cycling, perhaps the person reading books. it has to be a self—governing

system. you have in our commute, therefore you have an hour extra paid work every day, it can't be like that. so it is a slippery slope, looking at commuting time and looking at it as a whole, saying how money hours of work does yourjob require a day, and that is how we pay people, rather than paying for them to come in. you are nodding? the modern era is that technology allows us, why should we be tied to allows us, why should we be tied to a desk? wherever possible it is about agile working, flexibility. we keep coming back to the worker productivity. can you be productive working on a train? if you can, yes. also, i think... so working on a train? if you can, yes. also, ithink... so you working on a train? if you can, yes. also, i think... so you should be paid for that? i'm not so sure. at work, you just talked about flexibility, what is the difference between being in your kitchen, on a

kitchen table doing your work, or sitting at a table on a train?|j think more companies are going down the route of actually... we don't clock in and clock out any more, we are ina clock in and clock out any more, we are in a world now where it is about agile working and flexibility. i think if you start saying to commuters we will pay you for the commute, i think you are on a very slippery slope. a lot of it is on the employers as well. i was lucky to work for a company that, as long as you did the work, it didn't matter what time you did it, when or where you did it, as long as you got your work done, it didn't matter. a lot of it is about trust. if you trust your employees, you know they will do the work, wherever and whenever, i don't think setting times on a train should be the way to do it. elisabeth says i use e—mailandi to do it. elisabeth says i use e—mailand i draft to do it. elisabeth says i use e—mail and i draft my work on my commute, it is a way of keeping my sanity. social media means people expect instant solutions. i have 500 stu d e nts expect instant solutions. i have 500 students across different courses, and online communication means i can

address them simultaneously will help them as individuals. there would be a lot of lost sheep if we didn't do this, but it is unsustainable, in my opinion. part—time gives me a better balance, and it does not allow myself to become full—time by default again. that is not good for productivity, if you feel every second of the day, i read a message from one guy answering e—mails on christmas day. 0ther answering e—mails on christmas day. other people will relate to that, you are pulling your face, but you may have done this? you are right, we have more access, it means we have more autonomy. unfortunately, most of us are choosing to work in that time. are you less productive if you are on duty 211—7? that time. are you less productive if you are on duty 24-7? yes, lott is scientific. are their boss, you could set boundaries for your own stuff? yes, boundaries and examples. it's also very important when you

are on a long commute, you have done are on a long commute, you have done a long day, i have a relatively young family. if i sit on the train for the whole commute and i am working, by the time i walked through the door i am still in work mode, i have not switched off mark grant gone from my business to being a dad and a father to two children, a dad and a father to two children, a husband, etc. it is about the balance. that is the balance. i don't think anybody would expect to work the entire journey for the reasons we have just said. but it is about balance. wave usa is of course people should be paid for work relieved it —— a viewer says of course people should be paid for work done outside of work, but they should also not be paid for using social media when at work. another says it is about long working hours and work—life balance. mental health problems are linked to working long hours. it raises the question about if employers are expecting too much

of workers and this needs to be addressed. i don't know anybody that spends 15 hours of work time on personal matters, but i do know lots of people that regularly work an additional 15 hours a week for their employee. —— employer. e—mailing in our own employee. —— employer. e—mailing in ourown time, employee. —— employer. e—mailing in our own time, surely the answer is simple, don't answer work—related text messages and e—mails until you are in work. if anybody objects, just so you are not in work. easier said than done. thank you, all of you. i appreciate your input. keep your messages coming in, as you are doing. an american plus—size model has told this programme she cried when the uk editor of cosmopolitan asked her to be on the cover. there is it — let us know what you think. do you agree with tess holliday, that the cover will have a positive impact on millions of people with bodies like hers? she has been explaining how the magazine shoot came about.|j she has been explaining how the magazine shoot came about. i love

it, to be an a glossy, where you can see my body, they have not altered how i look, it makes me feel really proud. how did it come about? i was in london, speaking for the cosmo conference that they did for self—made woman. we spoke quite a bit after, and probably about two weeks after i left london and came back home, she message me on instagram and said, how would you like to be a cosmo girl? is that the editor? yes, fara. i broke into tea rs editor? yes, fara. i broke into tears and said, are you kidding? she

said, iam positive. and i know the english don't reallyjoke around with business. you cried when she put that to you? i absolutely cried. why? a magazine like that has never put somebody like me, an actual body like that on the cover of a magazine. it meant a lot notjust to me, that the work i am doing, impacting millions of bodies that look like mine. i want to ask you how significant you think it is that you, a uk size 26, i understand, a model, an the front of a fashion magazine? i mean, it is ground—breaking. i know that you tweeted that, and a lot of people can make jokes about my size, my appearance, and go in to my health and all of that. the reality is that there are quite a lot of women, and

men, and everyone else that looks like me, and that could literally change their world, seeing that standing ina change their world, seeing that standing in a supermarket, and seeing actual representation of somebody that they identify with, that changes lives. you wrote on social media that if you had seen a cover like this on a magazine when you were growing up as a little girl, it would have made a big difference. in what way?|j girl, it would have made a big difference. in what way? i know it is early, but if i can be honest, i was a teenager, buying this magazine, when i lived in mississippi, in a very rural area, and did not value myself very much. soi and did not value myself very much. so i would buy this magazine and have loads of awful sex with people. i wish there was something like this when i was a kid to save me from lots of horrible decisions. you had

an incredible response on social media. there are also some cruel, cruel comments, body shaming has been a fact of life for many people, two comments, they are in the minority, suggesting that you, for example, are funding morbid obesity, your picture is not plus size acceptance, it is encouraging addiction, it is evil. what do you say to people like that? that is why i was laughing, it is ridiculous. it sounds like i am recruiting people to be fat. it is silly. the reality is that i have never once told my followers or anyone to gain weight, do this. it is literally i am saying that i love myself, and because it happens to be coming from a fat body, a bigger body like mine, people equated with saying that i am promoting obesity, that i am

unhealthy. even if i was, what i do with my body is known's business. i don't have to prove it to anybody. i actually have been the happiest today that i have been in a very long time, because of the amount of support. i didn't actually notice that people were mad. 0f support. i didn't actually notice that people were mad. of course they are mad, that i'm fat, but that is every day of my life. it has been an incredible day and i am not going to let strangers who hate themselves ruin howi let strangers who hate themselves ruin how i feel. some of the supportive tweets, page says, yes, ifi supportive tweets, page says, yes, if i had seen plus size women like me and magazines growing up, i would not have taken 25 plus years to love my not have taken 25 plus years to love d. not have taken 25 plus years to love my body, thank you, tess holliday. rachel says, i teared up looking at this, so few of the people i love will understand how important this is, for tess holliday, for me, and the young women who had very different teenage years if this would have been the norm. yes, that

is exactly how i feel. that is why i do what i do. they quoted me in the magazine, saying i wish when i look back at photos, not necessarily that i was skinny, but that i felt the way i do about myself before i gained as much weight as i have. but it isa gained as much weight as i have. but it is a journey. i am happy, regardless. i want to ask you, if i may, about and interview you have given to cosmopolitan where you talk about being raped. you say you didn't realise it was a sexual assault. could you explain to the audience what you mean?” assault. could you explain to the audience what you mean? i have been raped three different occasions. the first time it happened, i didn't

realise that it was raped. in my head, i thought i had let it happen, and that i allowed it. the reality was that the man who did it, he was staying at his cousin's house, at least that is what he told me, and his cousin had a gun. he said, if you don't have six with my cousin, you'll have to have six with me too, and i'll shoot you. you'll have to have six with me too, and i'llshoot you. —— you'll have to have six with me too, and i'll shoot you. —— sex. you'll have to have six with me too, and i'llshoot you. —— sex. i you'll have to have six with me too, and i'll shoot you. —— sex. i went into his room, lay down, and i let him, you know... in my head, i thought, 0k, him, you know... in my head, i thought, ok, i'm allowing this. but that wasn't the case. it wasn't what i wanted. it was not consensual. so once i realised that, a few years later, it really upset me. i started speaking out for people and saying

it is not your fault, you speaking out for people and saying it is not yourfault, you can't blame yourself. a lot of people really identified with that. you know, with me talking about it. you now know that it absolutely wasn't yourfault? and you are not responsible? i do, 100%. it yourfault? and you are not responsible? i do, 10096. it has actually got harder as i've gotten older, especially with releasing my book. i had to go in depth and talk about it so much. and then you hear other women's stories and realise that you are not alone. this happens to millions of people around the world, and they feel the same way that i did, that it was their fault. it's not the case. rosie on twitter says i think it is brilliant to be showing larger body types on mainstream magazines. i've been designing garments for all shapes

and sizes. it is so important. also on twitter, great news that women like tess are getting the front cove rs like tess are getting the front covers of magazines like this. that magazine is out tomorrow. earlier this month a vegan plant burger which bleeds like real meat was released in supermarkets across the uk. now a new report today is claiming meat grown in a lab — instead of animal meat — could tackle climate change, solve the uk s housing crisis and deal with our growing resistance to antibiotics. five years ago, a lab grown burger cost more than £200,000 — now it's claimed it costs around £8. with the costs expected to continue fall over the next decade, a think tank called the adam smith institute — which is in favour of an economic system based on unrestricted free markets with very little regulation — expects the popularity of lab meat to soar. however, there are concerns about the impact this could have on the future on farming — and experts say if it doesn't taste as good as the real thing, it will never succeed. in a moment we're going to speak

to the man who created the world's first lab burger — he's dr mark post, he's in the netherlands. grown in a lab and now cooked in a pan. the world's first synthetic hamburger. but what does it taste like? there's quite intense taste. it's close to meat. it's not thatjuicy. but the consistency is perfect. the taster is a food writer, chosen by the organisers of the event. the burger started off in this dish, has a few cells taken from a dead cow. they were then grown into these pale white circles of muscle. food technologists then added breadcrumbs, caramel and saffron to make it taste better, and beetrootjuice to make it look the right colour. the man who created that burger, dr mark post, is with us

now, as is jamie holywood from the adam smith institute and the co—author of this new report. nick alice haynes of the british meat processors association, and police are is from the animal welfare charity peta. what does meat grown ina welfare charity peta. what does meat grown in a laboratory taste like? essentially it tastes exactly the same as meat, because it is exactly the same tissue. in the 2013 hamburger we didn't have any fat tissue yet, that is why she said it was a little bit dry, not as juicy. it is because there was no fat. we are currently adding fat tissue. in the end, it should taste exactly the same and nobody should be able to ta ke same and nobody should be able to take the difference. do you call it meat? ideal, because that is what it is, but people will decide what it

is, but people will decide what it is going to be. in my mind, it is just meat, so it makes sense to call it. jamie, what is the advantage of meat grown in a lab, rather than farm animals? main difference is price, the potential to have such a lower price, it means people will have better access to meet. how low do you think it can go? at the moment, a lab grown burger is about eight quid, expensive? if you look at the price drop over the last decade, over £200,000, down to £8, continue that trend on a mass scale, it could be incredibly cheap. i don't know the exact figure, but it isa don't know the exact figure, but it is a possibility. the environmental benefits are also one of the really big factors. the fact that it uses 196 big factors. the fact that it uses 1% of the land that is used in agriculture, and also it does not cut down rainforests or contribute to deforestation or biodiversity, which the agriculture industry, especially with farming, is a factor

towards. sounds amazing, wouldn't you say? you should always look at interest with new technology and innovations like this. i would probably have two concerns. firstly, i think it is confusing the consumer to call it meat. what would you call it? it is up to the marketers to come off with a name for it. it's made from meat cells, grown from meat cells? if we don't solve this issue,in meat cells? if we don't solve this issue, ina meat cells? if we don't solve this issue, in a few years we will be sat around arguing about the substitution of these products. i think the consumer will want to know how it is produced and whether it has come from animals or not. that is an issue... it does come from animals? i think actually going forward the consumer will want to know if it has come from an animal grown ina know if it has come from an animal grown in a field, or whether it has been produced in a factory, under some sort of process. the other concern i have is we have seen in the past big corporate businesses seizing a piece of technology too

early, genetic modification springs to mind. i think it is really important that we actually understand the science behind this. the risk assessment is done correctly. we don't want to mess that up. is that a fair point, the parallel with genetically modified food? i think it is a fair point, and also it is important, much like genetically modified food, that the concerns that the market may have quelled, for example in the us there was eight court ruling in missouri that it should not be labelled meat. i don't think that is necessarily right. but i think it should be labelled as different. just because a public concerns. let me ask you, from the animal welfare charity peta, what you think of this report today, and the predictions that demand for this kind of lab grown meat will soar? we are really excited. there are currently billions and billions of animals

that are raised and slaughtered for a fleeting moment of taste. we are an animal rights organisation and encourage everybody to adopt a vegan diet, but for those people that are addicted to meat and refuse to change their habits, it gives them the opportunity to eat animal flesh with impunity. it spares animals from the suffering of factory farms in slaughterhouses.” from the suffering of factory farms in slaughterhouses. i can see his facial expressions changing as you talk to people addicted to meat? people eat it because it is a wonderful source of protein and it has contributed four millions of years to the human diet. people have usedit years to the human diet. people have used it for a balanced diet. could i ask you what you think this could mean for the farming industry, if any of the estimates are accurate?” haven't studied the estimates. well,

the demand soaring? photog over completely and you got rid of livestock in the countryside, for me personally it would be a tragedy. i have grown up with a wonderful patchwork quilt of countryside, coming from the fact that we have livestock. to see that wiped away, yes, environmentally it might be good, but i would be sorry to lose that patchwork quilt of the countryside that we have got. also, that traditional way of producing food. let's put this into perspective, the vast majority of animals that end up on plates of factory farmed, crammed into filthy, windowless sheds, the first time they feel sunlight on their back or breathe fresh air is when they are loaded onto the trucks bound for slaughter. at the end of their short and miserable lives, they have their throats slit, sometimes while they are fully conscious. why are you laughing at that? i think that is a very emotive description. it is not accurate. drive around the

countryside and you can see that is not what goes on. mark, what is your view on whether demand for lab grown meat will increase in the future? well, i think people love meat, as has been mentioned, whether it is for whatever reason, we have to acknowledge that 95% of people are not vegetarian and they may in future become a vegetarian, but it will take a long time. i think in the interim they need to come up with other solutions that allow people to eat meat without the issues. i think every meat eater has a dark corner of their conscience, when they eat meat, maybe it is not a good idea for animals, for the environment. so they will be happy if there is an alternative, if it satisfies the same need for meat, but not with the externalities. i think that would be a big driver for

consumption. everything that has been said about taste and safety, and about cost, it is all true for mass consumption. but i think in essence people would like to have this alternative, and that would drive the market. thank you. news and sport on the way, but before that, the weather. good morning, victoria. a fair bit of sunshine will turn hazy through the day as the cloud develops. it is also going to warm up. this morning where we have had the clear skies, we would have also seen the sunshine from the world go, and as the cloud develops particularly in the west during the day, we are not immune to showers across the north west of scotland, northern ireland, the north—west of england, wales and into the south—west, but it will be the exception rather than the rule.

drier in the east, the temperature range 14—21. this evening and overnight lose many showers, a lot of clear skies so another cold night in prospect, temperatures are very similarto in prospect, temperatures are very similar to last night. and by the end of the night, more rain coming in across the isles of scilly and just getting into cornwall. tomorrow we start off on the chilly note, but cloud building through the day to turn the sunshine hazy, and this weather front out towards the west will produce thicker cloud, some spots of rain and temperatures around 17—21. thank you, carol. hello. it's thursday, it's ten o'clock, i'm victoria derbyshire. should energy drinks for children and teenagers be banned? the government is consisdering that because of worries about kids' health and concentration at school. we'll be talking to health experts. and a teacher — who says his school has a zero tolerance approach to the drinks, because of the problems they cause. a leading surgeon has told this programme there's been a dramatic

increase in women being referred to have their vaginal mesh removed — since the device was banned after women appeared on this programme to describe the terrible pain they'd been left in. since the government ban, the referrals have gone through the roof, so it is about a 30% increase in our workload. in a tv first, we've been in the operating theatre while one of those women had her mesh removed. we'll speak to her for an update after 10:30. and what message do you think this front cover sends? us model tess holliday, who is a uk size 26, tells us she cried when cosmopolitan uk asked her to be on the front of the fashion mag. a magazine like that has never put someone like me, like an actual fat body on the cover of a magazine, and so it not only meant a lot to me,

but the work that i'm doing, which will therefore impact millions of bodies that look like mine. rachel schofield is in the bbc newsroom with a summary of the day's news. good morning. children across england could be banned from buying sugar— and caffeine—filled energy drinks as part of efforts to tackle childhood obesity. one issue to be decided over the course of a 12—week public consultation is whether a ban should apply to under—16s or under—18s. alex salmond — scotland's former first minister who oversaw the independence referendum — has quit the scottish national party to fight sexual misconduct allegations. he denies the allegations, which relate to his time in office. current first minister nicola sturgeon spoke of her huge sadness but said she understood mr salmond's decision. the victoria derbyshire programme has been told that there has been a huge increase in the number of women enquiring about having their vaginal mesh

implant removed since the government banned it in nhs hospitals earlier this year. vaginal mesh was implanted in thousands of women to treat incontinence or prola pses, but it was banned after hundreds of women complained of severe, permanent pain and others were left unable to walk. the troubled payday lender wonga has said that it is stopping taking new loan applications. the company says it is still considering "all options" after reports suggested it was on the brink of collapse. it follows a surge in compensation claims against the firm, amid a government clamp—down on payday lenders. wonga had faced criticism for its high—cost, short—term loans, which some said targeted the vulnerable. theresa may has announced a security pact with kenya on the final day of her tour of africa. the prime minister arrived in nairobi in the last hour for a ceremonial welcome. britain will build a cyber centre in nairobi, to help kenyan police stop child abuse images being shared online.

there'll also be increased funding for airport security. and a man found guilty of manslaughter by gross negligence after a student died in a speedboat crash is appealing his conviction. jack shepherd was absent from his trial at the old bailey injuly, where he was sentenced to six years in prison following the death of charlotte brown. the court of appeal has confirmed shepherd, who left the country prior to his trial, has lodged appeals against his conviction and sentence. that's a summary of the latest bbc news — more at 10.30. thank you very much. we have so many m essa g es thank you very much. we have so many messages from you all mesh, on whether you should be paid if you a nswer whether you should be paid if you answer e—mails on your commute into work, and energy drinks, which we will talk more about in a moment. particularly wa nt will talk more about in a moment. particularly want to hear from you if you are a teacher who has experience the disruption that is said to happen when pupils take some

of these energy drinks just before they come into the classroom. do let me know if that is accurate. use the hashtag victoria live. let's get some sport now. 0lly is at the bbc sport centre. good morning. there are no british players left in the singles draw at the us open. andy murray was knocked out in the second round, beaten in four sets by fernando verdasco. this was his first grand slam appearance for 1h months and only his ninth match since having hip surgery back injanuary. there were a few flashes of brilliance from the former world number one, but verdasco was too strong in the end. you just don't know what exactly is around the corner. if things keep going smoothly and physically i continue to improve, i believe that i will get back to competing for the biggest competitions, because there is no reason why i couldn't, but you don't know. just a minute or so after murray shook hands with verdasco,

cameron norrie was out, too. he lost his second round match to dusan lajovic. he was also beaten in four sets. so no brits left in the singles. defending champion and top seed rafael nadal is looking really good. staeright sets for him against against the canadian vasek pospisil. the spaniard is after a fourth title at flushing meadows. serena williams is chasing that record—equalling 24th single title. she'll have to get past her sister venus. they'll face each other for a 30th time. serena beat carina witthoft in straight sets to set up another all williams match. we bring out the best in each other, when i play her how to play my best tennis, and she does, too, so it compels us to continue to play the

tournament, and in our career we have pushed each other to be the best that we can be and be venus and serena williams. the fourth test starts in the next hour at southampton. england lead india 2—1 so can clinch the five—match series. they've already named their side, with two changes all—rounder moeen ali makes his first appearance in the series after making a double century for worcestershire last week. sam curran replaces the injured chris woakes. inida are expected to be unchanged following their big win at trent bridge last week. the toss could be all—important in the next half an hour. my my personal opinion is quite an old school way of thinking, win the toss and bowl, and you don't bowl to how you would like and take advantage of that morning session in particular, thenit that morning session in particular, then it can look as if you have made then it can look as if you have made the wrong decision, but ultimately,

we didn't bowl as well as we did in the first two games last time round, and we've got some very strong characters that are very proud that will be desperate to turn that around this week. some more league cup matches last night. high drama at the city ground with three goals and a penalty appeal turned down in injury time. newcastle had equalised, but two more goals from nottingham forest, the best from gil dias, made it 3—1. it's the second year running forest have knocked the premier league side out of the league cup. no problems for everton — they won 3—1 at home to rotherham in their second round tie. dominic calvert—lewin with two of their goals. there were also wins for watford and millwall. that's all the sport for now. i will be back with the headline is a bit later. thank you very much. i'm just looking at the labels on these energy drinks and how much caffeine and sugar they contain. that is 500 millilitres, there is a

lot of caffeine and sugar, but is there any more caffeine in there that there is in a big, posh cup of coffee ? energy drinks contain high levels of sugar and caffeine and have been linked to obesity and other health issues. now the government says that selling them to under—18s in england could become illegal because of fears they're damaging child ren's health and their concentration in school. where do you stand on this? we can speak to dr amelia lake, a dietician at teesside university who's carried out research into energy drinks and their impact on young people. she joins us from middlesbrough. keith allum, a youth club leader at st martin's centre in shropshire, who led a campaign to stop energy drinks sales to under—16's in his village, believed to be the first village in the country to do so. and jason massey, a teacher in berkshire who works with children with special needs. you've been researching this and speaking to you've been researching this

and speaking to teachers. i work with children one—to—one as a ta, and! i work with children one—to—one as a ta, and ifind that when i work with children one—to—one as a ta, and i find that when children consume these drinks, their focus, their intentions ban —— their attention span goes through the roof, they can't settle, they get impulsive and learning doesn't happen. and so how does your school deal with that? we have zero tolerance on energy drinks. if they came into school and they were not managing, i would take them out one—to—one and try to settle them back into the school routine. that can sometimes take a couple of hours. 0k. what do you think about this idea potentially to ban the sale of energy drinks to potentially

under 16 is, potentially under 18s, would you support that?” under 16 is, potentially under 18s, would you support that? i would. in the long term, especially with the children i work within their gcse period, it would help with their focus and we can then work with them. it is like smoking, since the smoking ban came into force for under 18s, that drastically reduced the kids smoking. but they still do have access to it, don't get me wrong, but at the same time, these energy drinks, it gives that credibility to enforce it, otherwise it is just like they can act like this every single day, like a banana ora this every single day, like a banana or a packet of crisps. so would you support the government banning large cups of coffee for under 16s or under 18s? cups of coffee for under 16s or under18s? cups cups of coffee for under 16s or under 18s? cups of coffee, managed ina under 18s? cups of coffee, managed in a sensible way, anyone can access those. could the same not be said for these energy drinks? but they have a high amount of caffeine in

the high amount of sugar, and because it is consumed in such a short period of time, the behaviour changes happen so quickly. let me bring in amelia lake, dietician. would you support a ban, and to what age? thank you for having me on. i would support a ban, mainly because it sends out a clear message that these drinks are not suitable for young people. as you mentioned, a 500 millilitres can contain 160 mg of caffeine, compared to about 140 ina cup of caffeine, compared to about 140 in a cup filter coffee. so it is quite a bit more, and you can drink and energy drink a lot quicker than you could drink a cup of coffee. in terms of the age, that is quite a tricky one. i don't think we have enough evidence to suggest which age. it might be simpler to do what we do with cigarettes and alcohol and make it an 18—year—old cut—off,

but i think what would be very interesting is to see the results of this 12 week consultation, and i'd really encourage anyone to get on the department of health and social ca re the department of health and social care website, and failing that online questionnaire and give your views to the government about what you think about energy drinks. the manufacturers say we do not promote market energy drinks to under 16s. in addition, they carry an advisory note stating not recommended for children. they add, industry data illustrates that under 16s account forjust 6.5% of consumption occasions of energy drinks. so this is quite interesting. so every ten—year—old is aspiring to be an 18—year—old, so while the industry doesn't directly advertised to children, they are advertising all things that are cool, set energy drinks are associated with

everything that is cool from music to extreme sports to motor racing to computergaming, so to extreme sports to motor racing to computer gaming, so there is a strong association with everything thatis strong association with everything that is cool. sorry to interrupt, but why do you think that there is a consultation on banning the sale of these tricks to under 16s and under 18s when the government hasn't done that with other sugary drinks, they have imposed a sugar levy, so manufacturers have in many cases reduce the amount of sugar in their drinks and also use replacement artificial sweeteners. the difference with these drinks is that they contain caffeine, and the caffeine has health consequences, so the immediate health consequences might be behavioural, as the teacher who was just before me mentioned, but other things such as headaches, insomnia, palpitations, and then there is the long—term consequences of obesity and dental erosion. so these drinks are different to normal

sugary drinks, because of the caffeine levels, and also because of the fact that this is the fastest—growing sector of the soft drinks market, so there is clearly something going on here, these drinks are attractive, and yes, there is a warning on the back, but thatis there is a warning on the back, but that is in very small writing.” there is a warning on the back, but that is in very small writing. i am going to bring in keith. a youth clu b going to bring in keith. a youth club leader in shropshire. you read this campaign to stop energy drinks sales to under 16s in your village. why? first of all, i run a youth clu b why? first of all, i run a youth club in the village, and we noticed that the kids were bringing in more and more energy drinks from the age of ten upwards. more it was a fashion statement more than anything, but the hyper behaviour we noticed with them drinking the drinks, it was getting beyond the point where we were only volunteers and we were struggling to cope with

the behaviour. what kind of behaviour did you see? can you hear me, keith? what kind of behaviour did you witness? it was just hyperactive. i have grown up with most of the kids from the village, because i live in the village, and you can see the behaviour, the attitude, how they spoke to us, the adults, especially when they used to go to the independent supermarket that we've got in the village, and the attitude they didn't have, they had attitude against other customers in the shop. and so how did you convince shops in your area not to sell the drinks to under 16s? convince shops in your area not to sell the drinks to under 165?m took a lot of persuading, because they were worried about the money they were worried about the money they were worried about the money they were going to lose, but the big independent supermarket that we've got, they were quite behind the ban from day one, wejust had

got, they were quite behind the ban from day one, we just had to organise how to do it. and what do you say to those who say, this is down to parents. parents should be the ones that are educating their children or making these kind of decisions, it is not your decision ora decisions, it is not your decision or a government decision.” decisions, it is not your decision or a government decision. i totally ee, or a government decision. i totally agree, but a lot of parents don't wa nt to agree, but a lot of parents don't want to educate their kids now, they would rather sit on their ipads or phones, so if we can try to educate the kids ourselves, they've got a better learning curve, because not being funny, a lot of parents don't wa nt to being funny, a lot of parents don't want to educate their kids these days. laura has e-mailed, i'm a teacher at a secondary school in london and i'm shocked by the number of children who rely on energy drinks in the morning. in my experience, the biggest issue is the crash children have mid—morning after the sugar rush has worn off. stu d e nts after the sugar rush has worn off. students can become irritable and tired, unable to concentrate because they have no nutritional source of

slow releasing energy. vanessa says energy drinks are a nightmare in school, i won't allow them in my classroom. the problem is huge, kids have several day and their behaviour spirals as a result. the children who drink them don't know what in is them. this is brilliant news for teachers. 0n them. this is brilliant news for teachers. on this one, i support a total ban, too. i teach in london secondary school, we have a ban on them, but students will come to school already having consumed two or three cans of these things. it is easy to see those who are primed with a concoction of chemicals sugar as they bounce off the walls and are extremely to settle. some students try their entrepreneurial skills by trying to sell them to other stu d e nts trying to sell them to other students on site. it is a massive problem. a total ban including small corner stores would help tackle the disruptive behaviour and childhood obesity. and another one from a teacher, i'm a teacher in a school where students often drink these drinks for breakfast and during the day. it can make hyper in lessons where the energy they have doesn't have an outlet. the school does

carry out random bag searches and confiscate them, but in a large secondary school, this can be impractical and time—consuming. go on, keith. stuck for words, sorry. what do you think about the idea of potentially criminalising shop owners for selling energy drinks to possibly under 18s? that would be the effect of a ban if the government were to follow through with this, that shop owners could be fined up to £2500, it would be like selling cigarettes to children. fined up to £2500, it would be like selling cigarettes to childrenm there is a ban in place and they do sell it, it is their own fault for selling it to the under 16s or under 18s like i would like it to be. if the law comes out that it is no one under 18, the law comes out that it is no one under18, and if the the law comes out that it is no one under 18, and if the shopkeepers sell it, it is their fault that they get the fine. thank you, all of you.

the consultation lasts for three months, so do make your views known if you are interested. amelia lake, keith allen and jason massey, thank you. we've reported on vaginal mesh on this programme many times — and heard from lots of women who say the device has caused them severe physical and emotional pain. now we've been told exclusively that since the government effectively banned vaginal mesh proceedures from nhs hospitals last month, the number of referrals for women enquiring about having their mesh removed has quote gone through the roof. in a tv first, we've been to film a patient — sue black — undergoing surgery to have her mesh implant removed. in a moment we'll talk to sue, but first let's take a look at what happened. i had my daughter in 2004. straightaway, within hours

of her being born, because i'd had three children previously, i knew that something was wrong. my incontinence wasn't minimal, you know, basically i could walk, as long as i was walking along a level surface i was fine but if i stepped off a kerb then i would have an accident, basically, so to me that is pretty major. i couldn't do any exercise. after having the operation the same day i was fine, basically. so it cured it? absolutely it did, it totally did. in terms of an operation, to sort that out it was the right idea, i think it is the actual plastic of the mesh which is the thing that is wrong. so it has moved from the original position offers you had it implanted 13 years ago? and it has got harder. and stiff i think, yes. what do you think about that? it is scary because it could then slice through my insides, that is how it seems to me. the immediate outcome will be that i think if i have understood this

correctly that he will be incontinent after this mesh has been removed? yes. i have been told that the chances are about 70—30 that i will be incontinent as i was previously, so obviously i am not looking forward to that. we have the opportunity now to get it checked, you can have a scan which shows up with mesh is, what kind of condition it is in, whether it has moved, whether it might be affecting your organs, then make a decision for yourself because i am deciding that this is right for me, it doesn't mean it is the right course of action for everybody. everyone needs to make their own informed decision. and obviously we wish you lots of luck. thank you very much. i am with dr suzy elneil who is the surgeon who is actually... you are on your way to do your sixth and final procedure today where you are removing for the sixth time, mesh from a woman. describe what that operation evolves.

we open up the anterial vaginal wall in this particular case and then we find the mesh, dissect it all out off the urethra, the bladder, the muscles, the vagina, everything, and then you have to obviously reconstruct the vagina and urethra and put everything back together again. what are the risks to a patient like sue of having mesh implant removed? it is the trauma to surrounding organs that is perhaps the most important, in a sense, to the bladder, trauma to the urethra... so you could end up inadvertently damaging... yes, you can. the government effectively banned mesh in nhs hospitals injuly. since that ban, what sort of demand have you seen from women wanting mesh removed? since the government ban, the number of referrals has gone through the roof and we have to do more and more,

so it is about a 30% increase in our workload. we're now getting referrals from all over the world, from as far away as australia, we have patients coming from all over the european union, from ireland, scotland, wales, all wanting help and input. how many mesh implants are you currently removing every week? so almost ten a week, and certainly this week we have done ten. we are currently booking patient into may next year. i know you've got to do your final surgery of the day, but we do we appreciate it, thank you very much. we followed dr elneil into theatre, her last patient of the day was sue black. so it is quite deeply buried, so we are going to sort of really cut very close to the urethra to try and track it and get it out. it actually has caused significant thinning of the urethral wall, it's ballooning out, so we have taken out the remaining bit of mesh and hopefully she will have a nice smooth recovery period. that went well.

it's not fun, i have not been in that much pain, but i have kind of felt like i haven't got that much energy, but again i guess that is to be expected. i have had a catheter in for the whole time so i've still got that, i'm looking forward to getting that taken out today, it's not that much fun walking around with a bag of wee on your leg. i unfortunately got a urinary tract infection which has slowed me down a bit, i have antibiotics and so that will, that will go away and i am just looking forward to kind of having a reasonably normal life again. it is now two and a half weeks after her operation, and sue black is here. kath sansom, founder of campaign group sling the mesh. how are you feeling now?

amazing. watching the video back now, i feel dramatically different. i have got more energy. a few things i noticed that i hadn't realised would change is that now my skin feels different, so even the day after the operation, i was looking at my fingers thinking, my skin looks amazing, compared to what it did before, and suzy said that is normal. i was drinking may be four litres of water a day because i was co nsta ntly litres of water a day because i was constantly thirsty, and my skin was a lwa ys constantly thirsty, and my skin was always very dry and a bit itchy, and i thought i was possibly becoming diabetic, and that has gone away completely. i just honestly diabetic, and that has gone away completely. ijust honestly feel amazing. what about the incontinence. as it returned? no. so far, so good. but i've heard that because everything is a bit swollen

for awhile after the operation, but imight for awhile after the operation, but i might become incontinent again, and like! i might become incontinent again, and like i said in the film, suzy said it is about 70/30, so there is a 30% chance that i won't be incontinent again. kath, how do you respond to what dr suzy elneil said about the enquiries going through the roof? absolutely. we had round about 1500 women a year ago, we now have almost 6600 members of the group. and there are still people out there who are not aware of the mesh implant issue. so many women coming on wanting it removed and they know they have perhaps got a 13 month wait to get that removed.” have got some more messages from women this morning. i would just read some now. i had an insert in 2002, and from then until 2014! was treated like a hypochondriac. please

keep informing people, and thank you so much. susie on twitter says i am in tears watching the removal operation this morning. this has destroyed my body and ruined my life. i have had six removal life is unbearable due to the pain. i'm struggling to exist and losing the will to live. debbie says i am currently sitting at home recovering from my second removal operation, andi from my second removal operation, and i only wish i had known the possible implications of this implant. ina possible implications of this implant. in a short period of time mine shrank and twisted, causing damage to my urethra and surrounding tissue. my life is been on hold for two years, but i'm lucky. far too many women have had their lives com pletely many women have had their lives completely ruined by this. and this e—mailfrom al completely ruined by this. and this e—mail from al elizabeth who said that she had private prolapse surgery injuly that she had private prolapse surgery in july 2017, that she had private prolapse surgery injuly 2017, and her

surgeon did not use mesh. she avoided the implant due to your help with the campaign, and have probably avoided future problems gangster your programme. the woman who says she is really struggling and feels her life has been ruined and is losing the will to live, what can you say to her? it's really difficult. 0n it's really difficult. on a daily basis we have women, it is like an edge, so many women who, emotionally and mentally, have really been ruined by this. you are in a lot of pain, you are ignored. all we can say is really to join our page, pain, you are ignored. all we can say is really tojoin our page, a lot of women understand what you are going through, and to be validated like that really helps. there is currently a temporary hotline available for anybody affected by the implants. but that is only temporary until we think april 2019. that needs to be a permanent fixture because women need specialised counselling and support. is it

important to point out that for women who have it removed, it can sometimes make things worse? sometimes. probably 75% of women tend to improve, for the others they might stay the same, and then sadly some people get worse because of the nerve damage. i think that is a really ha rd nerve damage. i think that is a really hard emotionaljourney to go through, it is the light at the end of the tunnel, you are going to get your life back, and when you don't, it isa your life back, and when you don't, it is a second hit, emotionally. that is really difficult, it is a woman's journey of acceptance to go through. for you, the mesh is out and you will have to have more surgery in three months? yes, i think i need to... i think cas knows better than i do, i need to have an operation to take out the... what are they called? the final bits that come out at the back of the pubic bone. and if! become incontinent

again... the birch cliff suspension. the same kind of operation as was done with the mesh, but with my own tissue so it doesn't cause the other symptoms. 0ne tissue so it doesn't cause the other symptoms. one thing about the facebook group, it is a thing that really shocked me, the way that so many women, every day there are stories of women going to the doctors, going to consultants and being fobbed off. just nonacceptance of their pain and suffering. being dismissed? yes, being dismissed, it is utterly disgraceful. you can't read the stories without crying. woman after woman, and some men, who have had a mesh. it is utterly disgraceful, the way they are treated. an e-mail from leslie, disgraceful, the way they are treated. an e-mailfrom leslie, 65, she had an implant in 1999. she says it has ruined the last 18 years of my life, including destroying my 36

year marriage. this mesh nightmare is never—ending. carroll says, thank you for bringing the issue to your programme, i had a mesh fitted to fix a weak bladder after traumatic birth, it failed, the surgeon repeated the procedure, i have no idea if i have two or one fitted. i am 55 and had some symptoms, and then i had a lot of pulling pains and difficulty walking. i wonder if it isa and difficulty walking. i wonder if it is a result of the mesh moving, having been susceptible to water infections i am really nervous to start messing around in this area. you also have concerns, about surgeon is not being straight with women when it comes to them asking if they put in mesh? a friend's mum had a prolapse repairing 2004, she knows about my campaign, but she kept saying, don't worry, i don't

have one, i am sure it is fine. my friend said, let's phone at the hospital and get the notes. the surgeon adamantly said, you do not have a mesh, don't worry. my friend still wasn't convinced and she took her mum for a private scan and there was the mesh, broken into pieces. could it have been an honest mistake? no, he was adamant that it had not been used. what would be the motivation for him not being honest, if that is what happened? they don't know how to remove it or fix it, if that is what happened? they don't know how to remove it orfix it, and they are frightened of litigation. we see this every single day on the group, women who have gone for consultations, they have denied it is in, they have perhaps... there is a story of a woman in scotland, she had a private scan that showed the mesh, he said, you can't trust scams, i will give you an internal

examination, which was painful, and he said, it is fine. in such pain, to be gaslighted, it compounds the frustration and despair. i would plead with them to be honest with women, because they can't keep burying their heads in the sand. thank you, and all the best for your recovery. keane still to come... the government is accused of not doing enough to find out if schemes for the those who commit domestic abuse are actually working. time for the latest news — here's rachel. children across england could be banned from buying sugar and caffeine—filled energy drinks, as part of efforts to tackle childhood obesity. one issue to be decided over the course of a 12 week public consultation,

is whether a ban should apply to under—16s or under—18s. alex salmond — scotland's former first minister who oversaw the independence referendum — has quit the scottish national party, to fight sexual misconduct allegations. he denies the allegations, which relate to his time in office. current first minister nicola sturgeon spoke of her huge sadness but said she understood mr salmond's decision. the troubled pay—day lender wonga has said that it is stopping taking new loan applications. the company says it is still considering "all options" after reports suggested it was on the brink of collapse. it follows a surge in compensation claims against the firm, amid a government clampdown on payday lenders. wonga had faced criticism for its high cost, short term loans, which some said targeted the vulnerable. theresa may has announced a security pact with kenya on the final day of her tour of africa. the prime minister arrived in nairobi to a ceremonial welcome. britain will build a cyber centre

in nairobi, to help kenyan police stop child abuse images being shared online. there'll also be increased funding for airport security. a man found guilty of manslaughter by gross negligence after a student died in a speedboat crash is appealing his conviction. jack shepherd was absent from his trial at the old bailey injuly where he was sentenced to six years in prison following the death of charlotte brown. the court of appeal has confirmed shepherd — who left the country prior to his trial — has lodged appeals against his conviction and sentence. that's a summary of the latest bbc news. here's some sport now. there are no british players left in the singles draw at the us 0pen, andy murray is out, beaten in the second round by fernando verdasco.

venus and serena williams will face each other for the 30th time on tour, serena beat carina witthoft in staright sets as she chases a recoerd equalling 24th grand slam singles title. newcastle were knocked out of the caraboa cup by nottingham forest for the second succesive year. despite equalising in injury time they were beaten 3—1 at the city ground. england have won the toss and will bat first against india. they lead the series 2—1. alex salmond, former leader of the scottish national party, has resigned amid allegations of sexual misconduct — which he denies. last week it emerged that two scottish government members of staff lodged complaints about his behaviour when he was first minister. last night mr salmond released a video on social media defending himself against the allegations, and resigning from the party. i have been a member of the scottish national party for 45 years. 20 of

them as party leader, seven as first minister of scotland. i hope i have done the party and the broader cause of independence some service. apart from a political spat back in the 19805, that from a political spat back in the 1980s, that has been a period of continuous membership. i truly love the snp and the wider independence movement in scotland. they have been the defining commitment of my life. but today i have written to the national secretary of the party, resigning my membership. i read carefully nicola sturgeon's statement, and watched a television interview a couple of days ago. she made it clear the snp have never received a single complaint about my personal conduct in my many decades of membership. the scottish government have confirmed that they did not have any such complaint before this january, more than three yea rs before this january, more than three years after i left office as first

minister. that is a record of 30 yea rs of minister. that is a record of 30 years of public service. let me be clear again. i refute these two complaints of harassment, and i absolutely reject any suggestion of criminality. let's talk now to kevin schofield, editor of politics home. hello. it is quite extraordinary. can wejust hello. it is quite extraordinary. can we just talk about the timescale of january? mr salmond was can we just talk about the timescale ofjanuary? mr salmond was bringing that up as potentially significant. that is when rules were changed, as i understand it. explain the significance of that? yes, if you cast your mind back to the whole harvey weinstein controversy that erupted last november, which then led to the me to movement, allegations of sexual impropriety at westminster, nicola sturgeon instigated a review of the scottish government's own internal procedures

as regards sexual harassment allegations. following that review, the measures were updated and the rule book was changed, and in the wa ke rule book was changed, and in the wake of that in january these two allegations against alex salmond we re allegations against alex salmond were brought forward, dating back to 2013, when he was still first minister. why has he resigned his membership of the snp? he says the reason is twofold. 0ne, he wants to draw the sting out of opposition attacks on him personally. scottish labour and the scottish conservatives have been putting pressure on nicola sturgeon to suspend mr salmond from the snp. nicola sturgeon has said she cannot do that, because no complaints have been made about his behaviour to the snp, they have been made to the scottish government. also, he says he wants to avoid any internal splits within the snp. he is still a very, very popular man with snp

activists. so, he essentially wants to re m ove activists. so, he essentially wants to remove himself from the party so it does not precipitate a wider split within the snp. he says he is innocent, as you head in the clip, i refute these two combines of harassment and reject any suggestion of criminality. do you know the nature of the allegations against him? we don't know terribly much, not much has been made public by the scottish government. probably for quite understandable reasons. the daily record newspaper has published what it says is a copy of one of the allegations against him, which includes, or involves, rather, an improper behaviour, alleged improper behaviour at bute house towards one scottish government member of staff. that is the first minister's official residence? in edinburgh, thatis official residence? in edinburgh, that is right. he completely denies

the allegations. he is launching a judicial review, a review into what, exactly? what is his beef? basically the way that the complaint against him has been handled. he says it has been unfairand him has been handled. he says it has been unfair and that the details, the fact that he has been accused, should not have been made public. he says he has been dealt with unfairly and he wants a judicial review of the whole process, involving how the allegations have been handled by the scottish government. he says once that has been taken care of by the court of session in edinburgh, he can focus on clearing his name. just described to our audience how difficult this must be for nicola sturgeon, the first minister of scotland, the leader of the snp, took over from alex salmond. they have been friends for decades? yeah,

probably not much shy of 30 years, they have been very close. nicola sturgeon was his deputy when he was first minister. as you say, he took over the scottish independence referendum. she has been placed in an almost impossible situation. as i said earlier, she has been coming under pressure from opposition parties to suspend mr salmond. she has refused to do so. obviously that problem has been removed, given he has resigned from party members of himself. but the problem she has is that she is notjust the snp leader, she is the first minister of scotland. she needs to take these allegations seriously, give due consideration to the women involved, but at the same time not annoying party activists who not only support alex hammond very strongly, by and large, but are also very, very keen for a second independence referendum. she is having to keep

them onside because she doesn't want to call a referendum just yet, because the opinion polls in scotla nd because the opinion polls in scotland seem to indicate there is no appetite for an independence referendum orfor no appetite for an independence referendum or for independence. thank you very much. kevin schofield, editor of politics home. nearly two million adults under the age of 60 suffered domestic violence last year — according to the latest figures for england and wales. we know that women are far more likely to be abused, and the abuse — both physical and mental — is often carried out by their partner. but how much effort should be put into rehibilitating the perpetrators, and what if that comes at the expense of supporting the victim? the charity transform justice says while it is supportive of the work that's being done to help perpetrators, today it accuses the government of not doing enough to find out which schemes are actually working. let's talk now to penelope gibbs a director of transform justice who are behind today's report, rochelle siviter in hull who experienced domestic abuse

and now teaches school children about its dangers, and sian hawkins from the charity womens aid. thank you for coming on the programme. controversially, you say today that criminal punishments like jail sentences do not stop abusers committing abuse, and you are calling for fewer prosecutions of domestic abuse perpetrators. explain why? i'm not saying there is not a role for prosecution and four prisons to punish people who abuse, but at the moment the evidence is, from the college of policing, that criminal sanctions don't reduce abuse. so, where cases are already very difficult to get to court because it is very difficult sometimes to get victims to give evidence, there are really good projects out there which are called out of court disposals, like a project in hampshire, which takes men that are perpetrators, they admitted the offence and they go

through a mini programme to make them really aware of what they are doing. that programme is really successful. so, what i'm saying is, at the margins, we are not talking about the most serious offences here by any means. let's do more of the things like project kara, specific for domestic abuse victims, and less getting to court, which is incredibly intensive and will get most of them just a fine. rachelle, how do you respond? in my case, my perpetrator went through both the judicial and the prison system. it also was on two perpetrator programmes that i was made aware of. none of them were hugely successful. i believe in rehabilitation, i believe that people should be given opportunities. my perpetrator was

only 21 years old when he committed these acts. however, i am struggling to understand how many programmes can change a person's behaviour that is highly manipulative, as far as i am concerned in the perpetrators of domestic abuse are dangerous people no matter what level of risk somebody has decided they are, by the virtue of the crimes they commit against their partner. penelope gibbs, is it possible that a perpetrator that is highly manipulative can manipulate the people on the programme, say i acknowledge i did a really bad thing andi acknowledge i did a really bad thing and i am never going to do it again? not if it is a good programme. they can spot liars? over six months, yes, they can. ijust can spot liars? over six months, yes, they can. i just wanted to bring in sian hawkins, from women's aid your view? when we talk about the criminal

justice system, a tiny minority will ever go near the police, and a tiny proportion are perpetrators will ever come into contact with the justice system or any kind of perpetrator programme full stop of all of the cases that go through to the police, only about 28 of every 100 are transferred to the crown prosecution service. of them, only 70% go on to be charged. 0f prosecution service. of them, only 70% go on to be charged. of them, only 75% go on to be convicted and sentenced. we are talking about a very, very small number perpetrators that we ever get to know about within the criminaljustice system. we have to regard any perpetrator programme with elements of caution, they have to be checked. we have to make sure we don't take them out of the criminaljustice make sure we don't take them out of the criminal justice system make sure we don't take them out of the criminaljustice system as a solution, we need to fix the system. do you agree with that? absolutely. we know the perpetrators of abuse have certain characteristics. to me,

just saying things like the family court, for example, they rely heavily on policing, and it is not enough. you also say today, penelope, that the government, the projects that the government funds when it comes to perpetrator programmes are not evidence —based, they are not effective enough. what is evidence? well, the evidence is we do not know if they work. a good government programme has an outcome evaluation which says did they reduce the offending? there was a programme planned for 15 years that was never evaluated in that way. the programme running now, which is most used, had been running for six yea rs. used, had been running for six years. they haven't even begun to evaluate this. it could be a com plete evaluate this. it could be a complete waste of money? it could be. there was a programme run, an

offender treatment programme, that was counter effective, it made six offenders in prison more likely to commit crimes on release. so, when it was evaluated, that was found out. so we are playing with fire if we run programmes and we don't find out if they have an impact on offending. your message is straightforward, do the valuations and quickly? do the valuations, do them quickly, but do your perpetrator programmes. because nothing else in the criminaljustice system has any hope of working to reduce abuse. from a women's aid point of view, can perpetrators change? the what is clear is that we need more evidence on this and looking at the effectiveness of perpetrator programmes. the biggest piece of research done on this so far shows that, actually, while there can be some decrease in acts

of physical violence, where we see much less changes are in coercive and controlling behaviour, financial abuse, being able to own that you are responsible for the abuse you have committed. what is concerning is that underpins experiences of domestic abuse for most women. we have to look at the programmes with some really, really consideration of the evidence base and being cautious around making assertions that these are going to be some kind of silver bullet that will solve the problem. thanks for all of you coming on the programme. a mum of four who spent more than two decades with the man she loved before he died, will find out this morning if she's entitled to receive bereavement benefits. siobhan mcloughlin from county antrim was told that she's not eligible for the payment because she and her partner weren't married, or in a civil partnership. siobhan has taken herfight all the way to the supreme court — which is due to hand down its decision shortly. she's been telling me why

this battle has been so important to herfamily. simply to give children a voice, it's as simple as that. when i was aware that children, my children, were not entitled to this allowance, it was just so wrong. instead ofjust saying it's wrong and doing nothing about it, with the backing of an amazing team, we took it as far as we could. and your children all have your husband's name, they were part of your family, committed together for years before john's death? absolutely. we were together 23 years. a complete family unit. the only thing was that i didn't share his surname because we weren't married. how much do you estimate

you would have been entitled to if you and john had been married? do you know this, i actually don't know. it's something that i was never interested in. it was never to do with money, it was never to do with me wanting a widow's pension, it was simply the rights of those children, my children and all those other bereaved children. so to ask about money, i actually don't know. you see it as a principle of fairness, clearly, or unfairness in your case? absolutely. i think that's the only way you can do anything like this, you can't be motivated by money. i couldn't be motivated by money. don't get me wrong, if we won and we were entitled to anything, as a single parent, of course you're grateful for anything extra. 0ur legal eagle clive

coleman is here. this is the widowed parents allowa nce. this is the widowed parents allowance. we have covered it a lot on this programme. remind people what it is? contributory benefit, it is paid for out of national insurance contributions. if you are a cohabiting couple and you are paying into national insurance, the question is whether you should be excluded from receiving payment if one of the partners died, if you are cohabiting. at the moment it is limited to spouses, somebody married or in limited to spouses, somebody married orina limited to spouses, somebody married or in a civil partnership. the question at the heart of the case is if it is a restriction that cuts out cohabiting couples, is it a cemetery, does it restrict their human rights, the right to a private and family life. it potentially has big imprecations. if siobhan wins,

and she could find out in the next hour, what are the applications for otherfamilies? hour, what are the applications for other families? i think they are very considerable. we have 3.3 million cohabiting couples in the uk. if the court finds that it is discriminatory, it will mean that... and the system, by the way, it changed in march— april 2017, but it remains essentially the same. changed in march— april 2017, but it remains essentially the samem changed in march— april 2017, but it remains essentially the same. it is a lot less money, actually. the way in which it is paid, yes, the amounts are reduced. this will affect families where somebody has died, a cohabiting couple, and they have been refused this payment. it will also affect, going forward, cohabiting couples where one of the partners dies, they have paid into the national insurance and they are refused, in the unhappy event where a partner dies. ithink refused, in the unhappy event where a partner dies. i think it could be a partner dies. i think it could be

a real game changer, because this is really looking up the rights of cohabiting couples. albeit in relation to what happens with bereavement. we are looking at a situation that corrupting couples find themselves in in separation, death, two thirds of the couples still believe there is such a thing asa still believe there is such a thing as a common—law marriage and they are entitled to all of the rights and benefits they would be entitled to if they were married. they are not. there was no such thing? there is no such thing. if the supreme court finds in favour of siobhan maclachlan today, in relation to benefits on death, it is a very interesting development. thank you, we will find out what happens. bbc newsroom live, you will be able to hear that result. i want to read you a couple more text messages on the subject of mesh removals. in a tv first, we were able to film a patient having her mesh implant removed. this text says i am day 19 from mesh removal, i was in hospital

with sue, the patient we filmed, great to see her recovering so well. my great to see her recovering so well. my second removal was a much bigger operation, as it was in my bladder. it had been put in incorrectly. i feel very lucky. thank you very much for getting in touch with the programme today. thanks for watching. we are back tomorrow at nine o'clock. have a good day. hello, good morning. it may have been a rather chilly started the day, but we have started offered a lot of sunshine across the uk. a bit more in the way of cloud further north and west, and across the far south of england. for many, some lovely blue skies like this one in whitby. you keep a bit of cloud, making the sunshine hazy at times in the north and west of scotland. perhaps at times across wales and southern areas of england. that is dry for most us, but there could be some

showers developing across western areas. few and far between, very isolated for most, staying dry with lengthy sunny spells. temperatures 1721 degrees. through tonight, the cloud will melt away and like last night, temperatures will drop away quite swiftly. it is going to be quite swiftly. it is going to be quite chilly into friday morning, and in the countryside the temperatures will be lower than the numbers suggest. in towns and cities, six to 12 degrees. friday, cloud to western areas, but for it isa dry cloud to western areas, but for it is a dry day on friday, sunny spells and perhaps temperatures up by a degree or so goodbye. this is bbc news. i'm rachel schofield. these are the top stories developing at 11am. alex salmond, scotland's

former first minister, is facing criticism from opposition parties for launching a crowd—funding campaign to fight sexual misconduct allegations after resigning from the snp last night. children as old as 17 could be banned from buying sugar and caffiene—filled energy drinks in england in a bid to tackle childhood obesity. theresa may has arrived in nairobi for the final part of her three—day tour to africa. the prime minister will announce a security pact with kenya and plans for a new cyber centre to tackle online child abuse. you can see the live