hello. it's monday, it's 10 o'clock. i'm joanna gosling. within the last two hours, british academic matthew hedges — who was convicted of spying in the united arab emirates and jailed for life — has been given a presidential pardon. his wife says she's suprised but delighted. it has been an absolute nightmare six, seven months already. i cannot wait to have him back. theresa may begins a two—week campaign to persuade mps to vote through her brexit withdrawal plan. i will take this deal back to the house of commons. in parliament and beyond it, i will make case for this deal with all my heart. this afternoon, the prime minister will speak to the commons — urging mps to get behind her — or risk causing more "uncertainty and division". the royal college of surgeons says a register needs to be set up —

urgently — to monitor every patient who has had a medical device implanted in their body. it's after a major investigation found that multiple devices are being used in patients without proper testing, sometimes with disastrous results. i went from being a mum that was doing everything with her children to being a mum spent most of her daysin to being a mum spent most of her days in bed, unable to move without pain, to basically being a shallow myself and at some points suicidal. we'll be hearing from women who've had to have invasive surgery to remove contraceptive implants. and it's the last in our brexit blind dates series. and today tv presenter ulrika johnson and filmmaker dustin lance black find some common ground. i had envisaged obviously it was going to be difficult to leave but i am so going to be difficult to leave but i am so passionate about this country, iamso am so passionate about this country, i am so passionate about all its produce and what it can do and now i

cannot deny that i feel a little bit scared. you sound like a remainer. i am acutely on edge. they are going to kick you out. hello. we're live until 11 this morning. have you had problems with a medical device that's been implanted in your body? we're talking this morning about a major investigation that's found some devices — like certain types of implanted contraceptives, hip replacements and pacemakers — haven't been properly tested. now there are calls for a register to be set up to monitor every patient with an implant. do get in touch on all the stories we're talking about. use the hashtag victoria live. if you're e—mailing and are happy for us to contact you, and maybe want to take part in the programme, please include your phone number in your message. if you text, you'll be charged at the standard network rate. here's ben brown with

a summary of the day's news. the united arab emirates has granted a pardon to matthew hedges. he was jailed last week for spying his wife says she cannot wait but him to return home. the foreign secretary says he was grateful to the government of the uae for resolving things speedily. he was being granted clemency along with hundreds of other prisoners to mark a national day. he has still insisted that mr hedges had been spying. in response to the letter from the family of mr hedges, requesting clemency and in concentration of the historical relationship and close ties between the united arab emirates and the united kingdom, his highness has decided to include mr matthew hedges among the 785 prisoners released.

coming up in the next few minutes joanna will be getting reaction from a colleague of mr hedges and an mp. in the next hour or so the prime minister will address her cabinet at downing street before making a statement to members of parliament in the commons this afternoon. opposition parties, the dup and many backbenchers have already said they will oppose the draft deal. the new brexit secretary says the public just want politicians to get on with it. this is the only deal on the table. it has taken to magna years of tough negotiation to get to this point. it delivers on the referendum and the biggest vote in our history

will be damaging to our democracy not to deliver on that boat. we need to move forward in a way which maintains our security cooperation with europe and protectsjobs maintains our security cooperation with europe and protects jobs and the supply lines are so important to manufacturing and other industries. the ukrainian president has made a statement. eight type boat tried to pass through the coast of crimea. both nato and the eu have called for restraint and access to the waters to be restored. the royal college of surgeons is calling for compulsory registration of every medical or implant put into a patient in the uk. media organisations around the world found evidence of an adequate testing and faulty equipment. the devices include heart pacemakers and

artificial knees and hips. you can see more on the investigation into night's programme at 8:30pm on bbc one and afterwards on the bbc iplayer. rail passengers who are not happy with how operators have dealt with their complaints will now be able to appeal to an independent ombudsman. all of the uk's national train operators have signed up to the independent body which means they will be obliged to take action if failings identified. the new service has been funded by train operators and can be used by customers if their complaint has not been resolved within a0 working days. there we are. that is a look at the latest news stories on bbc news. i will be at westminster from 11 o'clock. now back tojoanne. later on the programme... theresa may goes to the commons this afternoon to urge mps to get behind her brexit withdrawal plan — saying, if they don't, they risk causing more "uncertainty and division". she's holding a cabinet meeting in the next half hour.

we'll be live with our correspondent at downing street. and we'll hear later how a surgeon described essure — a contraceptive implant — as turning into a "calcified nail" inside the body. it's part of an investigation for bbc panorama into a wide range of medical devices that have gone wrong. do get in touch with us throughout the morning. use the hashtag victoria live. if you're emailing and are happy for us to contact you — and maybe want to take part in the programme — please include your phone number in your message. if you text, you'll be charged at the standard network rate. matthew hedges, the british student who was jailed for life in the united arab emirates for alleged spying has been pardoned with immediate effect. his wife says she hopes he'll be home tomorrow. the uae maintains that he was a spy and says

he confessed to be working for mi6. a spokesman from the uae‘s national media council made the announcement earlier this morning. all countries act strongly to the act of spying. we preserve the right to protect our country, no external threat. the sentence handed down to mr hedges is their own response to -- is fair. in response to the letter from the family of mr hedges, requesting clemency and in concentration of the historical relationship and close ties between the united arab emirates and the united kingdom, his highness has decided to include mr matthew hedges among the 785 prisoners released. mr hedges will be permitted to leave the country once all the formalities are completed. matthew hedges' wife, daniela tejada, tweeted her reaction just over an hour ago. she said: she's also spoken to

the today programme on bbc radio a. to be honest, i was not expecting it. it's taken me by surprise. i am just so happy and so relieved and really incredulous that this is all happening, finally. it has been an absolute nightmarish six, seven months. ijust can't wait to have him back. do you know when you will see him? i don't know yet. the news has just been announced and we're trying to coordinate the details. i'm trying to see if i can pick him up. we're absolutely elated at the news. what was the last time you saw matthew and what did you think then? i saw him last on the day of his hearing, on the 21st, and sadly the last time i saw him

we were both walking out of the court room. we were not able to say goodbye. so i am glad that it will not be long until we say hello again. the foreign secretary, jeremy hunt, tweeted. .. andreas krieg is an academic colleague of matthew hedges and he's here with me now and i'm also joined by ben bradshaw, who is matthew hedges' constituency mp, and has been pressuring for him to be brought home. welcome to both of you. andreas

klein are you have got to know daniela over the months this has been going on. different her to be able to wake up and hear this news today. how has she been? imagine the fa ct today. how has she been? imagine the fact that you know you are somewhat newly married and your beloved husband has been detained in solitary confinement for a month without you being able to get in touch and basically receiving a life sentence. the art of complete injustice and without any real charges. possibly with the chance of never seeing him again. charges. possibly with the chance of neverseeing him again. i charges. possibly with the chance of never seeing him again. i can only imagine it was a nightmare will stop in the world of academia, consternation that this could happen to somebody he was there purely for academic research. yes and no. we have known the emirates from all countries in the golf are the most repressive when it comes to civil

liberties. you need to carry out a risk assessment when it comes to their uae. we all knew, me included, i know i cannot travel to the uae at the moment considering the research i'm doing on foreign policy in the region, the engagement in london and in washington. it is controversial. when something is controversial, when you are lucky you might not be able to enter the uae, if you are unlucky you end up injail. there are usually two narratives, the espionage narrative and the other is the terrorism narrative. if you want to ta ke the terrorism narrative. if you want to take away from the credibility of the person you label him as a spy or a terrorist and you can do whatever you want. they have done that since 2011. since the ends of the arab spring, or the beginning of the arab

spring, or the beginning of the arab spring, the uae has been at the forefront of making sure that people disappear or are silenced who are opposition figures putting a threat in the regime. where you surprised here are happening so quickly?” was. i expected it to happen. if it was. i expected it to happen. if it was going to happen later in the week, on the national day, which is when a pardon a lot of prisoners it is fantastic news. we'll all feel better when he is back home safely with his wife. this has been a nightmare six months for them with false dawns before bols hopes. let's save the celebrations until he is back here. -- false hopes. does it draw a line under the situation will there be further fallout as a result of it happening in the first place? there is a certain amount of rebuilding to be done. a lot of

academic institutions have been reviewing policies with regards to the uae, quite sensibly in my view. the british government is very worried. i had a quick conversation with the foreign office minister as to why the uae refused to accept assurances. matt was academic and nothing more. ithink assurances. matt was academic and nothing more. i think there will be an inquest into how this was allowed to happen or could happen and i suspect there will be rebuilt in work to reassure people, particularly for academics as you have just heard, the uae is a place where we can do business. is it too dangerous for academics to go there now, do you think? i am not sure i am best qualified to answer that question. i know a am best qualified to answer that question. i knowa number of universities have been reviewing their ties universities have been reviewing theirties in universities have been reviewing their ties in the light of matthew's treatment and incarceration. they have to balance the benefits of

having academic exchanges and relationships with a country like this with the safety of their own staff and the principle of academic freedom, which is a very valuable principle for us in western democracy. previously, the foreign secretaryjeremy democracy. previously, the foreign secretary jeremy hunt democracy. previously, the foreign secretaryjeremy hunt paid tribute to the bravery of daniela in challenging circumstances. she has fought incredibly hard for her husband for such is critical of the government initially putting foreign relations between the safety of her own husband. do you think it could have been handled differently? daniela has been incredible, so brave and courageous and so persistent but also very calm and very collected at all times. she was critical of the way the government here initially dealt with the case as they usually do in these goals cases. they thought they could sort it all behind—the—scenes using relationships they have with the uae but that did not work. she got more

and more frustrated after a few months. she was extremely worried about matt's state of health. he has mental health problems. he was held in solitary confinement and had a confession extracted from him under duress. she lost patience with the softly softly approach. the main thing is we have got the result we wanted and needed. it has taken six months but other cases have taken longer. let's be grateful and thankful and then we can have a review of what happened i think when matt is safely home. for those who know him, they will be so happy to have him home. absolutely. it is a delightful study should not stop fighting for a lot of others who are in prison around the world. —— it is a delight and we should not stop fighting. others have expressed their opinions. we are relieved that matt is hopefully free but i believe it when i see it but we should wait

to celebrate until we see him back home. the eu yesterday gave its seal of approval to the brexit withdrawal agreement, meaning the prime minister can now focus all her energy on persuading parliament to support it too — which needs to happen before it can come into effect. but it's going to be very tough — without the votes of the dup and dozens of her own mps who've said they won't support her — she's got some serious persuading to do. this morning she is meeting her cabinet and later she will face mps in the house of commons. let's now talk to our chief political correspondent vicki young who's in downing street ahead of this morning's cabinet meeting. what other signs so far on whether she will be able to win people over? —— what are the signs? it'll be a ha rd —— what are the signs? it'll be a hard sell. the cabinet is meeting this morning. if few have gone in through the door. the message from the prime minister will be clear.

deal she has means the referendum result is being delivered and ends freedom of movement and large payments to the eu. she was saying also protects jobs by having a close trading relationship with the eu. what she is going to do is to really move beyond westminster. i think the plan is to get out into the country and tried to get this message from her message, across to people who are not in the house of commons could get beyond the 650 mps and try and persuade people that this is about the future of the economy, the future of theirjobs. at the moment the numbers look incredibly challenging for the prime minister and cabinet ministers would accept that. they think it's this message can get out to people they would put pressure on their mps and the other argument about labour mps as well, they will want to persuade them and say to them it is not about tribal politics it is about the future of

the country. in the end the message from the prime minister will be, you will have to do the right thing. it is the case that other people are looking at alternative scenarios will suck the message from the prime minister will be, it is my deal or you are risking chaos. now in the studio we've got mps from both of the main parties, all of whom campaigned for remain in the referendum. damian green is a conservative mp and former cabinet minister close to the prime minister who will be supporting her deal as being in the national interest. heidi allen, also a conservative mp, but will be voting against it and instead is campaigning for a second referendum on eu membership. from labour we havejenny chapman, a shadow brexit minister, who believes this deal is bad for the country but thinks thatjeremy corbyn could negotiate something better. and in stoke—on—trent we've got labour mp gareth snell, who can't support the deal now, but has said he'd be willing to vote with the government if it meant avoiding a no—deal. thank you and welcome. heidi, your

party leader, the prime minister, says it is this deal or chaos. chaos is how we have been since the referendum vote with people wanting to know how the future will look. i do not accept that. all the indecision that occurs at the moment what we experienced in parliament this is what parliamentary sovereignty feels like a man wrestling to make sure we make the right decision for the country. if the vote is not successful we will need to look at another option. i think we have to accept that. you're one of those who are supporting it not to be successful, so why do you fear it? the prime minister has worked exceptionally hard and nobody can say that is not the case. she has done her absolute best but the brutal truth is it is not ideal that is acceptable to both remain or

leaders. had she as many of us on my side of the has tried to convince her repeatedly, had she gone for a softer deal, single market and customs union with full access alignment that would have gone through but she has tried to compromise with many of us knowing there is no bone in their bodies to compromise, no deal would be good enough for them and it feels like a wasted opportunity. she has been trying to balance the knowledge that in parliamentary terms softer brexit would have been more likely to get through but the country voted for us to leave. that is an essential point. notjust to leave. that is an essential point. not just compromising to leave. that is an essential point. notjust compromising with parliamentary colleagues but respecting the result of the referendum. if we step back and take emotion out of it the country voted 52-48 to emotion out of it the country voted 52—48 to leave. we have to leave

with a deal. this deal is a good deal and is certainly the only deal on offer because it protects the borders and fulfils that very important part of the referendum. desire takes away the direct rule of the european court ofjustice and it preserves the integrity of the united kingdom. at the same time it leaves us with close enough economic ties we can preserve jobs and prosperity. is there any way it will get through the commons? everyone's reaction has been to get tribal. get through the commons? everyone's reaction has been to get tribalm isa reaction has been to get tribalm is a different tribalism. it goes across parties because it is all about in row and not left or right. to some extent that is true. the labour party appears to have united against the deal in a way you would expect an opposition party to do. this is such an important vote, genuinely historic is overused impolitic but it is genuinely a

historic vote. every mp will examine their own consciences and listen to their own consciences and listen to their own consciences and listen to their own constituents as well. there is all to play for. jenny chapman, you will be voting against. yes, we well. it is a bad deal. this isa yes, we well. it is a bad deal. this is a unique moment but that does not mean you agree to anything. i am not going to vote to leave the european union on terms i do not support because either they are too vague and nonspecific because of the issues that have been debated to death over the weekend over the backstop. do you thinkjeremy corbyn could negotiate anything better? this deal has been done over 18 months. it has not. it is a partial deal, which is one of the issues we have. if you started from the point the labour party would wish to start from, a comprehensive customs union, thena from, a comprehensive customs union, then a lot of the issues the prime minister keeps on rubbing up

against, the objections that keep being put forward, they would not be there anymore and there is a good chance as heidi said that she might feel prepared to vote for that. mps, asa feel prepared to vote for that. mps, as a majority, want remain and the country did not. the er g and the extremely busy in the tory party are not representative of the majority of lead voters. i'm in a constituency which voted to leave. most want a sensible outcome are not an extreme outcome. i tried to keep everybody happy she has found herself pulled more in one direction and you're too big for that she has found now she pleases nobody. why not try to get something which is good enough of the country and could get parliamentary support? you have said you are opposed the deal that you would vote to it to no deal. why

have said is that we will need to leave the european union a deal. —— what i have said. i kind of agree with what heidi said which is for the erg part of the conservative party ca n the erg part of the conservative party can they will not accept any deal. that extremists in the labour party, there is no deal they will accept either. the government has to look across the chamber and find a majority of mps to support a deal so that we can still accept the outcome of the referendum but make sure we leave in a way that does the least economic damage to the country. brussels has made clear this is the only show in town this deal. there will not be another one. brussels said within the red lines of the government's negotiation this is the only deal available. it is a valid point and only deal available. it is a valid pointandi only deal available. it is a valid point and i have put it to my party myself or if the labour party still accepts myself or if the labour party still a cce pts we myself or if the labour party still accepts we a re myself or if the labour party still accepts we are leaving the european union next march, at some point we have to come forward with something

we can vote for. why it is with pleasurable to what it a conservative government disintegrate in front of you, we need to leave the european union in march. the labour party says it wants a general election i support that. at some point we need to flesh out our policy and would we still be a party that accepts a result of the referendum? will we end up with an election or a second referendum?” think what we have learned over the past think what we have learned over the pa st two think what we have learned over the past two years is nothing is inevitable. my preference would be for the vote had to go through. the chances of a general election are minuscule. but she does not have a majority. we have fixed-term parliaments act. the government put a finance bill last week, so the government can, just. the dogma does have majority to get its basic

legislation through. —— the government. the problem with a second referendum is it would be hugely divisive. if we have another one, ifear hugely divisive. if we have another one, i fear it would be even more divisive and have a similar result. eithera divisive and have a similar result. either a narrow vote to leave or a narrow vote to remain. one issue has been everybody has been saying this is what was meant, no, this is what was meant, and the only way to achieve what people actually meant... you want another one, don't you? for one minute i'm not actively hoping to be desiring campaigning for a second referendum because it would be disastrous. we will end up there because parliament were three people in democracy, government, parliament and people. if government and parliament cannot find a way through they have to go back to the people. the huge difference if we did it again, we would have our eyes wide open and we would present to people, this is what the deal looks like this is what do you want? very

different position than we had at the referendum when it was promises on the side of a bus. all the same jobs will be kept and more. reality is that this deal particularly around the political declaration in the future is a leap in the dark. you have just eliminated no deal is a question on the referendum. potentially it would have to be like a try vote, whatever we want to call the deal in front of us now with no deal and remain, they will be the options i think. it has been suggested there would have to be two in or outand suggested there would have to be two in or out and this deal or no deal? that would make it clear what people want? brenda from bristol might have thoughts about having two more referendums. really? do you think brenda from bristol and many will people are looking at the whole fiasco and thinking, whereof we going? of course they are thinking

that. —— where are we going? they are looking to not give up and get fatigued. we have been at this for two years. they need us to step up and do our jobs two years. they need us to step up and do ourjobs properly. at the moment we have a significant majority of mps saying this is not good enough and you're not going to bounce us into supporting something thatis bounce us into supporting something that is not good enough. brenda, i feel for her, i absolutely do. it is not pretty to watch. that is not the test. is it good enough for the country? so far this deal is not. tv debate, theresa may and jeremy corbyn, they both say it will be good. i am sceptical about tv debates in all circumstances. i have never seen one that illuminates the issues. we have discovered this is a hugely complex issue. i am not sure long tv debate would do very much more, frankly. it is a great idea. i

think it might bring it to life a little bit. to have two people arguing from their respective positions, i think there would be significant interest and i think people would want to see happen. when you are out and about in your constituency, do people come up to you? what do they say? are people talking about it? it still dominates conversations on the doorsteps. what the prime minister has done with the dealers unite those wanting to remain and those wanting to leave in opposition to her deal. one thing i am getting a lot of is fear of a no—deal brexit and crashing out with deal. there has been lots of talk about how we can stop no deal. we have the date we exceed written into uk law and for politicians saying we will block it and there is no majority, we will stop it, until somebody can say how we will stop

it, that is one thing that is causing concern on the doorsteps in stoke on trent. you're all saying no deal is the biggest fear. might that happen accidentally? parliament has to ta ke happen accidentally? parliament has to take responsibility and stop that. thank you. do letters know your thoughts. this person says, the people voted and the prime minister isa people voted and the prime minister is a deal on the table and instead a partitioned backstabbing that they should back the deal. this one says, she had sold out northern ireland, gibraltar, fishing and immigration and just about everything. this one says, labour want a better deal but don't say what they would want as an alternative. six tests are meaningless if you can't say how you would get a deal to meet them. thank you for your thoughts. stay with us for the last in our brexit blind dates series. today it's the turn of tv presenter ulrika johnson and film—maker dustin lance black, who is married to the diver tom daley. also coming up, how a group of students increased donations to a food bank by 300% with a rather innovative plan involving

stickers in a supermarket! the royal college of surgeons says every person who has had a medical device implanted in their body should be recorded on a register and monitored for complications. it comes after a major investigation done for the bbc‘s panorama programme found problems with a wide range of devices. thousands of women have undergone invasive surgery to remove contraceptive implants that were designed to be permanent after it left them in chronic pain. some have even needed hysterectomies to remove the devices. sales of the essure sterilisation device were halted in all countries except for the us last year, weeks after this programme reported it could cause problems. in a moment we'll chat to our reporter, jean mackenzie, who broke the story last year. but first here's a clip from herfilm on essure implants. it felt like i was being stabbed repeatedly, over and over.

it was this hot, burning pain that never ended. laura remembers being fitted with essure, an implant used by the nhs to sterilise women. i went from being a mum that was doing everything with her children to a mum that spent most of her days in bed, unable to move without pain, to basically being a shell of myself and, at some point, suicidal. the small coils, which are made from nickel and polyester, are inserted into the fallopian tubes. they are designed to trigger inflammation which causes scar tissue to build up, eventually blocking the tubes. if you look what it's made of, you start to get worried immediately. 10% of women are sensitive to nickel. there is an immediate problem. but it's also made of a compound which is present in this, polyethylene terephthalate, pet. when you heat this bottle up,

it will release compounds that are potentially dangerous into the water. that heating happens in the human body. while essure works well for many women, thousands have reported side effects and complications around the world. we have seen a list of problems the nhs has had with the device. these include the device perforating the fallopian tubes, moving around and attaching to the stomach lining, being incorrectly placed and causing pain. and jean's here now. what is the update? that was from our investigation last year and we we re our investigation last year and we were looking at what was happening here in the uk and it was really difficult because firstly the nhs does not know how many women here have this device implanted into them, let alone how many have had to haveit them, let alone how many have had to have it out or have had hysterectom ies have it out or have had hysterectomies but now we are clearer to the scale. a group of 200

journalists across the world have been looking into all sorts of medical devices including this essu re medical devices including this essure and we have built up a picture of what is happening in other countries. we found that hundreds of women in australia have reported problems with this device and thousands of women in the us. when we looked at it, we knew that 15,000 women in the us had reported problems but that is up to 25,000 now and it is clear that thousands of women across the world have had to have hysterectom ies of women across the world have had to have hysterectomies to get the device out of their body will stop the guardian newspaper spoke to one surgeon in the netherlands who has removed 500 of them and he has talked about how he has found this device has turned into what he called a calcified nail inside women's bodies. it sounds horrendous. why did it leave essure? last year the product had its safety certificate suspended in europe and weeks after the company said it would not sell it in europe anymore

so women here should not be fitted with it anymore. the company had said that at the end of this year it will stop selling it in the us as well but importantly, it says this is nothing to do with safety and says it is down to a lack of demand. and it is notjust this implant causing problems. you know that on this programme alone we have investigated many devices, regina mesh, hernia mesh, hip implants, and found problems with all of them and now this team ofjournalists have dug deeper into the devices industry and found problems with some pacemakers, spinal rods, breast implants. when you look at all of these, the same issues are cropping up these, the same issues are cropping up again and again will stop it looks as if there are wider problems within the industry, the same sort of things we see, devices not being tested properly, doctors not being told about the risks when they are given to patients and this means that patients do not know the risks themselves. when they start to

report problems, they are often not believed and it takes far too long for the devices to be taken off the market. it is shocking to hear they are not tested properly and patients are not tested properly and patients are not tested properly and patients are not informed of risks so how does that change? the reason this is happening, to get your device approved in europe, it does not take much, you have to go to one of a number of private companies and if one rejects you you can go to another and you don't need much evidence at all to get your device approved. sometimesjust evidence at all to get your device approved. sometimes just one clinical study. these are implants put into peoples bodies for life and get off on the clinical studies have followed people for a short amount of time so there is no understanding of time so there is no understanding of the long—term risks or complications. the real change being suggested by the royal college of surgeons is that we need to have a register, everybody in this country who has a medical device put into their body needs to be on a register and monitored and that way we can start to see when problems go wrong

and we can get these devices off the market much sooner. thank you. we have covered medical implants a lot on this programme and got that information a lot of time from you getting in touch. heather has e—mailed to say she had two hip replacement in the early 2000 about four years ago she fell over and broke her hip and underneath the metal the surgeon was shocked at what he found. she had a huge cyst made up of metal, bone and blood because the metal had been rubbing against my bones and they had to do against my bones and they had to do a bone graft as well as replacing the metal hip with a porcelain one. the surgeon said he would have to replace the other metal hip. he monitored my blood because it was full of metal. only discharged from hospital earlier this year and it has been a terrible journey but the accident was a blessing in disguise otherwise i would never have known what was going on with my body. we can speak now to toni collard, who had an essure implant fitted in 2011, then a hysterectomy in october last year to remove it. thank you for coming in. i know you

have had terrible problems. take us back to 2011 when you had the implant, how quickly did the problems manifest? pretty much straightaway. dreadful pain while i was having the implants fitted. insta ntly was having the implants fitted. instantly things started going wrong. pain migrated to my hips and back and i felt generally unwell. you must have made an immediate connection with the implant? no, i thought things would settle down. were you told that? yes. i visited my gp and they told me that it was early days and things would settle down. it wasn't until i would say a year or so later that eventually i started to make the connection. when you visit your gp, you are not insta ntly you visit your gp, you are not instantly referred back to

gynaecology and you are tested for everything but what you should be tested for. i think everybody that has had certainly the essure device has had certainly the essure device has been told they are depressed and hormonal and that is the problem, never that there could be a problem with the device. it is not until you start to meet other people who are having the exact same problems as you that you start to think that. having the exact same problems as you that you start to think thatm you that you start to think thatm you are told you are depressed by a gp, do they potentially start offering antidepressants? yes, i was offered them. i tried them. obviously it made no difference.” knew i wasn't depressed but you trust your gp, you trust your gp to do the right thing. and they are not informed, the gp does not know what a essure device is will stop they are only dealing with the problem they can see. the royal college of surgeons is saying there has to be

morejoined up surgeons is saying there has to be more joined up thinking surgeons is saying there has to be morejoined up thinking and the surgeons is saying there has to be more joined up thinking and the way to do that is to have a register everybody is on and gps can be better informed. you would obviously support that. absolutely. i was never followed up, apart support that. absolutely. i was neverfollowed up, apart from support that. absolutely. i was never followed up, apart from the three—month test to see if i was sterilised, which i actually wasn't because the devices had started to go wrong instantly, i was never followed up. i was sent for a laparoscopic followed up. i was sent for a la pa roscopic hysterectomy followed up. i was sent for a laparoscopic hysterectomy which damaged the coils, sorry, a laparoscopic sterilisation which you should not be given with a lure device in. —— meg up with a essure device. and from the implantation to having the device, —— maccabi hysterectomy, there were problems at every stage and that was because of essu re every stage and that was because of essure and that was over years. toni, thank you for coming in and talking to us. keep your thoughts

coming in if you have had experience of medical implants. you can see more on the investigation in tonight's panorama, at 8.30pm on bbc1— and afterwards on iplayer. today, it's the final installment of our political blind dates series. we've been sending two famous people with differing views on brexit on a date each day. today it's the turn of two people who live in britain and who both today, it's the final installment of our political blind dates series. have strong views on brexit, but neither had a vote in the referendum. filmmaker dustin lance black and tv presenter ulrika johnson. let's see how they got on. brexit is coming and politics is on the menu. so, what happens when you send two people with opposing views on a blind date? i'm really nervous. will daggers be drawn? do we keep the borders open? did you hear me say that? or deals done?

highfive! will they want their brexit hard? are you feeling that? yes. wow! or soft? and will the political... i would have voted for brexit. i'm leaving. ..get personal? we could have a wonderful time. really, darling? you see, i could have done that. i'm dustin lance black and i'm a film—maker. i'm ulrika jonsson. i am swedish. i've worked in tv as a presenter. i've even hosted the eurovision song contest. i think people in the uk know me only as the guy who will take their picture when they run into tom daley. like, "oh my god! can you take my picture?" i'm also his husband and the dad of our child. i would have voted brexit. what's brexit? is that a disease. it sounds very itchy. i would not have voted for it.

basically i don't particularly like the eu. i'm terrified to be here today. i'm not going to lie. i don't like confrontation. watch out. mais non! i don't know him. hello. hi. i'm lance. ulrika. nice to meet you. ulrika? ulrika, yes. ulrika. oh, my gosh. beautiful. thank you. that was the right thing to say. i love it. i'm freezing to death. when it gets down to seven, single digits, i'm trembling. i can hear the baby. we just had our first son. hello, bud. he'sjust divine. i've got at least ten more to go because we have to have enough to have a complete football team. is that what it is? 11? is that good? 11, you need 11 for a soccer team. do you like living here? i love it. really? it's really good. you? i've been here for 39 years. so you moved here the day of your birth? that'sjust right! i wish!

so you have obviously your american passport. you can't have a british passport at the same time, can you? i can, but first tom has to still be in love with me in five more years. ijust pay taxes here. is that the same? are you in the same boat? i feel like i work here, i pay my taxes here, but i can't vote here. oh, you don't have... you can't vote here either? no. so neither of us were able to vote for or against brexit. no, neither of us. funny. cards on the table. i felt very, very strongly i would have voted for brexit if i had a vote. well, i'm leaving! that's the end of this beautiful relationship. a pitcher of water in your face! what was it? i'm so curious. obviously, my cards on the table, after the research i've done, i would vote against it. i feel that the eu has become a massive, bloated machine that is taking big chunks of,

i don't know, sovereignty and law... sounds a lot like my uncle. i have an uncle like this. yes, he's going to know who i'm talking about too. fat, bloated, taking big chunks. leave some pecan pie for me! something other than it started off being. you hear crazy things about decisions being made in the european courts and made by people who we haven't elected. ijust came at it from this very practical point, where i'm not saying... i agree with you. the eu is troubled and there's things that i don't like about it. but i want to make sure that people living in this country that i've fallen in love with, that their kids and their farms and their retirements are safe and itjust feels like a giant gamble.

there's this opinion that's very british, i think, which is we've made the vote, we've made our decision and now we can't turn back and there's pride attached to that. the beauty of having a democracy is you get to change your mind and guess what, it is still the people but we have better information. so that one, i would say, guys, take the pride in this case, put it aside. by the way, it might pass again. for me i feel very strongly that if they vote then to remain in a second referendum, we are then completely rubbishing the democratic vote of the first referendum. it's a really difficult one. and would we understand all the facts? whether you voted that way or not in the beginning, who cares? that's the past. let's move forward. if the people who have been marching in hyde park and making very clever signs are serious about remaining, they have a job to do and it's about organising, it's about making a compelling case to stay, convincing people

across dinner tables like this, and you do that with an open heart. this is just going to get people more entrenched and then you've got to take that to your mps. and it's going to be very hard. i think this... we... we? no, but... i think great britain doesn't stay in the eu without a bit of a miracle right now and i think that miracle would mean not moving to 51% in favour of staying but 70 and above. it would need to be very... it would need to be a sea change. i had envisaged, obviously it was going to be difficult, but i'm so passionate about this country, i'm so passionate about what it's produced and what it can do, and now i can't deny that i feel a little bit scared. you sound like a remainer. i know. i'm very... your clique is going

to kick you right out. i know. while politicians are fighting for who is going to be in control and have power, people are hurting. i don't know where the leadership is in this country, i really don't. where is that powerful, truthful voice that cannot be denied, that must be heard and can lead? frankly, if there was a leader who could say in a convincing fashion that leaving and continuing to leave is really going to bring about abundance for great britain and keep it great, i'd be with you. i totally agree. we hear a lot about either flamboyant, noisy, or badly behaved politicians, but i believe the vast majority of mps are extremely hard—working and really good, we just never hear about them. listen, leaving the eu for lgbt people here is very concerning.

the laws that have been bolstering lgbt equality here are eu laws. now those laws would need to be recreated in the uk and there's a lot of concern, or some concern, for lgbt people, that we're being told that'd be redundant, you don't need to deal with it, we're fine, we like lgbt people. i'm sorry, especially coming from the us, where we had a president campaign with just that slogan, and then roll it all back so quickly. i go, "guys, no, don't take that." if we are leaving the eu, one thing i insist upon is strong law here in the uk that at least matches what the eu gave us. yeah, yeah, yeah. and then even if they pass it, unlike the eu law, it is now subject to the whim of the changing leaders in politics. and some of the people who campaigned for leaving the most vehemently have said some

of the most atrocious lgbt things. right. i have to completely hear that from you. we, as a collective, have to be incredibly mindful of something like that. that would scare me. i would like to think that this country is advanced enough that we would definitely stick to what we know and everything but i don't think we can take it for granted. lgbt folks, we're always going to be in a minority, you always have to defend your ground, your rights, and it's a frightening moment. how did you meet tom? did you meet on a sort of... you don't have to tell me obviously. i'll give you all the details you want. he was in la for an event and even though he showed up with a bunch of beautiful women...

really? hanging off of him and supposedly, i mean, i don't know, he never said he was straight but i assumed he was straight, but i kept catching him looking at me. and it was so cute. i knew that kind of look. a certain kind of look. then my friend said he is google searching you on his phone. i was like "that's really weird". and then when i went to leave he put his number in my phone with a winky face. and i was like... sorry, guys. a man's coming in. hello. oh, my god. this is the best thing that's ever happened in my entire life. it's five o'clock. why are you talking about breakfast? nice to see you. yes! it is lovely. he reminds me of my grandad actually, my english grandad. this is on me.

come, now! i'm taking you out. this has been so intense. when they asked me to do this i was like, "i'm completely terrified". i have no real reason to do it. i can't even vote here yet. my one reason would be that i'm going to raise a son here. and you get to meet me! and i get to meet you! i think that these are the conversations that have to happen if great britain is going to stay great. yes. regardless of the eventual outcome, how are we going to get through it together? it's so great to be able to listen. i love it most when i learn things from my children, when they put me right, tell me off. that's good. that's ahead of me, isn't it? right now i've learned how to change nappies and burp but i haven't got to the confrontation thing. you've got so much amazing stuff to come. the best is yet to come. i loved it.

i sort of adore you. i have to say you're kind of amazing. if i had somebodyjust shouting... i wouldn't. it's so off— putting. i'd rather listen and then go, "yeah, you're right actually". it's tough. it takes work. what do we have in common and how do we fix it? we should have been the poster boy and girl of brexit. this is how to do it. sit down and talk. order a pint. figure it out. thank you. can i geta hug? thank you. thank you for doing this. after you. thank you. goodbye. thank you. that is the last of our brexit blind dates and if you what to watch them again they are on the website. we have just had news that matthew hedges, the british academicjailed for life in the uae has been released. he was pardoned earlier we had that news of an unconditional

pardon. that is him with his wife, daniela tejada, and she said this morning that she was hoping he might be back here by tomorrow and now we have heard he has been released, that might be the case. we will keep you updated on bbc news with the latest on that through the day. a group of students who came up with a plan to increase donations to food banks at their local supermarket will this week see the scheme rolled out nationwide. a two week trial led to a 300% increase in donations to exeter food bank. and we can speak now to two of the teenagers who came up with the idea, amber broad and callum pardoe. they'rejoined by garry lemon, at the trussell trust, which runs food banks around the uk. that is an amazing result, 300%, explain how the system works. we came up with the idea that we noticed that when people leave the supermarket, specifically sainsbury

in exeter, that is when they notice the food bank donation bin and we felt it was a big problem because a lot of people can't be bothered to go back in and get food and put it in the box. we had the idea putting a label next to the priority items of the month for the food bank, telling people it is a priority item and it would be good to donate to it. such a great and simple idea. was it easy to get it implemented in the supermarket? some supermarkets didn't want to partner with us because they work with other charities. but sainsbury's and guildhall took it on. we managed to implement it and i think it is a really good idea because it promotes awareness for the food bank. the thing with donations is that sometimes money can run out but awareness has a domino effect and keeps carrying on. how much of a difference will this make? it is

really appreciated, fantastic to see young people coming together with an ingenious idea. over christmas and winter, we really need the extra help with our food banks. it is a time which is meant to be joyful for people but for too many stuck in poverty it can be really difficult. unfortunately, and it should not be this way, people should not have to rely on charity in the first place but they do at the moment and so this extra help is really appreciated so thank you. you must feel really proud that it is being rolled out across the country. feel really proud that it is being rolled out across the countrym feel really proud that it is being rolled out across the country. it is crazy to think about it also it is far beyond anything we ever expected. i can only speak for myself but i just expected. i can only speak for myself but ijust want expected. i can only speak for myself but i just want to expected. i can only speak for myself but ijust want to help one person and affect their life in a positive way and to see the results about and even more, to affect even talks of millions of people is astounding. it's a great achievement. you must be very pleased as well. yes, it is...

shocking, in a way, that we can make such a difference. we were intending to help a few families and to see it rolled out nationally, to be honest we only would have had this opportunity. we are almost out of time but you are helping so many people. thank you for coming in. bbc newsroom live is coming up next. thank you for your company, i will see you soon. goodbye. good morning, over the last week we have had an easterly wind which has been bringing quite chilly air across the uk and this morning it has been quite cold but over the next 2a hours we will start to the eight mile that south—westerly wind which could bring some heavy rain and strong winds. still some showers in eastern england and eastern scotland but further west has the best sunshine this afternoon. maximum temperatures

of nine celsius. showers continuing for awhile this evening in eastern areas, some clear spells and few pockets of frost. some mist and fog developing in central and southern areas and later in the night, rain spreading into the scilly isles and the far west of cornwall. on tuesday, that will move northward and eastward and it will be heavy for a time across northern ireland, wales and the south—west with even some snow on higher ground. the further north and east you are, drier and brighter with temperatures up drier and brighter with temperatures up to drier and brighter with temperatures upto9 drier and brighter with temperatures up to 9 degrees and starting to creep up in the south—west. goodbye. you're watching bbc newsroom live. it's eleven am and these

are the main stories this morning: the bbc has learned that the british academic matthew hedges has been released from detention after the united arab emirates gave him a presidential pardon. in consideration of the historical relationship and close ties between the united arab emirates and the united kingdom, his highness has decided to include mr matthew hedges among the 785 prisoners released. theresa may is meeting cabinet ministers as she begins a campaign to sell her brexit deal — warning of division and uncertainty if mps oppose it. the prime minister's secured the deal, a very good deal for the united kingdom, and it's now the job of all of us in the cabinet to make the case. but an uphill struggle awaits her —