hello, it's tuesday, it's ten o'clock, i'm joanna gosling. more than 200 deaths in the uk have been linked to misuse of the drug xanax, this programme has discovered. this woman's son bought counterfeit versions of the drug on the so—called dark web — and those drugs killed him. all the love in the world didn't save him. xanax killed him. 340,000 counterfeit xanax bars were seized at uk ports and airports last year. police in northern ireland, counterfeit xanax is the third most seized drug and it's widely used on the streets. —— police in northern ireland had said. i was on iwas ona i was on a life—support machine. by sunday, they were turning off the machine, but i woke up while they were shutting it off. you were in a coma because of xanax? yeah. we'll bring you the full story in a few minutes. liam neeson has sparked a race row after making comments in a newspaper

interview about once wanting to kill a black person as revenge — because someone close to him was raped by a black man. i've been talking to the journalist who did that interview. more than 600 people a day leave their jobs because of the demands of being a carer according to new research. tania is one of them — she left herjob to care for her severely disabled son. are you one too? ah you finding it a big pressure? —— ah you finding it a big pressure? —— ah you finding it? get in touch. hello...

welcome to the programme. we're live until 11 this morning. do you know someone who is misusing xanax? it's only available on private prescription in the uk, but we are going to be talking about the increased availabilty of counterfeit versions which carry extra dangers. deaths in the past three years. do get in touch on all the stories we're talking about — use the hashtag #victorialive. 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. here's annita with a summary of the day's news. good morning. four children have been found dead in a fire in a house in stafford. police say another child and two adults were admitted to hospital in the early hours of the morning. they've begun an investigation into the cause of the blaze. eight people have died in a fire at an apartment block in paris.

dozens more have been injured, including firefighters, in the blaze near the parc des princes football stadium. a woman has been detained on suspicion of starting the fire deliberately. theresa may is travelling to belfast today to reassure people that she is committed to delivering brexit while avoiding a hard border with the republic of ireland. the prime minister will pledge to secure a deal that commands broad support. conservative mps from the leave and remain camps are due to meet the brexit secretary again today to try to find an alternative solution to the controversial irish backstop. more than 200 deaths have been linked to the misuse of anxiety drug xanax in the uk since 2015, the bbc has learned. the drug is widely prescribed in the us to treat anxiety and panic attacks, and can be obtained on private prescription in the uk. counterfeit versions are often bought via the dark web, and mixed with other substances, which makes it more dangerous.

we'll have more on this story in a moment. liam neeson has sparked outrage after making comments about once wanting to kill a black person. he says he walked the streets with a weapon, hoping to kill someone as revenge after someone close to him was raped by a black man. the actor, who was promoting his new film cold pursuit, told the independent that there's something primal when you become angry. mps will decide today how much councils in england will have to spendin councils in england will have to spend in the next year. a local government assocation says authorities face a 3.2 billion p showed full and residents in poorer areas are disproportionately affected. ministers say that councils have been given an additional 1.6 pounds. to get in touch with us if you have

thoughts or experiences. if you are happy for us to contact us and maybe wa nt to ta ke happy for us to contact us and maybe want to take part in the programme, please include your phone number in the message. texts will be charged at the standard network rate. our exclusive story today is about xanax. a year ago this programme revealed how teenagers across the uk were abusing counterfeit xanax pills. xanax, also known as alprazolam, is a powerful tranquiliser which should only be available on prescription. this morning we can reveal that at least 20a deaths have been linked to the drug in the uk since 2015. of these, there were 126 fatalities involving xanax in scotland between 2015 and 2017. of the 113 drug deaths last year in northern ireland, 25% involved xa nax. the uk border force say they have stopped nearly 400,000 counterfeit xanax pills from entering the country at ports and airports. the drug can be obtained on private prescription in the uk. but counterfeit versions are often

misused, and are frequently mixed with other dangerous substances. 0ur reporter noel phillips has been investigating the problem — his report contains descriptions of drug taking. it's a tranquilizer prescription drug which is used to treat anxiety, but instead counterfeit versions are being abused across the uk. i took xanax on friday. and i died. what do you mean, you died? idied. my heart stopped. xanax is the brand name for alprazolam, one of a group of drugs known as benzodiazepines. the nhs does not offer the pills, they are only available on private prescriptions, but unsafe counterfeits are available on the so—called dark web. exclusive figures seen by this programme show at least 35 deaths involved alprazolam or xanax in england and wales between 2015 and 2018. in scotland, there were 126 fatalities involving the drug

between 2015 and 2017. meanwhile, in northern ireland, a total of 43 deaths were linked to xanax. of the 113 possible drugs deaths last year, 25% of those we believe involved xanax. he is here because he didn't listen. and i kept begging him to listen. xanax was the problem with him. he was addicted. i tried so hard. these pictures don't tell the whole story of this 20—year—old's life. his family say the computer science student did not appear to be a regular drug taker, but unbeknown to them he was getting counterfeit xanax online. he is one of 21 people who died in england, having used the drug in 2017.

these xanax are open to every single child everywhere. theyjust go on the web. and then you are left with the death. the day before kyle died, you had a conversation. he made a promise to you, didn't he? yeah, he was giving up the xanax for good. he took some xanax at night. i asked him how many did you take. he said, they are not working. don't worry, mum. i said, how do you know they are not working, please? he said, mum, iwill ring you in an hour. i tried to ring him back. over and over, he didn't answer. when xanax enters the blood, it slows the brain down. counterfeit versions are often laced with other substances, including sometimes fentanyl, a painkiller 50 times more powerful than heroin.

he thought it was a party thing. all the love in the world did not save him. xanax killed him. i have known kyle since he was about seven. i am like his big brother. ray knows all too well the side—effects of xanax. he once used the drug with kyle. you have a few drinks and someone offers you this, you think let's have a pop. maybe i should have thought twice about it, but at the time i just went with the flow. big mistake. i will tell you that now ,anyway. it's a mistake that a lot of young people, including yourfriend kyle, make. exactly. i mean, when you look back, is there anything that you think could have been done to have saved kyle and to maybe have made him stop use xanax? that's a hard question because i don't know because i didn't know how much he was doing it and how regular. and after that time ifirst done it, i had never seen him do it and i haven't since. he didn't make me aware that he was taking it. why?

sarah says her son's death is a tragic tale, but an important lesson when it comes to the dangers of the dark web. and there is no shortage of illicit dealers on the internet capitalising on demands. figures we have obtained show for the first time what the authorities are up against in places here like belfast and across the uk, when it comes to tackling the misuse of xanax. we have learned that betweenjanuary 2016 and december 2018, nearly 340,000 counterfeit xanax buyers as they are known with a street value of over £1 million were seized at ports and airports across the uk. —— counterfeits —— counterfeit xanax bars. of the 113 possible drugs deaths last year, 25% of those we believe involved xanax. what does that tell us? that tells us we have a big problem with xanax in northern ireland. prescription drugs than detective

chief inspector david henderson. he is in charge of investigating drug gangs in belfast. we had 800 incidents of seizures. in the past 12 months, to do with xanax. the biggest of those was 30,000 tablets in the one incident. if those tablets had ended up on the streets of belfast, what could they have done? from ourfigures, of the 113 drugs deaths that were recorded in 2018, 20 5% of those, there was xanax present at the scenes. pfizer, a manufacturer of xanax, are concerned about the availability of counterfeit versions. over 82,000 pills ordered online have been prevented from entering the uk from india alone in the last two years. it is early afternoon in belfast and it's not long before we see how much of a problem xanax has become. there are a lot of fake ones going about.

i was having a pee. ijust fell into the toilets. i busted my face open. they are very dangerous, you know. but it's a dangerous risk patrick and his friends have been willing to take, before turning to xanax and other drugs, the 24—year—old who is homeless used to work full—time in a health hospital. can you describe what it is like when you are on xanax? there is a euphoria. if you take too much, you will do things you don't remember. you know it can kill? why do people do it? that's a very good question. it's a hard one to answer. but again, i'm homeless at the minute. when i took xanax, i wasn't homeless. i can't use that as an excuse, do you know what i mean? on a side street nearby is another homeless man struggling

with these addictions to the class c drug. when was the last time you used xanax? this morning. this morning? how much did you take? three. bars. three full bars. so at the moment, you're high on xanax? no. it's not hit me yet. they take a while to dissolve. once they dissolve, take them a while to go through your system, then hit you. right now, i am not high. but i will be, probably, very soon. 22—year—old andy is addicted to xanax. despite the risk, he tells me he takes up to 20 pills a day. i'm only out of a coma, there, on sunday. i was on a life—support machine. i took a load of xanax on friday and i died... what do you mean, you died? i died, my heart stopped. they cut my clothes off. they had to put tubes in.

i was on a life—support machine. and on sunday, by 12 o'clock, they were turning off the machine. but on sunday morning at eight o'clock, i woke up, thankfully, as they were shutting it off... and you were in a coma because of xa nax? yeah. and i still take it. why? i don't know any better. the department of health have told us they are concerned because almost all xanax tablets available in northern ireland are illicit. they go on to say they can be a real risk of overdose to anyone who takes them. but the problem with prescription drugs is much bigger than xa nax. these are really powerful medicines. these are legitimate benzodiazepines. these are diazepam. one of the biggest issues we have seen is the legitimate product being diverted onto the criminal market. inside the uk's medicines regulator warehouse, thousands of boxes containing benzodiazepine are sold under various brand names but often obtained illegally without prescription. its really, really concerning. it's terrible that sometimes these things end in tragic consequences.

it is very important for us to get the message out, don't buy from unregulated sources. in scotland, police and government say they are aware of xanax and are monitoring its misuse. meanwhile, nhs grampian in aberdeen recorded 29 deaths in 2017, compared to just 11 the year before. but back in belfast, xanax is notjust being abused on the streets. the first time i used xanax was in prison. to be honest, i can't remember what happened. i was told days after that i put two prison officers in hospital. i ended up with an extra two years in prison. 24—year—old kyle has now stopped using xa nax. his wake—up call came last year when he overdosed on heroin. you put your life at risk for a tablet that could have potentially killed you? yes. was it worth it? at the time, yes, but as i

look back at it, no. but for many, it's a struggle. a habit hard to kick. illegally obtained drugs like xanax are costing lives in the city and across the uk. do you want help? yes, i've tried to get help. i've been on programmes. i've been to see people help with drug addictions. i probably won't see 25. ifi if ijudge stop. —— if i do not stop. i will be lucky if i see 23. let's speak to elizabeth burton phillips, who lost her son to heroin addiction in 2004 and set up the charity drug fam, which has a helpline to help families affected by substance abuse. her son to heroin addiction in 2004 and set up the charity drug fam, which has a helpline to help families affected by substance we are also joined by the former head of drug threat and intelligence at the national crime agency and he has no an organised

crime consultant. welcome, both of you. thank you very much forjoining us. elizabeth, tell us the sorts of because you are getting to the helpline, the conversation you're having with people concerned around the use of xanax. how frequently are you having the conversations and what are people saying? well, there are conversations on a daily basis because as a charity we are open from 9am until 9pm. seven days a week, 365 days a year. i work that helpline as well. and sadly we are hearing more and more stories of families who are really desperately concerned about family members. it could be children or grandchildren or even partners, husbands and wives, using xanax. and just not understanding the dangers. as a charity, xanax has now become an everyday word for us. and that was not the case two or three years ago. but it certainly is now. and why do you think it is? i mean, you described a broad range of people taking it, but why is it becoming the drug of choice for so many people, when obviously it's nothing to do with them getting it through prescription, it's presumably not about the normal reasons for anxiety?

i think, certainly my experience of working in schools, i was a teacher in schools for 39 years. i've spoken publicly a lot in schools to warn people about the dangers. theyjust do not understand the risks involved. they are notjoining the dots between actions and consequences. and they think it is all a laugh and they are going to be fine. they don't understand that street dealers will be selling anything and it's not necessarily packaged up, like if you buy a packet of paracetamol. i think it isjust risk—taking, very dangerous behaviour, which impacts hugely on families. i wonder, because it's recognised prescription drug, albeit people are getting it via other routes, is there an assumption something that's safe? i think there is. i think because they see it possibly as paracetamol or aspirin, because it's got that sort of label and prescription, they are assuming that it's an ok thing to do.

and we as a charity are dealing with deaths from this drug, we are dealing with family members who are ill themselves with worry and anxiety as a result of loved ones using it, becoming addicted to it. it's a very, very worrying trend. tony, at least 204 deaths were linked to misuse of xanax in the uk since 2015. and there is clearly a rise in xanax abuse. how dangerous is it for people to be taking xanax as a drug of choice? we are hearing it has obviously been linked to a growing number of deaths? it's very dangerous. that's the short answer. but i think some of the points you've just heard are crucial to understanding the situation. young people are risk takers and are not predisposed to think about consequences at a young age. and i think one of

the big dangers of this drug is that it is cheap, partially cheap because it's being produced not only by pharmaceutical companies in huge numbers but actually because it's being counterfeited as well and is falling into criminal hands, so they can take a xanax tablet for much cheaper than the price of a pint of beer, take it with alcohol, enhance what they think are the enjoyable effect of it, without realising that what they are actually doing is straying from a prescription regime that would give them strong advice on how and when to use it, and increasing the risk to themselves every time they take it. not only that, they are abusing it. they are using the tablet in far greater numbers in far greater frequency than a prescribed regime would recommend. because of that, all the bad things that can happen, the side—effects of drugs, are happening to them more frequently and on a much greater basis each time they use it. so they are constantly chasing this next big effect they get from it, which actually means increasing the risk them or they use it.

—— the more they use it. there is a counterfeit elephant as well that obviously we have discussed. pfizer have said in a statement they are obviously concerned about that in particular and they have found dangerous ingredients such as boric acid, heavy metals and floor polish in counterfeit medicines. how much does that add to the risk? people just don't know what they are taking? there are two things here. the risk of xanax itself, a legitimate tablet, and that's a high risk because it simply is not intended for the use that young people are taking it. but, yes, to put it in context, floor polish, i don't know this for sure, but i would imagine that for polish is linked to giving the coating of the tablet the desired effect. it doesn't sound to me like it something that has been put in for any purpose other than to make the tablet shiny. i would say that we don't need to get too caught up in that. there are risks in taking tablets that are counterfeit because

the ingredients in them are not measured properly, so there could be over those issues, some of the ingredients are not the right ingredients, so there can be dangers linked to them, but actually whether they are counterfeit or not, this is a very serious problem based upon the real tablets, the consequences and the even greater risk of the unknown, which could come with the counterfeit alternative. elizabeth, tony, thank you very much. iona jefferies says something like this needs way more awareness, it is killing so many people. ivy says people are abusing xanax because all of these so—called rappers made its own cool, but when you have a mental

health disorder and you need to take these tablets daily, it is far from cool these tablets daily, it is far from cool. bratton says i remember the first person who ever gave me a xanax first person who ever gave me a xa nax and unknowingly first person who ever gave me a xanax and unknowingly plunged me into 80 years of darkness. i should press charges. if you need any information regarding issues raised by that report, you can go to bbc.co.uk/actionline, or call for free to hear recorded information on 08000155 998. four children have died in a house fire in stafford. another child and two adults are also injured. emergency services were called to the highfields area of the town early this morning. staffordshire fire and rescue services are investigating into the cause of the fire. 0ur reporter liz copper is there — what's the latest? emergency services were called at around 2:40am to this serious house fire. when they arrived, sadly, nothing could be done to save the

lives of four children who were pronounced dead at the scene. three other occupants, two adults and another child, had escaped. they have been taken to hospital and are being treated with injuries described as not life—threatening. neighbours have described hearing some sort of blast or explosion that woke them from their sleep in the early hours. as you can probably see, there is a lot of police activity and fire service investigation teams are at the scene. 0bviously investigation teams are at the scene. obviously this is very early daysin scene. obviously this is very early days in the explosion, far too early to speculate what might have caused the fire. the family are being given assistance by specially trained police officers and we have heard from staffordshire police this morning, they say they are sending their sympathies and condolences to their sympathies and condolences to the family as this investigation begins. thank you very much. still to come... liam neeson sparks a race row after making comments during an interview about once wanting to kill a black person as revenge — because someone close to him

was raped by a black man. we'll speak to the journalist who interviewed him. and as new research shows more than 600 people a day leave their jobs because of the demands of being a carer, we'll speak to two people who've done just that. now, theresa may is off to northern ireland today to offer reassurances that the government will honour its commitment to avoid a hard border with the republic of ireland in its brexit deal. let's get the latest from norman smith at westminster — how will she provide the reassurance and watch as she expected to say? she will try to give people a sense that making sure there is no hard border in northern ireland is essential to the government's negotiating strategy. there has been chat about the decision to demand the backstop is we negotiated, perhaps signalling that may be mrs may was not so determined to avoid a ha rd may was not so determined to avoid a hard border. as you know, the

backstop was originally devised by the eu and the british government to ensure there were no border checks. it mrs may is raising a question about it, some people speculated maybe she was raising a question about avoiding a hardboard. her aim is to try to quash that idea. i think she wants to say to people in northern ireland that she gets it, theissue northern ireland that she gets it, the issue of the border is notjust regulations and customs and trade but it is integral to peace and prosperity and progress in northern ireland, she understands it is much more than another element in the negotiations. what is interesting is whether her determination to show that she wants to make sure there is no hard border will begin to push her back towards accepting some form of backstop, whether with legal

reassu ra nces of backstop, whether with legal reassurances or whatever, in other words not to go down the road tory brexiteers have tried to push her down of coming up with new technology or procedures to minimise border controls, rather than having a backstop. so we may get some sign from mrs may that she is veering more back toward some sort of backstop. and crucial to that will be how the dup and arlene foster respond. this morning they seemed to bea respond. this morning they seemed to be a bit ambiguous. we know they do not like the backstop but they are not like the backstop but they are not insisting it has to go entirely and they seem to be leaving the door and they seem to be leaving the door a little bit ajar to possibly mrs may coming back with some reworked version of the existing backstop with some sort of legal guarantees are rented. thank you very much, norman. a bbc investigation has found a 41—year—old mother who lived in the uk since the age of four, and who has found herself in debt and facing eviction and deportation, was also refused help by the home office. willow sims — who was born in the united states — was turned away by a newly

established taskforce despite evidence that she was eligible to see help from it. the windrush taskforce was set up last april to help thousands of people who were wrongly targeted by the home office's "hostile environment" strategy for illegal immigration. now the barrister leading the windrush compensation scheme is demanding urgent clarification on willow's case. we will hearfrom him in a minute — but first let's hear more from willow. she says her life fell apart following a routine employer check last april. she lost her right to work, access to health care and benefits, despite 20 years' experience in social care and as a primary school teaching assistant. i actually, to begin with, i thought i would be able to sort it out. i won't lie to you. i genuinely thought, you know what, it can't be that hard? i'm an american citizen and the americans and the british are great friends as i keep being told so it shouldn't be a problem because the home office will just provide me with whatever i need and i will find a way to come up with the money. to pay for it all.

without a job, but i'll find a way. and as the days started to go past and i started to realise that actually, this isn't going to be easy and people won't, theyjust won't talk to me. so i phoned a refugee helpline, i am not a refugee, i phoned an asylum seeker helpline, i'm not an asylum seeker, i phoned different specialists but i'm not a member of the eu, i am not windrush, so in all honesty you are an american, no one really cares, seems to be the gist of what is going on. so all of these organisations were saying to me, unless you qualify under these conditions we cannot help you. because the climate at the moment is so, so heated between lots of different people and their opinions, that i think normal people that are just trying to work and live

are getting lost in a sea of arguments from politicians, so wejust don't exist, i do not exist in this world. the home office says willow sims was eligible for help under the windrush scheme and advised that she reapply. welljoining us now is — martin forde qc - he's the barrister leading the windrush compensation scheme. mary-ann astbury came to the uk from canada when she was eight years old with her adoptive parents. 47 years later she was told she couldn t renew her passport. her case is now settled. and labour mp for hornsey and wood green — catherine west. welcome, all of you, just tell us,

have you got any updates about willow's case, she has been through a hell of a time. i have, she came here at the age of four and she has been here for 41 years, i have a document here from the home office, iam document here from the home office, i am advising them on the compensation scheme, there are a lot of former commonwealth condos are eligible under the scheme but it doesn't include america because america hasn't been a colony for many centuries. you have a lengthy document, i was going to ask you, i thought it boiled down to some pretty straightforward simple criteria and therefore was wondering why it is that it could be applied in ways that seem to contravene someone's justified situation. in ways that seem to contravene someone'sjustified situation. i'm very grateful to the media for

publicising this in april and i'm grateful to be here because what i think people need to look at is whether their immigration status has been questioned when they been here for a considerable period of time. i think the use of the phrase windrush generation has been misleading because people think it only applies particularly to the caribbean and i've had people from india, canada, and hello from united states who have been here for a very long time, working and paying taxes who suddenly had their status got into question. maryann had her status questioned after a long time, thanks so much forjoining us, you came here when you were eight years old, you were adopted, 47 years later you we re you were adopted, 47 years later you were told she could not bring you your passport. how did you feel?- first i thought there must be something wrong with the system. but thenl something wrong with the system. but then i was told i had no right to appeal on it sol

then i was told i had no right to appeal on it so ijust went to the press and let my mp do what needed to be done. but over the time i went through every emotion, from hurt, anger, i felt like i was being punished for being adopted. you just cannot imagine how many emotions you go through. as you say, you then went straight to your mp, to the press, you had support in the way, nonetheless it must have been, as you describe, a very personal and lonely experience to go through and there are many others going through it. how do you feel about the fact it. how do you feel about the fact it is something that we keep hearing about, we hear about people like you who have had to experience it? i'm very angry. it should never ever have happened. i've had a british passport, i even sent that with my application and it was still

declined, even with that proof. what was the explanation you were given? they had no record of any details of me. and how difficult or easy was it to get it put right in the end, obviously you had your mp‘s support what was the process of proving your right to be here? when it first started i thought this is hopeless because they wanted details of my birth parents, well, i was two years old when i was put into care in canada, i've no reason to even have anything back then, things were kept private. it's not like today's adoptions. i couldn't give them what they wanted. it had an emotional impact on you, in terms of anything material that you've lost out on, did you, did you lose out on

anything ina did you, did you lose out on anything in a material sense because obviously we heard willow's story and she lost out on work and benefits. didn't have any impact like that on you? no, but it would have done long term, it's only at the time my employer wasn't doing checks, if he had, iwould have been in the same position. there is a compensation scheme, which he apply for any compensation? yes, most definitely. martin, is the compensation scheme for things like emotional impact as well? yes, very much so, my background is in political negligence and we are used to compensating for things like post—traumatic stress disorder, politicians are on record as saying they will seek to compensate for stress and anxiety, so there will be intangible effects upon people as well as the tangible ones such as loss of home, access to benefits, some cases access laws to the nhs and loss of employment. catherine,

you are an mp and i know you've spoken out with people affected under all of this. is the windrush task force, you would have hoped that would have meant situations would be rectified quickly. what is yuri action to hearing these stories? as ever we have to pull the home office kicking and screaming, i doa home office kicking and screaming, i do a lot of immigration casework in my case would burden, people who come to see me and i cannot leave and many people have had a similar experience and in 2014 there were 114 new regulations and guidelines introduced by the home office and it's really difficult for mp5 to keep up with every single change and the technology. this demand for biometric tests and so on, none of that existed when your guests were youngsters and so it is really difficult for some people who may not ever have had a passport or driving licence to prove their identity. in a way, the home office

is doing what it has to do? scrutinising carefully to make sure people... it's the way they do it, we will see a similar situation i would imagine with eu nationals in a decade, eu nationals came to the uk undera decade, eu nationals came to the uk under a treaty where they had rights and the bad treaty changes and those circumstances change then we could see a very similar situation in a decade, people who may be 16 or 17 and eu passport holders, they want to go to university or do something like that, they may well because in a similartrap and like that, they may well because in a similar trap and i think it's trying to combat that climate of fear which is often around immigration and trying to have a sense that everybody is treated fairly because martin will tell you, unfortunately, there is quite a lot of the category which is most affected is from the caribbean, i am sure there is an element of racism in the way it's been done. thank you, thank you all. maryanne, thank

you, thank you all. maryanne, thank you forjoining us from i think it's the comfort of your car! and q. -- thank you. the actor liam neeson has sparked a race row after making a comment about once wanting to kill a black man. in an interview with the independent newspaper he says he once walked the streets with a weapon, hoping to kill someone as revenge after someone close to him was raped by a black man. the actor told the publication that there's something primal when you become angry. that was liam neeson speaking in that interview, saying it's something he has never spoken about before. the bbc has contacted liam neeson's representatives for a comment, but so far there's been none. i've been talking to clemence michallon, the journalist who interviewed liam neeson. so it happened during a typical pressjunket situation. it was in a new york city hotel. you know, eachjournalist has a time—slot and a duration that they are set to talk with the stars of a given movie. and the specific question i asked was related to liam neeson's character in his latest movie.

he plays a snowplough driver whose son is killed by a drug gang. and his character, instead of mourning and doing the internal work of moving on mentally, which is what i think most people would do, his character goes on a series of revenge killings. and so i asked why. why does that character go down that path? and liam neeson in response shared the story that we have all heard now on that tape. and just remind us exactly what he said. he said, first of all, if his character didn't do that there would be no story. so it kind of seemed like it was going to be a throwaway question. and then he said, "i'll tell you a story, this is true, i'm not going to use any names." and he explained that many years ago

someone close to him told him she had been raped and then he described going up and down areas with a cosh hoping someone, and he used racial language when he said that, hoping that someone would approach him and he said, so that i could kill him. how did you react when he told you that story? you know, in those interviews, especially press junkets, it all goes so fast. but immediately, obviously the heaviness, the gravity of the thoughts that he was recounting hit me. i mean, you can't not feel it when you hear that. he himself said he was ashamed. and he said it was awful. looking back on the thoughts that went through his head. so that's what i thought. and i also felt a profound responsibility, obviously going back

to work, to tell the story in the most sensible way possible. did his publicist say anything to you about it? i mean, i've been at thejunkets that you describe, they can step in when things go beyond the boundaries of what they are hoping an interview will be about. we were not interrupted during thejunket. i had some follow—ups i wanted to ask. things wrapped up pretty quickly after that because our time was up. and then obviously we had follow—up questions. and we reached out to liam neeson's team, and they declined to comment further. but obviously people have questions, and we have questions. some really interesting e—mails to bring you. one anonymous viewer said someone close to me was assaulted

twice by the same person at knife—point and the person was not charged. i felt at that time a rage that unless she had been in those circumstances is indescribable, it consumed four months every part of me. the guy that did it was a young man in his early 20s and four months i felt like liam man in his early 20s and four months ifelt like liam did, i longed for a look, insult, any young man that fitted the stereotypes so it would give mea fitted the stereotypes so it would give me a reason to beat them up and stop i know it was an all—consuming, ugly motion and it took me years to rid myself of that, it was self—destructive, i do not think liam was being racist in the sense of the word, it could have been any type of person, he needed to satisfy that need for revenge even though it was an ugly emotion. i have now dealt with that. thank you for that. stephen says liam neeson should be commended rather than being condoned or having experienced violent and racist thoughts. his he is ashamed of his past behaviour. we should be allowed space for admitting

behaviour in the past we are ashamed about rather than being condoned in about rather than being condoned in a kneejerk fashion about rather than being condoned in a knee jerk fashion but only causes further issues. —— rather than being condemned. the crisis in the south american country venezuela is continuing to deepen with protests and rallies becoming daily occurances. hyperinflation, power cuts and food and medicine shortages have led to political unrest. the uk, several european nations, a group of latin american countries and canada have all agreed to recognise venezuela's opposition leader, juan guaido, as interim head of state. our foreign secretaryjeremy hunt said the people of venezuela had suffered enough under nicolas maduro's leadership, and it was time for a new start with fresh elections. venezuela has suffered catastrophic economic collapse with mr maduro in power with millions fleeing. but he has warned of civil war if the challenges to his presidency continue. let's speak now to vladimir hernandez, who is a venezuelan bbcjournalist who's been back several times to report on the crisis. how did we get to this stage? and where doors the school, it is a

stalemate, isn't it? venezuela is on the brink of collapse, in the last 20 years of the so—called revolution we have seen many times the pressure increase and not so much as now, you have a host of nations saying they do not recognise the democratic credentials of the democratic presidents maduro. why would he go somewhere else? will he still have the support of the army, i guess, it comes the key question, he says if anyone tries to take him on their would—be civil war. anyone tries to take him on their would-be civilwar. he's anyone tries to take him on their would-be civil war. he's been parading himself on state television with the army running around the streets, wearing uniform. he is clearly trying to show the army is backing him and top of the tree officials are right behind him but the problem is some of those military officials are accused of money—laundering or drug trafficking by the us, some of them are wanted

by the us, some of them are wanted by interpol, as long as the military back and he seems to be able to stay in power but the other thing, some of the military don't have anywhere to go. what is the assessment, if the military continued to back him, what can the opposition to without there being bloodshed, ultimately? the question is also has sustainable the situation is for a two thirds of the situation is for a two thirds of the population are struggling to eat three times a day. food shortages are probably the main reason which is leading to this political crisis bob link, what are the options? it seems like a very strong stalemate. probably social unrest and the pressure of the population to try and get change and eight get a country when they can buy food whenever they want, they do not have to face an inflation rate that at the end of this year could be 10,000,000%, extraordinary. how long has this been building, venezuelan is not a subject that is frequently in the headlines but obviously, now it's reached the stage, it's out

there. it's commonly said it's related to the drop in oil prices but this is also the result of the increase in the size of the state by the government of the lady hugo chavez who increased enormously the size of the state with social programmes trying to address the issues the country had. —— the late hugo chavez. since 2014 the government introduce sanctions against officials, later at those sanctions became economic sanctions but the country fell into recession in 2014 mainly because a huge spending structure and when the price of oilfelt spending structure and when the price of oil felt they kept spending and it was unsustainable. the opposition leader is being recognised as the de facto legitimate leader, guaido. is he the person to come in and change things, whoever comes in, if there is a change in who runs the country, will

have an enormous task on the hands to turn around the history. over the last 20 years, the main thing that has helped the late hugo chavez and temper too, a lot don't want to be associated with old, traditional conservative parties. guaido is an outsider, comes from a fresh, law middle—class background, he will not be tainted by the traditional parties and a lot of people are rallying around him because he seems like a death of fresh. he is backed by the us and that could play both ways. —— like a breath of fresh air. there is a long history of us intervention in south american nations but in my three seems to be handling it, it is a balancing act, because of the social unrest and unitarian crisis a lot of people are backing guaido. how is it in particular affected young people, this situation? 3 million people

have left in the last three years, a lot of them young professionals, stu d e nts lot of them young professionals, students who are unable to go to university, they need to feed themselves, find income, get by. a lot of people have let the konta, a lot of people have let the konta, a lot of people have let the konta, a lot of them young people. thank you so much. more than 600 people a day are having to leave theirjobs because of the demands of being a carer, says research from a charity. carers uk is calling on employers to offer more flexible working hours for staff who are struggling to balance theirjobs with looking after relatives. the charity estimates that almost five million people are trying to juggle between looking after relatives while also working — an increase of more than 60% since 2011. and more than 200,000 people each year giving up theirjobs, often to look after elderly relatives. the figures come from a yougov poll of over 4,000 adults. in its report, there are calls for better employment rights, such as extra days of paid leave or flexible hours so that more carers can keep working. we can speak now to tania tillyer, who left herjob

to care for her 33 year—old disabled son, lee. and to simi dubb, director of diversity and inclusion at centra, the parent company of british gas which has flexible working and care leave for its staff, and alsojoining us is terry kirton, who left hisjob in london to care for his elderly father in south wales. welcome all of you and thank you for joining us. tania... tell us about your son lee. my my son is quadriplegic since the age of one year, he has very complex health needs, requires 24—hour care. i have paid carers that support me and that helps me to work initially however trying to balance the work

and home life and looking after lee and home life and looking after lee and trying to work at the same time became really difficult. i went off work a couple of times with stress and exhaustion. and i did try to get flexible working, i did try to get my contract changed because i believe the government says you are allowed to apply for flexible working as a carer, you have a right to do that but what it is to do is enable loss, you can get a yes or no for your employer if they don't want to change you, they will say no and thatis to change you, they will say no and that is what happened in my case. you talk about the level of care that your son needs and obviously that your son needs and obviously that has a physical toll, the lack of sleep that you no doubt have to live with. but the emotional impact as well that your son and being in that situation. absolutely. it's stress that affects my health and when i have problems with my health,

the stress impacts my pain. who looks after you? it is one of those things, when you are a carer you tend to put the crescent of the person you ca re tend to put the crescent of the person you care for first and you tend to neglect is up and that's what happens to a lot of carers looking after their family in the community. terry, you decided to leave your job community. terry, you decided to leave yourjob in london in order to go and look after your dad in wales, tell us why you did that.|j go and look after your dad in wales, tell us why you did that. i just made my general phone call to my dad ona made my general phone call to my dad on a wednesday and he didn't sound himself. and sol on a wednesday and he didn't sound himself. and so i thought i'd better p0p himself. and so i thought i'd better p013 | himself. and so i thought i'd better pop i can see how he was. and frighteningly then i went to the house, instead of seeing my dad i seemed to see a frail, frightened 92—year—old man who just wasn't coping at home. obviously, that's a huge life changing decision for you to take. but obviously, it was the right thing for you because she wa nted right thing for you because she

wanted to care for your dad. in terms of the impact and you and the told that it takes, what is it like now? i wouldn't change it for the world. i absolutely love my dad and it's a privilege to look after him. but it is absolutely exhausting and i think it's also quite isolating, you seem to lose a lot of social impact that you have when you are working, even going out for a drink with colleagues, itjust seems working, even going out for a drink with colleagues, it just seems to be, asi with colleagues, it just seems to be, as i say, very isolating. explain more about, i can completely understand what you are saying about isolating, i mean, i guess in a practical sense, it feels like you cannot go out at dup people don't understand what you are dealing with? absolutely, i think people see caring as quite an easy option, quite a few people have said to me since i have taken on the caring role, you are not working at the moment. actually, yes i am, i am

working full time looking after my 92—year—old father. working full time looking after my 92-year-old father. presumably you area number 92-year-old father. presumably you are a number is financial position because you gave up yourjob to do. the financial impact has been quite horrendous. i am surviving, living, whichever way you want to describe it on £250 a month which is carer's allowa nce it on £250 a month which is carer's allowance and £89 a fortnight as income support. but barely covers my bills. these experiences are tough andi bills. these experiences are tough and i know your company has decided to look after workers who are in that boat. tanya was saying obviously, people have a right to ask the employer to make accommodations but they don't have to actually do it. explain what happened at your company and why you decided to respond in the way you have done. in centrica we focus the efforts on supporting our employees

that are carers more holistically and within inclusion approach. so it is about providing them with support and paid carers leave, matching with their vacation entitlement but it's about a right to ask for flexible working and we will work with them through a range of options, whether it's condensed work environment or whether the technology, the support they need but in addition to that, we provide implies with access, 24 hours a day, to trained counsellors that are independent to provide support for themselves and their families and we also draw on support from our thriving carers network which is 100,000 strong, sorry 1000 strong. when did the company start to look at these other aspects of caring because companies, used to dealing with maternity issues, people getting time off for maternity and paternity care, this aspect is rarer. it actually stems rom our 15 year partnership with

ca re rs rom our 15 year partnership with carers uk charity. we were working with them for over 15 years, learning about the impact on society, the impact on carers and those that require care and through that we were able to learn how policies and practices can influence our workforce in the broader society. it stemmed from a 15 year relationship. you referred again to the right of people to ask for the company to accommodate them, is there a guarantee that your company will always say yes? we are guaranteed we will be open—minded, we will look at a range of options and we will work with individuals to fix what is required for them. let's look at some comments coming in, an anonymous text says i have ever not myjob to look after my stable month. the financial biblical these doesn't help, the carer‘s allowance is so low, think of the money the country is saving. linda says i gave up my country is saving. linda says i gave up myjob some months ago to care

for my son with autism. i was told ifi for my son with autism. i was told if i didn't, and he has since been diagnosed with a rare condition, he would end up in care. tanya, do you wa nt to would end up in care. tanya, do you want to be able to get back to work, could you imagine something that might work for you? at the moment, no, probably not because lee's help us to to re—rated so i want to be there for him. it's very difficult i found, to get employees to take people on as a social worker at time. and if i could get a job in the future it would be great but i would have to rely on paid carers to support me to do that and that's what i cannot always rely upon. totally understand and thank you very much, all of you, for coming in and talking to us about your experiences. thank you for your comments on the conversations today. stay in touch. any time you like, all the usual ways. newsroom live is

coming up. i will see you soon. goodbye. hello and good morning. a bit of brighton this morning across the north—east of scotland, north—east in england but for many of us it's quite cloudy at the moment. some outbreaks of rain moving into western parts of the uk. that's the scene at the moment in palace, plenty of cloud sitting quite low over the hills, some mist and fairly foggy conditions. you can see the rain moving in, quite heavy, you see the green colour indicative of heavy rain spreading into wales, western scotland, the north west of england. should stay largely dry. temperatures between 6—8d, 10—12 in the west with increasing wind of the rain spreading to all parts through the night, staying cloudy in the south—east. the showers in the

north—west. could be frosty, across scotland, for many of us in milder night compared to last night, temperatures 5—7d. wednesday, rain in the south—east, turning heavy, in the far north—west, turning heavy, but try in between. you're watching bbc newsroom live. it's11.00am and these are the main stories this morning. four children have died during the night in a house fire in stafford. another child and two adults are injured theresa may will go to northern ireland to try to reassure people there she can reach a brexit deal that avoids a hard border with the republic. actor liam neeson sparks a race row after saying he once wanted to kill a random black person after someone close to him was raped. i went up and down areas with a cosh, hoping i'd be approached by somebody. i'm ashamed to say that. and i did it for maybe a week hoping some black bleep would come out of a pub and have a go at me about something, you know, so i could kill him. 10 people have died — including a baby — in a fire in a paris apartment block — a woman has been arrested.