hello, it's tuesday, it's ten o'clock, i'm chloe tilley. taxi and private hire drivers could have to undergo tougher checks before they get a licence under new plans to protect passengers. we'll be talking to rotherham abuse survivor sammy woodhouse — who's campaigning to have cctv installed in every taxi in the uk. a woman who had rectal mesh fitted — against key medical guidance — when she wasjust 15, tells us how it's still affecting her life five years on. i got igotan i got an infection somewhere in my body. when i went home i was in a lot of pain, i could not really walk. it comes as an expert leading a government review into mesh surgery says she's shocked by the stories of appalling suffering she's heard as she's toured the country talking to people who've had it. these shoes are the latest fashion item to be criticised for resembling racist imagery. it comes just days after gucci was forced to pull its blackfacejumper.

we'll ask why the fashion industry keeps on getting it so wrong. # there's no way you could tell man i can't do what i want to. and rapper aj tracey is here to talk about his new album, politics and knife crime. hello. welcome to the programme. we're live until 11 this morning. do you know when what you read online is true and when it isn't? today a government—backed report is recommending that a regulator should oversee the likes of google and facebook to make sure their news content is trustworthy. the same report also says more needs to be done to protect localjournalism. do you still read your local newspaper — if, indeed, there is one?

or do you rely on social media to find out what's happening? do get in touch on all the stories we're talking about — use the hashtag victoria live. if you're emailing and are happy for us to contact you —— and maybe want to take part in the programme — please include your phone number in your message. if you text, you'll be charged at the standard network rate. here's annita mcveigh with a summary of the day's news. good morning, chloe. good morning, everyone. theresa may will urge mps to hold their nerve when she updates them today about her negotiations with the eu. she's trying to secure changes over the backstop, which would avoid checks on the irish border if there was no trade deal. it comes after talks between the eu's chief negotiator, michel barnier, and brexit secretary stephen barclay in brussels last night. we had, with the secretary of state, constructive talks. it's clearfrom our side that we are not going to reopen the withdrawal agreement, but we will continue our discussion in the coming days.

the legendary england and stoke city goalkeeper gordon banks has died at the age of 81. stock city said he passed away peacefully last night and were devastated to lose him but have so many happy memories of him. he'll be remembered as the only english goalkeeper ever to lift the world cup, back in 1966. he was named fifa goalkeeper of the year six times and earned 73 caps for england. stricter rules could be introduced to stop anyone with a serious criminal conviction from getting a taxi licence in england. the department for transport will look at new measures such as enhanced background checks, a national database and even cctv in all private hire vehicles. the consultation runs until 22nd april. republicans and democrats have reached an agreement in principle to keep the us government running and avoid another partial shutdown. the deal includes less

than a quarter of the money president trump had demanded for his promised wall along the border with mexico. it still needs to be approved by congress. the president told a rally in texas that the wall would be built anyway. a regulator should be appointed to oversee tech giants like google and facebook and prevent the spread of fake news, according to a government—backed report published today. it's one of several recommendations by dame frances cairncross, aimed at protecting local newspapers, 2115 of which have closed since 2005. her review also calls for an institute for public interest news, to channel funding towards organisations doing good work. horse racing will resume tomorrow after an outbreak of highly infectious equine flu caused the sport to shut down. meetings have been cancelled since last thursday, and tomorrow's races will take place with strict controls. more than 170 racing stables had been placed in lockdown as a precautionary measure after ten horses at two different yards were found to be suffering from equine flu. a 43—year—old man has been arrested

on suspicion of arson after a fire at a mental health unit in staffordshire. around ten fire crews were deployed to the george bryan centre, near the sir robert peel community hospital, in tamworth last night. no casualties have been reported. a newborn baby has been saved from a storm drain in the south african city of durban after a three—hour rescue operation. crowds cheered as rescuers pulled the baby girl out from the drain. the baby's cries had been heard by a passer—by who alerted the emergency services. police are investigating how the little girl came to be in the drain. local reports say she has only a mild case of hypothermia and a few minor abrasions. that's a summary of the main stories on bbc news — back to you, chloe. thank you.

new rules on who is given a licence to drive a taxi or minicab in england and wales are being announced by the government today, to make it saferfor the passengers who use them. campaigners have long argued there needs to be things like a national database that lists all drivers and improved checks on their background, including a more detailed look atany criminal activity in their past. at the moment, councils up and down the country make their own rules on how taxi licensing works in their area — but now the government wants to change that to one national system followed by everyone. sammy woodhouse is a rotherham abuse survivor and has camapigned widely on the issue of taxi safety — including calling or cctv to be introduced in all cabs. we can speak to her. steve mcnamara is the general secretary of the licensed taxi drivers association. hejoins me in the he joins me in the studio. he was on the independent panel the government asked to advise on the recommendations.

markjennings is a cabbie from southend. thank you all forjoining us. mark, what checks did you have to go through before becoming a cabbie? quite fast. medical, driving, dbs, enhanced dbs. we had cctv in our ca bs enhanced dbs. we had cctv in our cabs in southend. all of this stuff that happens that needs to happen. it is common—sense, it has to happen, without doubt. steve, this is not the case up and down the country? all around the country it isa country? all around the country it is a bit ofa country? all around the country it is a bit of a mishmash of various rules and regulation. unfortunately, what the government has done, the report made over 30 recommendations and the government has cherry picked

what they think are the easy ones, they have put in phrases like when time allows we will look at legislation. this is an urgent public safety matter which should have been dealt with now. the committee was formed from people from the taxi industry, private hire industry, road safety charities, various mps, the government is still trying to brush it under the table. provides what needs to change, from your perspective? provides what needs to change, from your perspective ? they provides what needs to change, from your perspective? they will deal with cross—border hiring, a licensing authority like southend has very strict checks and very good, safe, stringent measures in place and somebody can go somewhere else whether regulation is much lower, get a licence and then go to work. could you literally go to the north of england or does it have to be nearby? transport for london have

got over 200 people that are licence north of leeds, they have never been to london, they are working elsewhere in the country. this agent matter needs tackling. the mayor of manchester and mayor of london have asked for palace to cap the number of private hire vehicles, they say they cannot control them and they wa nt they cannot control them and they want powers to do that. the government assays you don't need to do that. they are not listening to people who know what they are talking about. the recommendation was that a journey has to start or finish inside the licensed area, meaning local councils retain local control over vehicles they licence. so if there is a problem with a customer that goes to a local authority or the police, that local authority can go to the operator or driver and deal with them individually. if you ignore that rule and ignore the legislation, which is currently being completely ignored by several operators up and down the country, it means these drivers now think

they can operate anywhere they like and work in the country. this young lady on your screen has had problems, a serious, serious problem with rather run, a localised group of people operating in taxis and private hire vehicles, operating sex exploitation rings. if we ignore this rule and allow these drivers to work where they like, how big will the ring be? advice sani, you have waived your right to anonymity —— sammy, you have waived your right to anonymity to campaign forcefully for cctv in every card, why do you think thatis cctv in every card, why do you think that is important and will keep people safer? explain about when lots of taxi drivers were involved in this scandal and i realised it is

a much bigger picture, and what cctv will do is not only reduce crime and keep passengers safe but also keep the taxi drivers say. it was common—sense for me. it has worked in rather run, there have been lots of improvements that. crime is reducing, that needs to be done nationally. what about enhanced checks or a national data base? nationally. what about enhanced checks or a national database ?|j agree checks or a national database?” agree with that as well. unfortunately the government have neglected people's safety for too long. they need to bring this to the forefront, bring things up to speed and keep people safer. is there a cost attached to cabbies like mark, having cctv in their cabs, enhanced checks? clearly it is better for passengers but is there a cost? in the uk after moments there are large

multinational companies simply there to make profits, to make money. most of that do not pay tax and they want to keep costs to a minimum, they are not interested in safety, it is all about the dollar. i am sure they would argue that they are interested in then they would not be spending £250,000 a month on lobbying companies to prevent this. they are not here to defend themselves, we had to be reasonable. being reasonable to companies campaigning against enhanced checks and campaigning to allow drivers to be licensed and work anywhere in the country, that cannot be right. initial taxi legislation was brought in by the victorians. they brought it into protect the public. vulnerable people getting into a vehicle with somebody they do not know, putting faith in a system

which offers them protection. unfortunately the current system is failing badly in many areas and needs dealing with urgently, not, as the government says, when time allows. people are always looking to spend as little as possible if they going out on a saturday night, it is expensive. ultimately it will be passed onto the passenger if costs will be incurred ? passed onto the passenger if costs will be incurred? how can you put a price on safety? i have three daughters, if anything happened to one of them, i would be absolutely livid. i can put one of my girls into the back of one of my licensed ca bs into the back of one of my licensed cabs in my area, i know i can because they all have enhanced levels of safety. it might cost me more, it might cost me x amount to get them home, but they will come home. what if they don't? what if

you lower that standard and let those people work nationally where they want? predators get into the system. what happens then? lbs sammy, you have successfully campaigned and got cctv in every ca rd campaigned and got cctv in every card in rather run, what more would you like to see to protect the rebel people, everyone who uses a cab?” would like taxi drivers to have training about spotting signs, who they can reported, they are the eyes and ears of the road and are in a very good position to spot and report things. lots of people do not know what to look for, i think that is important. things that have been mentioned already like a national standard, the database. i agree with everything that the taxi driver says. she makes a very good point. local drivers can spot an illegal or unlicensed vehicle in their area

within seconds. they guys in london do it very quickly, they know when something is not right, they can spot a vehicle a mile off that it's not where it is meant to be, doing things it is not supposed to be. we south police a lot, especially in the suburbs where i live. the base some messages that are coming in as people are watching and listening, pbs says cctv does not prevent a crime, technology is not always reliable, switch on, etc. a driver could wear a mass cannot be identified or take a passenger away from the car. criminal record checks area from the car. criminal record checks are a better idea but it must include checks outside of the uk. john and e—mail says would it be a goodidea john and e—mail says would it be a good idea forfemales john and e—mail says would it be a good idea for females to take a photo of the driver and the taxi

number plate and send it to family. would you be offended somebody wa nted would you be offended somebody wanted to do that? that got my girl to do it all the time, they take a picture of the back of the car with the licence and registration plate, cani the licence and registration plate, can i have a selfie with a driver? if he has something to hide, he will not want to do it. take as many photos as you like, don't put the flash and while i am driving. that way you go about it, can i have a selfie, rather than can i send a picture to my dad? isil steve wright from the pace this morning. some people say it is a privacy issue, maybe we should raise safety above privacy. if you get into a taxi or private ivf, and it had cctv, you will be aware and you should watch what you are talking about —— if you get into a taxi or a private vehicle. lbs one text says i am a female taxi driver interim, we are rigorously checked but in many areas

taxi drivers do not have the checks andi taxi drivers do not have the checks and i am hearing horror stories from young girls. in many cases, brother, cousin and uncle all drive the same car with the same licence. that is a major problem. many people share a vehicle, they are working off an app and one of the common things about stories about private hire firms using apps, why does the driver never look like his picture? very often it is not in. we have over 30 recommendations, they are all good, common sense. 0ne recommendations, they are all good, common sense. one of the big issues that the report recommends it was the definition of private hire, what does it involve? the government says it is too complicated. it is not brexit, it is quite simple. yes, let's not go there! sammy, one person says i am 100% behind sammy

to prevent sexual assaults by taxi drivers. i was sexually assaulted by a taxi driver when i was 17 and the response i got was that i should not have sat in the front. thank you for joining us, we are grateful to you all, steve mcnamara, markjennings and sammy woodhouse. still to come... these shoes from the katy perry collection are the latest fashion item to be criticised for resembling racist imagery. we'll ask why the fashion industry keeps on getting it so wrong. and do you still buy a newspaper? in the world of social media, fewer of us are. we'll discuss the future of news, on the day a major report calls for the online world to be better regulated. the woman leading a government review into mesh surgery has told the bbc she's shocked by the stories of appalling suffering she's heard as she's travelled the country. mesh can be used to treat a variety of problems. and now it can be revealed that a 15—year—old girl had rectal mesh implanted — against some key guidance at the time. matthew hill reports.

i've been investigating rectal mesh for more than a year, talking to dozens of women and men who have all suffered after their surgery. i felt it fail within three weeks. i felt everything drop and it was very uncomfortable. describe to me the pain afterwards. i couldn't even walk by myself. i couldn't even walk to the toilet. i brought this group together last year to tell me about their experiences with mesh. i was astounded there were so many women who had been affected. i thought i was the only one. ijust thought i was an individual case, if you like! but obviously not. the scale of the problem is only now becoming clear and individual stories are emerging that raise serious questions about this surgical procedure. chloe is one of them. something needs to be done. it's five years down the line now

and it's my life at home that's getting affected. chloe had a biological mesh fitted when she was just 15. i think i'm the youngest. it shocks me. i was very scared. even when i went to have this operation, back in 2013, i was terrified. she'd been diagnosed with an internal prolapse, or sagging bowel, and although chloe was warned about the risks, it still went wrong. i got an infection somewhere in my body. when i went home, i was obviously in a lot of pain so i couldn't really walk and then i started to have bleeding coming out and discharge, all sorts, like mucus. the prolapse went but her symptoms got worse. a year later chloe, had to start using this to go to the loo. 0bviously once i've done it, i feel really sick and really lethargic, i feel all fevery, so i sleep on it. but if i don't do it, i will get lots of discomfort in my tummy, i will be bloated and i'll feel sick all day. her latest doctor wrote... chloe is suffering from a global bowel dysfunction that has unfortunately

been made worse by surgery at a very young age. there aren't many surgeons that would routinely perform this type of surgery in this age group. chloe was just 15 when she had the mesh, but now there are serious questions over whether she should have been offered it in the first place. mesh experts published a paperjust before chloe had her op. it said patients should have failed other less invasive or simpler treatments. so, did chloe have those? no. no, no, no. nothing. if i had some sort of pelvic floor bowel feedback, would i be ok today? the bbc isn't naming the surgeon who put chloe's mesh in or the hospital. but they say they were sorry to hear she was unhappy and they would welcome the chance to discuss her care. years later, chloe was seen by mr anthony dixon at southmead

hospital in bristol. he is a leading mesh surgeon here, now under investigation by the general medical council. mr dixon offered to redo the mesh, but he was suspended just before the operation. other doctors then stepped in, but they were concerned that other therapies hadn't been offered and they called off the surgery. if i had the surgery, god knows where i would be today. mr dixon couldn't comment on specific allegations, but cautioned against comparing the use of mesh and different procedures with different risks and outcomes. thank you so much for seeing us. good afternoon. mesh is now under serious scrutiny and being investigated by a government commissioned review which is touring the country. well, we've heard the most horrendous stories. it's not only this appalling suffering but the suffering that leads to disruption in the family, break up in the family in some cases, and also the loss ofjobs, the loss of

income, the loss of how you pay the rent or the mortgage. what are your thoughts on the ease of which one individual consultant can suddenly decide they want to use mesh for a new procedure, such as the prolapse bowel, where it's not been used before, the ease at which they can do that? well, i think what struck us very much about mesh is how little research has been done in the past. and to introduce a new product and not have done proper research is actually inexcusable. and then once a new product is used, then we want to be absolutely certain that there is a proper follow—up. we want to ensure that there is a proper database. we want to ensure that the patients who have suffered will have a chance to get their voices heard. we have been appalled

by the way that they have been dismissed in the past. chloe may have to have her mesh removed, but she's determined not to let it affect her. i don't want it to ruin my life, my everyday social life with my friends. you can see more on this story on points west on at 6:30 on bbc one in the west of england this evening. if you live in other parts of the uk, it'll be avaliable shortly aftewards on the iplayer. joining us now is our reporter anna collinson, who has investigating the mesh scandal for this programme. anna, what more can you tell us? as you say, we have investigated complications linked with mesh repairs by nearly two years and sofa investigations have focused mainly on hernia mesh repairs and also on

vaginal mesh repairs. we have spoken to hundreds of affected people who have experienced chronic pain, difficulty walking, lostjobs, lost relationships and have even felt suicidal in some cases. experts say the problem with mesh is the material, they believe, not the location. so it is not surprising we're seeing similarities between vaginal, rectal and hernia we're seeing similarities between vaginal, rectaland hernia mesh patients. we saw baroness cumberledge speaking in the report, what is her role? she is leading a review into surgical mesh and as pa rt review into surgical mesh and as part of that her team had travelled across the uk, talking to hundreds of people who have experienced problems following a mesh repair. they have spoken to manufacturers, regulators and public bodies. it is pretty damning from baroness

cumberledge, she was shot by what patients went through and the process and is calling for a mesh database. we process and is calling for a mesh data base. we put process and is calling for a mesh database. we put this idea to nice at the end of last year, they provide national guidance for health care. they said they were in favour ofa care. they said they were in favour of a database but the problem was who would fund it. what happens now? we are awaiting the outcome of sex's with you, vaginal mesh is suspended on the nhs and the mp alan smith will later speak in the house of commons about medical devices. he is expected to say weak regulation it's costing lives and he will use mesh as an example. he is expected to say manufacturers only had to show with a new device that it is premier —— similarto a new device that it is premier —— similar to previous, meaning that some new measures have been made with inappropriate or even toxic materials. people are still contacting us about this, in some cases daily. we will continue to investigate this, we have another story soon. thank you.

theresa may's back in commons this afternoon to update mps on how her brexit talks are going. she's been in dublin and brussels in the last few days trying to find a new solution for what happens to the irish border after the uk leaves. let's chat to norman at westminster. iam i am almost scared to ask, is theresa may going to tell us anything different this afternoon?” am almost glad to answer. no it's the honest truth, i think. we are in the honest truth, i think. we are in the waiting game. lots of us expected crunch vote this week but mrs may will say to mps this afternoon, hang on, i need a bit more time. i will give you another vote at the end of the month. the signs are that mps are willing to accept that, so we are in the land of godot, waiting and waiting and waiting for mrs may to bring back

the deal. but mrs may speaks to her ministers they adamantly deny that mrs may is just trying to wind the clock down until brexit day. this was andrea leadsom this morning. it is not running down the clock. we have had a discussion that the prime minister is seeking to resolve the issues, which would then enable parliament to support her deal. we are trying to get a good deal that works for the uk and the eu and those talks are under way flat out right now to ensure we can meet the terms set out by parliament and bring forward the meaningful vote as soon as possible. it is hard to see a breakthrough anytime soon, there seems to be an absence of new ideas or thinking or on the backstop and we seem to be going round and round in disabled circles and the eu are pretty much sticking to their position, they are not prepared to reopen the old withdrawal treaty. their chief negotiator michel

barnier was talking to our brexit secretary steve backley last night, when he emerged he was pretty clear they will not compromise over the withdrawal treaty. tonight, we followed up on the meeting between theresa may and jean—claude juncker last week, and we had, with the secretary of state, constructive talks. it's clear from our side that we are not going to reopen the withdrawal agreement, but we will continue our discussion in the coming days. that is all. thank you very much. so the waiting game continues and many people think mrs may could try to push this right to the wire, maybe even to the last week before we are meant to leave the eur and march and 29. the truth is i suspect i will still

be in next week, the following week, the week after and the week after saying pretty much the same thing. thank you, norman. norman will update as through the day. an independent review looking at how we all get our news is recommending that a new regulator be brought in to check that stories put up by internet giants like google and facebook are accurate and trustworthy. the cairncross report also says more needs to be done to protect localjournalism. so what place is there now and in the future for traditional news sources, like newspapers, now that we all have smartphones and can write and share whatever we like online? well, let's now speak to former editor in chief for the huffington post uk, polly curtis. she was also on the cairncross review panel. momtaz begum—hossain has been a journalist for 15 years, in mainly print and online. and sarah manavis spent several years fitting herjournalism around a full—time communications job until shejoined the new statesman nine months ago. what do you think the challenges are

in the industry? the challenges our future right now. on one hand you have google and facebook hoovering up have google and facebook hoovering up the advertising spend and on the other hand you have audiences migrating to digital which no longer has a good business model to support it. what to see across the industry is people trying to work out new ways to make journalism is people trying to work out new ways to makejournalism pay is people trying to work out new ways to make journalism pay and the cairncross review today will do some important things to support that work, like making membership and subscription model is more profitable. what do you think? what do you think are the challenges?m have been lucky or unlucky to be in journalism for 15 years and i worked in print and digital so i seen that change. a real struggle for someone like me is the moral is that are

attached to the stories we are creating. when i first started out in journalism creating. when i first started out injournalism there was creating. when i first started out in journalism there was a strong emphasis on going out and finding original stories which is what you learn when you are on a local paper. you have to find your own sources, you have to speak to real people. a lot of that doesn't matter any more. i have seen time and time again in digital journalism i have seen time and time again in digitaljournalism where it is about you are given a list of words, this is what the article was going to be about, it does not matter who is going to be featured. it is keywords that people would search for online? absolutely. if you are given a digital article to read too often told to find keywords or you are given the keywords and you have to ingrain them into your ratings are what you are writing is no longer your words, there is no freedom. whereas before when you were going to have to go out and find stories it was not about whether someone was

going to search them, it was about finding a quality original story and now you put out a story and everybody rips it off and writes it up everybody rips it off and writes it up in the wrong way. that has been true in the past than true of some outlets today but that was based on advertising models which valued skill so the more you put on a page the more money you earn. facebook and google have started to chip away at that strategy and i think publications are starting to think we need to pivot to quality news and proper reporting to build relationships with our readers so that readers come to us rather than facebook and google. sarah, you are new into journalism. there facebook and google. sarah, you are new intojournalism. there is an argument that we are all journalists. we have smartphones and we go out and something happens, a fire or something, people upload footage to social media, do we need

the traditional journalist footage to social media, do we need the traditionaljournalist because we can be journalists?” the traditionaljournalist because we can be journalists? i guess you could say that any of us could report what is happening because of that easily accessible thing because we have a smartphone but you still need that qualityjournalism and thatis need that qualityjournalism and that is what people are pivoting to because that fast very digestible quick style journalism will generate clicks, but it does not work any more. it is increasingly showing it is not working. look at publications that have had to have lay—offs this week, last week, mike buzz feed, and it shows the advertising model is not working. there needs to be a discussion, which i am sure this review goes into in depth, about how we pay for qualityjournalism. review goes into in depth, about how we pay for quality journalism. how do we pay for that? it links into local newspapers, local online, so

many regional newspapers are closing and yet for many people that is a vital link to the community. it has never been profitable. how did you make that? it was incredibly profitable for many years. one of the problems is that a lot of the companies that run localjournalism and some of the big digital organisations that are struggling now expected to much profit. buzz feed made $300 million last year. that is a business. you just have to make the profits worthwhile. fake news, this is a big buzzword thanks to donald trump is much of their body else. lawrence says i do not see a way to prevent fake news. we have been shedding articles based on their tabloid headlines. an attempt to regulate would hit legitimate

articles which would be government censorship of legitimate news. what i think is sad as people's perception of what is the quality news story so we will gravitate towards things that have the most views on facebook which might be something that is not true that people are liking it. we are judging the quality of news on how many people liked. you can legislate against that. you can't legislate against that. you can't legislate against that. you can't legislate against that. the reported seeing can we look at local and regional news and perhaps get the government more involved. can we make it something that has to happen so we can legislate that we must have local and regional news? that would bea local and regional news? that would be a way to balance it out. it is so important we hear local stories. they are far more relevant to us. if we find out what is happening in a local council meeting or a local

school that affects our day—to—day lives. it does not affect our day—to—day lives to find out something that is not true of how many ways to win a particular outfit because a celebrity has done something. that is where news is heading and has been heading for a while. the last nightjobs i have been fallen the week i was told very openly you just need to make sure you get on the first page of google. be quick and putting all these words. for me that is not real journalism at all but that is still happening. do we not have to serve an audience and if people are clicking the stories are going to be read? it goes back to how do we find a journalism? obviously this is not working. i a journalism? obviously this is not working. lam not a journalism? obviously this is not working. i am not going to suggest that i can tell you how we can fix journalism overnight. but if we actually start thinking about how we

fund journalism and not to make it so fund journalism and not to make it so reliant on getting clicks, because the reason why this happens, seek news, hate that phrase, but it is the only way or the most easy way to get money because people are clicking on it. lawrence makes a really good point in his email. what cairncross recommends as a proper system of media literacy training in schools. we all need to learn how to use all this information back is at our fingertips. use all this information back is at ourfingertips. we use all this information back is at our fingertips. we have use all this information back is at ourfingertips. we have never had more information available but we need to be sceptical about the sources of information we are getting and that starts with education that is notjust an hour—long lesson one thing here that actually threw everything we are learning. always checking, where does this come from? should i believe that? paul says we created a

facebook group in 2015 that has 11,500 members which is not bad for a tone of 20,000. to enhance on local issues i started a local website. last year it received 340,000 page impressions. local journalism has been ignored and it is affecting small communities. thank you for coming in and talking to us about this. still to come: he's one of the uk rap scene's biggest rising stars. aj tracey has just released a self titled debut album without the help of a traditional record label. i'll be chatting to aj tracey about music and politics. now, take a look at these shoes. they are from the katy perry collection on sale across the us, and they are the latest fashion item to be criticised for resembling racist imagery. the singer's team have reportedly

told us media the shoes were "never intended to be offensive" but they are being pulled from stores "to be respectful and sensitive". it comes just days after gucci was forced to pull its "blackface jumper" after a social media backlash. so why does the fashion industry seem to keep on getting it so wrong? let's speak to dr zubaida haque — who is deputy director at the race equality think tank the runnymede trust. and suril patel who founded the acacia studio clothing brand and joins us from northampton. iam i am interested to get your perspective from a fashion angle. on the face of it how is this still happening in 2019 that things like this are being designed, made and

sold and nobody says i'm on and it? it has got to the point where it is very intentional, people are doing it for the publicity, because the fa ct it for the publicity, because the fact is they see it as any publicity is good publicity. and even of that they are going to sell a lot of the other prof ducts and it is going to bring in traffic to their website. you think they are doing this on purpose? it is obvious because it is a sensitive subject and it is quite obvious what they are doing. they know it is going to cause controversy and it is going to get people talking. more sensitive subjects like that are more likely to be sure widely and off the back of that they are going to get more traffic to their website and make more sales. do you agree? i can speculate about why they are doing it but what i can say is why our

black people acceptable collateral damage? whether it is to stimulate, it is not stimulating debate, it is bringing people to their products. it is much more crude than stimulating debate. can there be an excuse as to if it is done unintentionally, if it is down to ignorance? it would have to be hell ofan ignorance? it would have to be hell of an ignorance because when you look at the shoes they look like black people, it is black facing. for others it is much more deep—rooted than that. you have mentioned it is incredible that it goes through entire processes. it goes through entire processes. it goes through entire processes. it goes through senior managers. senior managers must have ratified those shoes and said those shoes were a cce pta ble shoes and said those shoes were acceptable before it hit the product line. what is it about those senior managers that do not have the alarm

bells ringing thinking these shoes are not only offensive but they send stereotypes and caricature black people? there are workforce issues about black and ethnic minority people being represented at senior levels and so on. if it is a calculated move as you are suggesting, is that because this is an entirely white —based organisation where nobody is saying no? it is quite obvious even if it isa no? it is quite obvious even if it is a white organisation that they are putting out these products. is a white organisation that they are putting out these productsm there a problem with a lack of diversity in some of these huge fashion houses that allows this to get through? yes, that is a major issue within the fashion industry at the moment where it is predominantly white people in senior positions. but to say that it is not recognised

as being a racist product is just ignorance because it is quite clearly a racist product that they are putting out. does it damage the brands? you say you think they are doing this on purpose because any publicity is good publicity but are people buying more products from prada or katy perry? because they are such an established brand the damage is not going to outweigh the positives that they are going to get off of the press. they have already got the core fan base as well as it will then bring in... it might even encourage the core of fans to see the product, to see the brands that they already like and encourage them to buy other things. in a way i think we should stop talking about the brand and reclaim that debate. we should be talking about how much it damages the perspective of black

people, the view of black people. fundamentally it dehumanises black people. those shoes are saying it is fine to caricature black people, it is fine to make fun of them. we need to understand those views go all the way into the workplace and we know from lots of studies that this massive inequality, racial inequality in the workplace, that is about stereotypes fundamentally, about stereotypes fundamentally, about seeing black people as being worthless or having less value. joel has got in touch to say do the shoes with little faces come in different colours and if so they are not racist? common—sense, please. colours and if so they are not racist? common—sense, pleasem colours and if so they are not racist? common-sense, please. it is fine if they come in different colours but if the blackface one looks like a black face and makes people think of black people then i think they should be withdrawn. keep the other colours. nobody is complaining about the other colours. this is not about hurt feelings. it

is not about political correctness. it is about saying that black people are trying to be ridiculed and that goes deep into other aspects of life of black people. what do you think big fashion houses should be doing right now? they should be putting in more procedures before products go out. i feel like they are so established that they have already got these procedures. if you look at it they are doing it on purpose to spark controversy and the fact that such big brands are getting away with it and we are constantly seeing this, this is the second or third case in a couple of weeks of using blackface, and it really needs to be stopped. thank you. the legendary england and stoke city player gordon banks has died at the age of 81. he's regarded as one of the greatest ever keepers, he was named fifa goalkeeper

of the year six times and earned let's take a look at him in action against brazil in 1970 in what has become known as perhaps the greatest save ever. that is dangerous. pele! what a save. gordon banks. here is some of the reaction on social media in the past hour. england winger raheem sterling tweeted, "of course there was that save, but it's so much more we are mourning today. rip gordon banks. england legend, your legacy will live on. all my thoughts with the family." former wales and everton keeper neville southall has said... ex arsenal player

ray parlour tweeted. .. and finally this from match of day host and former england player gary lineker. .. let's speak to our sports correspondentjo currie. incredible sadness for a man who had such an incredible career. that is frustrating. we cannot hear her. we

have some problems with her microphone. i do not know if we can hear her. can you hear me? if you can and so that, the incredible career of gordon banks. regarded as one of the greatest goalkeeper is not just of one of the greatest goalkeeper is notjust of england but all time thatis notjust of england but all time that is backed up by the fact he was named fifa goalkeeper rob the year and incredible six times. the world cup winning goalkeeper for england in 1966. he played every minute of every game of that tournament, anything in that 4—2 victory against west germany at wembley. this saves from pele in 1970, a big right hand to the bottom left—hand corner of the goal. those are the moments he is remembered for. 73 caps for england and he won the league cup twice. the action on social media from players remembering gordon

banks. bobby charlton has released a statement saying we are deeply saddened to hear of the passing of gordon banks, he was evident as the goalkeeper without one of the best england has ever had. i was proud to go him a team—mate. we shared that great day in 1966 but it was more than that. i still do not know how he saved that header from pele. gordon will be deeply missed and our thoughts are with his family. his family announced that he passed peacefully overnight. you cannot underestimate how much he has inspired a whole generation of players through his performances and winning the world cup, which we still go on about because it has been so long, back in 1966. we have only ever won it once and had one world cup winning goalkeeper. raheem sterling is so much younger than

gordon banks. it shows the inspiration he has been to players across the field over the last few generations. performances when players look back at what he managed to achieve will continue to inspire in the future as well. thank you. he is one of the uk rap scene's biggest rising stars and has worked with the likes of missy elliot. aj tracey has just released his self titled debut album without the help of a traditional record label. the genre bending piece of work, mixing british grime with american hip hop production, is already doing well on the midweek charts. let's take a listen to his song doing it from his new album. # there's no way you can tell man that i can't do what i want to # i do what i want # there's popstars that i've been with and i got a few that i'm on to # i'ma grab who i want # i ain't got time to watch man that chat when it's untrue # i don't listen to the chat

# i've worked too hard and god knows the things that i've gone through # on my life # now i got a house in the west # i'm doing it # now i put the ice on my chest # i'm doing it # now i got plaques on the wall # i'm doing it # now i never answer a call # i'm doing it # now i got a house in the west # i'm doing it # now i put the ice on my chest # i'm doing it # now i got plaques on the wall # i'm doing it # now i never answer a call # i'm doing it # it's aj, can you say it for me quickly? #aj! # big man living like a pickney # i might bob marley if i can't sleep # puff, puff # but i don't love bobby like i'm whitney # on god was it your choice not to go down the traditional route or was that how it happened? it happens like that in the beginning and then we kind of went on with it, deciding to continue independently. does that allow you to have more control? pretty much. it allows us to do what we want. if i wanted to drop another album i could. no one is telling me not to do anything. does it make a difference moneywise? a little bit.

it is odd bit harder because everything has to come out of my pocket but investing in myself is going to bring reward. tell us about how you got into music and how long it has been. people assume it is overnight and easy. i have been writing lyrics since i was six with the help of my dad. i took music seriously about four years ago and since then i tried my luck at different platforms in radio, free styling on radio, the bbc and different things. i wanted to ask you about psych out, midweek chart you about psych out, midweek chart you are about 18, so doing well, i was watching the video last night, none of which we can play right now. it is scantily clad women, it is, people would argue, objectifying women, it is on a lap dancing club,

woman in the club, is it cliched?‘ little bit, maybe. it is the culture in america. that is not our tradition. i cannot see my mum enjoys the video. i wanted to go over there and experience that, what those rappers experience, and give people a different view. do you worry about the message it sends out vista might do you have any strong women in any of your videos?” vista might do you have any strong women in any of your videos? i think so. i do not intentionally put any imagery in my videos that is going to betray women in a certain way. they are twerking with not a lot on. i went over and it was nice to meet them. it is almost like a shot out

to gangs in london, i am not suggesting you are advocating, but is ita suggesting you are advocating, but is it a conscious message or the scene that you are in? my videos just have my friends and we have a good time. do you plan a lot of it beforehand? yes, i plan everything. and that is just you or 18? beforehand? yes, i plan everything. and that isjust you or 18? me and my manager. there have been artists previously who said it can be easier ina lot previously who said it can be easier in a lot of ways to breakthrough in america than it can be here as a black artist. would you agree? you wrote a lot of your album offer there. i wouldn't know because i am not american. is it easier for you to have your work acknowledged over there? i would see it as harder as a british artist. if you add an american black artist i suppose

american black artist i suppose america has a lot more opportunity and the culture has been over there because america made rap music. my aim is not to break america but if i can get some acknowledgement of the that would be good. how would you describe your music? a mix of grime and hip—hop? describe your music? a mix of grime and hip-hop? yeah. i make whatever! like making. i guess in some ways it is easier not having a wrecker label because you do not get pigeonholed. exactly, i do not have to conform to anything, i do not have anyone telling me what to make. ijust make whatever i want to make.” telling me what to make. ijust make whatever i want to make. i know you have had a pretty tough time. you lost a friend in grenfell and you loved pretty close. how has that

affected you, not just loved pretty close. how has that affected you, notjust as a person, but does it have an effect on the music? 100%. that but does it have an effect on the music? 10096. that is a tragedy we experienced and my friend passed. together everyone stuck together as a community to try to help people affected and it is good to raise awareness. i will speak about it if ican if awareness. i will speak about it if icanifi awareness. i will speak about it if i can if i have time to speak about it, and! i can if i have time to speak about it, and i guess e call—out to be bold raising awareness. more needs to be done about it. somebody needs to be done about it. somebody needs to be done about it. somebody needs to be held accountable. until that is happened nobody is going to shut up is happened nobody is going to shut up about it. it has affected you deeply. deeply. if you look out of my mum's windowed you can see grenfell. someone needs to be held accountable and none of us are going to be happy until that is the case. thank you for coming in today.

bbc newsroom live is coming up next. thank you for your company today. on twitter use #victorialive. overall a much cloudier day than yesterday. there could be a few splashes of rain. we are going to notice through the rest of this week it will be much milder with shades of spring. into the afternoon outbreaks of rain spreading across scotland. we will start to see sunshine developed but with a strengthening breeze. some rain or

drizzle which could turn heavy at times during the second half of the day. after a bright but frosty start it is being cloudy but the winds are lightest. gusty winds further north. tonight, starting with rain or drizzle and then that pushes northwards once again as south—westerly winds continued to dominate. further south it stays dry and hopefully frost free. you re watching bbc newsroom live ? it's11am

and these are the main stories this morning: the 1966 legendary england world cup winning goalkeeper, gordon banks, has died at the age of 81. what a save! gordon banks! his 1970 goalkeeping heroics are often described as the greatest save in world cup history. theresa may will urge mps to "hold their nerve", when she updates them on the brexit talks this lunchtime. tougher criminal checks for taxi drivers in england, plans to give better protection for vulnerable passengers are set out by the government. getting rid of rubbish — nearly two million complaints