hello, it's thursday, it's ten o'clock, i'm victoria derbyshire. jack shepherd, the 31—year—old convicted of killing a woman he was on a date with in a speedboat crash on the thames is in court at the old bailey right now after spending ten months on the run. he was brought back to the uk from georgia last night. i'm terribly sorry for my involvement in charlotte's death. and, you know, furthermore, my subsequent actions, which i see have only served to, you know, make things worse. and i'd like to make amends for that. while he was hiding in georgia, jack shepherd was sentenced to six years in prison for the gross negligence manslaughter of charlotte brown. a new deadline for brexit — and it's halloween. this extension is as flexible as i expected, and a little bit shorter

than i expected. but it's still enough to find the best possible solution. please do not waste this time. but will theresa may last until the end of october? i do not pretend that the next few weeks will be easy, or there is a simple way to break the deadlock in parliament. but we have a duty as politicians to find a way to fulfil the democratic decision of the referendum, deliver brexit, and move our country forward. nothing is more pressing or more vital. also, the residents who bought new—build homes on an estate in the scottish borders who found the mortar was crumbling. they took on one of the country's biggest housing giants and won. these developers, these companies, cannot be allowed to continue their destruction of people's lives with building shoddy homes. somebody has got to stand up. show them that they cannot

get away with this continually. hello, welcome to the programme. we're live until 11 this morning. so brexit could now happen on halloween if not before. but it might not. how do you feel about the flextension? let me know, send an e—mail, contact us on let me know, send an e—mail, contact us on twitter or text on 61124. ellie says, it is treasonous, it goes against the will of the people, democracy has gone in this country. sarah says, i am having a party on halloween, i do every year, but this one will be extra special with no extensions. nicola says, they will have to watch the brexorcist that

night. we will be talking to mps in the next hour of the programme. first, a summary of the news with annita. brexit will be delayed again after eu leaders agreed an extention up to october 31st. the uk could leave sooner but only if parliament passes the withdrawal agreement. as things currently stand, we will be taking part in european elections in may, although the prime minister says she still hopes her deal can be passed before then. speaking in the early hours of the morning in brussels, she called on mps to pull together in the national interest. we have a duty as politicians to find a way to fulfil the democratic decision of the referendum, deliver brexit, and move our country forward. jack shepherd, the british man who spent ten months on the run after a speedboat crash in which a woman died, has pleaded guilty to breaching bail and absconding before his trial. the 31—year—old jumped bail last summer and fled to georgia.

in his absence, he was found guilty of the manslaughter of charlotte brown, who was 2a, and sentenced to six years in jail. official media in sudan say the army is about to make an important announcement about the future of president omar al—bashir. thousands of protesters remain outside the military headquarters in the capital, khartoum. the demonstrators are demanding that the president resigns. a fifth of new childhood asthma cases in the uk could be linked to traffic pollution, according to a major new study. researchers from leading american and canadian universities suggest fumes could be to blame for up to four million new cases across the globe each year. they're calling for international guidelines on air quality to be reviewed. mps have said bailiffs should be regulated to stop them breaking rules and even the law to collect debts. it follows a dramatic rise in cases of bailiffs using intimidating behaviour, threatening to break into homes and in some cases unlawfully doing so.

the parliamentary justice committee says a regulator is needed to ensure that people in debt are treated fairly. families in affluent areas of england are much more likely to succeed in getting a school place on appeal, according to new research. the education policy institute has examined what happened to 86,000 families who did not get their first—choice secondary school place. about one in seven of those initially missing out go on to get a place from an appeal orjoining a waiting list. the world's biggest primark is opening its doors to shoppers in birmingham. covering 161,000 square feet over five floors, and with a disney cafe plus two other eateries, a barber shop and beauty studio, as well as homewares and fashion, it could spell a new generation for the department store. primark said the store was a chance for it to do something special.

good morning, it is 10:05am. jack shepherd, the man who killed 24—year—old charlotte brown in a speedboat crash on the river thames during theirfirst date, is appearing at the old bailey after ten months on the run. he's just admitted failing to attend his trial and sentence hearing last year. shepherd was convicted of charlotte's manslaughter in his absence, while he was in hiding in georgia. shepherd eventually handed himself in and has spent the last three months in prison awaiting extradition. his plane from tblisi landed at gatwick last night — from where he was taken into custody by officers from the met. i'm terribly sorry for my involvement in charlotte's death. and furthermore my subsequent actions which i see have only served to make things worse. and i'd like to make amends for that.

why did you run? fear. it wasn't premeditated as, you know, some have said. but it was just a case of being driven by a kind of an animalistic fear and justjumping on a plane, really, with not much of a plan. but it hasn't worked out very well, and here i am. do you regret it? you should have stayed and gone to trial? yes. i think things very well would have been different. you know, i think if i had been there to give my side of the story and what actually happened that night, i think the jury would have come to a different conclusion. what would your side of the story be? what would you say? what will you say? well, i would havejust outlined what happened. you know, kind of accurately, there is a few things that the prosecution alleged, i won't list them, but they were not true. you know, and i could very easily have challenged them and explained what really happened.

i regret that i did not have the opportunity. well, i did have the opportunity, but i failed to use it. jack, when you see charlotte's family in court, what will be going through your mind? regret that i did not speak to them sooner. i think that, aside from taking the boat out that night, i think that that's my second biggest mistake. i was following legal advice, but i wish i'd followed my heart, you know, and spoken to them, i think that things would be very different if they had understood what happened, if i had sat down with them. i wish i'd done that. do you feel responsible for what happened? yes, in part, of course. not to the degree of manslaughter, but yes, of course. asi as i said earlier, jack shepherd daysin as i said earlier, jack shepherd days in court at the old bailey right now.

charlotte brown's family — her dad graham, her sisters katie and vicky, and mum roz all arrived at court earlier. you can see them there. as soon as that hearing is over, our correspondent will come out and give us the latest. the 31st of october is the new brexit deadline, which is of course halloween, providing endless dressing up opportunities. but it is a flexible extension, if mps can agree on a deal, the exit date can be brought forward. here's what theresa may said last night after she had secured the extension. i've just met with donald tusk, the president of the european council, where i agreed an extension to the brexit process to the end of october at the latest. i continue to believe we need to leave the eu with a deal as soon as possible. and, vitally, the eu have agreed that the extension can be terminated when the withdrawal agreement has been ratified, which is my key request of my fellow leaders. for example, this means that if we are able to pass a deal in the first three weeks of may, we will not have to take part

in european elections and will officially leave the eu on saturday june 1st. during the course of the extension, the european council is clear that the uk will continue to hold full membership rights as well as its obligations. the uk should have left the eu by now, and i sincerely regret the fact that i have not yet been able to persuade parliament to approve a deal which would allow the uk to leave in a smooth and orderly way. but the choices we now face are stark, and the timetable is clear. so we must now press on at pace with our efforts to reach a consensus on a deal that is in the national interest. and here's what the president of the european council, donald tusk, had to say. tonight, the european council decided to grant the united kingdom a flexible extension of the article 50 period until october 315t. this means an additional six months for the uk. until the end of this period,

the uk will also have the possibility to revoke article 50 and cancel brexit altogether. the uk will continue its sincere cooperation as a full member state with all its rights and as a close friend and trusted ally in the future. let me finish with a message to our british friends. this extension is as flexible as i expected and a little bit shorter than i expected. but it's still enough to find the best possible solution. please, do not waste this time. let's talk now to an ally of the prime minster, conservative mp vicky ford. at westminster, we have conservative mp anne marie morris. she's a eurosceptic, her hope was to leave

tomorrow with no deal, labour mp and shadw chief secretary to the treasury peter dowd. and green mp caroline lucas — she wants to have a further referendum. also here are william adoasi, who runs a fashion brand and is thinking about moving to america if this extension continues to be put back. courtenay kusitor says she lost her hair extensions business because of brexit and is now unemployed. sean spillane is a retired auto—worker and thinks if it comes to a no—deal, the uk can make trade deals with the 53 countries in the commonwealth. you are loyal to the prime minister, you continue to be loyal, you are an ally of hers, the new deadline is october the 31st, by which time we will have a new prime minister, wa nts will have a new prime minister, wants me to my yes, and obviously it is enormously challenging and frustrating to so many of us in the country and in westminster... theresa may has made it very clear that she wants to take us through

this first, the divorce period, and then move on so that the long—term negotiations will be under another leader of the conservative party, so that was the announcement she made a few weeks ago. right. so how long has she got, then, to try and fix this before she is told to golj would really like these two have been fixed by now, i voted remain in the referendum because i could see how challenging it would be to negotiate a new relationship with 27 countries... how long has she got to fix this? i would like to see it sorted out before the european elections, two or three weeks. and the eu side has been very clear they wa nt the eu side has been very clear they want us to sort out the divorce side, the withdrawal agreement, and in the long term relationship. actually, on that withdrawal agreement, there is a huge amount of agreement, there is a huge amount of agreement, even across the house, andi agreement, even across the house, and i hear labour mps saying they do not have a problem with it, but they wa nt not have a problem with it, but they want the long term relationship

sorted out. so let's see where these negotiations get to, and i really hope that mps would come together and try and find this resolution, because i think it is in the national interest. let's get a quick reaction from voters, william, another extension, but if a deal can be got through the commons, it could be got through the commons, it could be earlier, what do you think?” prefer this to a hard brexit and just leaving straightaway, so in the long term, i think it is probably beneficial that we delayed it until october the 315t. in the short term, it increases uncertainty, which is not good for any business. quick reaction. if we need an extension, let's take it, because my worry is that we haven't managed to make a decision thus far, so what are we going to do in six months? are we just going to keep kicking the can, orare just going to keep kicking the can, or are people going to be, you know, made to vote in a way that they

didn't want to? i can't see what is going to be solved, to be quite honest, because it is the same story over and over again, and honest, because it is the same story overand overagain, and if honest, because it is the same story over and over again, and if theresa may is going to get a deal, then she has to give in, if you like, to the labour side of the house, and that means she has got to maybe compromise one of her red lines, which could possibly mean, which worries me, is a customs union. and we wouldn't then have a trading policy that was independent in your view. thank you to the mps in westminster, petered out, what chance of an agreement between labour and the conservatives that would get this through parliament now? now we have got a little bit of extra time. well, i think it is good to talk, we have to carry on with the talks with the prime minister and herteam, and the talks with the prime minister and her team, and we will continue to do that. sorry to interrupt, give mea to do that. sorry to interrupt, give me a percentage, what likelihood of

some agreement, do you believe? well, i can't say that, and that is the danger that we get into these rather one—dimensional positions. just let's carry on with the talks, i have been involved in negotiations on many occasions, you think they are going well, they take a dip, then they get back to a better position, so let's not try to decide what these discussions will bring. stop the madness, stop brexit! anne marie morris, does theresa may need to go swiftly, should a new leader ta ke to go swiftly, should a new leader take over? i do not think she can fix this, we have been looking at this for two and a half, going on three years, it is clear this deal will not go through the house, so we need a new leader who will stand up to europe and put forward our deal, not the ideal... sorry, to be clear, start all over again? yes, because there's deal is dead, there is no way it is going through the house. i welcome the support of labour to look at it, but frankly i can't see

a labour government supporting a conservative government to get this through, and the lines they both have a completely different. caroline lucas? out of the last thing this country needs now is another tory leadership contest. this has been a conservative psychodrama from the very start, consta ntly psychodrama from the very start, constantly the conservative party putting their own interests ahead of the national interest, and we have had enough of that. we need to use what is frankly a short time, six months, to put bdo back to the people, whether that is theresa maydeal or whether there is some kind of agreement out of the talks with labour, it needs to go back to the people, because we know there will be so much anger and disappointment in the country over whatever brexit looks like, because it will not look like what we were promised three years ago, when we would have the exact same benefits, frictionless tried — the people need to have their say. nick thompson is a voter in farnborough who runs a softwa re a voter in farnborough who runs a software development company, good morning to you, your reaction to

this further extension? it is a disaster, not where i wanted to be. iruna disaster, not where i wanted to be. i run a software company, just shy of 100 employees, we are growing fast and looking to grow the business, but, you know, we recruit from the eu, and it has completely dried up. who would want to come to live and work in the uk right now? i was counting on a solution to the immigration fiasco, but here we are backin immigration fiasco, but here we are back in limbo, it is causing our business problems. do you accept the conservatives, always traditionally known as the party of business, can no longer claim that mantle? this is exactly why we need to leave with ideal... but do you accept that your reputation as the party of business is shattered? no because... no?! one of the important things about the dealer theresa may has negotiated is that it would lead to potentially the closest trade deal... but you

can't get it through parliament, what is the point?! so we can't get it through parliament because it is being blocked by opposition parties... and your own colleagues. nine out of ten of conservatives are voted for it. 35 conservative mps, like anne marie morris, at the third attempt she would not vote for it. let me be very clear — we need more clarity on the long term relationship because it is people's jobs, lives and livelihoods that we need to sort out, it is the most difficult negotiation for a generation. we need to also be clear that elements like a customs union would not necessarily be like what we have at the moment, it would not cover how we fish, how we farm, how we regulate financial services... would it stop the uk doing its own free—trade deals? would it stop the uk doing its own free-trade deals? it wouldn't necessarily have to cover every sector, so you could look at flexible ways these negotiations, and that is what i want people to say, looking flexibly at finding

solutions. you are shaking your head, you are not about to be flexible. there is no flexibility with the eu, is there? excuse me. no, sorry, flexibility and coming up with something with labour that could get through the commons around the political declaration. because we can't think of it now does not mean it is not possible, do you accept that? labour... jeremy corbyn has turned around constantly, he doesn't know what he's doing half the time. the trouble is that he is prepared to block i think, that is my personal opinion, whatever chance he has got, he would block it. peter dowd, is that accurate? no, but it is symptomatic of the situation we are in, a man with a loud voice at the back of us and an even bigger megaphone shouting us down, and that is the problem we have got. we have to have conversations and discussions to try to get out of a very difficult situation that we

have been put in by the prime minister, who has not been prepared to talk to anyone other than her own colleagues in the past two years. so what are we supposed to do? just walk away from any discussion of any deals, any negotiations? no, of course not, we are a parliament, we are politicians who represent a myriad of interests, and we have to try to bring them together — if we possibly can. caroline lucas, do you have enough time now to push for your second referendum ? have enough time now to push for your second referendum? yes, i think we do. i would have rather had until december, but if we get moving on this, we do have time for a second referendum, and frankly, even if we we re referendum, and frankly, even if we were in the middle of it when the deadline came along, i am pretty sure the eu would allow it to play itself out. i want to say that i do really feel for those businesses who desperately need certainty, and i really do understand that, but on no—deal, ijust really do understand that, but on no—deal, i just wanted really do understand that, but on no—deal, ijust wanted to say really do understand that, but on no—deal, i just wanted to say that no—deal, i just wanted to say that no—deal, as advocated by anne marie

and others, it would be catastrophic for this country we must find a way around that. as you are talking about a second referendum and having extra time to push for that, nick thompson was shaking his head in disagreement, if i read you correctly. absolutely, right now we have got customers holding off, saying, we do not know what is happening with brexit, we are going to wait for the result, and we just need to make a decision. even no—deal is a deal, having something that we can actually move forward on. the limbo is causing us the problem, the not knowing, we really need to get this sorted out byjune, not october. ok. can ijust be clear with you, vicky, prime minister theresa may said, i am not prepared to countenance an extension further thanjune, to countenance an extension further than june, obviously we to countenance an extension further thanjune, obviously we have now got until october, should we need it — when will she be gone by? that is com pletely when will she be gone by? that is completely above my pay grade and

totally her decision. she would like totally her decision. she would like to get this resolved before the deadline for holding those european elections. and i think that is a really important issue. i do think, the messages we have heard from business there about certainty is really important — leaving without a trade deal with your largest trading partner is incredibly high risk for those who are trying to trade with those who are trying to trade with those countries. you have already seen your those countries. you have already seen your business collapsed, i do not want to see anymore of that. creates great uncertainty for people who employ staff from europe or who have relatives living in europe. those are the sorts of issues why we need to resolve this. and that is why i would like to see some more flexibility from those opposition parties as well, parties, to say, come on board, because actually, caroline, your second referendum won't the division is there are in the country either. under those divisions are very, very serious.

let me ask william, the prospect of potentially second referendum, how would you view that? initially i was very for it, but as time has gone on, it hasjust delayed too long. the people we pay to be mps should come together, unite, compromise on some things, but actually come to a solution which will benefit us long—term. but as it stands, 50% of them seem to be career politicians, they are all going after their own self to kind of advance themselves, and they are not actually looking at the good of the people of the uk. kourtenay, do you agree? oh, i agree that we should have a second referendum, ijust that we should have a second referendum, i just think that this whole brexit thing has been sold to us on whole brexit thing has been sold to us on lies, you know? why are we going ahead with something which the details that were given to us before we voted were completely wrong, and we voted were completely wrong, and we are we voted were completely wrong, and we a re really we voted were completely wrong, and we are really seeing the effects of that now. and ijust think, why are we going ahead with something which

is so detrimental to our country. we are going to look back on this with such great regret, it is ok for some of us who have had our lives and careers to say, we need to get out — we need to be thinking about the younger generation that are coming through. actually, if it is going to ta ke through. actually, if it is going to take 15, 20, 25 years to get back on oui’ take 15, 20, 25 years to get back on our feet, that is just too long, thatis our feet, that is just too long, that is going to wipe out so much. anne marie morris, what would you say to that? we certainly need certainty, but for my money, what we needis certainty, but for my money, what we need is to have a relationship with europe which enables us to trade with countries where we currently have a surplus as opposed to being stuck with the european union, which is slowly going into recession. the economy of the country, for business, if getting out is the right thing to do, we need to do it andl right thing to do, we need to do it and i managed way — i believe only the conservatives can deliver that, the conservatives can deliver that, the prime minister does not want to change your approach. go green no—deal is not a managed way, we

need to challenge this myth that somehow you can slide off into wto terms... you can! wrong! wrong! we have been told about article 24, the wto have said it is not possible, so we need to be honest about the public, i agree with what kourtenay said, we were all sold out pack of lies, young people overwhelmingly wa nt lies, young people overwhelmingly want to remain, the idea that we will be sold down the river is completely unacceptable. angus as it isa completely unacceptable. angus as it is a golden opportunity for the uk, a referendum, except the current state law vowed to remain in the eu, parliament is incapable of accepting the will of the nation. rizwan says, i. the will of the nation. rizwan says, i, like many, iam the will of the nation. rizwan says, i, like many, i am fed up of brexit, i voted to leave on the basis of 350 million extra quid for the nhs, and i feel cheated. i have million extra quid for the nhs, and ifeel cheated. i have changed my mind, iwould now ifeel cheated. i have changed my mind, i would now want to stay. to me, it is very easy to sort this, a

referendum with a leave, no—deal and tremain would quickly sort things. stuart says, i am disappointed with this government, with brexit, it is groundhog day again and again, it has been three years and billions in contingency planning already. thank you, all of you, thank you very much for coming on the programme, thank you for your time we appreciated. still to come: the harassment and discrimination experienced every day by people living with parkinson's. the biggest survey of its kind shows they are being laughed at, have to deal with accusations of being drunk or unfriendly due to movement problems, and are even disbelieved when they reveal their diagnosis. medical history is made as a baby produced from three people is born in greece to overcome a woman's infertility, but some doctors here are questioning whether the procedure is morally acceptable.

it took seven families two years, but a group of homeowners in peebles in scotland has taken on a housing giant to have their "crumbling" new—build homes repaired. the families live on a development of 250 homes built by the firm taylor wimpey in the scottish borders. two years ago they discovered issues with the quality of the mortar with which their homes are built. back in 2018, our investigation found similar complaints about weak mortar across at least 13 estates in the uk, all built by different companies. now, after a long—running dispute with taylor wimpey, the developer has apologised to all 130 households affected, saying it's a localised issue and saying they're fully committed to resolving it. our reporterjim reed has the exclusive story. we had a huge investment put down in this house and we just started to see it disappearing. we started to see scaffolding

going up on houses and then people started to disappear, which was very disconcerting. it is very sinister. peebles in the scottish borders is just an hour south of edinburgh. the schools are decent. crime is low. my husband's locally born... sheila chalmers moved here with her husband ten years ago. ..so my family my friends could come and stay. her home was one of 250 built by the housing giant taylor wimpey on a brand—new site. that's a good one that actually shows the erosion. two years ago the rumours went round of a problem all to do with the mortar holding the bricks together. same problem, same cable tie. it started with sheila's neighbours — overnight families would just vanish. but there were no for sale signs and no—one was moving back in. it became almost a ghost street. houses were empty. people were disappearing but nobody could talk. so your suspicion at the time was

that people were being forced out. at that time, yes. taylor wimpey‘s solution at the beginning of this was to buy back the homes and silence the homeowners with non—disclosures. taylor wimpey said they only offered to buy a small number of houses back at an early stage before shiela and the rest of the estate found out what was going on. in late 2016, though, a letter went round from the company saying there was a problem with the mortar sticking the bricks together in some properties. you didn't think there was a problem in your house at that stage? no. at that stage, no. and then after the taylor wimpey letter arrived we went out and inspected our house and right enough mortar was eroding away and you could scrape it out with your fingernail. so behind here, this is the elevation where

the kitchen is right in front. we have a hole that is now right through to the inner structure. and that is not where you've done anything to it. or work's been done on the house or anything like that? no, no, not at all. that's just an area that's completely lost its mortar. we pulled the plant away and here's another great big, gaping hole. so the family got some legal advice and paid to have their own laboratory tests. mortar is made from sand and cement. the results suggested sheila's house contained far more sand than would be considered normal for houses in this area. we have 89.8% sand, 90.4% sand, 91.2% sand. so when you got these results back... devastated. more sand means the material is weaker and more likely to erode. though taylor wimpey said the tests sheila and other households used were not appropriate.

we love our home. we love living here. we felt at that time if there was a problem taylor wimpey would step up and rectify the problem, no questions asked. that's what we thought would have happened. but it turned out to be quite something else. so what went wrong on this estate? well, we've seen maps showing around 130 homes were built with mortarfar weaker than recommended by the main industry body. in 2013, a memo was sent out by the national house builders council to all developers warning of this exact problem. we have spent £16,000 in structural engineering fees, mortar analysis and legal fees. have you got £16,000 to spend? no, we don't. it's all on debt. taylor wimpey have pushed us into debt. they are forcing us into debt to do this. it's been really tough.

you felt there was no choice? no choice. these developers, these companies cannot be allowed to continue the destruction of people's lives with building shoddy homes. somebody has got to stand up and show them that they can't get away with this continually. taylor wimpey said the weaker mortar used on most of his estate is of sufficient strength to meet structural requirements. a view backed by the local council. but it accepts it might be less durable under prevailing exposure conditions. you can see the dust gathering... sheila commissioned two structural engineers — both said full repair work was needed on her home. though taylor wimpey said their own inspections found that was not the case. three doors down, live pete and jill hall with their 13—year—old son. like sheila, they were told their house didn't need major repair and taylor wimpey has never offered to buy it back.

the family, though, wanted proof so they had tests done. then we got the results back, fully expecting that it would come back and they would say everything's fine. i'm guessing they didn't. no. houses are built with bricks and mortar. they don't get much more basic. only one sample was actually meeting the required strength of the mortar for the house. and some of the readings on the garage, there actually was no reading because it's actually scientifically designated as sand. weak mortar starts to erode more quickly when it's exposed to the weather. when the engineers were coming each one of them stuck their screwdriver straight through... when it's wet, the problem on the garage wall becomes even more visible. you can make sand castles with that on the beach. this is holding up our garage. as it became clear that more houses were affected. so a group of families on the estate

came together in 2017. some of the group had a meeting described as heated with taylor wimpey‘s lawyers. pete's solicitor soon received a letter back. we had everything and we just said, went through it and go, here are your options — you can fix the house as it should be fixed. you can demolish the house and rebuild it as it should be built. or you can buy us back. at that point they got very worried. and you'll like this. they sent us a a proceeds of crime threat letter to say that... this is from taylor wimpey‘s solicitors? to say if you keep on going down this line we will prosecute you on proceeds of crime. so they're basically accusing you here, of bribery, basically. now when we received this

when i received this from the solicitors it took me about ten minutes to stop laughing. this is intimidation. this is a threat. and i read it and went, they've got no grounds. pete and jill had already hired their own structural engineers. their report came back saying it would be safer if they moved stuff out of the garage as it was at risk of collapse. they taylor wimpey has always denied there was a structural problem. so the family bought a giant shipping container covered it with warning stickers and left it on the front drive. that they said got taylor wimpey‘s attention and, two years on, an offer has now been made. it falls short of where we think the properfull repair should be but they have basically turned around and said it's that or nothing. so we are now in a position where we've accepted it and it will go ahead. we have to accept it — no option. taylor wimpey has now sent out letters offering repair work to all houses in the estate built with a weaker mortar. properties are being dealt with one

at a time, builders scraping out the mortar and replacing it with stronger material. the firm told us... it has now apologised to sheila and said even though its own inspections found it might not be needed, work to replace the mortar in her home will start this summer. it will also refund money she spent on legal and technical costs. repair work on pete and jill's property should be finished by september. the couple say they soon plan to move their shipping container off the front drive. if you had your time all over again, would you still have bought this place or would you have gone elsewhere? i wouldn't. i would've said no. the experience that we've had and the pressure that it's put our family under over the last two years, i would never buy a new house again.

this programme is aware of houses in more than a dozen sites across the country all made by different firms with a similar mortar problem. the government's in the process of bringing in stronger rules meant to protect new homebuyers. until then, customers up and down the country are left very much fighting for themselves. we will talk about that in a moment. we will talk about that in a moment. we can bring you breaking news. the bbc has been told the wikileaks founderjulian assange has been arrested by british police at the ecuadorian embassy. you will know he has been effectively hiding at the embassy, the ecuadorian embassy in london, since 2012. that was initially to fight his extradition to sweden. he has been living at the

ecuadorian embassy in london since 2012. this morning, we are told, police have gone inside the embassy, that was a ten o'clock this morning, and they arrested julian sands for breach of asylum. —— julian assange. this was apparently done with the agreement of the ecuadorian government. so he is now en route to a central london police station. the wikileaks a central london police station. the wikilea ks founder a central london police station. the wikileaks founderjulian assange has been arrested inside the ecuadorian embassy, with the agreement of the ecuadorian government and he is en route to a central london police station, where he will be questioned about breaching asylum. we will bring you more on that as soon as we get it. we are going to talk about new—build homes, the fact that some of them are crumbling, apparently because of weak mortar. we can speak now to phil waller, retired construction manager and campaigner on new—build homes.

this is right across the country, it is not just one this is right across the country, it is notjust one area? it is not about one builder or one area. i have had people contacting me from lots of different builders, nearly every different area in the country. the people that contact me, that is just one person, the chances are that the whole estate is affected. the house—builders want to keep it quiet, because if they do work to one house, they have to do it to every house on the estate. we continue to report on it, so it is not quiet anymore. why is it happening? the industry switched to premixed mortar, and the sitejust add water. i don't think the quality control of the manufacturers is sufficient to guarantee there is enough cement in the mix. also, they are allowed to do a design mix, a certain proportion of cement. their mixture just has to reach formerjoe newton is. that doesn't mean

anything. they can put chicken manure in it, and it could pass the test. then that is what they would supply. test. then that is what they would supply, irrespective of how durable it is. so who does the quality control? the manufacturers tested at theirfactory, control? the manufacturers tested at their factory, sample testing, control? the manufacturers tested at theirfactory, sample testing, not every batch. when it is on—site, it is on—site, there is no test taken apart from what the buyers do when they have got a problem. sand is obviously cheaper? definitely. is it to do with saving money? it could be that they are using cement substitutes, and that is to do with the cost of producing cement.” substitutes, and that is to do with the cost of producing cement. i want to ask you about the use of nondisclosure agreements, or gagging clauses. taylor wimpey is not the only house—builder to use them. we've seen evidence of their use across the industry, and although we don't know actual numbers, that is ha rd to don't know actual numbers, that is hard to pin down. what do you of the fa ct hard to pin down. what do you of the fact that these gagging drm hard to pin down. what do you of the fact that these gagging dr it makes good business sense for the house—builder is concerned, because

they want to keep their dirty washing under wraps. in the spirit of openness and transparency, they should be open and honest, and publish what is wrong with the houses. finally, the government said last year that they would put in place a new homes ombudsman. it is something you have been campaigning about for a long time. where is the new housing ombudsman? the latest i have read on the internet is james brokenshire is the housing secretary, talking about a shadow new ombudsman, until there is parliamentary time to get a new ombudsman. i hope he is watching the programme and seeing the anguish of these poor people, who don't deserve to be treated like this by companies. if i was at taylor wimpey, i would companies. if i was at taylor wimpey, iwould be companies. if i was at taylor wimpey, i would be going to talk to these people and personally apologise, because i think it is unfair. thank you very much.

we brought you breaking news a moment or so ago, thatjulian assange has been arrested in the ecuadorian embassy, where he has been seeking political asylum, has been seeking political asylum, has been given political asylum since 2012. it was after his extradition was requested to sweden, where he was requested to sweden, where he was going to be questioned on sexual assault charges. he has been arrested for breach of asylum. he is on his way to a police station. let's talk of his friend and supporter, peter tatchell. what is happening? well, there have been threats for some time by the ecuadorian government thatjulian assange would be evicted and faced the prospect of police, both by british police and eventually extradition to the united states by us police. this has been a long time

coming. we now know it has happened. i think it is quite shocking. because julian assange i think it is quite shocking. becausejulian assange was granted asylum, he is an ecuadorian citizen, he has rights to protections that the ecuadorian government should afford to him. in many ways, the ecuadorian government has violated its own institution. apparently he has breached asylum, what does that mean? this is a claim that some of his activities from within the embassy have been contrary to what the ecuadorian government wished. even a person who has asylum has the right to freedom of expression, privacy and so on. but the ecuadorian government has taken the view that they want to avoid those rights, they want to scrap them, they don't have those rights, and thatis they don't have those rights, and that is why this decision has been

taken. are you saying this is linked to the story we have heard in the last couple of days, where wikileaks itself said it has uncovered a surveillance operation against julian assange at the embassy, and images, documents and videos, including potentially videos of him having sex have been offered for sale? i don't know about that. i generally trust what wikileaks is saying. i assume that surveillance may have provided some evidence that the ecuadorian authorities are trying to use against him. i would have thought that private, personal behaviour should not be one of them. why would the ecuadorian government a p pa re ntly why would the ecuadorian government apparently turned against him, having given him asylum for all these years? that doesn't make sense? of course, we have a new president in ecuador. the outgoing president, the previous president, granted him asylum. we have a new president who has been much more

sceptical and critical, and has been threatening for months he would eventually have to leave the embassy, implying that if he didn't leave voluntarily, the authorities would reject him. this may be related to the fact that the united states has brought incredible pressure to bear on the ecuadorian government, and there have even been suggestions that the us could provide debt relief to the ecuadorian economy if they cooperated by handing over assange. so, the fear is that there has been some kind of deal between the united states and ecuador. ok. does he really have anything to fear? the us have never requested his extradition, sweden does not want to question him any longer about sexual assault allegations. isn't what you have described one huge conspiracy theory? no, because we are aware

that a secret grand jury has been convened, i think since 2011, to press charges against assange. this has been in total secrecy. how do you know it has happened if it is in total secrecy? because there were lea ks, total secrecy? because there were leaks, which total secrecy? because there were lea ks, which inadvertently... total secrecy? because there were leaks, which inadvertently... this was last year, leeks inadvertently mentioned that the secret grand jury had convened and that it was drawing up had convened and that it was drawing up charges against assange. the kind of charges that have been counted are very serious of charges that have been counted are very serious ones, of charges that have been counted are very serious ones, that could land him in prison for 30, 40 or 50 yea rs. land him in prison for 30, 40 or 50 years. plus we know that the key trump administration officials have said that one of their priorities is to get assange, extradite him and put him on trial. even the attorney general and other key officials have been saying this for some time. so it is totally expected. stay with us, if you would, for a moment. for those just tuning in, julian assange has been arrested inside the

ecuadorian embassy by british police and is now on his way to a central london police station, where a p pa re ntly london police station, where apparently he will be questioned over breach of asylum. as you know, the ecuadorian government has given him asylum in that embassy since 2012. peter tatchell is with us, a good friend, ally and supporter of mr assange. our diplomatic correspondent james landale is mr assange. our diplomatic correspondentjames landale is here. essentially, this is the product of a long negotiation between the british and ecuadorian government. under the current leadership, the ecuadorian government have been trying to solve this problem for a long time and find a resolution. the solution that they currently seem to have found is this. that the ecuadorians have decided that mr assange is in breach of his asylum conditions, because of activity and behaviour within the embassy in london. as a result, they have withdrawn that asylum. as a result, and certainly according to the police station and issued by scotland yard, the police were then invited in by the ecuadorians,

because obviously the ecuadorian embassy is ecuadorian soil, and once they were there they presented mr assange with a warrant on behalf of westminster magistrates' court. that was for failing to surrender to the court. this is the original breach of bail conditions that had been hanging around for years, ever since the original case began, seven years ago. so, that is what happened, that is why the police were allowed in. the police arrested mr assange, he was taken into a truck, a van, and then he was removed to a central london police station. and then the police say they hope to take him to we st police say they hope to take him to west minster magistrates' court as soon as is possible. right. what is the activity he has been apparently doing in the embassy that is a breach of asylum ? doing in the embassy that is a breach of asylum? that has been a long—running dispute about what he is and is not allowed to do. at

various stages, they have removed his access to the internet and then brought it back, if you are claiming asylum, you're not allowed to engage in political activities, so the ecuadorians have at some stage accused him of that. what has happened inside the embassy is not clear. there is claim and counterclaim. the ecuadorian so he has britches conditions. what could happen to him? there will now be a legal process, that will initially start in the united kingdom. on the british courts will decide whether or not he has or has not breached his bail conditions, what penalties should or should not be applied. it remains to see what happens, it is clearly up to other countries as well, now that he is at liberty, certainly outside the embassy, not at liberty because he is detained by police, what happens then. do other countries wish to seek extradition

proceedings or not? for the original lea ks proceedings or not? for the original leaks from proceedings or not? for the original lea ks from wikilea ks? proceedings or not? for the original leaks from wikileaks? well, for those, the swedish authorities have given up the claim over the sexual allegations. but it is clearly possible that the americans could make a decision that they want to press ahead with questioning mr assange about the wikileaks revelations. thank you very much, james. james landale, our diplomatic correspondence. it and peter tatchell, thank you for your time. a friend ofjulian assange, who is on his way to a police station to be questioned. let's go now to the old bailey, where jack shepherd, the man who was convicted of killing 24—year—old charlotte brown in a speedboat crash has been in court. jack shepherd was flown back from georgia last night, where he had been on the run. what happened in

court today? well, today a judge has sentenced jack shepherd to six months in prison for that offence of skipping bail. that will run alongside his six—year conviction for manslaughter, which he was given in his absence. he went on the run last march. that was actually the subject of discussion today, during this hearing. he was actually in custody in georgia for 78 days. he handed himself in to the authorities in tbilisi in january. handed himself in to the authorities in tbilisi injanuary. since then, extradition proceedings have been under way. he was wearing jeans and a black jacket, and under way. he was wearing jeans and a blackjacket, and was bearded. you may have seen that footage of him on the flight back to gatwick last night. he spoke, to admit that he had been granted bail here last year in advance of that trial and that he had failed to attend his trial, and his sentencing hearing. he was therefore guilty of that offence against the bail act. charlotte

brown's family were in court to hear this today. his defence talked about how he had voluntarily submitted to authorities back injanuary, and how that formed some kind of mitigation. thejudge was quite that formed some kind of mitigation. the judge was quite keen to point out that there was a lot of publicity around his presence in georgia and he was asking whether or not that was potentially why he handed himself in. his defence lawyer said he was terrified of the prospect of a prison sentence, that he was ashamed of his decision to run, but he was overwhelmed and that he accepts that what he did was cowardly, but it was not deliberately callous or cavalier. and it wasn't cynical, or calculated in terms of plans to disrupt the proceedings. there were shakes of the head from charlotte brown's family at that point. we are hearing that herfamily family at that point. we are hearing that her family are due to come and give a statement shortly. they have

pleaded several times for him to hand himself in, and to face justice here. we will be hearing from them shortly. very briefly, jack shepherd, is he going ahead with his appeal against his conviction and sentencing for the manslaughter of charlotte brown? as far as we know, thatis charlotte brown? as far as we know, that is the case. we understand that he actually went against his lawyer's in georgia's advice to submit to the extradition proceeding, and they say that is following the fact that he had been given leave to appeal against his conviction here. so far, we haven't heard any more on that this morning. as far as we are concerned, he will go ahead with that appeal. thank you very much. every hour, two people are diagnosed with parkinson's disease — a progressive neurological condition that causes problems in the brain and gets worse over time. today, the charity parkinson's uk has released results of a survey after they spoke to 2,000 adults with the condition.

it shows 87% of respondents have said they have faced harassment and discrimination. this figure jumps to 99% among those aged 40—50. the survey shows that people with parkinson's are being laughed at, have to deal with accusations of being drunk or unfriendly due to movement problems, and are even being disbelieved when they reveal their diagnosis. we can speak now to emma lawton, who was diagnosed with parkinson's at the age of 29. katherine crawford is the director of support and local networks at parkinson's uk. and labour's baroness gale, who's been a chair of the all party parliamentary group on parkinson's since it was established ten years ago. we don't have a massive amount of time because of the breaking news aboutjulian assange. emma, tell us aboutjulian assange. emma, tell us about being diagnosed at such a young age. it is something i wasn't expecting, i didn't know a lot about it and expecting, i didn't know a lot about itandi expecting, i didn't know a lot about it and i thoughtjust older men got it. i wasn't expecting it. it and i thoughtjust older men got it. iwasn't expecting it. but it and i thoughtjust older men got it. i wasn't expecting it. but i was

surprised to find there are a lot of women with it, people who are younger, and it is notjust tremors. everybody thinks the shaking hands is parkinson's. but only 70% of people have that, there are 40 other symptoms that people get. it is like a grab bag of horrible symptoms. you are struggling, day in, day out, with the awareness, because we don't understand the conditions ourselves. what kind of reactions do you get from people? i have had security guards following me around the shop because i look a bit dodgy or something. i am single and dating, i get people asking if i put parkinson's on my profile as a joke. i don't know why people think i would do that. because i am young, they disbelieve me even more, i think. how do you respond to the results of the survey? briefly, if you would, sorry. i have been really sad about it, but i'm not surprised. i think that many people have no

understanding of what parkinson's is. so when they see people stumbling around, they tend to think, oh, that person is drunk. and that can be very upsetting, not just for the person who has parkinson's, but certainly the family, the people who know them. i think we need a lot more education and publicity about it. is that the key, people watching this programme who don't know someone this programme who don't know someone who has parkinson's, how can we educate ourselves? absolutely. i think the findings from the research back up those that have worked in the charity, people like emma's story, dave clarke, the tv presenter, says that people make comments online mocking him, he understands that people don't mean to upset him, but it is upsetting and hurts. that is why parkinson's uk has launched our campaign today. we would ask everybody to grow their understanding, go to the website and

join our parkinson's is campaign, which would help us grow the understanding of the condition. thank you. we will leave it there. thank you. we will leave it there. thank you. we will leave it there. thank you for your patience, and i'm sorry we couldn't talk for longer. thank you very much. bbc newsroom live is next. thanks for your company today. we are back tomorrow at ten. hi, good morning. many of us had some lovely sunshine so far this morning. this is weather watcher chris, and he has nicely taken some photographs of cumulus cloud. lots of sunshine across many parts, but we have cloud across east anglia, the south—east of england, moving its way on towards lincolnshire and

east yorkshire. cloudy skies in the north—east of scotland. the chance of one or two marker showers here perhaps in the afternoon. for many it is dry and bright, but not exactly warm. those temperatures are about seven or 8 degrees in the eastern coasts, otherwise about 11 or 12 degrees. through tonight, varying amounts of cloud. it's not going to be as cold as it was last night. the frost is just limited towards northern parts of england, and in central scotland. for most of us, the temperatures would be above freezing. into friday, cold but brighter started the day. also, the cloud developing is the day goes on. a cloudy afternoon to come. but it colder, temperatures are nine or 11.

you're watching bbc newsroom live — it's11am and these are the main stories this morning. british police arrest the wikileaks founder, julian assange , after the ecuadorian embassy in london removes his asylum status. julian assange had spent the last seven years at the ecuadorian embassy, to avoid extradition to sweden over a sexual assault case that has since been dropped jack shepherd, the british man who spent 10 months on the run, following a fatal speedboat crash on the thames, has been sentenced to another six months in prison after admitting to absconding and breaching bail. i'm annita mcveigh, live at westminster where brexit