hello. it's wednesday, it's ten o'clock. i'm victoria derbyshire. conservative mp jonny mercer strongly rejects accusations he's done anything wrong over his second job which earns him 85k a year. he says there is a co—ordinated effort to go after him. this mum who invested £22,000 in a company whose marketing agent an apology from the mp. the problem is that amount of money was paid fairand the problem is that amount of money was paid fair and square, and people have worked hard in their life savings have been lost. also today: the funeral of journalist and lgbt

activist lyra mckee takes place in belfast today. she was he was killed during riots in londonderry last week. we'll talk to two of her friends — who've described her as a "talented and kind" and "a dynamo" who "always gave marginalised people a voice". also today: the labour party has pledged to scrap a scheme which it says allows "rabbit hutch" sized flats and "slum housing" to be created within old office blocks. i've seen reports of examples where it's just 13 square feet. now, that's smaller than most people's kitchen. it's about the size of this tiny studio that i'm talking to you from. and a teacher whose students have been testing out new lego bricks with braille printed on them says they're a great learning tool for children with sight loss — because they stop them being afraid of getting things wrong. it's like you're touching a language, to be honest, and it'sjust so cool to use.

hello. welcome to the programme. we're live until 11 this morning. if you are getting in touch, you are very welcome. nathan tweets this. about mps and second jobs, with reference to the story ofjohnny mercer. mps should not like to have second jobs. they are paid to represent millions of constituents, and that is what they should be doing instead of using their position to line their own pockets. paul says mps shouldn't be allowed second jobs, 78 k plus expenses should be enough. this viewer so somebody is running scared of your rise in popularity, johnny mercer. and suspicious on twitter says, it is almost like they are after you, sir. this is talking directly to mr mercer. keep up the good work, you can't keep everyone happy all of the time. we will bring

you that full story in a moment or two. do keep in touch, keep in touch, use the hashtag. here is annita, or is itjoanna? it is annita! you got it right first time. good morning, everyone. the government has given huawei at the permission to provide equipment for the sg the permission to provide equipment for the 56 data agreement. the so—called five eyes will be meeting ata so—called five eyes will be meeting at a security conference today. one of the suicide bombers in sri lanka studied in the uk, it has been revealed. the bomber studied in the uk before doing a course in

australia. the announcement comes after the death toll rose again to 359, with more than 500 people wounded. the prime minister says the so—called islamic state group may be linked to the blasts. the prime minister, theresa may, and labour leaderjeremy corbyn will attend the funeral of lyra mckee which takes place this afternoon in belfast. the 29—year—old journalist was shot dead dubbed by the dissident republican group the new ira during rioting in londonderry last week. her family have paid tribute to her during the service, describing her as a best friend, confidant and a gentle, innocent soul. herfriends friend, confidant and a gentle, innocent soul. her friends and relatives say they want her funeral to bea relatives say they want her funeral to be a celebration of her life. the north korean leader kimjong—un has arrived in russia for a summit with president vladimir putin. they are expected to discuss the stalled nuclear talks with the united states and support to ease the economic pressure brought on by us and international sanctions. it's the first summit held between the two

leaders. here, labour says it would scrap a government scheme that allows offices and industrial buildings to be converted into homes without planning permission. the party said changes to permitted the relevant rules in england had led to the creation of slum housing and rabbit hutch flats. it also said developers had been able to avoid building affordable homes. the conservative said the plans would cut house—building and put a stop to people achieving home ownership. senior conservative backbenchers have failed to reach a decision about where party rules should be changed to allow theresa may to face a leadership challenge injune, six months earlier than currently allowed. the executive of the 1922 committee spent yesterday evening discussing the issue behind closed doors, and a meeting of all tory mps will take place later today. and finally, the american space agency's inside lander appears to have detected its first seismic event on mars. a faint rumble was picked up by the pro—pos—mac sensors

on the 128th martian day of the mission. it is the first seismic signal detected on the surface of a planetary body other than the earth and its moon. scientists say the source for the so—called mars quake could either be movement in a crack inside the planet, or the shaking of a meteorite impact. and that is the latest news, back now to you viktoria. thank you, annita. conservative mp jonny mercer is rejecting accusations that he's done anything wrong over a second job that pays him a salary of £85,000 a year. that salary is funded by a company which marketed a failed bond scheme that lost savers over £200 million pounds. the tory mp for plymouth morr view has tweeted i nthe last half hour — ‘clearly there is some co—ordinated effort to go after me at present — the reason for which are unclear. "i totally reject the assertion that i have done anything wrong in working

as a nonexecutive director of crucial acadmey. "this is a training academny that trains vetrans from the armed forces with particularl specialist skills in cyber security and places them with major companies." mr mercer's second job is on top of his basic mp‘s salary ofjust under £80,000. chris kevardge is here to explain how this all fits together. how does this all fit in? it is a major financial scandal involving thousands of amateur investors and a now—defunct company called lcf, which stands for london n finance. lcf marketed bonds and ice ares to the general public, branding itself asa the general public, branding itself as a regulated company, offering returns of up to 18%, but it collapsed earlier this year owing £236 million. the receiver say they are likely to recover only a fraction of the money, which ended up fraction of the money, which ended up in fraction of the money, which ended upina fraction of the money, which ended up in a small number of companies

which all had strong links to lcf itself. there are nearly 12,000 people affected, and many had been investing for the first time. they used inheritances or pensions. the serious fraud office is investigating, and four people have been arrested in relation to it. and we will hear from one of the investors in a moment, but how did any of this money end up with mr mercer? it all happened via a company called serge financial. when people invested their money in lcf, serge financial took 25% of it straightaway as a commission for being a marketing agent. this means that they took nearly £60 million during the life of lcf. a separate company, serge group, is owned by the same man, a man called paul careless. he invested in various enterprises, including capping crucial academy, this is where johnny mercer comes in, he is a nonexecutive director of the company

which trains military veterans and finds them employment and cyber security. he is contracted to work four hours a week and is paid a salary of £85,000 a year. he has a lwa ys salary of £85,000 a year. he has always maintain there is no connection between the two companies, although a bbc investigation has found that isn't the case. the missing link had been there connection between serge financial and serge group, one of which was taking a big cut of the investors money and one of which funds mr mercer's company. the company's funds mr mercer's company. the compa ny‘s own funds mr mercer's company. the company's own auditor said it was reliant on the financial support. and how do the lcf investors feel about this? they are not happy. we have spoken to a number of people since the financial link emerged. john wright invested £36,000 of his wife's money into lcf after being enticed by the 8% interest rate, far higher than the 0.25% he was offered by his bank. he is a long—time

conservative supporter, but said he had lost all put faith in parliament and johnny mercer should stand down. mr mercer has tweeted in the last half hour his support, meanwhile in a statement to the bbc, representatives of serge group said all financial links with the crucial group have now been severed. there area group have now been severed. there are a lot of companies that you have named in there. what about the overall picture? this is in simple terms the route money took. investors pa id £236 terms the route money took. investors paid £236 million to lcf, serge financial took £60 million as a commission. they loaned serge group £9 million, and they load crucial academy £300,000, and they payjohnny mercer £85,000 a year as a nonexecutive director. thank you, chris. we will hear from a nonexecutive director. thank you, chris. we will hearfrom one a nonexecutive director. thank you, chris. we will hear from one of the investors in lcf a little later. let me read you much of this long statement from johnny mercer,

conservative mp. clearly there is some coordinate ever effort to go after me at present, the reasons for which are unclear. let me be very clear from the outset, i totally reject the assertion i have done anything wrong in working as a nonexecutive director of crucial academy. this is a crate training academy that trains veterans from the armed forces and places them with major companies. there are many similar endeavours, particularly in the us. it is possible to draw a link between an individual and any number of companies, and this has been done by the bbc here. the link between crucial academy in london capital finance it through to other companies. i never had any direct links, andi companies. i never had any direct links, and i received assurances. it 110w links, and i received assurances. it now appears there is a historical link between the two, and when this was discovered, the leadership of crucial academy immediately implemented a management buyout on the loan was repaid in order to

ensure the integrity of the company. london capital finance has ensure the integrity of the company. london capitalfinance has imploded in allegations of fraud, and i have never met or had any interest in them or theirfinancial never met or had any interest in them or their financial products. never met or had any interest in them or theirfinancial products. i have interest in the bondholders, andi have interest in the bondholders, and i would like to support the many any future action they take to try to recover their position. and the final bits, the wider context of deliberate attempts to smear me by collea g u es deliberate attempts to smear me by colleagues in the house of commons, and then this story appearing so soon afterwards, i will leave that for others tojudge. we soon afterwards, i will leave that for others to judge. we will talk to the political expert about those claims made by mr mercer in his statement later on. in the meantime, thank you for your comments. 0ne statement later on. in the meantime, thank you for your comments. one of the stories around today is that you definitely do want to comment on. mike tweets, and again it is directed at mr mercer, the fact that you think is an mp but it is ok to have paid roles are beyond your

well—paid executive role is the problem. mps should be prohibit it from any other role while in post. karen says, it isn't his fault, mr mercer doesn't make the rules. i agree that mps shouldn't have second jobs, but he can't be blamed or criticised for having one if it is allowed. let us know your views. send us a message on twitter, or you can send us an e—mail at victoria dock code the funeral for lyra mckee, the journalist killed in northern ireland last thursday, will take place later today. the 29—year—old had been observing a riot in londonderry when she was shot. the new ira says it carried out the attack. in a statement the dissident republican group gave to the irish news, it apologised to lyra's friends and

family for her death. three people have so far been questioned by police, but have been released without charge. lyra mckee was known for her work as an investigative journalist, and had won a number of awards. she was in the process of finishing a book called the lost boys, which was about the disappearance of children and young men during the troubles. she was also renowned as an activist within the lgbt community. people at today's funeral have been asked to wear either harry potter or marvel comics related outfits — two things lyra loved. let's speak to three people who knew or worked with lyra. alison millar is a film maker who was friends with lyra since she was 16. kathyjohnston is a freelance journalist, who also met lyra as a teenager and adam murray, works for lgbt charity cara—friend. thank you all very much for talking to us. it is such an incredibly sad day, alison, so tell us about when

you first met lyra as a teenager. what struck you about her when you first met her? the first thing i remember about her was i was making a documentary about the rape crisis centre in belfast, and one of the women he was running the centre said to me, there is young journalist here, she's great, you should meet her, and when i looked around, i saw a young, young girl, and i thought it was someone on a school placement, because she was so young and baby faced. but that was her beauty and brilliance, but it used to annoy her, she said do i look any older? she said i havejust won to annoy her, she said do i look any older? she said i have just won sky young journalist of the year, and i remember thinking, i had young journalist of the year, and i rememberthinking, i had no idea, because she was such a beautiful, unassuming freshfaced young woman then, and after that we became friends, and i realised that she was

beautiful and incredible, she could light upa beautiful and incredible, she could light up a room naturally, so when she knocked on doors, people did wa nt to she knocked on doors, people did want to speak to her and tell her their story, because she had that special magic, she had a connection with people, it was kind of special. kathy, you also knew her as a teenager. did you get a sense that she would go on to great things? absolutely. i knew her the same time as alison, she had just left school in north belfast where she had won the award, and she had won it for an article at the age of 16 about the high rate of young male suicides in north belfast. that is one of the very tragic legacy is of our more than 30 years of troubles, and in fa ct than 30 years of troubles, and in fact in later years she wrote about the ceasefire babies of which she counted herself one, she was only a toddler when the ceasefires came. and she said, we were promised everything and deliver nothing, and

i think that is very much what will be seen, as her legacy, the fact that she was so open and inclusive, and wanting so much to see a change in people's lives in belfast, in ireland, and internationally. i think it was gandhi who said, be the change you want to see in the world, thatis change you want to see in the world, that is how she lived her life every day. she gave the keynote speech at the northern ireland lgbt conference last year that you helped arrange. what was her message? it was very much about lifting up other people. it was about, the theme was visibility and she was asked to speak on that, and she was talking about the responsibility of people of our generation to come out and be visible in our industry and our workplaces and in our communities so that the next generation of lgbtq+

young people didn't have to go to the same struggles that we went through, so it was very much about paying it forward, lifting up other people and making sure that your success becomes people and making sure that your success becomes the success of everybody else. i think that says a lot about who she was. alison, you became a close friend, and you were due to have dinner, i understand, with lyra on the friday after she was killed. when did you receive the call that she had died? thursday night. thursday afternoon she text me, and kathy were supposed to come to dinner as well, and she asked me what i was going to make. we were going to have dinner with anna burns, who was dear friends with her, and they had become friendly after lyra had signed a book deal with faber and faber for the after lyra had signed a book deal with faber and faberfor the lost boys, and sarah, her partner, and she texted me in the afternoon talking about the final arrangements, what we were going to

do and eat, and the last text i had from her was, you're the best, because i was going to make her favourite lasagne. and then in the early hours of the morning, about quarter to one, i early hours of the morning, about quarterto one, i had early hours of the morning, about quarter to one, i had a missed call from sarah, and i thought, maybe thatis from sarah, and i thought, maybe that is because sarah has to work a shift or someone needs a lift, and as soon as i pick the phone up, she called me back and said, alison, i'm in the hospital, lyra's dead. and i think from that moment on, none of us have ever really been the same again. it isjust us have ever really been the same again. it is just horrific. us have ever really been the same again. it isjust horrific.|j us have ever really been the same again. it isjust horrific. iwant to ask you, alison, this so—called apology to lyra's family, effectively saying that they murdered the wrong person. how have they reacted to that? the family have actually not reacted in the sense that they don't want to comment on that. i think what they have done is just what lyra would have done is just what lyra would have done, they have just kept reaching their arms out and saying thank you to everyone else, and they

are moving on with great dignity, and they are in pain. they are huddled together dealing with the loss of their sister, daughter, friend. they have just sucked together to get through this pain, and that's what they want to do, to bury their beautiful lyra, as do we all today. kathy, this young woman clearly had achieved so much in a pretty short period of time, but there was so much more for her to do, would you agree? absolutely, victoria. atjust 29 do, would you agree? absolutely, victoria. at just 29 years of age, she had crammed lifetimes into that time. ifi she had crammed lifetimes into that time. if i were to sit here and talk to you for the next 29 years, i wouldn't be able to touch 10% of what she had done and the people she had touched. it is a very sad loss to us all, and to the world, but her memory will live on, and the resonance of her work will continue.

adam, lyra wrote a letter to her 14—year—old self about being gay, and i'm going to quote a little bit of it. three months before your 21st birthday, you will tell mum the secret. you will be sobbing and shaking, and she will be frightened because she doesn't know what is wrong. christmas will be just a couple of weeks away. you have to tell her because you've met someone you like and you can't live with the guilt any more. you can't get the words out, so she says it, are you 93v? words out, so she says it, are you gay? and you will say, yes, mummy, i'm so sorry, and instead of getting mad, she will reply, thank god you're not pregnant! which is really moving and really funny as well. did that piece of writing help others in the lgbt community? it absolutely did. ithink the lgbt community? it absolutely did. i think everyone would agree she was a natural born storyteller, and managed to give that letter, and

also heard ted talk, if anyone hasn't seen it, you should check out her ted talk, an excellent piece of storytelling. there was something about the way that she would talk about the way that she would talk about life that everybody found accessible, and it was perhaps one of the reasons that so many people from such different divides in different viewpoints were able to talk to her and feel comfortable in her presence. that letter to my 14—year—old self, there is no doubt whenever that came out, every lgbt person thinks, you know, if! whenever that came out, every lgbt person thinks, you know, if i could go back in time, what i to myself before i came out all before i got to fully understand myself, and i think whenever i first met lyra, and thatis think whenever i first met lyra, and that is why we had invited her to give the keynote speech, because this had really taken off. but whenever i met her, we definitely got a sense of that person who

deeply cared about others, she was concerned that using her experience to instruct how she helped other people and how she paid things forward , people and how she paid things forward, and as a member of the community here, i know that in time, when it is appropriate, we will be looking at ways that we can ensure that lyra's, the work she created, such powerful works in such a short life, we will ensure that those are read and told again going forward to future generations of lgbt people, and non—lgbt people, and i think everyone who will be at the funeral today will want to see that legacy preserved. this is a very dark time for northern ireland, and we need to make sure that going forward the influence of lyra mckee and all she

did for so many people, she wasn't just an lgbt rights activist, she was an activist for women's rights, for people with disabilities. 0ver the past few days, countless stories are coming to the fore on social media of all the different people she helped in small ways and large, all the different campaigns she tried to boost will ensure that her legacy lived on, and that in future lg bt legacy lived on, and that in future lgbt people legacy lived on, and that in future lg bt people know legacy lived on, and that in future lgbt people know what a fighter she was, that is something a lot of people know about her, for a small woman she was a powerful one. adam, thank you so much, adam murray, alison miller and kathy johnston, thank you for your contribution as well. thank you. let's go back to the story about conservative mp johnny mercer. let's hear now from a woman who is demanding an apology from conservative mpjonny mercer, who is rejecting accusations that he's done anything wrong over

a second job that pays him a salary of £85,000 a year. that salary is funded by a company which marketed a failed bond scheme that lost savers over £200m. i've been talking to amanda cunningham from lancashire. she lost £22,000 investing in london capital and finance. i would question the ethics of him receiving such a huge pay—out from a company that is indirectly involved in this. basically i think surely a member of parliament is somebody that works for the people, and as i say, i don't think it is very ethical that somebody of that standing takes such a huge pay—out forfour standing takes such a huge pay—out for four hours of work, to standing takes such a huge pay—out forfour hours of work, to me, that doesn't equate, doesn't make sense

to me. this is what johnny mercer saysin to me. this is what johnny mercer says in a statement that he has put out on twitter at about half past nine. clearly there is some coordinated efforts to go after me at present, the reasons for which are unclear. let me be very clear from the outset i totally reject the assertion that i have done anything wrong and working as a nonexecutive director of crucial academy. this is a training academy that trains vetera ns a training academy that trains veterans from the armed forces with particular specialist skills in cyber security, and places them with major companies. there are many similar endeavours, particularly in the states. it is possible to draw a link between an individual and any number of companies, and this has been done by the bbc between crucial academy and london capital finance. that is the company you invested in. through two other companies. i sought rigorous assurances that at no stage was capital associate with any businesses through crucial

academy. there is no historical link that has been uncovered in the accounts, when surge groups load the crucial group 325000 pounds. clearly i had no role in this, academy only last autumn. how do you respond to that? i think that is quite easy for him to say that, isn't it? the thing is, this company that paid him this amount of money, that is a huge amount of money, that is a huge amount of money, when could it not have been regenerated into the actual cause for that company? the thing is, it's for army veterans, and he's getting paid £85,000, and thatis and he's getting paid £85,000, and that is coming out of that company, and the link between crucial academy and the link between crucial academy and surge is basically enabling because it is enabling, because it

is paul care it was one of the founders and director of the company, so it is a heavy involvement, it's not as if it's indirect links further down the line, it is a close link, and i think it is to close a link really, to be honest. what do you think mr mercer should do with his salary, then cries my £85,000 a year for four hours work a week as a nonexecutive director of the? for a nonexecutive director of the? for a nonexecutive director, really, either he justifies it, nonexecutive director, really, either hejustifies it, but nonexecutive director, really, either he justifies it, but he basically returns it, because you know, that amount of money for four hours work, how does that happen? what did he do for that amount of money? what do you think of that amount of money? well, it's a huge amount of money? well, it's a huge amount of money? well, it's a huge amount of money. it's something that people don't earn in a year. it's

not as if, like, it's sort of even a highly paid job where people are paid £800 per hour, it is absolutely next stop, it is an extortionate amount of money to me. what were you saving for? why were you investing in london capital finance? saving for? why were you investing in london capital finance ?|j saving for? why were you investing in london capitalfinance? i was saving for in the event of my death or basically, i was saving for my son, he is autistic, and basically, i was saving money so that in the event that i couldn't look after him the event of my death or something happen, that he would have, you know, financial support for his social care, because he does need a carer, and if he needed to independently live, he would probably need to go into assisted

living, so i was trying to make provision for my son so that he wouldn't face financial hardship. do you want an apology from mr mercer? yes, i think i do. i think an apology would be, i think it's the right way to start, and i think as a token, to be quite honest, this attitude of people going out to get him on the media and things like that, i don't think that is the problem. the problem is that that amount of money was paid for four hours work when people have worked ha rd hours work when people have worked hard and their life savings has been lost. basically, you know, it doesn't seem very nice or very fair that a public figure basically takes that a public figure basically takes that attitude. amanda cunningham. some messages from you. amy on twitter says mps should be allowed second jobs, especially if most of the country are expected to live on

less tha n the country are expected to live on less than a quarter of their wages. angel on facebook says, i have to provide 35 hours of care to get a p°xy provide 35 hours of care to get a poxy £66 a week from the government. this makes me so angry, because we have to jump through hoops to get the small amount of money, and yet another example of the division between us and them. alan e—mailed and said, i would like to state my view, which is that more mps need to have the opportunity to work outside a parliament to retain or obtain a different slant on life. currently there are way too many career politicians that have never really worked outside of politics, and thus not enabling a real grasp on the real world. we need our politicians to have wide and varied experiences so they can speak from a position of strength and experience. your views are welcome, get in touch using the hashtag. if you have sight loss, learning to read braille can increase your independence —

but fewer children are using it and there are fears it's dying out as a reading and writing system. now, kids at one specialist residential school in worcester are testing out new lego bricks with braille printed on them — to try to encourage the use of braille and help the pupils with literacy and maths at the same time. we've been given exclusive access and colleen harris has made this report. how we see the world around us shapes our thoughts and actions, but if you're blind or visually impaired, living independently means relying heavily on senses like sound smell and touch. braille, the system of reading raised dots that signify letters of the alphabet, has been around for nearly 200 years. but today, just 8% of blind or visually impaired people in the uk use it. advocates of braille have been looking for new ways to make it more inclusive so it doesn't die out. we've been given exclusive access

to new customised lego braille bricks being tested by these children at a specialist school in worcester. they've had the brick since november. so what do they make of them? well, it's like you're touching a language, to be honest, and it's just so cool to use. so, you were saying it's really clunky to use, so with the braille bricks it's a lot more fun, cos you love them, don't you? i love lego, it's just so cool. i've got a box, like, that wide and that tall, full of it. 0f lego, braille bricks? full of it. no, just lego. just lego. i think the idea definitely would be great for kind of younger children because, you know, they really like lego, so they'd really enjoy themselves. but because i've spent so long reading braille on paper, it almost feels a bit strange, cos the braille's a lot bigger, so it's kind of like, "ooh, what...?" so, you might see two dots and go, "oh, it says that," and you see two more, and so, "actually, no, it can't be that, it's got to be that." the use of braille, what does

that allow you to do? you know, in terms of living and getting about, what difference does it make to how you feel? um, it empowers every braille user, because before braille, we wouldn't have been able to walk around a shop and find the right medication, or go to a restaurant and order our own food. and what about you, paige? i use braille all the time, because i like to have a braille script, but it's so much easier for me, and honestly, braille's invaluable. like, when i'm revising for my a levels, i like reading braille textbooks as well, because sometimes it's just an easier way of taking it in, to physically read it, than to listen to my voice, speech software read it for me. so you've got options. yes. this is a different kind of lego experience. the children are encouraged to find lego letters for spelling, or numbers for maths, but it's still compatible with the lego building system.

each braille brick features a printed letter or character, allowing for interaction between both children with sight loss and those with sight. we use them in literacy to begin to develop the ability to spell words correctly in english. we use them in maths a lot. the benefits of the bricks is that if you make a mistake with the lego bricks, you simply reassemble it. that is super important. if children are going to learn, they need to be prepared to take risks. taking risks is about getting things wrong. and if you're afraid to get things wrong, then your learning is not going to accelerate in quite the same way, cos you only want to do it when you're absolutely certain. in today's digital world, braille is still a prominent feature — if you know where to look for it. ryan compton runs a company offering disability awareness training, mediation and coaching.

after losing his sight at five years old, he tried learning braille. but because his friends were sighted, he felt he had no use for it, so he learned to touch—type instead. phone speech. so you can hear that my phone's speaking to me. so i'm using a bluetooth keyboard here. 0k. that connects up with two aa batteries and i just type some things... ryan uses an app on his smartphone to send and receive emails. he says braille shouldn't be used in isolation. i think it should be engaged and part of the curriculum from a young, young age. braille, touch—typing, any type of assistive technology that we have, now the lego bricks — absolutely fantastic — but it should never be one or the other. we should be given options and it's preference — some people would like to use one more than the other, but it's usually a combination that's going to work. there's more than 350,000 people registered blind or partially sighted in the uk. 12,000 are under 17 years old. the plan is to eventually distribute lego braille bricks forfree to selected schools by 2020.

i was brought in to the project as a consultant, mainly due to my insights into how it is to be visually impaired. finally, i could see that you could combine something that could teach children to read and write, and with the lego brick, i thought it was just amazing. i get quite emotional when i talk about it again. the whole lego brick system is so much dependent on the studs and it's kind of been sacred not to touch that. so, i think it's a great idea and also sort of... ..i think that the goal here makes it all worth it. i...r...0... it's hoped that bringing braille into the modern world, like this,

can help empower blind and partially—sighted children to reach their full potential of independence. a couple of messages about this, bear with me... i a couple of messages about this, bearwith me... i might a couple of messages about this, bear with me... i might have to come back to it, sorry, sorry, i will. because i want to talk about boohoo and primark. they are doing really well, what kind of figures do we have? they are bucking the trend, boohoo has seen a nearly 50% growth in sales and profits for its full year, ahead of expectation, profits came in at £76.3 million. it is benefiting from the fact that it is online only, does not have to worry about the cost of running these physical stores and it can turn around its projects really quickly. it is still small, fast—growing and

really nimble and it harnesses the power of especially social media, celebrities to flog all its products. now, primark has also seen a sharp rise in profits, in its half—year results today, up by 25%, compared to the same period the previous year, £426 million. primark is not online, it is still doing brilliantly. and they opened the massive store in birmingham. the world's biggest primark opened in birmingham last week. selling not just clothes but beauty, homeware, you can get your are blow—dried, offering an experience. it is still expanding, it is opening new stores and investing in stores. they are both doing well, is it because they are both doing well, is it because they a re pretty both doing well, is it because they are pretty cheap, decently priced stuff. they offer great value, for bulk and fast fashion. the key thing is, they both have very good supply chains and they absolutely know and

understand what their customers want, and they deliver. in fact, fairto want, and they deliver. in fact, fair to say, primark is one of the best fashion retailers around. 0pening best fashion retailers around. opening a store in birmingham, offering that experience, it shows that if you are an outstanding retailer in these pretty challenging times on the high street, you really can succeed. i have found the comments about braille on lego bricks, "great idea, needs to be kept alive" and tim says, "more technologies need to be brought in to make it mainstream. my daughter lost her sight of a brain tumour, she is eight and has been learning braille since she was four." very good idea, says another viewer, "also teaches play, even for children without special needs, and is very good."

a benefits advisor who was helping a man who was denied payments before he died says an apology is not enough from the department of work and pensions. sixty—four—year old stephen smith from liverpool was an engineer but had to give up work when he developed severe health problems. his case was in the headlines recently after shocking pictures were published of him emaciated in a hospital bed. he was forced to leave hospital to go and fight the dwp‘s decision which decided he was capable of work. he won his case at a tribunal after a judge saw he could barely walk down the street and mr smith was owed £10,000 in unpaid benefits when he died. we can speak now to terry craven, a benefits advisor, who supported stephen smith as he battled with the department for work and pensions over the money he was owed. good morning to you. please accept our condolences for your lost. you

have been working with stephen since 2017, tell us what happened to him, and why the dwp thought he was able to carry on working? 0k. .. and why the dwp thought he was able to carry on working? ok... i work foran to carry on working? ok... i work for an organisation, a community advice charity, and stephen, more by luck than judgment, came to see me injune, 2017, in the offices, he came in on a zimmer and i was amazed to find out but not surprised that he had been found fit for work, he had prosthetic problems, he was wearing a colostomy bag, he could not breathe, and yet the dwp were

saying he should be looking for work. he could not even look after himself. the problem at that juncture was, he was out of appeal, out of time for the appeal. i was able to get that back into tray, and the period from... october, 2017, and january, january 15, 2019, when i went with him to appeal, i sensed copious amount —— i sent copious evidence to the dwp, proving that he was not well. and one in particular, from his general practitioner, which said, that finding him fit for work had a detrimental substantial detrimental effect on his health.

cani detrimental effect on his health. can i ask you, when you say, an apology from the dwp would not be enough, i don't have an apology from them but i have a statement, "thoughts are with family and friends of stephen smith at this difficult time, a review has been conducted into the claim and how it was handled and we will continue to learn lessons to strengthen the assessment process". when you say evenif assessment process". when you say even if they gave an apology it would not be enough, what do you mean? stephen got his back pain in january. pay. he got £4000 first, and then he got another £5,000, which he was owed, he was entitled to that money. it is what we are all entitled to. and once he had got that, he died a few weeks later. and that, he died a few weeks later. and that money is not going to be used by his family, those he has left behind, it is going to be used to

pay his funeral expenses. and when i say an apology is not enough, stephen should be a watershed in this. stephen's case should be a wa ke this. stephen's case should be a wake up to the government to look and realise, this system is falling apart at the seams. so, you want them to review exactly what is going on but in the short term, what would you call... well, i want a review, andi you call... well, i want a review, and i want to see payments made to pay for the cost of the funeral. the very least they can do is pay for the funeral, you say. yes, because stephen had started the ball rolling to ta ke stephen had started the ball rolling to take legal action against the dwp, and can ijust say at to take legal action against the

dwp, and can i just say at this juncture, victoria, the assessors, as well, are being, they arejust juncture, victoria, the assessors, as well, are being, they are just as culpable. i'm going to pause it there, we can still hear you but we have lost the picture, we absolutely hear your message. we will continue to ask the dwp for an interview about this case and others, but we appreciate your time, thank you. terry craven, who supported stephen smith, as he battled over his benefits, terry calling on the dwp to pay for mr smith's funeral. 0bviously to pay for mr smith's funeral. obviously we asked for an interview about the case, no one was available, they told us in a statement, "0ur available, they told us in a statement, "our thoughts are with the family and friends of mr smith at this difficult time and a review has been conducted into the claim and how this was handled and we will continue to learn lessons to strengthen the assessment process."

could you live in a flat that's just 13 square meters — that's 3.6 m by 3.6 m, 12 foot by 12 foot? labour says it wants to scrap a current loop hole which allows developers to avoid providing decent social housing. shadow housing secretaryjohn healey claims "permitted development" rules for new homes are being used to get round meeting basic quality and creating "slum housing". the system — which was introduced in 2013 — means when developers are converting commercial spaces into housing they can skip the normal planning process. labour claims this has created what they call " rabbit hutch" flats — with 42,000 new housing units converted from offices since 2015. research by the royal institute of chartered surveyors found only 30% of homes built through "permitted development" meet national space standards.

well earlier i spoke to labour's shadow housing secretary, john healey. we wa nt we want to scrap a loophole that was introduced a few years ago by conservative ministers that allows developers to dodge any obligation to provide new social housing as pa rt to provide new social housing as part of their building programme. it allows them to build what are slum —like new homes at the moment, they are simply building what they can get away with rather than what local people need. when you say, slum —like new homes, what do you mean by that? we have seen examples over the last few yea rs of seen examples over the last few years of flats only a few feet wide, in old office blocks, paper walls, insta nces in old office blocks, paper walls, instances of cooking hob is immediately next to a bed. doubling asa immediately next to a bed. doubling as a bedside table. families put in

converted warehouses or industrial units or office blocks. with nowhere to play and in some cases no pavement where these conversions have been done and are still in the middle of an industrial estate. this is not right that developers are able to dodge their obligations in this way. the sort of developments should go through the normal process of planning permission like any other development. these converted flats are being put up for sale and put up for private rent? they are indeed, often substandard, notjust us arguing this, but the chartered surveyors institution, the local government association, people like me, don't see why developers should simply have this get out clause, when she needs —— when we need to build good homes and pay attention to quality as well as quantity. what we build is as important as how many new homes we build. the federation

of master builders say, your policy, youridea, of master builders say, your policy, your idea, which you are announcing to the audience today, would lead to a decrease in homes on the market. also, the adam smith institute said, "micro—homes", as they call them, not slums, "good expand choice and help tackle the housing crisis. some of the new homes that have been converted out of old office blocks, warehouses, are less than half the size of what we expect of the space standards elsewhere in the country. people are not. to rent or buy them. the nature of the housing crisis means many people have no choice about their housing. -- people are not forced to rent or buy them. about their housing. -- people are not forced to rent or buy themm is our responsibility, especially through the planning system and as politicians, to make sure that new homes that are built are built to a good standard as well as seeing enough of them. we should not have a

system that produces these 21st—ce ntu ry system that produces these 21st—century slums we have seen, and in many ways, i'm surprised to hear the federation of master builders defending shoddy standards in this way, because it is the developers who are dodging their own responsibility, and we have mist out on 10,000 new affordable homes in this country because of this system over the last three years. notjust the federation of master builders are the adam smith institute, the conservative say that these plans would cut house—building and put a stop to people achieving home ownership. huge exaggeration and entirely wrong... it would reduce choice, it would reduce the choice of people who wanted to buy a small home. we can build homes, at a lower cost. that people can buy and rent, we don't need to be building the slums of the future in this way, and we don't need to be allowing developers simply to dodge their

obligations in this way, more than 200,000 homes were built last year, without this loophole, and in the past, under labour, we have build more homes than we are building now, without this permitted development get out clause. and so, i want to see a system that both build more homes for people in need, but also secures the number of new low—cost homes that we need, and importantly builds better, not just homes that we need, and importantly builds better, notjust builds more. some of these flats are a few feet bya some of these flats are a few feet by a few feet, how small is one of these converted apartments? well, i have seen reports of examples where it is 13 square feet, now that is smaller than most people's kitchen, it is about the size of this tiny studio i am talking to you from, in westminster. more importantly, it is less tha n westminster. more importantly, it is less than half the size of what the national space standards suggest is appropriate for a one person, one bedroom flat. developers should not

bedroom flat. developers should not be getting away with this sort of free for all, that has been created by conservative ministers. we owe it to people to be building more homes, and when we build them to build them to decent standard. final thought, you say if labour win the next election your government would build 100,000 homes a year. that means it would take you ten years to house all those on the council and social housing waiting list. it is an urgent problem, as you know, why not increase the scale of your ambition? we said over ten years we will build at least 1 we said over ten years we will build at least1 million we said over ten years we will build at least 1 million new low—cost homes both to rent and dubai. the scale the crisis... -- to rent and two by. that isjust scale the crisis... -- to rent and two by. that is just people on the council house waiting list, not anybody else. that is a good representation of the scale of the crisis. what about your ambition? if we continued building at the same

level of social housing and labour's last year in 2009, we would have 180,000 extra social homes. will you up 180,000 extra social homes. will you up the scale of your ambition? more than enough for all families in temporary accommodation and every individual sleeping rough on the streets and every resident of every homeless hostel. could you double it, could you go up from 100,000 a year? i am concerned that we should promise what we know we can deliver, this will be a big change when you consider there is only 6500 new social homes built in this country last year. the conservative policy and the housing market at the moment is utterly failing people. and this get out clause, this loophole we have been talking about today, is a small part of a wide range of action thatis small part of a wide range of action that is going to be required in order to fix the housing crisis in the future. lets talk now to the chief executive of the federation of master builders, brian berry. could

you live in a flat the size of a small kitchen. no. why do you expect other people to? we do not, these are very small flats, 13 square metres, which is obviously too small, the national space standard is 37. homes that are built to a smaller standard than that are not acceptable. they are being built by some of your members. actually they are not being built by my members, we specialise in bespoke housing and small developments, but the point is, what the labour party is saying is, what the labour party is saying is they want to abolish permitted development and that is a sledgehammer to crack a nut because it has led to 42,000 homes being built. they are tiny. 3096 of them do not meet minimum space standard. two thirds were 0k, one third, according toa thirds were 0k, one third, according to a survey from the royal institute of chartered surveyors, said they could do more. what we should be looking at is the national space standards and requiring developers to meet that standard. sure, but, i

understand that, but that is not happening, and that is the proposal from mr healey, to deal with it, because slums, rabbit hutch sized flats, are being offered. what john has just flats, are being offered. what john hasjust said, he flats, are being offered. what john has just said, he wants to abolish development like that but we would lose quality homes as well as the rabbit hutch is as he describes. we have a housing crisis in this country, last year we build over 200,000, we should be building 300,000, we want to create choice in the housing market, people cannot get onto the housing ladder, so we do need a range of properties. but we don't need to be creating rabbit hutches. why do you think... you say it is none of your members, why are some developers creating such tiny flats, it has got to be down to money and profits, hasn't it? there isa money and profits, hasn't it? there is a huge demand in the housing market for people to get onto the housing ladder, people willing to buy smaller properties because they wa nt to buy smaller properties because they want to get onto the housing ladder. what we should be doing is building more homes, we should be going up to

the 300,000 new homes a year. for either labour, conservative or any other form of government, either labour, conservative or any otherform of government, we need a political commitment to be building more homes and delivering more homes, which is why we need to create diversity in the housing market. thank you very much. brian, chief executive, thank you for coming onto the programme. your messages aboutjohnny mercer. "stories appearing about possible to leadersjust prying to "stories appearing about possible to leaders just prying to electing one, i wonder who leaked this story". "as soon as rules are in place for mps not to take second jobs, it'll stop this and also the lobbying, which is also insane. another viewer," i'm sure it will become clear who is leaking this, someone seems to enjoy destroying this ex soldier", katrina says, "seems he is doing a good job of it himself". "popular mp, would make a great leader for the conservatives. "as an ex soldier who

works in cyber security, i couldn't ca re if works in cyber security, i couldn't care if he gets 200 k per annum, if he can use his position to ensure soldiers are employed in a gainful way, iam soldiers are employed in a gainful way, i am all for it." "what on earth makes politicians who enjoy second salaries think it is legal but not immoral to acceptjobs at £350 per hour?! are they so out of touch as to feel that this hourly rate is acceptable under any circumstances. it is an amount that tens of millions of uk workers earn ina tens of millions of uk workers earn in a whole week, if they are lucky." thank you very much for your time today, we will be back tomorrow. bbc newsroom live is next. have a lovely day. good morning, some sunshine across central and eastern parts of the uk, but also, some heavy showers, starting to move their way in across the south—west of england. you can see here, on the rainfall radar imagery, shao was moving north,

drifting away across southern coastal counties, they will continue to drift north through the rest of this morning and by this afternoon, they can become quite heavy in places with some thunderstorms mixed m, places with some thunderstorms mixed in, a few sunny spells developing, a few sunny spells in the north and we st few sunny spells in the north and west but in the north—east coast, north—east england, quite cloudy and cool. elsewhere, temperature is about 17 to 19 degrees. through tonight, showers drift north, into scotland and northern ireland, these are the overnight temperatures into thursday morning, six to 10 degrees. during thursday, more of the same, showers drifting north, those could be heavy, thundery at times. it will be heavy, thundery at times. it will bea be heavy, thundery at times. it will be a cooler day. temperatures down bya be a cooler day. temperatures down by a few degrees, 13 to 16 celsius. goodbye for now.

you're watching bbc newsroom live. it's11.00am and these are the main stories this morning: the government will allow the chinese telecoms giant huawei to supply some non—core equipment for the uk's 5g data network, despite security concerns from senior members of the cabinet. the news comes as the so—called ‘five eyes' intelligence alliance meet at a security conference today — uk security chiefs say the huawei risk can be managed. last month we did our two dozen amounting abroad and we showed some concerns about the way that why do their engineering. sri lanka's president promises a big engineering. shake—up of the country's police and security services, after they failed to act on a