royal british legion. ray reed, from port talbot in south wales, served as a radio operator in a special operations regiment in normandy. he died five years ago, just after his grandsonjim recorded these memories. hello, it's wednesday, it's ten o'clock, i'm victoria derbyshire... commemorations begin to mark the 75th anniversary of the d—day landings. later this morning president trump willjoin the queen. did you know at the time that you senior figures from every country are preparing for an invasion of that fought alongside normandy? the uk will be attending. 00:00:30,420 --> 2147483051:36:59,925 earlier this morning, 2147483051:36:59,925 --> 4294966103:13:29,430 d—day veterans arrived in portsmouth also — coping financially when your partner dies — mps are starting an inquiry into cuts to bereavement support. this single mum has been widowed twice. it's now expected that after 18 months of tom, my second husband, being dead, that i've got to be back on my feet and financially stable, which is impossible with three children.

then why are our £350 worse off which i have to find from somewhere. ididn't which i have to find from somewhere. ididn‘t plan which i have to find from somewhere. i didn't plan to go back to work until my youngest was in school but in preparation i have had to go back to work and find childcare where it isn't readily available and pay for more childcare isjust isn't readily available and pay for more childcare is just so isn't readily available and pay for more childcare isjust so i have a little bit of cash behind me so we can get through summer. and — the hit series chernobyl depicting the nuclear disaster that took place there in 1986 has seen a big increase in customers want to take tours there. this is what you get to see if you go. would you be tempted? hello and welcome to the programme. we are alive until 11 i am. we would like to hear from you today and tomorrow if a member of your family took part and the d—day landings

we re took part and the d—day landings were of the roles. do send your m essa 9 es were of the roles. do send your messages and stories to us and how you are feeling as the commemoration events you are feeling as the commemoration eve nts ta ke you are feeling as the commemoration events take place. thank you to heather who has sent in this tweet... "my father was gunnery 0fficer aboard hms "warspite on d—day. "he rarely talked about his war service, and he died "in 1980, disillusioned at continuing global warfare. "servicemen from eisenhower himself. we will try to send you —— show you the photograph of it. this is from eisenhower, i have full confidence

in your devotion and duty to skill in battle. we will accept nothing less tha n in battle. we will accept nothing less than full victory. good luck, signed dwight eisenhower. if a member of your family took part in the d—day landings or in rows back here let me know this morning and send us an e—mail. let's bring you the news with the need the queen will bejoined by the news with the need the queen will be joined by the the news with the need the queen will bejoined by the prime minister to reason and president trump in portsmouth this morning for a national event commemorating the 75th anniversary of d—day. senior figures from every country that fought alongside the uk are attending the ceremony. the invasion involved thousands of allied boats and planes and was the largest military operation ever attempted. it marked the start of the campaign to liberate nazi—occupied europe. donald trump has used a tv interview to play down his earlier suggestion that the nhs would be included in

post brexit trade talks. the remark made yesterday prompted a backlash from conservative leadership candidates, labour and the trade unions. the president later told piers morgan in an interview for good morning britain that he didn't see the nhs being on the table during any trade deal between the uk and united states. police say a man accused of killing four people and injuring another in darwin used an illegal pump action shotgun. the 45—year—old suspect was on parole when the attack happened and was arrested about an hour after the first shots were fired. police said he carried out attacks at several locations and may have been searching for a specific individual. a former security officer at a florida school has been charged with failing to confront a gunman who killed 17 students and members of staff. surveillance footage showed scott peterson standing outside the high school as the shooting took place on valentine's day last year,

but he didn't go inside. the company behind topshop and miss selfridge faces a make or break vote over its future later today. creditors will meet to decide whether to approve a restructuring deal for arcadia, meet to decide whether to approve a restructuring dealfor arcadia, the fashion empire owned by sir philip green. the company employs around 18,000 staff and could go into administration if the deal is rejected. researchers say almost one in five young women use self—harm as a way of coping with the daily pressures of life. a study published in the lancet psychiatry revealed an alarming rise in the instances of self—harm. the number of people getting no help remains at about 50%. experts say more support is needed. campaigners will head to the high court this morning for a judicial review into how the government raised the retirement age for women from 60 to 66. the group says around around 4 million women born in the 19505 were not given

enough time to prepare for the changes. the government says the ri5e changes. the government says the rise was clearly communicated. back 110w rise was clearly communicated. back now to you, victoria. let's talk about what's happening in portsmouth today, as the queen joins over 300 d—day veterans later today at a national commemoration to mark the 75th anniversary of d—day. 75 years ago today, the veterans were preparing to land in northern france to try to reclaim the country from nazi control, in the largest naval, air and land operation in history. d—day operations — which launched on the 6th ofjune — were a turning point in the second world war and helped to bring the conflict to an end just under a year later. the queen and veterans will also be joined by the prime minister and donald trump, the us president, who is coming to the end of his three—day state visit to the uk. protests have been planned in portsmouth over his presence there. we can talk to robert hall now, who has been on board with the veterans who docked at portsmouth this morning. tell us about them and what else

is planned for the day. i never cease to be amazed by these men who saw and experienced so much so men who saw and experienced so much so long ago. a lot of them haven't talked about it until relatively recently but i think is these anniversaries approach and they get older they think more than ever that we need to pass the story on. they do so through their own families and willingly through the media that have been travelling on the boudicca since she set sail from dover on sunday evening. they are making their way here and have been to dunkirk where the had memories of an another operation where they met the royal marines and saw what today's fighting soldier carries and i5 supplied with and now onto portsmouth. this is the most poignant period of theirjourney. tomorrow they head to france but for 110w tomorrow they head to france but for now they are taking their seats in the arena therefore what is an international event. there is always an event to commemorate the d—day

anniversary here. this is bigger than anyi anniversary here. this is bigger than any i have seen and it is international because you mentioned the queen and president trump, but president macron will be here, president macron will be here, president trudeau and another of european leaders all meeting vetera n5 european leaders all meeting veterans after the event is due to ta ke veterans after the event is due to take place on the stage. i am told that will be the d—day story told in word5 that will be the d—day story told in words and music and imagery and it will take people right through from the planning stage through to the terrible lo55e5 the planning stage through to the terrible losses on the beaches, and of course in normandy because it didn't end with the beaches, tho5e soldiers fought their way and some of the heaviest lo55e5 took place in the weeks and months after d—day a5 the weeks and months after d—day a5 the allies attempted to move on towards the heart of europe. thank you. so many messages from you. thank you for getting in touch with us. thank you for getting in touch with u5. audrey says i salute all those brave soldiers who fought in the d—day landings. we can never comprehend what these stoic men and women went through. jeffrey tells us

about his dad, my father george arthur wildman worked for the royal 0rdnance arthur wildman worked for the royal 0rd nance factories and arthur wildman worked for the royal 0rdnance factories and worked on the mulberry harbour i5 0rdnance factories and worked on the mulberry harbour is used on d—day. he was bombed in southampton and portsmouth and went over with the portable arbours to gold beach. this text, ju5t portable arbours to gold beach. this text, just a thought for the loved ones who were left behind when the boat5 left for dover for france. i asked my mum how she coped with saying goodbye to my dad. she said we stood on the beach at dover and we re we stood on the beach at dover and were all in it together but i will never forget the were all in it together but i will neverforget the sobbing were all in it together but i will never forget the sobbing i could hear all around me. on twitter, another 5aid hear all around me. on twitter, another said my grandfather was in the third wave and was lucky he survived but sadly died two years later as a sub manner! sub manner when he was torpedoed by the german5. much respect today for all the veterans for they gave our —— their lives for hours today. i have

got the transport —— transcript now from dwight eisenhower from those who are about to embark on the d—day landings. she said it is her prized possession. i will reduce some of it. soldiers of the allied expeditionary force, you're about to embark upon the great crusade towards we have striven the5e months. the eyes of the world are upon you. the hopes and prayers of liberty loving people everywhere merge with you. your task will not be an easy one. your enemy is well trained and battle hardened. he will fight savagely. i have full confidence in your courage, devotion to duty and skill in battle. we will accept nothing less than full victory. good luck. thank you very much, heather, presenting to us. five years ago our reporterjim reed recorded a long interview with his grandfather about his experience of the second world war.

ray reed, from port talbot in south wales, served as a radio operator in a special operations regiment and saw action in north africa, malta, sicily and normandy. he died six months after that interview was recorded. with the 75th anniversary of d—day approaching, jim went back and found the tapes. this is the first time his grandfather's account of the landings has ever been heard. they sent me a little message saying, would you come and help the king? isaid, certainly, 5ir. i'll be there straight away. how old were you at the time? 19. two days after, we started training. newsreel: four years ago, europe was hitler's.

now the world of free men strikes in all its assembled might. did you know at the time that you were preparing for an invasion of normandy? no, no. newsreel: we're heading out again to the normandy coast now, shrouded with a smoke pall from the raging battle.

what was the atmosphere like on the craft when

what do you remember about the beach itself? were there people on the beach telling you what to do? newsreel: already glider reinforcements are coming over to support those already fighting with superb dash inland. their deeds are the talk of the beaches. so what happened after that? you were there for a bit of time. newsreel: support from naval

guns lying on shore. very, very moving. we will talk about who people are thinking about and what they are thinking about as we approach the commemorative events and also about some of the protests planned in portsmouth today and how

people are viewing tho5e. kir5ty bustle5 with us, a retired raf wing commander and vice chairman of vetera n5 commander and vice chairman of veterans charity ssafa. stephen james and dan arnold, wearing the 5ite5, i've cycled to normandy for commemorations. also we havejohn rees who was a together against trump organiser. john, described at the protest today and portsmouth will be like. they are titled respecting tho5e will be like. they are titled respecting those who who fought against fascism. the mayor of portsmouth i5 against fascism. the mayor of portsmouth is leading them. what they are meant to do is to say how important it is to remember the whole context of what we are talking about and why these people were fighting and why we had to be inviting normandy and it was about ending the domination of the nazis in europe and an ideology which 5tre55ed aryan supremacy which was a white supremacist ideology. what are you protesting againstm white supremacist ideology. what are you protesting against it is

appropriate in those circumstances that a president of the united states who has given support to white supremacist ideology is at those commemorations. this is somebody who said there were good people involved in the protest in the united states in which the former grand wizard of the ku klux klan was involved, who retweeted in this country, britain first, a nazi organisation. it is a paradox. this country, britain first, a nazi organisation. it is a paradoxm this country, britain first, a nazi organisation. it is a paradox. it is his presence you're objecting to enforcement. let me bring in stephen james and dan arnold, veterans. good morning. served in northern ireland, iraq, afghanistan, in normandy after taking part in this charity cycle ride with other veterans for the commemorations. telljohn what you make of the reason why he is protesting to date. i couldn't agree withjohn at all. protesting to date. i couldn't agree with john at all. as a veteran of iraq and afghanistan, we were at the beaches yesterday and i have the utmost respect for the men on the

beach that day and this, your political views, this is about them. some of these guys, no one will see d—day 75, they might not see another d—day 75, they might not see another d—day and it is being respectful and better as a nation in honouring our veterans and showing we appreciate the sack race as they put in that day. stephen. while i agree we are seeing a rise of fascism around the world and these things go in ebbs and flows. although you may not agree with trump, is the elected leader of one of our allied nations, americans laid down their lives on the beaches of france that day and the beaches of france that day and the celebration should be about them, not about getting into a political fistfight over some of trump's ideas. there is a limit to how far you can take that argument, because you know as well as i do that the proper respect and proper commemoration of what those people

did was because they were fighting those ideas. they were fighting the ideas of white supremacy, fighting against a nazi regime which was racist to the core. you have to admit to me there is a paradox that you invite a leader over who has supported the ku klux klan, who has retweeted in this country britain first, which is a nazi organisation, thatis first, which is a nazi organisation, that is a paradox and you have to admit it. you have to face up to this. my institution, i am a journalist, people are apologising and normalising donald trump but you know in the army we don't want private sitting down and having their photographs taken with tommy robinson, we don't want as we had in 2017, ex army involved in prescribed nazi organisations in this country, we have to separate out what the purpose of these protests is. absolutely but there are 364 other daysin absolutely but there are 364 other days in the year you can make that

point. but donald trump is here on this day. 0k, well he will be here another day and you can make the point. this is about conciliation. we are on our way to stand side by side with our allies and also the enemies of the war will stand side by side with germans and it is about conciliation and getting on with each other and making sure it doesn't happen again. there are 364 daysin doesn't happen again. there are 364 days in the year you could protest against trump and today isn't the day, it is about the veterans that laid their lives damn. it is a very good point you make that making sure it doesn't happen again. how did it happen that time? it happened because in the 19305, people appeased hitler and normalised hitler and made the argument, he appeased hitler and normalised hitlerand made the argument, he is the chancellor of a great nation, of an industrial nation, we have to treat him with respect and people in the 30s who won't listen to said no, thatis the 30s who won't listen to said no, that is a step too far. this isn't a normal chancellor, this isn't a

normal chancellor, this isn't a normal ideology. we don't have to acce pt normal ideology. we don't have to accept in the spectrum of political debate people with those kind of ideas. i wish in the 30s those people had been listened to and the appeasers who were dominant in the british government hadn't been listened to because if they had, perhaps not so many people would have had to die in the second world war, perhaps we wouldn't have had to see those veterans commemorating the deaths of so many comrades on the beaches on d—day. deaths of so many comrades on the beaches on d-day. don? ijust don't feel it is the time and place at all. this is about memory. i have had the privilege to meet three men, an american who parachuted in and two other british parrots. it is not the time or the forum. two other british parrots. it is not the time or the forumlj two other british parrots. it is not the time or the forum. i -- my uncle ata the time or the forum. i -- my uncle at a military medal for fighting the time or the forum. i -- my uncle at a military medalforfighting in europe. he stood on a mine and lost his eye, is based was full of shrapnel. kirsty is listening to

you. a retired raf wing commander, vice—chairman of the veterans charity ssafa, served for 24 years. should donald trump be there alongside the queen today? should donald trump be there alongside the queen today7m should donald trump be there alongside the queen today? it is important to focus on the veterans and the fact we are allies. the post of the president of the united states of america, a head of state ina states of america, a head of state in a democratically elected way, he is representing all those who made the sacrifice. as such it is entirely important and correct as they are underrepresented alongside they are underrepresented alongside the other 14 countries who took part, the canadian presidents, the french presidents, and all those other nations, it is essential we are represented going forward and have the core ethos as values as the tea m have the core ethos as values as the team in normandy site. do you accept the protests, john rees, actually detracts from what we are remembering and the gratitude that people are showing for those who sacrificed their lives? diane mike

no. i think they focus on why we we re no. i think they focus on why we were fighting. in any historical issue, context is key. you have to supply the context. why were we fighting? how did we end up in this mess in the first place? why did these people have to die? these are essential and important questions. the people who did the fighting understood that very well because when they came back from that war they voted in a landslide election to put a labour government in place so to put a labour government in place so it would never happen again. if we are going to correctly and accurately commemorate what they did and what they thought, this debate has to be part of it. it is not dead and finished. it is not in aspect. has to be part of it. it is not dead and finished. it is not in aspectlj will and finished. it is not in aspect.” will read messages from viewers who are telling us about relatives who took part but in the landings and then rolls back here. kirsty, who are you thinking about and what are you thinking about as we remember

what happens almost 75 years ago? 0urchairman, his what happens almost 75 years ago? 0ur chairman, his father—in—law served on the beaches, our chairman, his mother and father both served, his mother and father both served, his mother and father both served, his mother in the operations room, his mother in the operations room, his father landed on the beaches. a lot of our team. we have 5000 volu nteers lot of our team. we have 5000 volunteers in the uk supporting our vetera ns, volunteers in the uk supporting our veterans, but on the beaches and in support in we had 50,000 volunteers supporting the family and this is all about the individuals who supported families. this is about the human cost of freedom. stan e—mails and says my father landed on the beach tomorrow 75 years ago with the beach tomorrow 75 years ago with the highland light infantry. this morning a man on the bbc told the story of how his dad's landing craft iti story of how his dad's landing craft it i stand back and drop the aircraft into deep water which meant his dad and others got wet. this reminded me of the same story my dad

told me. he said as he stepped into deep water, the equipment and ammo took them to the bottom. but for a few of them drowned just a few yards from the beach. this one says my father was on about and change sides to get to cigarette light and the men on his side he left were killed. linda said, my dad henry survived three plane crashes being in the raf and came home to marry my mother on d—day. stephen and dan, who do you think about and what they think about as we approach the anniversary tomorrow? context was mentioned and asa tomorrow? context was mentioned and as a veteran of afghanistan we are driving through the countryside now, there is a vintage plane flying out. it is crazy these young men, i am thinking about all of them and the families who were left behind and i feel this is truly about remembrance. stephen? same thing. we

have met people on this trip already that were there that day and we are lucky to survive. they lost friends andl lucky to survive. they lost friends and i am thinking about everybody buried in cemeteries around the country we are writing around now. i wa nt country we are writing around now. i want to say, one more thing, in the armed forces we have a saying that if you respect the rank and not the man. as the elected leader of one of out man. as the elected leader of one of our biggest allies we need to respect him. we can hear the plane. ican respect him. we can hear the plane. i can see your colleagues behind giving the thumbs up and the wave. but you were saying, stephen, you respect the right rather than the man. as the elected leader of one of out man. as the elected leader of one of our biggest allies we need to kind ofjust put personal opinions aside and welcome him as we remember all of the americans that laid down their lives. 0k, thank you very

much. stephen james and their lives. 0k, thank you very much. stephenjames and dan arnold. john rees and kirsty bushell, we appreciate your time. many messages from you and i will read one more for now. i will try and read as many as we can. john says, my dad was on the first wave of naval troops as a gunner on the minesweepers that cleared the way for the land troops to cross the channel macro safely. he was 18 at the time. you just can't believe it. he thought of it isa can't believe it. he thought of it is a great adventure but realised the reality in later life. thank you for those. keep them coming in and send us an e—mail stop still to come. australian police raid the headquarters of public broadcaster abc in sydney. we'll speak to one of their journalists. and why a hit tv show has boosted tourism to the scene of the world's worst nuclear disaster.

a profound injustice, that is how they work and pensions select committee described the fact that cohabiting couples with children don't get any bereavement support if one of them dies. this morning the committee is starting an inquiry into bereavement support for families. the key focus will be the impact of the cut to the widow pa rents impact of the cut to the widow parents allowance. it came in just over two years ago which we covered extensively at the time. the department for work and pensions says it was little listen carefully to the committee about this important issue. 0ur reporter, anna collinson, has been following this story for two years now. anna, take us back to april, 2017, and remind us why the change to the widowed parent's allowance was so controversial. it was in place until april 2017 and the way it worked was if you are married and you had children and one of you u nfortu nately married and you had children and one of you unfortunately died the other would receive a monthly benefit and that would last up to 18 years until the child turned at least 18, in some cases beyond. after april 2017 everything changed and it went from

up everything changed and it went from up to 18 years to 18 months. we found in investigating some families, particularly those with several young children, could lose out on up to £100,000 worth of support over this period of time. ahead of the cut there were calls from mp5, bream and charities, bereaved families, even the widowed footballer rio ferdinand got involved going for it not to be in place and we covered it a lot on this programme. 0ne place and we covered it a lot on this programme. one person we heard from was a dying man, we named him allen, he worked out he was going to lose out on £50,000, his family were going to lose out on not money if he died after the cut came into place and he told us on the programme he wished he would die before the cut came in because he felt this was money his family deserved because he paid national insurance contributions. you are contemplating death and you wa nt you are contemplating death and you want to go out of this world with some dignity, with some grace, with some dignity, with some grace, with some peace of mind, not full of

financial anxiety, feeling as if the government hasjust financial anxiety, feeling as if the government has just taken financial anxiety, feeling as if the government hasjust taken money financial anxiety, feeling as if the government has just taken money away from you that you had earned legitimately. that was incredibly moving and touch so many people in the audience because he died weeks after. yes, very sad. and weeks after. yes, very sad. and weeks after the cut had come in. his family after the cut had come in. his fa m ily lost after the cut had come in. his family lost out on the money he was concerned about losing out on. the government claimed the old system prevented widowed parents from adjusting to single life so they put in the new system and the way it works as families would receive a one—off payment of £3500 and then a monthly benefit of £350 which would last up to 18 months. compared to 18 yea rs. last up to 18 months. compared to 18 years. exactly. charities disagreed with the government's plans, they we re with the government's plans, they were concerned parents would end up having to work multiple jobs because

they did not have the money they had lost fi na nces they did not have the money they had lost finances from one parent and they were concerned parents would not be at home with their children when they are grieving. last year i spent time with chloe, a mum of one, one of the first people to qualify for the new system. following her husband's death, she and her daughter moved in with her husband's pa rents daughter moved in with her husband's parents because they could not afford to stay in the family home. child will not get over the loss of their parent in18 child will not get over the loss of their parent in 18 months, it is ridiculous, they cannot have the other parent go off too because no one has a nice comfortable job where they go off to work at 10am and come back at 3pm to pick up the children, there is all of the extra childcare involved. for me it feels like a very cynical government decision because of course the people it affects are the people in the least position to do anything about it because we have alljust lost our

partners. the work and pensions select committee is also going to be looking at what it has described as the profound injustice that couples who live together but are not married are not eligible if one dies for anything. this issue hit the headlines last summer when a mother of four won access to the bereavement benefit. initially she was told she would not be entitled to it because she had not married her long—time partner and father of her long—time partner and father of her children. the supreme court ruled her human rights had been breached and it was seen as a significant moment and people thought, involved in the case, that things would change. ten months on, the government has not moved its position. a spokesperson from the department for work and pensions has targeted support is available to those dealing with bereavement and help is available through the wider welfare system. i've been speaking to jess haslem—bantoft who has three children and has been widowed twice. she has received the old and new

bereavement benefit and has just one month of support left. and ailsa mackenzie — she never married her long—term partner, who died in 2016 when their son was seven. she was diagnosed with breast cancer less than a year later. and also i've been talking to mp frank field, who was a labour mp and now sits as an independent, who is leading the work and pensions select committee into bereavement support. the government did not accept our recommendations. 0ne the government did not accept our recommendations. one of the recommendations, a key one was that should be quality for children irrespective of the marriage position of their parents —— mccrae quality. if people were in fact —— quality. if people were in fact —— quality. they should be protected by the benefit. more importantly, the children should be protected and not discriminated against. as you know, since then, groups have gone to the

high courtand since then, groups have gone to the high court and the government have lost their case to maintain discrimination so we are opening another inquiry today, good kick off on this programme, and i would hope we are going to be successful. they have ignored the supreme court ruling, what is there to stop them ignoring you for the second time? they may well do. but i think is the campaign builds up this time, as people see how shocking and fair it is that a group, largely but not totally of mothers, are treated, and the numbers are not great, 100% for every family affected, of course, but the numbers are not great, they should actually know, with austerity lifting, they should make this one of their priorities, it will not cost that much and make a huge difference to the children being discriminated against. i would hope with the evidence we have from this

programme and what we get in the committee this morning we will persuade the government, a new government, to act rather than just sympathise. a new government. you mean whoever the new prime minister is? absolutely. we are at the end of one period, nothing much happened because of brexit where lots of things could have happened but it is water under the bridge. we are into a new era and we are expecting a new prime minister to act on a blatant injustice. you have been widowed twice, jess, you have three children, you have experienced both systems, the old and new bereavement benefit, how are they different? with the first benefit, the widowed pa re nt‘s with the first benefit, the widowed pa rent‘s allowance, with the first benefit, the widowed parent's allowance, i was guaranteed support for my children until the youngest, barnaby, turned 18, unless i remarried. that benefit was

about... but i met tom afterjason had been dead for two years, six months, we found that tom had cancer as well. a year later, we found that he had a couple of days to live and we decided to get married on his deathbed. i was not thinking about the change in bereavement benefit at that time but the implication is my bereavement benefit is now the bereaved support payment which has reduced my money down by £100 a month, so it is now expected after 18 months of my second husband being dead, i have to be back on my feet and financially stable which is impossible with three children. you have one month's bereavement support payment left, what happens when the money stops? then we are £350 a month worse off which i have to find from somewhere. i did not plan to go back to work until my youngest was

in school but in preparation for that i have had to go back to work and find childcare where it is not readily available and pay out formal childcare so i have a little bit of cash behind me —— for more childcare soi cash behind me —— for more childcare so i have cash behind me get through summer. explain to the audience why you do not want to do that and why you do not want to do that and why you feel taxpayers should continue to support you and your children until your youngest is 18, like in the old system, when you have been able to go out to work, despite the fa ct able to go out to work, despite the fact you have been widowed twice. able to go out to work, despite the fact you have been widowed twicem is not the taxpayer supporting us, it is the pension our deceased partner cannot claim any more. it is not the taxpayer supporting us, it is the money that has been paid international insurance by my dad husbands. it is money you feel you are owed. —— my dead has been. you

we re are owed. —— my dead has been. you were diagnosed with breast cancer a year later after your partner died, can you recall the time you realised you were not entitled to bereavement benefit because you had not married your partner? after somebody dies, your partner? after somebody dies, you go through a whole load of paperwork and official business and it was in that paperwork that i found at that as an unmarried parent, even though we had lived together for a long time, we were not entitled to anything. my partner, robert, had been employed since being a teenager and he was 60 when he died so it was over 40 years of contributions that had just disappeared, really.” of contributions that had just disappeared, really. iwonder how you react to the fact nothing has changed, despite the supreme court ruling that frank field mentioned in favour of siobhan, a mum, not married to her long—term partner, he died, thejudge said last married to her long—term partner, he died, the judge said last year the

allowa nce died, the judge said last year the allowance exists because of the responsibilities of the deceased and the survivor towards their children, the survivor towards their children, the responsibilities are the same whether or not they are married to or in whether or not they are married to orina whether or not they are married to or in a civil partnership with one another, how do you react to the fa ct another, how do you react to the fact nothing has changed? part of me is not surprise. the chancellor denies millions of children are living in poverty anyway. i am furious. as the gas side, it is not money coming from taxpayers, it is a small amount of money, making a massive difference —— as the other guest said. it is disappointing that government has ignored its own advisers, ignoring the supreme court ruling. i hope the publicity that seems to be gathering around this at the moment will force the government into taking action. 20 million a year, that is what it is thought it would cost to extend the widowed

pa re nt‘s would cost to extend the widowed pa rent‘s allowance to would cost to extend the widowed parent's allowance to cohabitants. frank field, a statement from the department for work and pensions, they are committed to supporting people in bereavement, they will listen carefully to your committee, about this important issue when it comes to supporting bereaved families. do you believe them? the current new secretary of state is different from previous ones. i hope what she will do, as she has done with other people before the committee, after the committee is over, at a suitable date, she will ask to meet the people giving evidence, she will talk to them properly, without those officials who always find difficulties in the way of doing things, rather than thinking about how things can be done, and then act. as you say, 20 million in the scale of government budgets is insignificant, but there is actually the whole insurance site here were both of your witnesses

today have talked about paying into an insurance scheme, the money is there but it is the rules preventing access to the money. i think the rules should be changed. the committee will obviously be looking at whether the benefits should be totally centred on the children, overcoming people who have a hang—up whether people were married or cohabiting, but there are very clear rules on cohabiting with respect to other benefits, so i do not see why they could not be applied here, not ina they could not be applied here, not in a negative way as they are generally but in very positive ways, to create eligibility. finally, jess and ailsa, putting aside the finances, how do you cope, jess, having been widowed twice with three children? ijust think having been widowed twice with three children? i just think when you have no choice, it is something you have got to get through, the children keep me going every single day. they need a lot more support than your

average child. but they keep me going. what would you say, ailsa? the same as jess, going. what would you say, ailsa? the same asjess, really. we want to do the best for our children and it is awful the children are being discriminated against through no fault of their own, they have no say over whether their parents marry.” am gratefulfor your time, over whether their parents marry.” am grateful for your time, thank over whether their parents marry.” am gratefulfor your time, thank you so much. ailsa, jess and frank field, we will see what happens with your second inquiry, thanks for coming on the programme. i want to thank you for your many m essa g es i want to thank you for your many messages telling us about your relatives who took part in the d—day landings. president trump has arrived in portsmouth, he is therefore the commemorations, standing alongside the queen and other senior figures from countries who took part in the landings, peter says, my father, harry, went in on sword beach, queen sector, only when

we took him back to the beaches in 2002 ditty open up about his experiences. he said that because the landing craft arrived on the incoming tide, so they would float off, they had to run hundreds of yards on the open beach at low tide. did you fight at beach? he did not fight, he said, you run as fast as you could as you saw your mates full. there are things you can only understand if you were there. —— your mates fall. we have the pictures of donald trump arriving in portsmouth, looking at the pictures, read some more e—mails. some sense, my mother arrived in auschwitz 11 days before d—day where she lost all of herfamily days before d—day where she lost all of her family and just survived herself to bear witness —— sam said. had she known the allies were on the way, it might have made the small witness in morale that was often the difference between life and death. the president and the first lady

getting into the vehicle known as the based in portsmouth as they go to the commemorations —— the beast. says, my grandfather took part in the landings, arriving on sword beach, as part of the royal ulster rifles, he rarely talked about his experiences, but when i interviewed him in1992 as experiences, but when i interviewed him in 1992 as part of a school project, he described the events of the day. his company fought their way up the beach and was sent to ta ke way up the beach and was sent to take a small patch of woodland. these are archive pictures of what happened on the 6th ofjune, 75 yea rs happened on the 6th ofjune, 75 years ago. robin's e—mail, he explained how they were given bicycles to carry up the beach on their backs, the idea being they could reach the destination more quickly over open ground. having finally spoken about the events, my father recorded a full interview, the audio recording now forms part

of the imperial war museum archives. to remember those lost in normandy, his comrades and french locals who supported them, my grandfather would drinka supported them, my grandfather would drink a glass of calvados every year on the evening of the 6th ofjune. there are many more and i will try to read more before 11 o'clock. if you are a young woman, aged between 16 and 24, then self—harm amongst your peer group is becoming normal behaviour. researchers looked at rates of what's known as non—suicidal self—harm across england in 2000, 2007 and 2014. more broadly, they found rates had trebled from 2% to 6%, but they're particularly concerned about young women where rates have increased from 6.5% to 19.7%. the study suggests most of them are using self—harm as a coping mechanism, dealing with issues like stress, but seeking little help, leading to fears that suicide rates

could increase as these women get older. we can speak to 23—year—old abbie foster. she used to self harm but now is a mental health activist and runs a facebook page, called abbie foster stay strong, that aims to help people going through the same thing she did. also with us is louise theodosiou, from the royal college of psychiatrists. she's an adolescent psychiatrist based in manchester. welcome, both of you. thank you for coming on the programme. abbie, tell the audience why you think you began to self—harm at the age of 11, 12.” was so stressed with being bullied at school, i did not know how to handle it, and i realised somehow that if i hurt myself, i could control how i felt and no one else could. for people who want to learn more about that link, was it about trying to distract yourself from the hurt of being bullied? it was a bit

of both, it was being able to decide how i felt and not let anyone else decide that for me and it was also a distraction of what was going on around me. why were you being bullied, do you think?” around me. why were you being bullied, do you think? i am not sure. i have been asked that question a lot up until today, i have been given many answers too. i am not sure. i was very shy and a wea k am not sure. i was very shy and a weak person on the inside but i seemed quite confident on the outside so maybe they saw what was inside. did you tell anyone. people knew i was bullied, no one knew i was self harming or suicidal or depressed. can you recall why you kept that to yourself?” depressed. can you recall why you kept that to yourself? i think at that time there was no one i knew of that time there was no one i knew of that had done this kind of thing, i did not even know it was knocked normal or was normal, i thought there was something wrong with me, i

did not want to be judged there was something wrong with me, i did not want to bejudged or taken away —— i did not even know it was not normal. as an adolescent psychiatrist, louise, how do you react to the figures showing today's young women, 16—24, using self—harm asa young women, 16—24, using self—harm as a way of coping with life?” would like to say thank you, abbie, what you have said is important, and by raising awareness, people can step forward. the figures are extremely concerning. i think they tie in with a lot of concerning information children and yoghurt macro adults are telling us. we know they are reporting higher rates of low mood and anxiety —— children and young adults are telling us. it is very concerning. we need to listen to what people are saying and we need the long nhs plan and investment to make sure services are there, the right services responding to people's needs. can you help the audience to date, some struggling with this, in terms of other ways of

coping rather than self—harm ? with this, in terms of other ways of coping rather than self-harm? you are right, it is very important people realise there are lots of ways of coping. 0ne people realise there are lots of ways of coping. one of the important things people can do is talk, go to the places where help is available, fantastic information available on the royal college of psychiatry website, the faster you can take is to tell your story to somebody you trust, it does not need to be a professional —— first step. you can speak to, if you are in school or college, support staff, speak to somebody in primary care, general practice, take the first step to talking about your story. amazing volu nta ry talking about your story. amazing voluntary sector organisations where you can talk. sorry, just bringing abbie back in. what helped you to stop hurting yourself?” discovered... and american singer and actress who has talked openly

about harming herself. yeah, among other things. i watched an interview and listen to some of her lyrics and i realised there were other options andi i realised there were other options and i did not have to do this to make myself feel better. that along with trying to change my mindset into a more positive one that looked at any situation positively, it made at any situation positively, it made a big difference. what do you think about the numbers of women, the fact the rates have gone up dramatically from 6.5% in 2000 to almost 20% in 2014 of young women doing this to themselves, what do you think is behind the rise? i think the pressures from social media do not help, a lot of online bullying and a lot of self—harm online as well. there are viral challenges and things like that. very difficult to determine what the actual cause would be but i think that has got a bit to do with it. i'm going to ask louise this because we are talking

about what is happening with the d—day commemorations today and they will be some, a small section of the audience, who are thinking, those young men and women almost 75 years ago dealing with what they cope with as they landed on the beaches of northern france, that is stress, how can we possibly talk about stress in the same breath these days? stress isa very the same breath these days? stress is a very unique and personal thing and stress is also... we know that, for example, almost a third of children and young people in the uk are living in poverty, tremendous different pressures on people. yes, what happened 75 years ago was an astonishing stress but today's society, the new stories we hear, it is an unsettling time for children and young people and we need to make sure we are giving them the resources and their well— being skills to manage the stress they are facing. i am gratefulto skills to manage the stress they are facing. i am grateful to you both, thank you, abbie, for talking so

openly on the programme, and louise, from the royal college of psychiatrist, thank you. if you've been affected by any of the issues brought up on this programme, please go on bbc.co.uk/actionline. some breaking news. the inquest into the death of love island star mike thalassitis whose body was discovered in a park in north london in march has recorded its verdict. he died by suicide. the 26—year—old was found hanged and the inquest heard toxicology results showed there was cocaine, ethanol and paracetamol in his system at the time of his death. one of the leading tour operators to the site of the former nuclear reactor at chernobyl has reported a four—fold increase in customers, which they say is largely down to interest from the hit series chernobyl.

the five—part series finished earlier this week on sky atlantic and tells the story of one of the worst man—made disasters of the 20th century. on april 26th, 1986, the reactor at the nuclear plant in soviet—ruled ukraine, exploded during a safety check. what followed was a deadly radioactive fallout that was 400 times larger than the hiroshima bomb. the series follows the story of scientist valery legasov, who was employed by the soviets to help with the immediate investigation into the explosion and with the aftermath. 1:23:42. perevozchenko looks down on the enormous steel lid of the reactor and sees the impossible. the control rod and fuel channel caps, which each weigh 350 kilograms, arejumping up and down. he runs to warn the control room, but there's nothing he can do to stop what is coming. 1:23:44. the steam blows the

fuel channels apart. we do not know how high the power went, we only know the final reading. reactorfour, designed to operate at 3200 megawatts, went beyond 33,000. we can speak now tojoe ponte, managing director of explore, which runs tours to chernobyl, james finnerty, who went to chernobyl last year, and mariana levchenko, who's a tour leader on trips there. james, you have been three times. what is the fascination?” james, you have been three times. what is the fascination? i first heard about chernobyl, i was doing trips with a company arranging tours to places like north korea and things like that and i became aware you could visit chernobyl and i open my eyes to the history, i got fascinated. what is it like when you are there? very sombre but it is also quite impactful, these are stories that for some people like myself, when you read about the

history of what happened, it can seem like a story in a book. your images. from last year. the impact of the history become a lot smaller visceral and you can empathise more with what happened. seeing a vacated city, it is a very different experience to just reading about it. it is quiet, is it? if you go in winter, particularly eerily quiet. because of the tv series, joe, dramatic rise in people wanting to go there? we launch the first trip to chernobyl, photography trip, five years ago, growing well. is it safe? what about radiation? the same level as radiation as a transatlantic fight, you are very safe —— flight. you have to have local guides. 0ver the last four weeks, fourfold increase in demand and across the entire programme, 500 different trips around the world, in the last three days, chernobyl trips have been the most inquired about. because of the telly. what do you

find people are most fascinated about, mariana, when you take them ona about, mariana, when you take them on a tour? they say it is always a desired, people do not know what to expect. some people are coming to see the nature, wild after disaster, some people come to see a fascinating part of the trip because we can see the people that stayed in the zone after the disaster, living in the abandoned villages. i think it isa in the abandoned villages. i think it is a unique place. i think about 100 people still live in the fallout zone. 187 from the last count. we meet some of the people and talk to them. have you met them? of the trips i have been on, leading tour groups, a couple in their 805, moved

back in, a lot of people were resettled and as soon as the colla pse resettled and as soon as the collapse of the soviet union happened, social support was removed, the people had a choice of being ina removed, the people had a choice of being in a town with no or going to a fully kitted out house in the zone and taking the potential risk of going back and having a better life. did they feel they had a better life? you look at the economic situation in ukraine, the financial impact of the disaster itself, and then the soviet union and lack of central support, yeah, homelessness in other towns in ukraine and the choice of going back and they felt they had a better life back in the zone. thank you all of you, really appreciate your time. and thank you to you for your many messages about relatives who took part in the d—day landings, very moving and poignant, really grateful. bbc newsroom live is coming up next.

thank you for your company today. we are back tomorrow at 10am. some unsettled weather to come over the next few days. today we have a north — south split, wet weather for northern ireland and scotland, further south, drier with some sunny spells and a few showers. the wet weather is courtesy of the area of low pressure gradually working north and west through the day to day but it is not going anywhere in a hurry. further outbreaks of at times quite heavy rain in scotland, northern ireland. fizzling out as it pushes north—west through the day today. something brighter in southern scotland. england and wales, good spells of sunshine, perhaps showers in the west, turning cloudier for eastern areas later. the cloud hangs on across scotland and northern ireland and the rain becomes

increasingly patchy, cloudy skies affecting eastern areas with patchy outbreaks of rain. bye—bye. this is bbc news, i'm simon mccoy, live in portsmouth as we commemorate the 75th anniversary of the d—day landings. the queen will be joined in portsmouth by theresa may, president trump, and other world leaders, to remember the allied invasion of nazi—occupied france.

some of the veterans of that d—day landing re—trace their steps across the channel to a heroes welcome in portsmouth. we'll bring you full coverage of the d—day commemorations in a special programme, live from 11:15. i'm annita mcveigh bringing you today's other news. president trump back—tracks from his suggestion that the nhs