this is bbc news. the headlines. the health secretary says he will block any attempts by gps to have home visits removed from their contract. it isn't going to watch, it isn't going to happen. they say that they wa nt to going to happen. they say that they want to negotiate to end home visits but of course gps need to do them.

the conservatives and lib dems attackjeremy corbyn for saying that he will stay neutral in any future brea ks he will stay neutral in any future breaks a referendum but the labour leader says it is the right thing to do. i think it being an honest broker and listening to every one is actually a sign of strength and maturity. a number of arrests have been made following a mass fight involving over 100 people at the biggest cinema complex in the west midlands. police say some of their officers were assaulted outside star city in birmingham. the authorities in hong kong threatened to suspend voting into more ‘s local elections in case of serious disruption polling stations. now on bbc news a year—long bbc investigation has revealed that vulnerable young people in care, some as young as 11, are increasingly being placed in unregulated homes. 0ur

are increasingly being placed in unregulated homes. our special correspondent ed thomas found young people living in caravans, kidnapped from outside placements and even trafficked across the country. a warning, you may find some of the details included in this programme upsetting. inside the unregulated homes failing to protect our most vulnerable children. it was a literal hellhole. living here was a punishment. our investigation hears stories of abuse, exploitation and despair. how many times did you attempt to take your life? i think about three times. but as i actually discussed, no one should lay their hands on someone like that. people bringing in acid, knives, samurai swords, everything. that house was basically a drug—dealing house. but i had to live there because i couldn't go nowhere else. we reveal the caravans and holiday homes being used to house our most vulnerable children. speak to a worker who witnessed things.

and that was it. that was the last time i saw him. trafficked, gone. yes, gone. and ask, what needs to change. it is not a loophole, it is a scandal. if action is not taken on the back of this programme, we are colluding and letting groomers, predatory paedophiles go after those children. i was in my care home, a semi—independent place and a car came up onto the drive and i don't know who it was. and then a bag got put over my head, i got flung into the car, got taken to a random house out in the country, got flannels put over my face, got water—boarded, got stripped, got beaten. i was stabbed once in my shoulder and twice in my leg. when i got let go, i was lying in the road, dying.

kidnapped, while in care. this is the story of young people in unregulated homes. often called semi—independent accommodation, mainly for those in or leaving the care system. this teenager is 17 and has been in care since the age of five. for the past two years, he has been in unregulated homes. most weeks he goes missing, often to sell drugs. i was going missing every day for, like, months on end. did the unregulated home have your phone number? yeah. where were they bringing you? no. how easy was it for you to get involved in that county lines drug dealing? easy. if you live in an unregulated home, checks are only made by councils and not a regulator. this teenager was repeatedly exploited by drug gangs. i would be at one place, they would take me to another place. to sell heroin and cocaine?

why didn't you say no? they said, if you say no, you are going to get killed or your family is getting killed. 0urfigures indicate the number of times young people have gone missing from unregulated homes has more than doubled in the last three years. all the money i got from doing it, i was using it to get home. despite growing up in central london, he was sent to live in an unregulated home hundreds of miles away in north wales. there was no family around me, i had no friends. everyone was coming up to me, because they knew i wasn't from the area, can you do this for us, can you do that, because you ain't known around here. two months in being there, i lost my mum. when i lost my mum, they didn't try to arrange for me to go to the funeral, so i didn't get to go to my mum's funeral. the care system, social services and the government made me feel like ijust didn't want to be around no more. did you try and take your life? i tried a couple of times. what was going through your mind? that i wanted to see my mum

for the last time and i wanted to get out of this world where no one cares about me. we have been told that these pictures show young people in unregulated homes with weapons and drugs. we found out more than 50 people were sexually abused or exploited after going missing last year. 0ur information requests also reveal that around one in six missing episodes features a young person already known to be at risk of child sexual exploitation. we have learned that some children in care, under the age of 16, are staying in caravans and narrow boats and holiday homes. the care regulator in england says it is entirely legal for an unregulated home to accommodate children like this. if they offer support and not care. short holiday breaks

or a mobile like a narrow boat. but we have heard of loopholes being exploited. here, near blackpool, care children would spend up to four weeks in one caravan, before being moved to another in the same park, to try to get around rules governing short—term placements. what was happening? in a differing case, a 15—year—old girl was placed in eight unregulated homes by dorset council. run by a number of companies, including this holiday home. she picked the knife up and started waving it around in front of my face. she just didn't want to be here. an absolute nervous wreck, you know. she was upset. the two carers started explaining why she is here. to be assessed and all of that and i said, well, you can be here, and i said, well, you can't be here, this is not for that. dorset council says the girl

was moved so much because there aren't enough registered placements to support children with very complex needs. she described it as a prison. one of the sad words she said was, wouldn't it be nice to wake up with the same faces, instead of getting different carers in every other day? what i witnessed that night will stay with me for some time and that. where is the next home? the vast majority of residents in unregulated homes are over the age of 16. it is about halfway down, isn't it? a year ago we were told that vulnerable teenagers were being badly failed by living in many unregulated towns. but multiple people mentioned one company in particular. what is the name of the one we are going to now? young people from six different council areas were placed in these homes. just over here. designed to provide support and not care. many were children in care who had faced some of the most challenging home lives imaginable.

including childhood abuse and family tragedy. this one here? yeah. this is where she lived. we obtained this confidential briefing sent around councils with claims serious safeguarding failings and homes in essex and london run by a company called centurion care. we set out to find the young people affected. it was horrendous. drug taking, motorbikes being taken out by policemen, early hours of the morning.

kids would come running up here and go to run around the block. we have learned police were conducting surveillance on this home for young people caught up with criminal gangs. i saw them dealing drugs. at the back wall. i had heard the boy is selling cocaine from a care home? yeah. it is like they had their own operation on the second floor. they used to have baggies and scales and there was a lot of supplies. scales? yeah. like how... to weigh cannabis? yeah. to sell cocaine. they are not measuring flour. while other vulnerable people lived inside. i used to live on this top floor. carla spent years in foster homes before being sent to centurion care. i would not recommend it for anybody to live here. my self—harm would be quite severe. there was a situation where it had been really bad and i had lost a lot of blood and i went down to a member of staff and said, you need to take me to the hospital, and they were like, no, i can't leave the boys unattended. refusing to take you to hospital.

yeah. he was like, oh, you should just go walk to the shop. she says she was taken to a pharmacy an hour later. inside the home, her mental health deteriorated. they knew i had issues with depression and anxiety and on paper they were constantly reminded. i took 20 paracetamol in one go in an evening. how many times did you attempt to take your life? i think about three times. centurion care told us it was only aware of one incident where carla overdosed and on one occasion she was taken to hospital. all of their homes had first aid kits. incidents were recorded and sent to social workers and they cooperated with police, installing cctv to prevent drug dealing. they keep calling it a care home,

but it isjust a house where people profit from young vulnerable children. down the left? we then moved to another centurion care care home, two miles away where they looked after a boy with learning disabilities. that one. yeah. there is a camera. and we obtained this. a recording outside the home, showing the child in the yellow shirt in distress lashing out. police were called here to an allegation of an assault by a boy on a worker. we can't be sure what led up to this, but watch how the worker responds. tia was also a resident at the time. that would probably have scared the life out of him.

he looks older. he looks quite big and bulky, but when you talk to him, it is like talking to a five—year—old child. they are supposed to be looking after the child, not attacking the child with special needs. it isjust vile. what would that have done? that would probably have scared the life out of him. that would scare the life out of me if i had someone do that to me and someone with his disability. what did staff members do to him? they used to swear, scream in his face, tell him that they were going to take his balloons away. balloons were just his things, like, he loved them. he would come in with cars, princesses, everything, there was not one balloon he did not have. and theyjust used to take them, pop them, sit there, threaten him with the balloon, threaten them with police, say if you do not put your plate in the same, i'm calling the police. and what was his reaction when that happened ? he was absolutely petrified. he would grab his head, he would pace, he would be like, i haven't done nothing wrong, he would go to cry, he would be

like, i haven't done nothing, i haven't done nothing, i don't need it, he would rush to do whatever they wanted him to do. centurion care told us police were given cctv. no one was charged with an offence and they weren't aware of any allegation of bullying on this boy. we spent weeks, trying to track down someone who knew the children involved. 0ne worker agreed to meet us and talk. they were all very high risk. andy was a support worker across many of the homes. sexually exploited kids, drugs and alcohol abuse. some of them had disabilities. all under one roof.

he wanted to take us to this house. she was taken by people, brought back, maybe,. he seemed most shocked about what happened here. and he remembers a girl who regularly went missing. i saw a bunch of boys in a car and shejustjumped in, really. at this spot? from the spot, literally right here. and that was it. that was the last time i saw her. trafficked, gone. yeah, gone. days later, he managed to reach the teenager on his phone. she just sounds really scared, like, she wasn't talking, she was like, i have asked her where she is, where are you, when are you coming back, sort of thing. she wasjust like, listen, i can't, i can't talk right now. and then she started whispering, as she started whispering, i heard like a voice, like someone shouting at her. the person has obviously come closer

and it seems like she has been head and it seems like she has been hit and the phone drops and i can't hear too much, but i could just hear shouting. she was missing for more than a week before being found in the midlands. police ended up finding her, all sorts happened. there is no suggestion centurion care staff were involved in her trafficking. it took months. to find out who she was and where she now lived. a lot of people go through things were like the care system, they give up. you're alone. what is the impact on you? being taken like that? it had a bad impact. it was the worst. you know? no one deserves that. like many children in care, she was placed in a home outside

of the local authority. i didn't have no friends or anything, so i was far away, basildon is not an area that i know are unfamiliar with. i wasjust running away, trying to get away from the home. trying to get away from the environment. what were you hoping it would be? just like a fresh start. sol would be? just like a fresh start. so i could just move away and get my owfi so i could just move away and get my own home, just start afresh. she says she was also sexually abused by a young person in the home. did the staff members from the police? no. did they remove the boys from the home he had been hurting you? they just told me that it was what i wanted. centurion care told us all staff had safeguarding training. missing person procedures were followed and they had no record of a

sexual assault allegation. i do you sum up your experience? appalling. but they do but they did and someone has to pay a price for the pain. during our investigation we also heard stories of vulnerable children exposed to weapons, drugs and organised crime. drug dealing, people bringing an asset. this teenager also lived in a home run by centurion care. knives, samurai swords, everything,. terrified, he would lock himself in his room. how do you know it was acid in the bottle ? do you know it was acid in the bottle? i opened it up and spelt it andl bottle? i opened it up and spelt it and i burnt my nose. what was your reaction? i nearly dropped the bottle on the floor. what did you do? parted down and i went into my i’ooiti do? parted down and i went into my room and barricade with my room because i did not feel safe. he said strangers were coming and going from

the home. the boy with the sword did not live there, he turned up at one of the boys that live there and he pulled it out on the table and i saw it as the door open. what did you see? a samurai sword. how big was it? probably about nine or ten inches. every ten minutes the door is going, there are going in and out and going around the corner and doing drug deals and whatever in coming straight back. the house was basically a drug dealing house. i had to live there because i could not anywhere else. centurion care told us they worked with police and neighbours to prevent drug dealing and any young person who smoked cannabis in the placement was asked to leave. for eight young men who stories we followed in centurion ca re stories we followed in centurion care we stories we followed in centurion ca re we have stories we followed in centurion care we have learned that 4% or have returned to prison since leaving the homes. 0ne family agreed to let us

talk to their son in prison. fed. you want eating inside there? like many unregulated homes, it is down to the young person to manage their finances and food. immanuel repeatedly disappeared because he was involved in county lines drug dealing. how did they get to you in the home? how did they get to you in the home? how did they find you in basildon? could you have said no? did you ever ask the staff inside centurion care for help?

immanuel was jailed for possession with intent to supply heroin and crack cocaine. century and care said they felt all children were safe and secure across the placements. —— centurion care. working for centurion care. working for centurion care. working for centurion care was andy ‘s firstjob with young people. a lot of bad things were happening outside, i did not feel good about what was happening. he told us at times felt hopeless. it was completely out of control. absolute manic, wild, like some people had drugs in the house and some people ended up having a large amount of cash and there was nothing you could have really done about it, because other staff members did not do anything about it. this confidential briefing we obtained on centurion care says some workers were known to police for arrests that did not lead to

charges. centurion care says it is not aware of these disclosures on any of the workers enhanced dbs checks which we re workers enhanced dbs checks which were available at every local authority inspection and no concerns we re authority inspection and no concerns were raised. essex police was unable to tell us when this police involvement was discovered and whether it should have been revealed to centurion care on the dbs checks. her vulnerability was high. andy says another girl reported being taken from one of the homes, given alcohol and drugs before having sex with a man who occasionally worked in the home. police said there was not enough evidence of any crime was committed. the confidential briefing says the man had several convictions and had been previously investigated but not charged an alleged sex

events involving a child. centurion ca re events involving a child. centurion care said the contractor did not need to be dbs checked, his role was known to the local authority, they cooperated with police and there was further action. the council place many of the children inside the homes and said it was unable to comment on police matters or individual cases. the homes were closed in 2017 and the company dissolved when an investigation was launched into organised and complex abuse facing children living there. going around the corner doing drug deals are never in coming straight back. that house was basically a drug dealing house.|j back. that house was basically a drug dealing house. i am outraged and upset in equal measure about what i have just seen. dame and upset in equal measure about what i havejust seen. dame louise casey led an investigation into rotherham council after hundreds of children were sexually exploited in the town. it is a scandal and i want

the town. it is a scandal and i want the homes regulated. how urgent is that? tomorrow. the shame is that it has taken the bbc, the same way in rotherham, took the media to lift the lid on it and say to the government this is what you should be doing something about. the story goes beyond one provider city or council. dame louise fiercely young people are not being protected across unregulated homes. and you are exposing the voices which i can only hope means it is listen to on a different way. it is time for whitehall to make up to this. if action is not taken on the back of this programme, then we are colluding and letting groomers, predatory paedophiles go after the children. and that is our responsibility and that is why find it's upsetting. we could be running for long crack operation and no one would know. some of the young people we spoke to across the year had

positive experiences, but most wa nted positive experiences, but most wanted the care system to change. what should happen to the sums? they need to be watch more and have inspectors and professional people who know what they are doing going in there and check in and regulating the thing. i thought being in care would give me some sort of childhood, they say they are there to support you, but it is a recruiting game, they put kids know they will get recruited and the same stuff or keep going on. there are more than 5000 children and young people living in unregulated homes across england and wales. tonight on average 30 will go missing. the association of directors of children's services says unregulated homes can provide appropriate and flexible options but it recognises and shares the concern that this is not always the case. the government repeatedly declined to be interviewed but said councils have a

legal duty to make sure accommodation for these children is suitable. they keep calling it a ca re suitable. they keep calling it a care home but it isjust suitable. they keep calling it a care home but it is just a house where people profit from young and vulnerable children. where people profit from young and vulnerable childrenlj where people profit from young and vulnerable children. i never had support, i basically had a bed. he everdid support, i basically had a bed. he ever did what they did, someone needs to pay a price for the pain. down to the left. across england and wales that has been more than a dozen so—called organised and complex abuse investigations into failure to protect children in unregulated homes. the stories of those children are unlikely to ever be heard.

hello. for those of us who have had a wet saturday tomorrow looks to be the drier day of the weekend before we get that there is more heavy rain in the forecast and this will slowly become confined to the east of scotla nd become confined to the east of scotland overnight and we have met 0ffice rain warnings and place your double star to ease from north—east england. equally the rain across england. equally the rain across england and wales will is becoming increasingly patchy and away from east of scotland most will become dry overnight but with a lot of cloud and mist and fog, poor visibility of a temperature is well above freezing typically between four and above freezing typically between fourand 8 above freezing typically between four and 8 degrees. tomorrow we have a brief and weak ridge of high

pressure before another area of low pressure before another area of low pressure barrel said from the south west earlier on tomorrow but we will start tomorrow with mist and fog and poor visibility and places and rain in the east of scotland eventually becoming confined to the northern isles. wet and windy for most of the day and elsewhere aside from some showers it will be a drier day with a lot of cloud at the best of any brea ks a lot of cloud at the best of any breaks for the east and southern counties of england but it is mild between nine and 11 degrees, higher will be a drier day with a lot of cloud at the best of any breaks for the east and southern counties of england but it is mild between nine and 11 degrees, higher where we see some across south west england and wales as we go through the evening and it is all down to this area of low pressure and that continues to track its way north and east as we go into monday and we will start dry initially across scotland and northern ireland, but the heavy rain across england and wales will start to make progress north and east of the day becoming more patchy as it doesin the day becoming more patchy as it does in the north of scotland probably escaping mainly dry but the rain in england and wales are likely to be heavy, some brighter skies behind it but also showers in

south—western southern england to add another mile day, nine — 13 degrees. another area of low pressure to deal with going into tuesday and this has the remnants of what was a tropical storm and it will strengthen the wind as we go into tuesday initially across south west england and wales, some heavy rain moving in here and of theirs, mainly dry with spells of sunshine but that rain slowly starts to push north and east and the wind strengthening, particularly across england and wales, still mild temperatures were most easily in double figures between ten and 13 degrees. as the bakeware zone, things will slowly start to turn drier but also colder again with the return of the night time for us. that is all for me, goodbye.

this is bbc world news today. i'm lewis vaughan jones. our top stories... hong kong threatens to suspend voting in sunday's local elections if there's serious disruption at polling stations. us vice president mike pence visits kurdish leaders in iraq to try to reassure them of continued u.s support. commitment to our allies here in iraq here, as well as those in the syrian defence forces, that irish defence forces who fought alongside us defence forces who fought alongside us is unchanging. tens of thousands of people in france march against shocking levels of domestic violence towards women. and should former colonial powers return artefacts