hello, it's wednesday, it's ten o'clock, i'm victoria derbyshire. —— eight tuesday, it's ten o'clock. over 8000 university students are officially estranged from their parents, this programme can reveal, and it means some of them will be homeless this christmas. i'm trying to do everything within my power to make this university experience the best i can, despite being estranged, despite not having a family to go home to any more. these three students are all estranged from their mums and dads — to make ends meet, blair was stealing food from his work before dropping out of uni. also: look at this extraordinary footage. it's a lorry pushing a car along a dual carriageway, witnessed by ellie goulding. we'll bring you more on that.

borisjohnson‘s assembling his cabinet for the first time since the election, and says he's going to make it illegal to to delay the brexit process ever again. a record number of rape cases are lost because the justice system is close to breaking point, according to the crown prosecution service inspectorate. annie tisshaw reported a rape, but was devastated when the cps didn't puruse her case. -- didn't —— didn't pursue her case. we will speak to her and the next hour. and this is 30 years old today. you have no idea what it is like being married to you. being married to me?! we'll talk to the animator who's worked on more than 100 episodes, and a simpson superfan who says it's past its best. hello.

welcome to the programme. we're live until 11 this morning. if you are still a simpsons fan after a ll if you are still a simpsons fan after all this time, let us know why, or if you think itjumped the shark some time ago, sent me a message. use the details on screen to get in touch. we will talk about the simpsons later, but first the news with annita mcveigh. good morning, everyone. the prime minister borisjohnson is planning to make it illegal for parliament to extend the brexit process beyond the end of next year. he'll add a clause to his withdrawal agreement bill, which will go before mps on friday. the uk is due to leave the eu on the 31st of january, with a transition period until the end of 2020. emily thornberry warned privately in september that labour's election chances would be hampered by taking a neutral position on brexit. speaking at the party's conference, the labour mp said she was worried about jeremy corbyn saying he "didn't have a view" on leaving the eu. ms thornberry had wanted the party

to adopt a remain position. her comments are featured in a bbc film to be broadcast tonight. a review of record low rape conviction rates has found a justice system "close to breaking point" because of cuts. the crown prosecution service inspectorate says a "damning" number of cases are lost during "under—resourced" police investigations. but it's rejected claims that prosecutors are unfairly selective about cases they charge. campaigners say the review has failed to uncover the real reasons for what they call "woeful" conviction rates. psychologists working with refugees and migrants on the greek island of lesbos have told the bbc they are seeing an increasing number of children self—harming and attempting suicide. there's been a spike in refugees arriving on the aegean islands in recent months, with the vast majority fleeing conflict. last year, this programme highlighted children as young as ten attempting suicide at

the moria camp on lesbos. almost 18,000 people are now living at that camp, which was made forjust 2,000. unemployment fell by 13,000 to 1.28 million in the three months to october, official figures showed. the office for national statistics said the employment rate has reached a record high of 76.2%. however, it noted that growth in employment and wages has begun to slow down. it will take almost a century to close the gender gap across politics, economics, health and education, according to the world economic forum. in its annual review of the gender pay gap in 144 countries, the uk has slipped from 15th to 21st place, behind most wealthy countries and a number of developing nations, but it remains ahead of the us. iceland leads the rankings for gender equality. estonia's president has apologised after the country's interior minister described finland's new prime minister as "a sales girl".

president kersti kaljulaid said she was "embarrassed" by the comments of mart helme, 70, who leads a populist far—right party. finnish pm sanna marin, 3a, is the world's youngest prime minister. mr helme has apologised to ms marin, but claimed his comments were misunderstood. the european space agency will today launch a space telescope to study distant worlds. it's hoped the cheops telescope will reveal new insights — such as whether far—off objects are likely to be rocky or gas—rich. but it's a different kind of mission to previous efforts as it won't be trying to find new planets. that is our main story so far. back to you, victoria. this programme can exclusively reveal there are more than 8,000 students currently at university who have no relationship with their parents — and many have nowhere to go this christmas. maybe you're one of them. these estranged students have often

been missed by the care system, and without their parents on the scene, they can have severe financial difficulties, suffer loneliness and have nowhere to go in the holidays. and the process of proving you're estranged from your parents in order to get extra funding to study is very complicated. alice porter has this exclusive report. during my summer, ijust ended up couch—surfing, just trying to survive, just trying to find the money to eat. there are elements of discrimination, whether people realise it or not. you know, in the way you wouldn't assume someone's identity, maybe we shouldn't assume someone has a stable relationship with their parents. there is a societal and, i think, an institutional duty and responsibility here to make sure that the young people in their care are actually being cared for, as opposed tojust being regarded as numbers.

cereza is one of the many thousands of students in the uk who don't have any contact with their parents. my childhood was very difficult. living with my mother was a struggle, and my family has been very disjointed anyway, but i think me leaving the nest to go to university was the final thing that really tore our family apart. cereza is studying at queen mary university in london. at the end of term she has no home to go back to. the university was not particularly interested in helping me find accommodation. during my summer, ijust ended up couch—surfing for most of it, just trying to survive, just trying to find the money to eat. i moved houses, ithink, eight times just trying to carry suitcases everywhere.

so, i lived around there—ish, and when i had to move out of halls, i got a shopping cart from the local supermarket, i went down the elevator of this accommodation and i tried my best to push my belongings just down to where i lived next. it was one of those moments that really reminds you that you are not a normal student any more. you don't have a family to help you and you've just got to survive it out on your own. my first—year christmas, staying in one of these halls on campus with a friend in her room, and eating kfc, and wejust tried to make christmas something nice, because neither of us had anywhere to go to. the reasons why students are not in contact with their families are often very complicated. abusive parents, clash of values, not being accepted as lgbt are particularly common.

becca bland runs stand alone, a charity which supports adults who're estranged from theirfamilies. we want to help universities put good policies in place, so that might be a specific bursary for estranged students, which they often have for care experience students, too. 365—day accommodation, so no students are actually homeless. guarantor schemes, as those students find it particularly hard to access accommodation without a guarantor, or support with their wellbeing, as they often are surviving family trauma. without the support of parents, these students face a number of difficulties. unlike care leavers, local authorities don't have to provide accommodation to estranged students in the holidays, and research by the charity stand alone suggests estranged students are three times more likely to drop out of university, and around 30% have faced homelessness at some point. liverpooljohn moores currently teaches around

50 estranged students. the university is trying to lead the way in supporting those from unstable homes. ok, so this is our advice centre... we work with all of our students to make sure that they have got access to appropriate accommodation and somewhere to live all year round. we can make sure that there is no need for the student to try and have to get the money together for a deposit, or waive the need for them to have a guarantor. we will try and do our best to make sure nobody ever experiences homelessness whilst they are a student with us, so there is that safety net there so that any eventualities that they would... ..people would normally fall back on, the bank of mum and dad, or other parental support, that we've got additional financial support there for them. this is not about people looking for sympathy, this is about people wanting to come to university and getting on with their lives. connor is a third—year student at liverpooljohn moores. he was 13 when he was moved out of his family home. it's so much easier to be recognised on a system if you've been

through an institution of care than it is if you are estranged — people can be in those circumstances and have no—one know. i wasn't put through any official service, there were very few files kept and the government doesn't know, really, that i am estranged. the amount of financial support which these students are entitled to varies across the uk. in england, they can receive almost £9,000 — the maximum maintenance loan for those studying outside of london. but they have to prove they are an estranged student, which can be incredibly difficult. they need evidence to show they've not had contact with their parents for about a year. when it comes to the likes of the student loans company, i have to get an esteemed member of the community to fill out a form and there is a box on that form, saying, "give every detail that you can about this student's estrangement, " which is just an invasion of privacy, in my view, and to have to refill that every year,

when it is not like the situation is going to have changed. the government is increasingly under pressure to recognise these disadvantaged students. we know there is a problem, but the government seem to be oblivious to that because they don't collect the data, and actually, the government could also be encouraging universities to take this whole issue much more seriously in terms of the support that they can give to their students, to make sure that the young people in their care are actually being cared for, as opposed tojust being regarded as numbers and kind of disposable items. would you call for an inquiry into estranged students? yes, i would call for an inquiry. i think it would be incumbent on an education select committee in a new parliament to look at this vexed question. there is evidence out there, and when we gather the evidence, we then should be making recommendations to government to put this right. 0n ucas forms next year, applicants will be able to declare whether they are estranged,

which will highlight the number of students who face similar challenges to connor and cereza. it is the next thing that we need to bring into the light and go, hang on a minute, there are differences here and elements of discrimination, whether people realise it or not. you know, in the way you wouldn't assume someone's identity, maybe we shouldn't be assuming someone has a stable relationship with their parents. i am trying to do everything in my power to make this university experience the best i can, despite being estranged, despite not having a family to go home to any more. i'm just trying to get to the other end of a substantial grid and hopefully make the next step. —— with a substantial grade. alice porter with that film. let's talk now to three students estranged from their families — blair who went to glasgow, amie from durham and billy from oxford.

we can also speak to chris millward from the university regulator the office for students. david e—mailed to say we have organised a christmas day lunch for people on their own, we call it christmas, it is totally free, the feeder is five—star and some university students are joining leicestershi re university students are joining leicestershire as we see more and more students having nowhere to go over the christmas period, but many friendships will be formed an experience shared. —— set university stu d e nts experience shared. —— set university students arejoining us experience shared. —— set university students are joining us this year. blair, tell is about cutting off contact with your family? at the age of about 1k i came out as gay to my mum, in the seven years since, family relationships have gradually gotten family relationships have gradually gotte n lost family relationships have gradually gotten lost to the point that this time last year i cut off ties with my family, i said what had been going on in secret for all these yea rs going on in secret for all these years and since then i have been living independently. has it been difficult? yes, more so than anything practical it is the emotional difficulty, not having anyone to phone at the end of a hard

day, as difficult as all the financial stuff is, being adventure weirs and facing homelessness, not having somebody to phone is probably most difficult. you had to drop out of uni? because of the issues around student funding, in scotland it is the student awards agency, a different award system for scotland, because of that the system was not allowing people to declare they were estranged and get the extra funding they were entitled to, so for the first three years of university ever supporting myself through the savings i built up when i was working as a child, it got to my third year, i was working about 25 hours a week in a minimum wagejob and could not afford rent and could not focus on my studies, i was on track to fail, it got to the point where i was in rent arrears, it was not tenable to keep up. that is what you had to drop out? yes. since dropping out in january,

you had to drop out? yes. since dropping out injanuary, thanks to my boyfriend, who has been great, we have been lobbying msps, the education and skills committee of the scottish parliament, working with people within sass under student loan company, i amjo with people within sass under student loan company, i am jo was able to go back to university in september. the plan for next years connection appeals has to drop out. how challenging has it been for you, amie, being a strange foam your pa rents ? amie, being a strange foam your parents? it was difficult because i had to make the decision to cut contact. being estranged from your pa rents ? contact. being estranged from your parents? side and dealing with that afterward has been a challenge. when you go to university first of all you go to university first of all you e—mailed home and said, that's it? i e-mailed my family and said imgs using not have contact any more, which i felt i had to do for

my mental health and getting through university, it was a difficult decision but one i had to make, really. in terms of trying to get extra funding because you are estranged from your and dad, and you people assume everyone has that relationship and that is where you go in the holidays? definitely, i was applying for student finance in my second year, in my first year i had been working off my parents' income, for the second year i had to reapply as an estranged student and prove that strange and, but because i had only been a strange 49 or ten months i had loads of gaps in the funding so was trying to pay six months per row rent in advance because i did not have a guarantor, while also trying to start university and lid. billy? similar story, i had been a strange for about five months and i went to the

student loans company and said i don't have funding for my next year of study, they said you need to prove you are estranged, i said i can't do that, in the end i had to get back in touch with my parents and get them to fill the forms out, which was not something i really wanted to do but a decision that was. me. university was due to start in september, i did not get my funding based on my parents' income untiljanuary funding based on my parents' income until january the following funding based on my parents' income untiljanuary the following year, i had to pay rent in advance and had no money. you had to get your pa rents, no money. you had to get your parents, who you are estranged from, to fill in the form to save a strange? no, to fill in the form. in finance to get in any funding, i had to forgo the idea of being a strange because student finance made it so hard. because to prove the strange to have to get an upstanding member of the community, which sounds terribly old—fashioned. what would bea terribly old—fashioned. what would be a better system? the previous

system in scotland, the definition first arrangement was a permanent breakdown and no contact for 12 months, which isjust not breakdown and no contact for 12 months, which is just not what estrangement looks like to anybody going through it. what does it look like? contact for 12 going through it. what does it look like? contact for12 months, that can be unwelcome contact, by the nature of people going through estrangement, quite a lot of it is controlling relationships and emotional manipulation, so that is not just a emotional manipulation, so that is notjust a bad definition but particularly challenging for estranged students, by forcing them to get back in contact with the people they had a strange themselves from, that puts them at risk.|j people they had a strange themselves from, that puts them at risk. i was going to say, it forces you to either be fully estranged or not, you have to maintain it otherwise you have to maintain it otherwise you have to go through the hoops again. i think it is about believing students, if a student says they are estranged, we need to believe and support them, nobody will lie about

that, fundamentally. chris, i wonder if you accept that this process of having to prove you are estranged needs to change? there is a lot we can improve on and how universities support students through this. thanks to the work of stand—alone, we have a category other strange stu d e nts we have a category other strange students and we can require universities to demonstrate what they are doing to support students through this process, the key thing is that universities provide a point of co nta ct is that universities provide a point of contact before application so they can help you with the student loa ns com pa ny process they can help you with the student loans company process and offer a package of support combining financial support, accommodation not only during term time but also an academic offer, so ourjob is to make sure universities improve the support thatjoined make sure universities improve the support that joined up make sure universities improve the support thatjoined up approach. make sure universities improve the support that joined up approach. who would it be down to two change the system of having to prove you are a

strange? what would be better, you being able to say, i and a strange turn that is the end of it? the student loans company determines the rules around eligibility and stand alone would tell you they have made improvements over the last 12 months, putting in place a team to provide advice, i think it is really important that the language and correspondence is human, it recognises the situation you are in but then they also refer students to contact points in universities, people like stand alone, so you are not alone when you are filling out those forms and providing that information. what about dealing directly with the suggestion that stu d e nts directly with the suggestion that students should be able to celtic lie? it is great that ucas is bringing ina lie? it is great that ucas is bringing in a self declaration, for the first time you will be able to have good data on who the students are, universities will know they can put the support in place and we can understand it students like yourselves are more likely to drop

out, we can hold universities to account, so i think that will be a really important step. it sounds like that will happen, what you think of that? fantastic, a lot of the processes so challenging, both by talking to so many people, having to declare yourself and talk about what is a difficult decision or a difficult circumstance, it is so important it is humane and you believe students when they are in vulnerable positions. universities can establish groups, in the university of hull they have established with the two york universities and have brought a strange students to talk to others who arejoining. strange students to talk to others who are joining. this text says this brings back painful memories, i was a student at goldsmiths in the 90s, i had no one, iwork a student at goldsmiths in the 90s, i had no one, i work to pay for my accommodation, my student years, every year i faced threats of withdrawal and eviction, it was really tough. my place at university

help me stay off the streets and earn a feature but it was achieved with no thanks to the university. my m essa g es with no thanks to the university. my messages hang on in by any means necessary , messages hang on in by any means necessary, it will get better, life will get better. and he says i would give a room to any student and in return they could help meissen with his gcses, which is a decent offer, i think. -- his gcses, which is a decent offer, i think. —— andy says. where do you spend christmas? i am lucky enough this year to spend it with my boyfriend and his family, in past yea rs i have boyfriend and his family, in past years i have had to ask to work on christmas day. the two do. what about you ? a christmas day. the two do. what about you? a blow i am with my partner and his family, which i had in all the way to university, which is nice. my plans include an airbnb, a chinese takeaway and lots of video games. somebody might be coming over, but we don't know yet. thank you all for coming on the programme and thank you forjoining us, we

appreciate it. blair, amie, billy and chris, our representative from the office for students. caroline flack has stood down as host of love island. it was due to start injanuary. on friday, caroline was charged with assault following a private domestic incident. caroline flack, host of love island, she will not be presenting the next series of love island, due to start injanuary, series of love island, due to start in january, because series of love island, due to start injanuary, because of series of love island, due to start in january, because of that assault charge. now, look at this extraordinary footage. it's a car being pushed along the a40 in london by a lorry. it isa it is a royal mail lorry. let's look again, it is quite bizarre.

if it wasn't extraordinary enough, it turns out the incident was witnessed by the singer ellie goulding, whose chauffeur jumps out of the car and confronts the lorry driver who, it seems, suggests he didn't even know he was pushing the car along. ellie goulding told her 14.4 million instagram followers: "on a side note, i can't believe the first instinct of the other drivers who got out was to instantly start filming on their phones and shout abuse at the poor shocked driver, not even checking the other driver was ok. what on earth? !" joining me now to talk about the incident is rebecca ashton, who is head of policy and research into driver behaviour at iam roadsmart — a road safety charity. hi, rebecca. good morning. what do you think of this? it is shocking, i am just glad everybody is ok and

nobody has been injured, but it goes to show the dangers we have on the road and how we all had to take big responsibility for our safety.|j don't think any of us have ever seen anything like that on a dual carriageway in the capital city of the uk, i can't even begin to imagine how it happened?” the uk, i can't even begin to imagine how it happened? i don't know how it happened either, i think thatis know how it happened either, i think that is something the lorry driver and the driver of the vehicle will be unravelling as the story goes on. when you are in a situation like that, it can be very scary and never racking for all parties involved. but the driver of the track a p pa re ntly but the driver of the track apparently was unaware? that literally just beneath apparently was unaware? that literallyjust beneath his dashboard he was pushing a vw? yes, obviously i can't speak about what the driver could see, however normally i would say there is a mirror at the front which is a fantastic mirror which would show down and show what was

there. and because of the heightened there. and because of the heightened the size of the car he should be able to see that through the windscreen, but i was not there so i do not know. the vice royal mail say we are very concerned about this incident, we sincerely hope nobody was hurt, we are investigating as a matter of urgency. we don't know exactly what happened or how, is there any possibility this could be a kind of stunt? i would like to think not, i would like to think that people take road safety very seriously and understand lights could have been at risk during that. there were sounds that could show he been able to hear the scraping of the tyres going down, there possibly could have been some sort of feeling on the track from pushing a car sideways, it is not easy, i really hope it was not a stunt, specially putting at risk. is there any chance that really loud music in the cab would mask the sound of anything

else? we rely on all of our senses when driving, so sound could possibly have reduced the sound you would hear outside, but then the driver would hopefully be paying attention and be able to see. the really important part is to make sure all your merits of set up properly, not just the sure all your merits of set up properly, notjust the truck driver but everybody on the road needs to ta ke but everybody on the road needs to take responsibility for their driving. thank you very much. the government is to pass a law to stop any extension of the brexit process. boris johnson's withdrawal agreement is to include a new clause when it comes back to the commons, saying trade talks can not be taken beyond the end of december 2020. critics say this puts no deal back on the table, and labour called the move reckless. we will hear from the lib dems we will hearfrom the lib dems in a moment, but first norman smith is in westminster. what is the situation and what does the government want to change? the situation at the moment is that if the trade talks get

tricky then we can say, you know what, we will need more time and ask foran what, we will need more time and ask for an extra two years after december next year. that is quite a big buffer. in his manifesto, boris johnson said, no way, i will not ask for any more time. he has no said he will enshrined that in law, so a nyway will enshrined that in law, so anyway he has just underscored with anyway he has just underscored with a great big red felt tip pen what was already in his manifesto. people say the reason he has done that it's about trust, trying to say to voters, trust me, i really mean it when i say there will be no further extension beyond december next year, but it is also part of, frankly, trying to turn the heat upon the eu because there is a view that the eu will be quite happy for negotiations to drag on, and qatar teamjohnson is my belief is we are already pretty closely aligned with the rest of the eu so there is no reason we

should not be able to get a trade deal, albeit most trades deals take yea rs, deal, albeit most trades deals take years, not months, so it raises prospect that by the end of next year the alternative is once again no deal, albeit michael gove sounded pretty confident this morning. we will get a deal, and the political declaration commits both sides to that. so, michel barnier and the european union have put in black—and—white and have committed themselves to making sure that we get a deal by that time. it also tells us those who thought borisjohnson was some sort of soft brexit sleeper and now, he has his majority he will turn his back on the erd, they have been proved wrong because he has signalled there won't because he has signalled there won't be an extension and last night hardline brexiteers were in downing street and left happy, saying they and boris johnson were street and left happy, saying they and borisjohnson were on the same

page. christine jardine is one of only 11 lib dems left in parliament. what diference wld enshringing this in law make? either the premise it is opening the door to crashing out with no deal on, at the end of 2020, or it is a stu nt. on, at the end of 2020, or it is a stunt. a stunt would be responsible and living is open to crashing out with no deal, after everything we have been through, just come to me, is not in the best interests of the country. 0peration yellowhammer told us country. 0peration yellowhammer told us how dangerous the government itself thinks that could be. why he is doing this now is unnecessary and irresponsible. why irresponsible? he says in his ma nifesto why irresponsible? he says in his manifesto this is what he promised, we won't go beyond december 2020. he could be putting it in law symbolism.

if he is saying we won't go to stay in after the end of 2020, the danger is that there is no trade deal. he is confident he will get that sorted. we are only 12 months away from the end of 2020. is it 12 months to get a trade deal... it took canada the best pa rt a trade deal... it took canada the best part of a decade, it has taken everybody years. trade deals are not just with the eu, they take a long time to negotiate. there are only two reasons why you would put this m, two reasons why you would put this in, one is as a stunt, or he believes at the end of 2020 we can walk away without a deal. the third reason is to focus minds and make sure that free trade agreement is done. if that was a reasonable possibility. as everyone is saying, 12 months is not long enough to negotiate an effective trade deal which is in the best interest of this country. for me, the best

interests of the country should come first, not political expediency or what is best for the premise that all conservative party. if we get to the 30th of november without a trade deal, what will the prime minister do? will he drive us off the cliff without one? is there a possibility we could have a broad framework of a free trade agreement, the in december 2020 with that, and build on it as we go on? a bare framework of what? if we leave without a deal on 31st december next year, what do businesses do? we had the ridiculous situation earlier when we were up against one deadline where whiskey going to japan left this country without either the dealers buying it injapan orthe

without either the dealers buying it in japan or the producers without either the dealers buying it injapan or the producers here knowing whether we would be in the eu and what the terms of trade would be. if we leave without a deal at the end of next year, broad framework or whatever, companies need to know what the actual deal will be. they can't work to a broad framework. they need to know the ta riffs framework. they need to know the tariffs will be. they need to know before the end of november next year. not a few weeks before terms are implemented. borisjohnson has told his first cabinet, you ain't seen nothing yet, i'm not sure exactly what he means. i have no idea. this is more bluster and bluff from the prime minister. let me ask you this... for me, it is not just about winning the election but making sure you do the right thing for the country. i want to ask if you regret not

voting for theresa may's withdrawal agreement which would have brought you a much softer brexit, and would have put off the possibility of leaving the eu without the deal. it is the first time i have been asked, but no, i don't. even though you are talking about no deal again. there is no point regretting something you did two or three years ago, when we didn't know these were the circumstances. we rejected that because it wasn't a good deal, that is the only reason you should vote. and doing that, nobody knew if we would be in this situation now where even though he has a majority, nobody, even the conservatives, thought this would be the outcome. do you regret... voting for the election?

well, do i regret what happened in the election? no, do you regret voting for the election. where we were at that point was we had to get an extension from the eu or we were crashing out. we wanted a referendum, the labour party let us down. in those circumstances, in those circumstances, i had no option because there was no referendum on the table. it was crashed out a few days later or vote for a general election to give us a chance to sort out the mess. will you stand to be leader of the liberal democrats? i haven't decided, i haven't ruled anything out or in. it is too soon. we don't know exactly what we got wrong yet. we have to look at that. what we got right, an extra million people voted for us this time. so we got things right. we shouldn'tjump in and say, fix all this mess. we

have to look at where we are, and move on. that is the point at which to choose a new leader. not right now. you are not ruling it out. iam not you are not ruling it out. i am not ruling it out. let's return to that breaking news. caroline flack has said she will stand down as host of the upcoming series of love island after she was charged with assault. this is what she's posted on her instagram today. "there have been a significant number of media reports and allegations in regards to my personal life. while matters were not as have been reported, i am committed to cooperating with the appropriate authorities and i can't comment further on these matters until the legal process is over. however, love island has been my world for the last five years, it's the best show on telly. in order not to detract attention from the upcoming series i feel the best thing i can do is stand down for series six. i want to wish the incredible team working on the show a fantastic series in cape town." 0ur entertainment correspondent lizo mzimba is here.

what happened last week which has led to this? last week there were reports of an incident where she lives in london, and since then, she was charged by the police with assault by beating ofa the police with assault by beating of a male. and she will appear in magistrates‘ court on monday in connection with that particular offence. in terms of the next series, she is stepping back from it, is that the right decision? will it have been her decision?” assume it will have been a joint decision taken by her and itv. 0bviously, decision taken by her and itv. obviously, this is a programme that is all about relationships, it is a very popular programme, with a great influence on younger viewers are getting something like $6 million —— 6 million viewers. 0bviously, she has been charged with a very serious offence, i think she and itv will

presumably have ta ken offence, i think she and itv will presumably have taken the point of view that until that is all resolved one way or another, it will be wrong to have a presenting a programme of this magnitude on one of their channels. this statement in from itv. let mejust read this statement in from itv. let me just read it... this statement in from itv. let mejust read it... itv this statement in from itv. let me just read it... itv has a long—standing relationship with caroline and we understand and accept her decision, we will remain in contact with her over the coming months about future series of love island. the idv statement regarding caroline flack and her decision to step down. itv has a long—standing relationship with caroline and we understand and accept her condition —— her decision. it is worth bearing in mind this is the first time love island is happening in the winter. people remember it as a summer programme. preparations will already have been well under way for the first winter

series of love island which caroline was due to present, which starts in january 2020 and will be filmed in south africa. south africa. so who will present it? there are so many presenters who could do it. people talk about rylan clark—neal. the thing about love island is it is not a programme where the person presenting is the crucial thing that makes it work. it is a programme all about relationships, the interaction on the island. people say the voice—over is a much more important element of the show. while all of it measures together to make it work, it is about the individuals taking part, and their stories, rather than the person presenting the show. thank you. they‘re the most famous animated family on the planet and have been entertaining viewers around the world for more than 600 episodes. the simpsons is celebrating its 30th birthday. the cartoon is known for its uncanny predictions — including forseeing the trump presidency as early as 2000,

and smartphones in 1994. as you know we have inherited a budget crunch for president trump. aw, 20 dollars! i wanted a peanut. homer's brain: '20 dollars can buy many peanuts.‘ explain how. 'money can be exchanged for goods and services.‘ whoo—hoo! whoa! hey, dolph, take a memo on your newton: "beat up martin." bah! yowl! but the show has also been criticised for being racist and out of touch with today‘s world.

i‘ve been speaking to mel evans, assistant entertainment editor at metro and lifelong the simpsons fan, and bill schultz. bill animated the show from 1992 to 1997, made over 100 episodes and has won two emmy awards for his work. he told me why he thinks the show is still going strong. there is love. that is actually... there are lots of shows that our family, and you hear people talk about how subversive the simpsons is. but i think those of us who have worked on the show know how much love the characters have for one another. so, i think that's what keeps it going. no matter what crazy stuff they get into, or they do, no matter how stupid, or whether homer chokes bart or whatever, you still get the feeling they love each other. but i think that is what makes people want to keep coming back. mel, are you one of those people who keeps coming back for more? unfortunately, i‘m not. i am a massive fan, i grew up with the show. but there is this heyday. i‘m going to say my favourite season is between seasons three and 12. for people who don‘t follow the simpsons, why do you say

that was the most magical time? each episode was its own stand—alone classic. and it drove the pop culture of conversation, it was pop culture. now i feel like it is more reactionary, taking cues from pop culture but sometimes theyjust fall very flat. back in that heyday, every single episode, you could tune in and it would be taking, it would be driving the whole world and what everyone was talking about. it feels like it doesn‘t have that any more. how does it predict the future so well? well, it kind of shotgunsjust an incredible amount of content that gets fed into every episode. animation, every single scene that goes on tv... so, they are veryjudicious about what they can fit in terms of the number ofjokes and everything.

and so, throwing in a couple of extra jokes ever so often gives them a chance to have, let's say, donald trump is the president, or any of these other kind of amazing predictions. even the shard building in london, that‘s down to an incredible writing team, is it? they are really smart, a lot of harvard graduates, very, very bright and educated folks who know the whole world and try to take that lens and put it through their cartoon prism. so, i think, people get disarmed because they think it's a cartoon but the writing on that show is as good as any other. let me bring mel back in, i want to show this clip, it involves apu, let‘s have a look. hey, apu, what's with the line? it's application day at miss wickerbottom's pre— nursery school. pre— nursery school? the fast track begins at birth. claw and bite for position.

barely enough tuition money for two. rest of you, better luck next life. some people say that that voice, that depiction, is racist, what do you think? yeah, i feel like especially in the last 12 months, the outcry has been louder. people are offended by apu. when a whole country culture is saying let‘s switch things up. we have had apu for 30 seasons, why are we still tapping into these racial stereotypes? 0bviously, there‘s groundskeeper willie, and there are other characters that might be stereotypical of certain countries. but i think when it comes to apu, there‘s a lot of people saying, i am offended, because that is how my dad is treated when people impersonate me, that is what they sound like. it is issue where a lot of people are offended. bill, i know you no longer work on the show. you will have heard that criticism. well, actually, i don't know

the episode or the season, but i am pretty sure apu has been retired for exactly those reasons. mike is the head writer on the show, he said that when they decided they were going to retire apu for exactly those sensitivities, there were actually a lot of folks in that community that were kind of disappointed because they got the joke, and for them it was ok. but i think when it comes to being sensitive, that there is a line that comedy can go right up to. but i think if you don't recognise it and you go across it, then, i think you go from good fun, to bad taste. how long does it take for you to start and finish one episode, and bill, can you talk about a particular moment orfondest memory from your time? sure. it's a glacial process, it takes, believe it or not, about nine months to do one episode. and you have about 300 people working on that episode over

the course of the season, from the writing, to the recording, and the storyboarding and animation which is done in korea. everyone knows we have the couch gags which are great little moments that get changed up in every episode, the family, the main title, comes and sits on the sofa in the living room. we call them couch gags. 0ne episode, we were about 20 seconds short and we had to deliver to the exact length of the show. you can't have 20 seconds of dead air. so, to fill up the space, they said, let's extend one of the couch gags. we thought when we were producing, we will have characters switch places three more times or something very simple. and instead, they came up with the idea having the wall behind the family open up and having an ever—increasing view of a circus, juggling, elephants, acrobats, and dancers.

and so the production in that is, if you can imagine doing a whole episode in three weeks, shipping it to korea, getting it back and getting it on air, it was quite a fire drill. wejust showed our audience that very moment. mel, finally, do you agree that every animation since the simpsons, including family guy, owes a debt to the simpsons? 100%. i can sit here and think, if it ended, i wouldn‘t be crying into my box sets. but i do think every show really, really does owe that debt. thank you, both of you, thank you very much for coming on the programme. bill, happy christmas, thanks for waiting up for us in la, we appreciate it. and mel, thank you. thank you for having me. thank you. campaigners have hit out at inspectors who have found "no fault" with the way prosecutors are making decisions on bringing rape cases to court, despite the number of charges and prosecutions plummeting. several women‘s groups have said they are "hugely disappointed" in today‘s hm crown prosecution service inspectorate report.

the attorney general ordered the inspection to investigate why successful prosecutions had dropped by 52% since 2016, even though the number of rape allegations reported to police rose by 43% in the same timeframe. the report was also commissioned to determine whether the cps was to blame for the fall. the independent inspectors did say they thatjustice system is "close to breaking point" because of cuts. let‘s talk now to nazir afzal who was the cps‘s chief prosecutor for north west england from 2011 to 2015. the victims commissioner for england and wales vera baird. and annie tisshaw who says she was raped by a man on a date but the cps decided not to pursue a prosecution. tell us what happened ? tell us what happened? i reported to the police after months and months my case did go to cbs and they asked for more information. one of the

things they asked for was the police did manage to get from the evening. it turned out that was one of the reasons why my case was dropped because i was looking happy and fine at that point in the evening which of course i was because it was hours before it happened. it was turned around on me and was one of the reasons why my case was dropped. what do you think about reason? from what you have explained, it suggests to me they were investigating you rather than the suspect. that is sadly the culture that has existed for at least two decades. i thought we had changed that three or four years ago when the then dpp said we need to look at the case in the round and not just focus on credibility of the complainant but look at the suspect. clearly something has gone awry here. this report, i know lots of prosecutors, they are very diligent and

professional and i won't criticise them at all, but the report talks about silly being endemic in the system, and breaking point. i can speak from experience. resources are very poor. we are at beyond breaking point i think. we are at a stage where cases are not being prosecuted with any speed. there are examples of two and a half years between a report and a decision. some of last week said she has been waiting three years for a decision to be made. with that level of delay it is no wonder victims or components walk away and say, what is the point? zero, your reaction to the startling figures, and the conclusion it wasn‘t prosecutors who are risk averse in taking forward a case? —— vera. what needed to be probed is the

culture that prevails in the cbs and frankly 79,000 complaints and 1900 prosecutions, not successful ones, just prosecutions, shows there are tens and —— there are victims not getting justice. there is a well— known cultural backdrop to this. it has been repeated many times, in 2017, a very senior trainer from the main office of the cps, trained all the assault lawyers, the sort of person, a chief crown prosecutor where people would be dependent on promotion. he was quoted as saying you need to take cases out of the system to increase the conviction rate. that is not what this independent report says, independent inspectors, according to the dpp, saying i am

reassured inspectors have found no evidence cps has not become risk averse. which is why i want to finish my point, that training occurred and no one has ever doubted it. and the conviction rate went up, and the prosecution rate fell. the way you get a lot of convictions is too imitate rock—solid cases. let me just finish, please, victim sector really wanted to have faith in this report. and we from my office and many other victims organisations have repeatedly written to the cps and asked the chief inspector to bring in some independent oversight because almost one third of the inspectors who carried out this review of case files are themselves

immediately past assault lawyers from the cps. you don‘t have faith in this report? the culture is of people who were doing thisjob a short the culture is of people who were doing this job a short time ago investigating how it is done, against the backdrop of all of that training, and longer cultural history then caution is the watchword. are you saying to me you don‘t have faith in this report? lam faith in this report? i am saying i agree with the chief inspector who makes very clear that more work needs to be done, and i say that is because we need to be assured by having independent oversight, to have panels with lay people looking at where cases have not succeeded, we have asked for that process, and we say on behalf

of victims, that is what needs to be done. we want more convictions, we wa nt done. we want more convictions, we want more prosecutions. the cps is excellent but it needs to be probed culturally to make sure this is not what is affecting, and they haven't done it in the right way, it is a shame... if you are a woman watching this and considering whether to go to the police with a complaint of assault, what message would you take? i think it is really difficult, and i would hate to say to anybody to not report. but also, i think we should show the truth, and we should say how it really is to go to the police and say you were raped, and what really happened. it definitely is difficult and i would hate to say not to report, but also i can‘t lie about the experience i have had. what would need to change within the culture just described? it is right, there is a cultural

issue. this report, there are fireworks blown up behind you, and you are saying, nothing to see here. there is plenty to see. the issue around delay, where the government are saying they will put more money m, are saying they will put more money in, but this seems a short—term fix. if you look at the port, 195 pages, there has been significant improvements in the last 12 months. the microscope has been looking at them, conviction rates have gone up, them, conviction rates have gone up, the numberof them, conviction rates have gone up, the number of referrals has gone up, delays have gone down. clearly they can do it when people require them to do it. we should require them to do it 24/7, 365 days a year. what should change for those who allege rape? a good deal needs to change it. i wholly support the cps inspectorate saying they need to do more work with the police inspector so they have to get over this culture of

blaming the police, and get to the reality. it is overdue that rape complainants who are vulnerable by nature, and whose personal material, and an interesting finding in the report is in 40% of a sample of cases, the demand for downloading digital phone material were not proportionate and not justified. exactly what victims have been saying for a long time. we need independent legal advocates now for complainants in rape cases to help them through all of these obstacles and all of these difficulties. but we definitely need more work to be done before we can be satisfied that we have plumbed the understanding of what is going wrong. 79,000 convictions —— 70 9000,1900

convictions, that is appalling. thank you. your position is still going, what is it for? it has closed, it ended on 30,000 signatures, to stop accountancy of notes of rape survivors being used in court. if you want more information or support, go to our bbc website. bbc newsroom live is coming up next. thank you for your company today. a misty and murky start to the day for many of us, some dense fog patches particularly around the midlands and northern areas. the fog made clear in the afternoon across

the vale of york but elsewhere it should lift but stay misty with rain across the south—east in the afternoon. showers elsewhere. clearing away from scotland. brighter skies in northern areas in the afternoon. a chilly feeling day, a top temperature of 8 degrees. we lose the rain overnight with fog developing in central and eastern areas. and frost on wednesday morning as temperatures hover around freezing. 0n morning as temperatures hover around freezing. on wednesday, the breeze will pick up in the west. and rain in western areas. there will be a few brighter spells in the afternoon. goodbye.

you‘re watching bbc newsroom live. it‘s 11am and these are the main stories this morning... borisjohnson holds his first cabinet since the general election — saying they should work flat out to deliver to people who lent their votes to the conservatives. the voters of this country have changed this government and our party for the better. and we must repay their trust now by working a review into record low rape conviction rates finds the justice system "close to breaking point" — because of cuts. boeing announces it‘s to stop production of its 737 max aircraft — which has been grounded for months after two fatal crashes. the refugee and migrant children living in camps on the greek island of lesbos, who feel life isn‘t worth living the greek government recently

announced plans to move 20,000