today at 5pm — battling to contain the coronavirus — there's a shortage of protective clothing and masks worldwide, as the numbers of people infected continues to rise. on board a cruiseliner quarantined in yokohama, a british man is one of more than 60 people to have contracted the virus. one of whom is a friend of ours, on honeymoon, who has been, who was going to be split from his wife, you know, on honeymoon. i'll be speaking to a professor of infectious disease, who has been working with the world health organisation. the other main stories on bbc news at 5... a gp who committed 90 sexual assaults on female patients has been given three life sentences, with a minimum term of 15 years.

i have made this decision, which is essential for i have made this decision, which is essentialfor me, i have made this decision, which is essential for me, and i have made this decision, which is essentialfor me, and essentialfor my head, and that is principally the reason that i've done this. phillip schofield — one of britain's most famous tv presenters — has revealed he is gay. previously unseen letters and rare papers from charles dickens go on display for the first time. and it's the first korean film to be nominated for an oscar for best picture — find out what mark kermode thinks of "parasite", and the rest of the week's top cinema releases, in the film review. good evening, it's 5 o'clock, i'mjane hill, our main story. the world health organisation has warned that the coronavirus outbreak has led to a global shortage of protective equipment,

and has called for more money to tackle the spread of the illness. meanwhile, a british passenger is among more than 60 people onboard a cruise ship offjapan to have tested positive for coronavirus. more than 3,500 people and crew remain in quarantine in the port of yokohama. in china, there's been a growing wave of grief and anger, following the death of a doctor who tried to warn about the outbreak, but was told by the authorities to keep quiet. here's our beijing correspondent robin brant. it's stuck at the quayside, and they are stuck on board. the diamond princess is a huge floating health hazard. things are happening literally every hour, something is changing, the biggest of course being 41 additional passengers being found positive tested for the coronavirus, one of whom is a friend of ours, on honeymoon, who has been...

erm, who was going to be split from his wife, you know, on honeymoon. he is going to be taken to a medical facility and she will have to remain on board. the cruise ship is the scene of the biggest outbreak outside of china. david abell is one of the passengers, one of thousands ordered to their cabins a week ago. we have also been given, in addition to the face masks, we have now been given gloves, so if we do go outside, we have to wear the gloves, and i think that is a sensible precaution, especially if you are going to be touching handrails on the ship or anything like that. in all, there are 3,700 passengers and crew. 78 are known to be british. so far, 61 have tested positive for the virus, including one briton, alan steele. he is on his honeymoon. in china, the epicentre city of wuhan is facing even more extreme measures. daily temperature checks for every household,

and new makeshift hospitals to house new patients, all under quarantine. but in this video, posted on social media, which we have been unable to fully verify, people there complain of a lack of basic standards. as the death toll keeps rising, a doctor who treated patients early on is now one of the dead. li wenliang was just 34. his death is even more potent because he tried to raise the alarm six weeks ago, but he was punished by the police in china for spreading rumours. translation: he is a hero, he was a brilliant doctor. he was very brave and honest to be a whistle—blower. translation: he gave his life for the sake of our country and he was very young. i'm very sorry. translation: he was not spreading rumours. the virus was out there.

i hope the government will withdraw the reprimand. what my son said has now proved to be true. two weeks into this national emergency, wuhan is a city completely cut off. china's leaders are calling it a war to defeat the outbreak, and in that war, some of the authorities are turning to this. this footage, apparently shot near shanghai, but not one we have been able to fully verify, shows officials forcibly removing people suspected of carrying the virus. life in china's commercial capital, like many other of its vast cities, still on hold. shanghai is normally home to 2a million people, but most of them are nowhere to be seen. robin brant, bbc news, shanghai. our health editor hugh pym is at westminster.

he has the latest on the british situation. a little bit more information coming out, including about one of the british people with this, the man who lives in brighton. that's right, jane. the patient, a middle—aged man, is being treated at saint thomas as hospitaljust middle—aged man, is being treated at saint thomas as hospital just across the thames from where i am here at westminster. we knew he was taken to saint thomas's late yesterday, two their specialist isolation treatment facility, similar to the one in newcastle, where two other patients with this strain of coronavirus are being treated. what has become clear todayis being treated. what has become clear today is the sequence of events leading up to it. he had been at a business conference in singapore, then came home, was contacted by the singaporean authorities to warn him that there had been a positive case diagnosed, presumably at the conference. he then experienced symptoms, called nhs iii, was then advised to go by appointment to an isolated nhs facility in the

brighton area, where he was tested. then went home, isolated himself, awaiting the results of the test. there was positive, then he was brought into hospital. the significance here is, nhs sources are telling me, he did exactly the right thing, he called 111 to get advice, he didn't go to a gp surgery oi’ advice, he didn't go to a gp surgery or to advice, he didn't go to a gp surgery ortoa advice, he didn't go to a gp surgery or to a local hospital a&e. there we re or to a local hospital a&e. there were reports last night he had been to the a&e, people were having to be contacted. that, i'm told, is absolutely not true. and there are more people, more british citizens arriving back in this country, this weekend, from china? yes. previously two groups had arrived back from wuhan on chartered flights, they we re wuhan on chartered flights, they were taken for a 14 day quarantine period to arrowe park hospital in the wirral. i understand the next group of british citizens being flown in from wuhan will arrive on sunday and be taken to an nhs facility at milton keynes. it is not clear what that is, some sort of

training facility i gather, not necessarily part of the hospital, and of course they will have public health officials and medical staff giving them advice for their 14 day quarantine period. thank you very much for now. the latest from our health editor, hugh pym, at westminster. let's stay with this story. david heymann is a professor of infectious disease epidemiology at the london school of tropical medicine, and he's on the committee that developed the risk assessment for the world health organisation. hejoins me now. professor, very many thanks for your time. i mean, so many strands to this. what is your assessment, first of all, of where we are with this outbreak, what is your understanding of how much is known, and perhaps how much further there is to learn? well, what is happening is there is more and more information coming in from china, from the 24 countries where there have been cases exported

from china, and also from the cruise ships, and with that, who is getting a much better view of what is going oi'i a much better view of what is going on in this outbreak. this is a disease which has a wide range of manifestations, from asymptomatic to very serious and death in some people, especially those with comorbidities, such as diabetes or respiratory disease. in addition, it appears that transmission is by face—to—face contact, a cough or a sneeze from one person contaminating another person, or by hands when you are touching patients or dealing with patients, you then infect yourself. in addition, it is known that this virus can be stopped in certain instances by good epidemiological practices, isolating patients as, making sure that prevention techniques are in place to prevent infection of other patients and to make sure that the contacts are watched for fever or

other signs of disease. so given all of that, you mentioned face—to—face transmission or shaking hands, you will know i'm sure that there is a number of british scientists who have called to dave for actually a blanket ban on anyone coming from china to the uk —— have called today. until a vaccine is developed. i'm just curious what your take on that situation is. well, a vaccine isa that situation is. well, a vaccine is a long way away, a vaccine will not be developed and tested fully in animals and then in humans until probably the end of this year. so what is important now is precautionary measures. as we get more and more information, more people in the jigsaw puzzle will fit together on the risks, but for now countries are determining what is most appropriate for their own situations and making recommendations. the recommendations that the uk is making our precautionary, to protect the population. so quarantine, for

example, is not an overreaction, in your opinion? well, every country has to decide on what it needs to do and what it can do best, and the uk has made that decision, along with many other countries who are using the same approaches. and when people are watching this here for example that the world health organisation has warned that they are running out of masks and gloves and so on, quite fundamental pieces of equipment, i mean, people would perhaps be really, really worried when they hear that. how concerned should people be who are trying to keep up with this? well, masks are not a good means of prevention in the general public. they have been shown in many, many studies not to be effective in protecting people from infection or even stopping people from giving an infection to others if they are wearing it. they are a very poor means of community control. they are necessary for health workers. in addition, protective clothing is necessary and i understand that china is making an effort to get much, much more,

that's where the need is greatest. so there is a supplier. what is important is that it be used properly. professor, we appreciate yourtime, properly. professor, we appreciate your time, thank you very much indeed, a busy time for you. from the london school of hygiene and tropical medicine. we will move onto one of our other main stories here tonight. a gp from east london has been given three life sentences for 90 sexual offences against female patients. manish shah, who assaulted 24 women including a 15 year old girl, was described as a "master of deception" by the judge at the old bailey. he was told he'll serve a minimum of 15 years in prison. the court had heard that shah exploited fears about cancer to persuade his patients to undergo unnecessary invasive examinations for his own gratification. our correspondent helena wilkinson is at the old bailey. well,, jane, more well, , jane, more than well,, jane, more than a dozen of the female patients were in court

today to see the doctor who they trusted sentenced for sexually assaulting them. now, he was a doctor who posed as a caring and concerned one. he had a practice in the east london, when in fact, behind the scenes, he was using these women for his own sexual gratification, the court heard. he carried out intimate examinations when they weren't needed, and often we re when they weren't needed, and often were putting the women at risk. we also heard that he made reference to also heard that he made reference to a number of celebrities when he saw some of these patients, celebrities who had either died or were diagnosed as being at risk of cancer in order to scare his female victims. thejudge today in order to scare his female victims. the judge today sentenced shah to three life sentences. at that point the parole board will have to decide when he will be released, but in her sentencing remarks, thejudge today released, but in her sentencing remarks, the judge today said he released, but in her sentencing remarks, thejudge today said he had made up stories, which got into the

heads and caused panic to his female patients. he said, your behaviour was not only sexual but was driven by your desire to control and on occasions humiliate women. outside court, after that sentencing, we spoke to detective superintendent ta ra spoke to detective superintendent tara govan. i think the judge summed it up best when she said he was a master of deception. he used his position as a family doctor to access vulnerable women, to carry out unnecessary medical procedures, breaching their trust, for his own sexual gratification. so, 90 sexual offences against 24 female patients, the youngest of which was 15 years old, and she gave a victim impact statement in court today in front of shah, who is in the dock. she said her confidence had been shattered after he sexually assaulted her, and also now when she

goes to visit her doctor, she is fearful, and she is shaking. her confidence has really been knocked. also, after shah was convicted last year at his second trial, we spoke to one of his victims will stop we have had to protect her identity for legal reasons. he used our weaknesses, fears to take complete advantage, but not one time did i actually think he was doing anything untoward. and thejudge also and the judge also said that we may never really find out the true scale of shah's offending. a record number of migrants were stopped by police after crossing the channel today, according to the home office. 102 people made the crossing in six boats — beating yesterday's total of 90, which had also set a new record. another 30 people were stopped in boats on the french side of the channel. police said the migrants have told them they are from iran, iraq,

afghanistan, syria and pakistan. the headlines on bbc news... as the number of people infected with coronavirus continues to rise, the world helath organisation says there's a shortage of protective clothing and masks. a gp who committed 90 sexual assaults on female patients has been given three life sentences with a minimum term of 15 years. phillip schofield — one of britain's most famous tv presenters — has come out as gay. coming up in sport, heather watson loses the first rubber of great britain's five match fed cup tie with slovakia. the winners will reach the finals in april. rain forces england's second one—day international against south africa in durban to be abandoned. the hosts lead the series 1—0, with one match remaining. scotland captain stuart hock believes his side can beat

england —— stuart hogg, as they look forward to facing the auld enemy at murrayfield tomorrow. more with all of those stories at 5:30pm. the itv presenter phillip schofield has revealed that he's gay. speaking on his programme, "this morning", he said he's had the strength and support of his wife, to whom he's been married for nearly 27 years, and his two adult daughters. the presenter said he's been suffering years of inner conflict. sarah campbell reports. the programme he's hosted for almost two decades started very differently today, with phillip schofield's words read by his co—host and friend, holly willoughby. "with the strength and support of my wife and my daughters, i have been coming to terms with the fact that i am gay. this is something that has caused many heartbreaking conversations at home. i have been married to steph for nearly 27 years, and we have two beautiful grown—up daughters, molly and ruby.

this will probably all come as something of a surprise, and i understand. but only by facing this, being honest, can i hope to find peace in my mind and a way forward. please be kind, especially to my family, phillip." so... wow. i think we just should take a breath... yup. ..at that point. i mean, reading that i can hear your voice, i can hear the pain and i can hear how difficult that is for you. phillip schofield has been a familiar face to viewers since his beginnings on children's bbc in the 80s alongside gordon the gopher. he starred on the west end stage asjoseph, and more recently, as well as this morning, co—hosts the itv programme dancing on ice. there was an outpouring of support for him across social media. the lgbt equality charity stonewall said it was an incredibly brave and moving announcement. david walliams said he had nothing but respect and admiration for him. i think that when celebrities,

or those with high sort of profiles in the media, decide to come out, it shines a spotlight and raises attention to the issue that there are still many people out there who are unable to come out. i feel a little lighter... yeah. but i'm also very, very aware of, you know, there's no question that it causes pain as it causes upset. phillip schofield's relief at coming out was clear. the sentiment widely shared online — that he might help others do the same. sarah campbell, bbc news. we will be talking more about that story just after her we will be talking more about that storyjust after her past. let's take a look at some of the other main stories this hour. —— just after half past. shamima begum, one of three schoolgirls who went to syria to join the islamic state group, has lost the first stage of her appeal against moves to remove her british citizenship. her lawyers argued the decision of the then home secretary sajid javid rendered her stateless.

they've described today's decision as "baffling" and say they will launch an appeal. some victims of crime in england and wales have given up reporting certain offences, because they don't believe that officers will investigate. the report by the police watchdog says "expectations are low" when it comes to prosecuting some burglaries, assaults and car crime and that the public are losing faith in the criminaljustice system. buckingham palace has announced the queen's granddaughter, princess beatrice, is to marry her fiance, eduardo mapelli mozzi, at the end of may. the wedding will take place at the chapel royal at st james's palace. the brother of the manchester arena bomber salman abedi told police that he had no involvement in the 2017 attack — and would have told his mother if he'd suspected what his brother was planning. hashem abedi is on trial at the old bailey accused of helping and encouraging his brother in the murder of 22 people. he denies the charges.

danjohnson is at the old bailey for us... what else has been said in court today? there was quite an emotional moment at the start of the hearing today where the jury heard details of the 22 victims. a little bit more about who they were, where they came from and what they were doing there that night. some just children, from and what they were doing there that night. somejust children, one as young as eight, young people who had been to that ariana grande concert and were leaving, others, some of them, the parents of those children who had turned up to collect their children and that is when they were caught in the devastation of the bomb. the jury also saw images of salman abedi, the elder brother, in the last 24 hours before he detonated that bomb, him gathering the necessary equipment and components to put together his device, and him carrying it to the arena that night, after conducting a

few reconnaissance trips to check out the lie of the land. the jury also saw a reconstruction picture of what the bomb actually look like, how it was comprised, a paint tin full of explosive that had been packed inside a larger container with hundreds of bolts to act as shrapnel. that was then concealed in a rucksack, which salman abedi carried on his back. thejury saw the final image of him caught on cctv, stepping into a crowd in this area between manchester arena and victoria station at about 10:30pm. that was where he had waited for an hour presumably put it to get busy as people left the concert, and the jury as people left the concert, and the jury was told just 15 seconds later he detonated that bomb, killing those 22 people. he denies the charges, what is his defence? hashem abedi, the younger brother, denies that he even knew about this attack, and the court was read a statement that he gave to detectives last august. in that statement, he said

he was shocked at what his brother had done, and that he felt bad for eve ryo ne had done, and that he felt bad for everyone who had been affected and that he could never have envisaged his brother had it in him to do that innocent people. he said if he had any idea what was being planned, would have reported it to other family members. he denied having any extremist views himself, he said he had no sympathy for isis. he said, i know nothing about the purchase, storage, preparation and production of home—made explosives. he said he thought he had been buying nuts, bolts and screws to do up the garden shed. he said he had ordered sulphuric acid thinking it was needed to top up car batteries. the prosecution says there is detailed forensic evidence which links hashem abedi to the vehicles, the properties and the components that we re properties and the components that were used in building his brother's bomb, and the prosecutor duncan penny told the jury you will dou btless penny told the jury you will doubtless wish to consider the credibility of those claims in that statement against the overall body of evidence which you now know confronts the defendant. there are

22 charges of murder, attempted murder and conspiracy to cause explosions, which hashem abedi denies. the scout association has been heavily criticised by a coroner, following the death of a 16 year old who fell from a cliff in north wales. ben leonard, from stockport in greater manchester, died after falling from the great orme in conwy, in august 2018. our wales correspondent hywel griffith has more details about the case. they had been camping the night before and were due to walk up snowdon, but because of the weather, the plans had changed. ben and two of his friends took a slightly separate path, some of the other scouts, the leaders, saw them go up there but basically when they got to there but basically when they got to the top of the hill, they were on their own and decided on their own road back down. we had during the inquest none of these scout leaders knew who they were with, they all thought they were with someone else. even when they did realise no one

was with the boys, no immediate action was taken, and tragically ben coming down from the hill slipped and fell down 200 feet of a cliff. his friends saw him fall. and saw him at the bottom of the road. he lost his life in that way, but this inquest has focused at the failings of the scout association, and the lack of supervision and planning that went into that day. the assistant coroner for north wales said today that the scout organisation was "putting young lives at risk." in response, the organisation has issued a statement saying: "the safety of young people is our number one priority. "following this tragic event, we have strengthened our policies "and procedures to ensure young people can enjoy activities safely." the uk has appointed a new ambassador to the united states. dame karen pierce, who is currently the uk's ambassador to the united nations, is the first woman to take the role. her predecessor, kim darroch, stepped down when he was sidelined by president trump. dame karen said she hoped to "strengthen the special

relationship" between the countries. hundreds of rare items, which give a fascinating insight into the life and work of charles dickens, have been acquired by a london museum dedicated to the writer. the material includes unpublished letters, sketches, books and personal objects. experts at the dickens museum say they can't wait to share some of the treasure trove with visitors. brenda emmanus reports. it was at his home in bloomsbury, london, now the charles dickens museum, that the celebrated author achieved international fame as one of the world's great storytellers. but today, the venue has more to celebrate than dickens' birthday, having acquired a substantial collection of and original material. over 300 unpublished letters, personal objects, portraits and books. the museum's acquisition, from a personal collection in america, gives a new insight into the life and work of charles dickens, from his personal and business relationships to his state of mind

while writing his novels. of these items, almost all of them have been in private hands for many years. some have never been seen. so to repatriate this collection of material of dickens' life and work, into a public museum like this, means there is great opportunities for people to come and enjoy and explore and study it. this narrative is far more than mere fiction. are you david copperfield? iam indeed. dickens created a wealth of work that has inspired great dramatic interpretations, but his letters reveal he had some dramas of his own. "it is a tough day. i have been writing my head off since ten o'clock." so charles dickens at work and play? absolutely. this one here, dickens gave to his young sister—in—law, mary hogarth. it has a lock of his hair. and this one has a lock of hers. it is so important. so much of it is unpublished already. so the letters that have come in,

some of them have never been seen by people outside of this collection before. i can't wait to start to go through them. i'm really excited. it gives us a wonderful insight into dickens' personality. there is a fantastic letter to his butler before a party. it is so exacting and says exactly what the butler should do. just these little minutiae of life. the items were selected from a collection amassed over four decades. it's now the job of the museum to research, catalogue and conserve them, to display online and in the rooms of dickens' london home. brenda emmanus, bbc news. coming up at 5:45pm, as usual, it's the film review — and also to remind you, this weekend the red carpet is rolled out in hollywood for the 92nd oscars ceremony. thejoker leads the pack with 11 nominations, but will it come up trumps? will 1917 do will1917 do rather well? we'll bring you all the results and reaction in a bbc news special —

at 9:30 on monday morning, here on the bbc news channel. time for a look at the weather... some stormy weather on the cards this weekend. storm ciara moves in through the second half of the weekend. but saturday starts with a good deal of dry and bright weather for many of us, some sunny spells, perhaps a little lingering cloud in the south and east, some showers in the south and east, some showers in the north—west, but through the day of the winds will strengthen. gales in the north and west with a band of heavy, persistent rain pushing on later. that is a sign of things to come into the second half of the weekend. overnight, saturday and sunday, initially that band of rain works its way south and east, and then into the early hours we see the arrival of storm ciara, with us through sunday. some heavy persistent rain but also widespread severe gales likely. gusts of around 60 to 70 mph widely inland, but locally we could see gusts around 80

mph. the met office have various weather warnings in place. stay across those on the bbc website. there is also an amber warning in place for strong winds in the south—east of england on sunday. where ever you are, stay across the forecast. this is bbc news. the headlines: as the number of people infected with coronavirus continues to rise, the world helath organisation says there's a shortage of protective clothing and masks. on board a cruiseliner quarantined in yokohama, a british man is one of more than 60 to have contracted the virus. a gp who committed 90 sexual assaults on female patients has been given three life sentences with a minimum term of 15 years. philip schofield, one of britain's most famous tv presenters, has come out as gay.

we will talk more about that. we have the film review coming up and the sport but before the latest sports news, a brief piece of information coming through a bad prince harry. we arejust information coming through a bad prince harry. we are just hearing information coming through a bad prince harry. we arejust hearing he has spoken at an event forjp morgan, the large bank. in miami, yesterday, in florida. prince harry spoke at the event, but that is as much as we know. we are waiting to find out whether this was a charity event or whether indeed it was perhaps a paid speaking engagement. it would appear that prince harry and his wife were at that event in miami in florida. all following on from the couple stepping back from their royal duties and spending a lot more time in north america. if we get any more information about that, we will bring that to you.

right now, we will catch up with the latest sports news. jane, thank you. it's a big weekend in the six nations championship. scotland host england at murrayfield in the calcutta cup. both sides lost their matches last weekend, england were beaten by france and scotland lost to ireland, that partly because of a dreadful mistake by stuart hogg on his debut as captain. he dropped the ball as he was about to touch down for a try. it meant that ireland won 19—12. had he touched down and they'd converted, they would have drawn level. despite that mistake — he's been speaking positivly about the england match and feels scotland can get it right tomorrow: there's a calcutta cup to play for. that's all we're concentrating on. we've had a good week, it is a huge occasion for us. some boys playing in this game for the first time, but we've shown over the last couple

of years that we are more than capable of winning. we are ready. we believe if we nail our detail in attack and defence, we can turn over england and we are looking forward to the opportunity. saracens' champions cup quarterfinal place is in doubt. that's because prop titi lamositele may have been ineligible when he played in last month's champions cup win against racing 92. tournament organisers have been told that the united states international‘s work permit expired the day before the match. saracens beat racing 92 to reach the quarterfinals. if sarries lose their quarterfinal qualification spot, glasgow warriors would reach the knockout stages. a disciplinary meeting will be held this evening. in tennis, great britain's women tennis can qualify for the new fed cup finals, if they beat slovakia over the next couple of days. but gb are without both johanna konta and katie boulter and they've lost the first singles rubber. heather watson was beaten in straight sets by world number 199 anna karolina.

it's a best—of—five tie on clay with reverse singles and doubles tomorrow. harriet dart‘s just got underway against viktoria kuzmova in the second singles rubber. 3-2 to 3—2 to slovakia in that match. manchester city manager pep guardiola says striker raheem sterling will be out "for weeks" because of an injury to his left hamstring. sterling limped off during city's 2—0 defeat at tottenham on sunday. he's played in 23 of city's 25 league matches this season. the west ham women's captain, gilly flaherty, has been speaking to the bbc about her mental health. she's told us that she tried to take her own life 11 years ago and one of the reasons was coming to terms with her sexuality. she's told us she wants to speak out about what she's been through because sometimes it's the people who seem strong on the outside who need to talk about their problems. she hopes sharing her story will help others.

i'll never go down that road again and i'm a lot stronger. never in the 11 years since then, i've never once considered taking my life again. i know now if i went back and felt that way, i would talk to my mum and dad. i talk to my mum and dad and my sister and partner about everything. you need to find that person, whether that be your close family and friends, someone you feel more co mforta ble and friends, someone you feel more comfortable talking to away from it, but you have to talk. next, to cricket. rain has forced the second one day international between south africa and england to be abandoned. lengthy delays meant the game was reduced to 26 overs a side. south africa were 71—2 in the 12th over before a decision was made to call it off. england lost the first match by seven wickets. the third and final game is injohannesburg on sunday. england women have beaten india by four wickets in their t20 tri series in melbourne. should india lose to australia on saturday morning, it will guarantee an australia—england

final, whatever happens when those two sides meet in the final round robin match on sunday. that's all the sport for now. you can find more on all those stories on the bbc sport website, including more six nations build up ahead of ireland v wales and france v italy too... that's bbc.co.uk/sport. from me and the team, for now, that's all your support, more for you at 6:30pm on sportsday. as promised, our main story this evening... the television presenter, phillip schofield, has revealed that he's gay, after 27 years of marriage to his wife, stephanie lowe. he said both she, and their two grown—up daughters, had shown him "astonishing" love and support. joining me in the studio is lgbt activist and journalist at the i newspaper — benjamin butterworth. we will discuss whether it all matters. thank you for coming in. to

join you. that is a question a lot of people ask today, is this a story in 2020? a lot of people for different reasons binks, who cares, it is patently fine to be gay, you can do what you want and in many ways, that is a good thing, people don't see it as a reason to dislike him. that's a good thing but it reveals about phillip schofield at 57 coming out is just how many people are in similar situations. from the very emotional statement he put on instagram and the conversation he had on this morning to date showed how hard it was for him to come to terms with that. what we should think about is how being 93v we should think about is how being gay can still be really difficult. opening up and telling people about that can be very hard for people. he has revealed that we all need to be more tolerant and more thoughtful about how difficult it can be and how many people are still hiding their sexuality. and that sometimes, their sexuality. and that sometimes, the longer you leave it, the harder that can make it. there have been other public figures, lord browne, for example, who have talked about that. the longer you leave it,

actually, you feel worse and worse because your friends might think you have lied to them and you haven't been meaning to do that. exactly. it will be difficult for his wife and children, the people that thought they knew him but it is not really a lie. it is a horrible conflict people in this situation have. i have friends who have been in very similar positions to phillip schofield, in their 50s, successful and then they have come out as gay and then they have come out as gay and had to leave their wives. it's not they wanted to deceive anyone. almost always, they really did love their wives and the life they built, but if you think about it, if you are phillip schofield's page in your late 50s, when you were coming to terms with who you are at starting your career, it was a very different world. when phillip schofield was alive, it was illegalfor two world. when phillip schofield was alive, it was illegal for two gay men to show their love to each other. that's how far we've come. there is a generation of people who have had to hide that. and we don't know, as far as i'm aware, when he first started thinking about this and trying to deal with it. he hasn't been specific about what age

he was. but it is true to say that he was. but it is true to say that he became famous at quite a young age. younger viewers might not even realise that that was an age of the rise of aids in 28, and it was a very different world from 2020.|j spoke to the actor and peer lord michael cashman early this weekend he had the first gay kiss in the 19805 he had the first gay kiss in the 1980s on east enders and he described the horrifying homophobia he got from the tabloid press. if you were somebody like philip schofield, starting your career in the 1980s, you would have been scared to be open about that. when we look at people like phillip it is brave to have done what he did today but the truth is, there is no easy way out because it is hard to come out of it even harder to stay in the closet. there are so many people of all ages for whom they have stayed in the closet and that can kill them. from the depression, isolation and the way it eats them up inside. i hope people have seen his

statement today and they take some comfort and confidence from how well received his coming out has been, even at 57. there's been a lot of talk today about the use of the word brave. you by no means are the first person to use that word in relation to this but what about people who say, yes, but he's got a position of privilege, he's had success, he is presumably pretty financially co mforta ble. presumably pretty financially comfortable. yeah. there will be people watching this up and down the uk who are in a situation very, very long way from that, who will never have that level of security. yes. and that, actually, we should remember people who are not in his position of privilege as some people would see it. he works in an industry that is really quite liberal, that will be surrounded by people many of whom will be gay themselves and get he still had this horrendous conflict and found it so difficult. that shows how many people will be in that position of all ages —— and yet. research from the british shelby gt awards found two thirds of people at school right now who are gay or bi— or trans,

don't feel that they can come out. it goes across our society. —— from the british lg bt it goes across our society. —— from the british lgbt awards. if any pa rents a re the british lgbt awards. if any parents are watching this, they never assume their kids won't be heterosexual because it is a natural assumption but some of them won't be. it is so important to make positive comments. to say, look at this phillip schofield story, isn't it good he has been able to be himself finally? to a gay kid who is trying to understand who they are, that can mean the world. benjamin butterworth, thank you for coming into night, thank you. that coming in tonight. it's estimated that one in six children witness or experience some form of domestic abuse or violence. specialist counsellors say there are not enough services tailored for children who've experienced domestic abuse, so thousands do not receive the care they need. asjeremy cooke reports, if the damage is left untreated, the consequences can last for decades. i still remember hearing my mum's screams.

i remember her black eyes, split lip, her fear as the door went. dad'd come home in one of those moods, which means we should all run for cover. it's hearing your mum's screams, which i'll recall for a long while yet... carl is 52, a survivor of childhood domestic violence. now he's written down the boyhood memories that had cast their shadow over his entire life. memories of how his mum, his brothers, and he were repeatedly beaten by his dad. you wonder if you say something that's going to spark him off to become violent. you wonder are you going to sleep tonight? i used to get... i used to get lots of nightmares as a a kid, an enormous amount of nightmares. the police were never phoned, they never got called to our house, through all of it. because i don't think my mum knew that she could. did she get any help from anybody? no. did you? no.

decades after carl's nightmare, nspcc research says that one in six children suffer or have witnessed some form of domestic abuse. daddy got really angry. he chucked the breakfast over mummy's head. he'd put his fist through doors, he'd smash up furniture. these sisters and their mum needed help. ijust wonder what was going to happen next. i could see that they were experiencing a lot of the fear and anxiety i was feeling. if you compare our life with, like, where we live together and now, it's a lot more peaceful now. the family got support from schools through operation encompass. it works when police immediately alert teachers about children caught up in abuse and violence. he wanted a safe and secure place, so we actually worked with him...

teachers are learning much more about what's at stake. we know that the impact of domestic abuse is a really significant. abuse is really significant. we know that that goes on to impact on all of our development, learning, physical health, mental health, into adult hood. has it stayed with you? i probably don't trust people as much as i should, i guess. i think that sense of being let down does... ..eat away at you. a rare look at a unique service. how did you cope in the beginning? natasha benjamin is a specialist councillor, determined to stop the long—term damage of domestic abuse. when you're not feeling good, how can people comfort you best? it's why natasha works exclusively with children. they need to be nurtured. and that doesn't happen when you live with domestic violence. she's treating these girls as she treated others. like tia, who has lived with a coercive and controlling father.

she attempted suicide. i tried taking my own life because ijust thought if i get the blame for everything, then why don't i removed then why don't i remove myself from the situation? tia's mental health is now improving after months of focused support. i think i've come quite a long way, because i wouldn't imagine myself to be where i am now. but this specialist help is rare. and natasha believes that many thousands of children are still struggling alone, just like carl, all those years ago. if you could talk to the ten—year—old you, what would you say to him? oh, god, that's hard. i'd tell him, "you don't deserve this." i wouldn't be able to tell him anything else, because he wouldn't

have anything else... he would have nowhere to go.