hello, it's tuesday, it's ten o'clock, i'mjoanna gosling, and we're live from new broadcasting house. the ten year limit on freezing eggs, sperm and embryos could be scrapped. a government consultation starts today after a campaign that we've followed closely on this programme. this woman told us about her dilemma as she reached the deadline for her eggs to be destroyed, at the same time as she met a new partner. so, my situation is that... do i go ahead and use his sperm to fertilise these eggs? who knows what will happen, we might split up, i don't know. if we split up and i have embryos with him, he has every right to get them destroyed, so i lose them. and then if not, do i use a sperm

donor and we stay together and he then resents me? i don't know. we'll be joined by the health minister, who has launched a consultation on the time limit today. the whole of the h52 rail project will go ahead, the pm is set to announce today, despite concerns about the cost and the environmental impact. are you for it or against it? let me know. a flight deporting a group of jamaican—born offenders, has taken off this morning, despite attempts to stop it. this programme understands about half of those due to be on the plane have not been put on it. what's it like to come out at school in the republic of ireland? our reporter simon o'leary has been home to dublin to reflect on his own very personal story. to hear you so openly and comfortably talk about your experience in school and ifelt i could relate to it in a way and i was like, "this is so weird." from, like, hearing you... like, i'd always think about, like,

seeing you so confident and, like, confident yourself when you are in sixth year, so i'd be in my second or third year and i'd be like, "i need to catch up." like, "i need to be that kind of, like, confident when i'm his age." hi, welcome to the programme. we're live until 11 this morning. have you frozen your eggs or sperm and, if so, what would your message to the government be? they have announced they will be launching a consultation on the current ten year time limit for freezing. let me know what you think. also, hs2‘s going to potentially cost £130 billion. -- 106 —— 106 billion p, may even more. do you think that's right? will it solve your travel issues? the goverment is spending another £5 billion on buses. has the government got its priorities right? let me know. use the hashtag #victorialive, email victoria@bbc.co.uk, text 61124 — it'll cost the standard network rate.

first annita has the news. good morning, joanna. good morning, everyone. police in northern ireland investigating the murder ofjournalist lyra mckee say they have arrested four men. ms mckee was shot dead in the creggan area of londonderry on the 18th april last year. the four men aged 20, 27, 29 and 52 were detained in derry this morning. the arrests were made under the terrorism act after the new ira claimed responsibility for ms mckee‘s murder. boris johnson will today approve the whole of the h52 high speed rail project, despite a warning that its cost could reach £106 billion. the scheme, which will link london, birmingham, manchester and leeds, has been fiercely opposed by environmental campaigners, and been hit by construction delays and spiralling costs. but an independent review has recommended that it should go ahead. the prime minister will also announce a £5 billion overhaul of bus and cycle links across england. the plans include more

frequent bus services, more affordable, simpler fares, and the provision of 4,000 new, zero—emissions buses in regions outside london. emergency legislation will be presented to parliament today to end the release of convicted terror offenders half way through their sentences. the measures, which would apply to england, scotland and wales, were drawn up after the stabbings in south london by sudesh amman, who'd been freed from prison ten days earlier. officials are working to trace patients of two gps who are among eight people in the uk to be diagnosed with coronavirus. the surgery in brighton where one of them worked, had to be shut down yesterday for cleaning. meanwhile, public health england is contacting passengers who were on board an easyjet flight from geneva to london gatwick on 28th january, after a person on the flight has since been diagnosed the virus. the period of time for which eggs, sperm and embryos can be frozen could be extended, as the government calls for views on the current 10—year limit.

it said women's choices on when to have children were being restricted, despite advances in freezing technology. only the eggs of people whose fertility may be affected by disease can be kept for longer — up to 55 years. the regulator said the time was right to consider a "more appropriate" storage limit. the home office has said that a planned deportation flight to jamaica has left the uk despite a last minute challenge. the flight was originally scheduled to leave last night but was delayed after the detainees were unable to get access to legal advice. last night protesters took to whitehall to call on the government to stop the action. it was claimed that problems with mobile phone signals prevented those set to be flown to kingston from speaking to their lawyers. the home office says it makes "no apology for trying to protect the public from serious, violent and persistent foreign national offenders." sinn fein has emerged as the second biggest party in the irish parliament after all votes were counted

from saturday's election. the left—wing republican party has 37 seats, one behind fianna fail. fine gael came third. the sinn fein president mary lou mcdonald now wants to form a left—wing coalition. the queen's grandson peter phillips and his wife autumn have confirmed they have separated. a statement issued on their behalf said the decision to divorce was "the best course of action for their two children and ongoing friendship." it said they will share custody of their children savannah, nine, and isla, seven. both of their families were "sad" but "fully supportive" of the decision to "co—parent," the statement added. that is a summary of the news so far. back to you, joanna. thank you very much. we will start with the news thatjo

people could have their frozen eggs, sperm and embryos stored for longer to give more people the opportunity to start a family. at the moment, the storage period is limited to a maximum of ten years, after which people must choose whether to undergo fertility treatment, or have their frozen eggs, sperm and embryos destroyed. only those stored for medical reasons, such as cancer treatment, and premature infertility can be preserved for longer — up to 55 years in total. but now the government has announced it will undergo a consultation to consider whether the limit should be extended. we've been following this issue on the programme for many months, speaking to women who have frozen their eggs, and have faced a dilemma as their 10 year limit approached. last year we spoke to "emma" — not her real name — who froze her eggs nine—and—a—half years ago because of polycystic ovaries — and was facing having them destroyed. she was contemplating asking her new partner to fertilise them. i finally met someone really nice. i paid £4.99 to go on match just once. and he was my first date, and that's it, and then we've been together. he's the nicest man you've ever met. i kind of shock myself sometimes how nice he is. he's got a really nice job, he's really clever. but, you know, we've not

been together very long. so i'm asking him the question, do you want to do this, or not? and this is a lifetime decision for him, the poor bloke. and it's a really difficult situation. so my situation is, is that...do i go ahead and use his sperm to fertilise these eggs? and who knows what will happen — we may split up, i don't know. if we split up and i have embryos with him, he has every right to get them destroyed, so i lose them. and then, if not, do i use a sperm donor and we stay together and then he resents me? i don't know. well, that was emma, not her real name. many people have been affected by the time limits, and the government has announced a consultation. well, we can start the government consultation right now as we've

got caroline caroline dinenage, the health minister who has announced it, along with sabrina maydew, who we've spoken to on the programme before. she was facing having to choose a donor before her eggs were due to be destroyed at the ten year time limit. she did manage to get a reprieve. also with us is fertility expert geeta nargund. welcome, all of you. caroline, this has caused lots of heartache for many people. why have you decided to review this? it seems that china is right, i have spoken to a number of ladies who have been in a position where the ten—year limit comes upon them very quickly and they are not in the position, it seems like an arbitrator time period to suddenly be faced with making that decision. it felt unfair. we are at a stage where the technology has advanced, we know you can keep eggs for longer and the medical evidence seems to suggest there is no impact on the quality of them, so it felt like a really good time to reopen that and have a consultation on whether we should extend the limit.

it is a six—month consultation? should extend the limit. it is a six-month consultation? it concludes in may the 5th. is it effectively a guarantee that time limit will be lengthened, because of the factors you have outlined ? lengthened, because of the factors you have outlined? to change government legislation you have to consult, that is how that happens. you have to take on—board peoples feelings and have due regard for them and take on all the evidence from medical professionals and individuals, there will be certain faith groups and some people with moral and ethical concerns, there will be people with lived and professional experience of theirs and we want to take everybody‘s evidence. would anybody facing an imminent deadline how they stay on that, pending this review? not at the moment, but it is something we can look at. it would be awful timing. but if they were coming

right up to it? so they can potentially be reassured ? right up to it? so they can potentially be reassured? we will at it. sabrina, you were on the programme last year, what have you been through on yourjourney?” programme last year, what have you been through on yourjourney? i had my eggs frozen quite early so was coming up to my ten—year limit a couple of years ago, i was not in a position to use the eggs at that time, soi position to use the eggs at that time, so i faced a choice of having them moved abroad or fertilised by donor sperm. i was not able to move them abroad in the time—limit so i was facing using jonah sperm to create embryos, which felt arbitrary and unfair. —— iwas create embryos, which felt arbitrary and unfair. —— i was facing using doner sperm. it seems absurd, there was not a clinical limit butjust a ten—year element which was imposed, i was not reaching the age limit for treatment. i got what i call a stay of execution because i was

deemed prematurely infertile, which is not really helpful if you want to have children later but it meant i could keep the eggs for longer. why in your 20s did you freeze your eggs?|j had your 20s did you freeze your eggs?” had a cancer scare, both my mother and sister had a similar lymphoma and sister had a similar lymphoma and the results of the treatment would make even fertile and i would have had to delay treatment by three months and also to have eggs frozen. i was lucky that i did not have to go through the treatment then but i decided it would be wise to go through egg freezing so i would not have to delay any treatment when the time came. geeta, it is such a reminder to anyone that can get pregnant easily how lucky that is and the hoops that people have to go through. with your patients, what difference would extending the time limits may? a huge difference. caroline, i limits may? a huge difference. caroline, lam limits may? a huge difference. caroline, i am delighted you have launched this long overdue consultation and i hope more

people will respond to the consultation, because at the moment the current limit to store eggs is discouraging younger women from freezing eggs when they are most fertile, when their success is higher later. it defeats the objective, because we wa nt defeats the objective, because we want younger women. . . defeats the objective, because we want younger women... they want to delay having children for the right reason, we want them to be able to freeze eggs when they are younger. people put it off until they are later. the age at which you freeze your eggs matters when it comes to success later, so this extension is mohsni —— most needed so i am delighted and i hope more people will respond to the consultation and we can get this done. what with the ideal situation be, as far as you are concerned? i am not in favour of are concerned? i am not in favour of a blanket extension or a rolling time extension, five or ten years, rather than a blanket extension, i

worry about a blanket extension potentially leading to some women using them in their 60s and 70s, there are more medical risks and concerns about the long—term welfare of the children. i would like to see a five or ten—year extension, and clinicaljudgment a five or ten—year extension, and clinical judgment and opinion a five or ten—year extension, and clinicaljudgment and opinion can be considered on of —— a case—by—case basis. i am considered on of —— a case—by—case basis. lam behind considered on of —— a case—by—case basis. i am behind on this one and i am delighted that the government is taking forward. you have said the words that i would like to say, for the right reasons we need to change the right reasons we need to change the law. is the government considering a blanket extension? we are looking at every option and to hero the evidence, we are not making any pre—judgements, the consultation has to be genuine. we know the number of women using this service has gone up massively, over 250%

over the five year period between 2012 and 2017, there is a demand and now is the time to get it right. would you expect an uptake in the number of people doing it? either think so, because we would want women who feel the need to freeze eggs to do it earlier rather than later, because now the average is around 38, we want women to freeze before 35 to get the best success they deserve, and i would expect that to happen. caroline, i know you have not been in the brief that along and government policy has changed in that time, it is something you looked at, you have also been looking at ending the postcode lottery on fertility. how much of a concern of these issues and how close to your heart is this? iam very and how close to your heart is this? i am very lucky, i have to sons and i feel that is a blessing that

people should not be denied because of either where they live also mandatory limits over how long eggs should be allowed to be frozen, so thatis should be allowed to be frozen, so that is why it is really important to consult on these things and see if we can change the law. thank you. i want to bring an update on coronavirus, we havejust had i want to bring an update on coronavirus, we have just had a statement through. the so—called super spreader, the businessman from brighton who caught a coronavirus in singapore and came back via france and five people were infected in the alps having come in contact with him, he then came back to this country and four others have been infected in this country as a result of co nta ct infected in this country as a result of contact with him, he has been named. he is steve walsh. he says, i would like to thank the nhs for their help and care. whilst i have fully recovered, my thoughts are with others who had contracted coronavirus. as with others who had contracted coronavirus. as soon with others who had contracted coronavirus. as soon assign you i was exposed to a confirmed

case, i contacted my gp, nhs111 and public health england. i was advised to attend an isolated unit in a hospital despite showing no systems and then self isolated. when the diagnosis was concerned, i was sent to an isolation unit in hospital, where i remain, and my family was asked to isolate themselves as a precaution. i thank friends, family and colleagues for their support and i ask the media to respect our privacy. that statement is through from steve walsh, we have just been calling him the businessman who contracted it in singapore, in the media he was described as a super spreader, you've winced at that phrase. the concern is that of the people were contaminated to having come into contact with him when he was not showing symptoms, how worrying is that? i don't want to talk about individual cases, it is not fair, but i think the nhs and public health england are really prepared for this sort of thing. when i was an education minister two

or three years ago i sat on a practice run for a widespread potential virus just to see how every element of government would work in such a case. every part of government is ready, public health england has been tracking down, well over 1000 people have been tested and nhs england is very prepared to deal with the consequences. my boss, matt hancock, has made additional regulations available so we can keep people quarantined for public protection if necessary, we are taking every step in the public needs to be reassured. the laws that came into effect yesterday to enable people to be. to quarantine are draconian, we have seen nothing like this before. how would that work in practice? we do not anticipate needing this but you need to have all of these things as a precautionary measure, it is about keeping the public safe and making sure we have everything we

need from a public health perspective to be able to do it. these are unprecedented measures, one expert virology is has said he believes that the spread of coronavirus in china is far greater than we are being told. the public seeing these extraordinary measures coming into place on one hand it's reassuring, on the other edge make something, how worried should we be?” on the other edge make something, how worried should we be? i don't think people should be worried, they should be assured we are taking every necessary step to protect the public from any possible threat, and thatis public from any possible threat, and that is what a responsible government does, makes sure we are com pletely government does, makes sure we are completely prepared, working very closely in partnership with the foreign & commonwealth office and partners overseas, working closely with the chinese government to make sure we are fully up to speed on what is happening and taking every necessary precaution. thank you very much, caroline, sabrina and geeta. keep getting in touch

with your experiences if you have frozen eggs, sperm experiences if you have frozen eggs, sperm or experiences if you have frozen eggs, sperm or embryos. what do you think about the review and what would you like the law to look like going forward ? coming up later in the programme... a controversial deportation flight to jamaica for foreign—born offenders has gone ahead this morning despite a last—minute legal challenge. this morning despite we this morning despite will bring you the latest. what's it like to come out when you're a teenager in dublin? one of our team shares his very personal experience. hs2, the high speed rail project, is to go ahead, the pm is expected to announce today. and it'll cost well over £100 billion. the project will link london to birmingham, and then on to manchester and leeds. the whole line will be built, but the government is expected to order a review of the second phase north of birmingham to try to identify cost savings and integrate the lines into existing railways.

borisjohnson is also going to pledge £5 billion to improve bus and cycling routes. let's talk to lord adonis who, as labour's transport secretary in 2009 published the original plan for hs2. but first, the conservative mp michael fabricant was part of the hs2 review group that wrote to borisjohnson in december saying it was "not too late for the government to change course". welcome, both. iexpect welcome, both. i expect she will not be happy? i am rather disappointed, i thought there would be a great opportunity to review the way hsz was done when the first review was done, but i met that reviewer back injuly, he chaired this panel and i said would you be able to look at alternative routes, we only have three months to write the river —— review. we need extra line capacity but the problem is it is so

disconnected. the main rail interchange in birmingham is birmingham new street, that is where everyone goes when you come from london, and normally the high—speed rail line, you change platforms and go onto that line. that does not happen, you need to move to a completely isolated station at cu rzon completely isolated station at curzon street in birmingham and all it will have his hsz, no other lines. it doesn't even go to st pancras, which is the original plan. so the original dream was to get people off from flying from, say, manchester to paris, because she would get on a high—speed line and end up in paris. no, you would go to euston, schlupp across london and ta ke euston, schlupp across london and take another train from a different station. boris johnson was opposed to hsz station. boris johnson was opposed to hs2 previously, there has been lots of talk of others in downing street not being in favour. could the government not really give it the government not really give it the go—ahead when the government is

committed to rebalancing the north and the south. boris and i were chatting about this informally a few months ago, hopefully he will not mind me saying this, and he said it would be a very tough decision. and yet the boris micro of the west midlands saying how important hsz is. it could have been done so much better. clearly the prime minister has come to the conclusion that they had spent so much money so far they can'tjust act had spent so much money so far they can't just act it. had spent so much money so far they can'tjust act it. i would have preferred to say don't put good money after bad, instead revise the whole route. you are describing little choice, do you think he has effectively been full stint to this? —— forced into it. effectively been full stint to this? -- forced into it. i think so in that andy street was very clear that

we needed hsz no. iwanted that andy street was very clear that we needed hsz no. i wanted to use an existing transport corridor, which would have been cheaper and environmentally less damaging, it would mean you would not be cutting through unspoiled fields and woods, destroying over 100 ancient woodlands, the trouble with that is it would have dilated by five or ten years. regretfully i see that argument, although iron disappointed because i think it years to come people will say, god, this is like a hornby 00 train set in someone's bedroom, it is unconnected, it does not connect with the main railway stations, it does not connect with heathrow... stations, it does not connect with heathrow. .. heathrow, do stations, it does not connect with heathrow... heathrow, do you stations, it does not connect with heathrow. .. heathrow, do you think people say no to expansion is part of this? i have not had a conversation but i suspect all might be possible in years to come. conversation but i suspect all might be possible in years to comem does need improving. let's go to

lord adonis. thank you, michael fabricant. lord adonis. thank you, michael fabrica nt. lord lord adonis. thank you, michael fabricant. lord adonis, michael fabricant. lord adonis, michael fabrica nt effectively saying fabricant. lord adonis, michael fabricant effectively saying the original dream of what hs2 was going to be has died and this is going ahead because of the momentum behind it? how do you respond? not correct actual. michael has been grappling with these issues for the first time, but all of the pointy has rates were considered fully when we devised the scheme ten years ago. it comes into euston, a very big london terminus right next to st pancras, it is not disconnected in london. there is an interchange of birmingham international. the reason why there is a separate station in birmingham city centre at curzon street, which was the original terminus of the london and birmingham railway, is birmingham new street is congested, there is no myspace for additional platforms that. the new station will be right next door. if you said everything

had to go into birmingham new street, you could not put in any additional trains. this is the right project. the problem since 2010 is because people like michael have kept coming along and asking you questions and new prime minister is have come and wanted to pretend they might offer the people opposed to it a way out, we have constantly dilated. it is a classic british disaster story in terms of delivering infrastructure, the decision in principle was taken by parliament years ago. how much does the rising cost link to the delay? it isa the rising cost link to the delay? it is a very different prospect when something goes up beyond 100 billion when the initial estimates were a fraction of that? that figure is not substantiated, it has been used by the opponents. some are saying it could go up to £130 billion? these numbers are plucked out of the air, delays have added to the costs. if we took the decision in a

timely fashion as the french and japanese do, we could have delivered hs2 at half the cost. that did not happen and this is because now, is it value for money? we will die as a country in terms of the economy unless we have additional transport and i noticed michael accepted that. he thought there are ways it could have been turned, if we could pull it up by the roots and start again, that is not in the land of the living that we need to get the costs under control, but the problem with what the prime minister is announcing is that the first phase from london to birmingham will definitely go ahead, frankly it would have been catastrophic of that decision had not been taken, construction is already taking place of the london to birmingham section. £9 billion has been spent, it is a massive construction site. the vital issue of what will happen north of

birmingham, what boris johnson of what will happen north of birmingham, what borisjohnson has announced as another review on top of the seven month review we have already had. this is no way to manage a big infrastructure projects, we have had enough reviews, we should get building. thank you, lord adonis. nick context, while the rest of the world forges ahead with high—speed trains, it is absurd that the country that invented trains did this over hs2. anonymous says hs2 will only benefit london, the northern powerhouse is just a phrase to make it sound like we are an all—inclusive country when we are an all—inclusive country when we know everything is london—centric. this is a very expensive single train line which will not help any people in the north, not to mention the impact on those who live and work along its planned route, feel and text, the london to birmingham stretch is well advance should be finished but the mistake should not be repeated, it will be much cheaper to upgrade existing lines and far less damaging to the environment, this is a fair

compromise. thank you for those, keep your thoughts coming in on that and also on the frozen embryos and eggs review as well. a controversial deportation flight to jamaica for foreign—born offenders has gone ahead this morning despite a last—minute legal challenge. it's not clear now many jamaican—born nationals, all of whom have criminal convictions, have been put on the plane. a last minute court order stopped the government deporting some of those due to leave, amid concerns they may not have had access to legal advice. campaigners say most of the people on the flight have been uk residents for decades, and that many of them are not serious criminals and should be allowed to stay. sajid javid, the chancellor of the exchequer, told bbc breakfast this morning that it was ‘absolutely right‘ to deport those on the flight. these people, on this flight, they are all foreign national offenders. not a single one of them is british, not a single one is member of the windrush generation. it is absolutely right, if someone has committed a serious offence in our country, and they are a foreign national, that when

they complete their sentence, we deport them. that was sajid javid. our reporter shamaan freeman—powell is here. what is the latest? the flight has left to jamaica, the passenger number is still a mystery. one lawyer told me she thinks around half of the 50 people due to be on the flight were taken off and granted interim relief, so we think the numbers are probably under 25 people. this is due to signalling issues which have affected colnbrook and harmondsworth. yesterday we reported that lawyers have had been having difficulties accessing their clients to be able to speak about their cases due to mobile phone outages affecting o2 signals. last night the court of appeal ruled the home office could not deport foreign nationals to jamaica unless

they had access to functioning not noticing cards on or before february three. ina cards on or before february three. in a statement, the home office said the court ruling does not apply to all foreign national offenders due to be deported and we have therefore proceeded with the flight, but as i said it is difficult to verify these numbers. have you spoken to anybody due to be deported? i was on the phone to one of the detainees last night. i could hear a guard in the background asking if him if he was prepared to go down and comply. he told me he had refused to comply and that riot guards came in yesterday. i spoke to him this morning. he has not been taken on the flight but has been taken on the flight but has been taken to doncaster sheffield airport. he was told he had

been granted interim relief. it means as it stands he is not on a plane to jamaica. yesterday we spoke to howard, he was in prison with intent to supply. is he on the flight? no. he has been in the uk since he was 15, the father of five british children. he was sent to prison for 18 months for intent to supply class a drugs was that he was told he would be on the flight, as he was detained but he was told he would no longer be on the flight due to an asylu m longer be on the flight due to an asylum claim on the ground he left jamaica as a teenager after experiencing violence from gangs who tried to recruit him. he would have to be interviewed as part of his asylu m to be interviewed as part of his asylum claim that he does not know how long it will take. his case is a little different but one thing all the detainees had in common is a lack of certainty and basically

not knowing what is happening in the future. jacqueline mckenzie is an immigration lawyer, who represents clients who were due to be on the flight. tonique kerr's husband reshawn davis was told he would not be on the flight late last night. and the labour mp shabana mahmood, one of her constituents, was due to be deported this morning. welcome to all of you. thank you for joining us. tell us what happened with your husband last night, when he was told he did not have to get on the plane. i went to visit him to bring him some stuff because we were not sure what was happening. when he came out of the visiting centre, we we re came out of the visiting centre, we were told that these people should not be on the plane due to the phone signal outage. during the night, we we re signal outage. during the night, we were hearing they were trying to appeal the decision so everyone could go but i heard the appeal was u nsuccessful. could go but i heard the appeal was unsuccessful. at the moment he is still in colnbrook and was not put onto the flight. do you know what

happens now? no one has said anything. they had not told him anything. they had not told him anything. when did he come to this country? he came when he was 11. how did he feel about the prospect of going to jamaica? how much time had he spent there? he knows nothing. he is 30 and has spent most of his life here in england. going back to a country he technically does not know is not something he can actually do. the government says those who are being forcibly removed up been removed to comply with the law, which is basically a salmon has been sentenced to more than 12 months in prison and committed a serious offence, they must be deported. it is about keeping the public safe. what did your husband do and what was his sentenced to? he was sentenced to 1a

months under the joint enterprise will. two mobile phones were stolen off someone that he was just phones were stolen off someone that he wasjust fair when phones were stolen off someone that he was just fair when it happened. just explain, joint enterprise? that is basically a rule. if you are there when something happens you should have foreseen, it was actually found to be unjust in 2016 because it has been interpreted wrong. let's go to jacqueline, you are the immigration lawyer. how many clients were supposed to be on the flight? we really don't know. this morning we are hearing between 15 and 17 went. we really don't know. in terms of who you represent.” have no client on the flight. i had agreed to take on one of the cases of somebody who managed

to avoid going. one of your constituents was due to be on the flight. were they on the flight? my office has received confirmation this morning that he was not on the flight but he has not been deported this morning. what was his situation? he served in the british armed forces. when he came back from afghanistan, he suffered from post—traumatic stress disorder and had bipolar disorder. that's all a deterioration in his mental health. after that he was convicted for gbh. he has said he served this country and has not had help for the ptsd he picked out. it goes to the heart of our nations as to what it is to be a citizen and what it is to serve. as for those who had sat in the armed forces who have not had help, it is not a shock that things descend into

the sort of situation my constituent has faced. the government position is that it is following through on a law introduced by labour in 2007, which means people like your constituent to be forcibly removed under deportation law, having committed a crime and sentenced to more than 12 months. it is important to separate out what the requirements of the 2007 law are these go to the heart ofa 2007 law are these go to the heart of a nation of, what is a foreign national? somebody who has arrived in the country as a child but if we are expecting the independent review to say, if he arrived as a child you should not be deported, to all intents and purposes and in all the ways that matter, these people are our citizens. as for my constituent, if he had served for this country and put your life on the line for this country, been to afghanistan and suffered mental health issues as and suffered mental health issues as a result, it goes to the question of them at what is and what is not a

citizen? we cannot wash your hands are people who have said the country and had children in the country. as to bea and had children in the country. as to be a review. you'll idea is anyone who arrived in the country under 18. i think it is said and 13. we have spoken to someone who arrived at 15, that would be than a viable case for deportation. we had to trust the independent review taking place into their windrush scandal. i would taking place into their windrush scandal. iwould be happy taking place into their windrush scandal. i would be happy to go with the recommendations. we have nothing official but we expect it will say under 13. these are matters for debate. had they ever known any other country? are the events that have shaped then, both their successes and failures, are they events which are intimately connected with our country? did they have their children in this

country? we should be asking those questions it goes to the nation of, what is a citizen? how many people who arrived here as teenagers have gone back? we actually don't know. several. i had dealt with a case where i had three brothers all convicted at the same offe nce brothers all convicted at the same offence and they were all here as children. two arrived at two and three and one at two and three and 16. under the law, three and one at two and three and 16. underthe law, two three and one at two and three and 16. under the law, two other than we re 16. under the law, two other than were deemed british at birth. because the parents were not married when one of them was born, he was not entitled to immediate british citizenship that he was entitled to be registered and so he has been deported. we had a real problem with conflation of law and discrimination, all the points being made here are relevant. what we are seeing are people who are part of society, part of our community that they might not be british in terms

of holding a certificate that says they are. for all intents and purposes, they are. you welcome clarity along the lines of, if it we re clarity along the lines of, if it were the age of 13, is there a cut—off age that makes it clear? were the age of 13, is there a cut-off age that makes it clear? i'd anything we could have a cut age of 13. i think we had to look at each individual case. a mandate for this is the law. a lot of what is happening is legal. there needs to bea happening is legal. there needs to be a moral debate about this. it cannot be right that we are picking up cannot be right that we are picking up people in their 30s, who arrived at tuculet notwithstanding all the arguments there are about the sort of crimes, particularly when there we re of crimes, particularly when there were drug dealing and people had been involved in county lines and greening. —— at two. sending them to countries they did not know. in the case of the three brothers i was talking about how he had a house, a business, his parents and grandparents are here and now members of their windrush

generation. this must be wrong. we are still awaiting the full details of who was on the flight. this is something that will continue to unfold. thank you forjoining us from your home. how would you feel if your child told you that when you put them to bed at night that they don't want to wake up in the morning? that's what one mum — who you'll meet in a moment — faced regularly as she tucked her son into bed at night. his name is simon o'leary and he's a journalist on this programme. for as long as he can remember he always knew he was gay but the idea terrified him. he returned home to dublin to make this film. and just a warning, this film contains flashing imagery and talks about suicidal thoughts and self—harm, which some people may find distressing. so this is where i used to come when i wanted to clear my head. i was 12 and i used to come here and i feel like the only thing i should have been worrying

about was getting my homework done, but in my head i was making a master plan to stop myself from being gay. from what i can remember, i started having suicidal thoughts when i was about ten. and i knew i'd never act on them, but it was the idea that i could put things to an end, like kind of... ..in the most bizarre way gave me the strength to keep going. i've come home to dublin, the city which i grew up in. i feel very lucky that my family were always so supportive, but i know they struggled seeing me upset. for the first time, my mum has agreed to revisit these memories with me. i worried all the time. it's just

never... in every conversation i had with somebody, you were on my mind, whirring around in my head. i remember when you would say, i wish i didn't wake up. it was just horrific. really hard. really. you're so powerless, so powerless as a parent to do anything. we went up to see the teacher and she said that basically your friend had come to her and said that you had tried to self—harm. you denied it. was it true? yeah, but i did... i tried. but i didn't do it for a really long time, but i did do it for a little bit. and i guess it's quite weird now because, as an adult,

i feel really guilty for making you feel so worried all the time. god, i was just such a poser. mm—hm. still are, i think. i think you're gorgeous. mm. when did you start to think that i might be gay? we walked to school and i had an umbrella. and you wanted an umbrella. mm. and i said, you can pick whichever colour you like. so we went into the shop and you picked the pink. and i said, "mm, that's kind of against the rules." and then you put your little hand on your hip and you said, "well, who made up the rules?" and then i realised i'd been conditioned. it wasn't until then, i realised. and i said, "well, yeah, to hell —

who did make the rules up? you can have the pink." i've come to meet pat sowa in yorkshire. this is her son, dom. he was four in this picture and wearing his favourite stripy swimsuit. in many ways, our stories are very similar. when he grew up, he also struggled to accept his sexuality. he even had a pink umbrella, too. we would have been two peas in a pod. i think so. he had a pink umbrella with butterflies on it and he used to skip into school with his hairflopping. my suicidal thoughts went away. but dom's didn't. he told his family he was gay when he was 1a and then decided to come out on social media. he received lots of praise initially, but then the bullying started. i call it old—style bullying — you know, sort of pushing him up against the wall in corridors. people would yell faggot at him. some pictures had circulated about him on social media. and he described that as feeling like he'd been raped. and just the intensity of what that

must have felt like for him was really hard to learn as a parent. after two years of homophobic bullying, dom agreed to move school and pat thought that he'd turned a corner, but he was still suffering. dom did then take his own life in october... october 2017, yeah. and you know, that's when your world just...pop. it's indescribable. but off the back of that, in that intense pain, straightaway, ijust knew with such clarity, this is not right. back home, i'm visiting my school for the first time since i left six years ago. so much has changed in ireland since i've been in school. we now have an openly gay taoiseach. gay marriage was still illegal

when i was at school. i had a really difficult time when i started, and things did turn around. but i'm keen to see what things are like for students now. this feels very strange. and that definitely wasn't here when i was here. i love that flag. i love it so much. it's been there since stand—up week in november. they put it up because, you know, it's gay time. eli and tom are part of an lgbtq club at the school. it's student—led and they meet up weekly. would it surprise you if i told you that, as far as i know, i was the only gay person in school when i was here? see, hearing that now that is very surprising, you know, because we are introduced to so many people. like the first thing that we probably would say to someone who

could be our new friend or something is, "so what's your sexuality?" "hi, i'm gay." i think the main objective for the club is to make sure everyone feels comfortable. they can come into this welcoming group of people and feel so much love from so many strangers. yeah. to be able to express yourself is the main goal, i think, going into that club. if you have to hide yourself, you're not really living. no. i went back to my old school and they have the lgbtq flag outside, flying, and they've got an lgbtq club as well for the students. do you think that's something that might have helped dom? yeah, course i do. i mean, i think he actually said to me that one of the reasons he felt unwelcome was because there were no visible signs. and i think it's easy to forget how important it is to be absolutely overt. when i was in my final year of school, i was made head boy, a role which often goes to the most

academic or athletic. i was neither of those. i decided i wanted to speak to thejunior students about my experience coming out. erin mcdonald, better known as fauxjoli, came to one of my talks. he was 12 at the time, and now he's fast becoming one of dublin's most popular drag queens. hearing you, like, so openly and comfortably talk about your experience in school, and ifelt like i could relate to it in a way and i was like, this is so weird. and then from like hearing you, like, i'd always

think about, like, seeing you so confident and comfortable yourself when you were in sixth year. so i'd be in like second or third year and i'm like, i need to catch up. like, i need to like be like that kind of like confident when i'm his age. really? yeah. so like, i always remember that so well. the experience you had when you were in first year in school and the experience that i had would have been, was completely different because of people like you speaking out. i was like quite feminine and stuff. like people would not bully me but mock my voice and like stuff like that, just little things like that. what kind of impact did that have on you? it made me scared of guys. even now, i'm just freaked outjust to be around like groups of straight guys still. now my friends, if ever i'm out and someone like shouts like "faggot" at me or anything, like my friends will always... does that still happen? yeah, definitely. i was doing a hen party in galway and someone threw like mcdonald's at me when i was walking down the main street because i had like a face of makeup on. and i wasjust like... i'm not fazed by it at all any more.

like, i've a really thick skin because of it. i've never wanted to be on tv, simon. so the reason i'm doing this now is because i don't want anybody else to go through what we've been through. i don't want any other parents to go through the devastation of losing their child. i don't want anyone else to feel as bad as dom felt. and i want them to know that that we can do something about it and that this just has to stop. years ago, simon, i wouldn't have been able to talk about this and be calm — i would have been in floods of tears. it's only now in, you know, so many years have gone by and you're so much better now and able to cope with your life. i wouldn't have been able to do this when you were 13. just... it would have been just too raw and emotionalfor me to do. i need you to know that i am really happy now. i do, i do, yeah,

and i'm happy for you. for details of organisations, which offer advice and support with issues relating to sexuality, go online to bbc.co.uk/actionline. simon began making that film before phillip schofield revealed he was gay late last week. he is 57 and married with two grown up children, who he says are supporting him. but what's it like for the families of people who come out after living apparently straight lives? and what about for young people? we're going to talk now to 18—year—old felix, who came out to his parents when he was 15. jim craig, a vicar whose wife came out to him after 19 years of marriage and two children. and william dameron, who came out to his wife and daughters after 20 years of marriage. welcome all of you. william, you are ina very welcome all of you. william, you are in a very similar situation to philip schofield. how hard was

it for you to do what you did and what others do? it was really difficult, thank you for having me on the programme. iam thank you for having me on the programme. i am actually philip's age. i understand the generation he came from. when you make a promise, i made a promise back in the 805, and being gay wa5 i made a promise back in the 805, and being gay was not an option. i thought it was the only party happiness, getting married and having children, and it was for a long time. after a while that secret eat5 away at you and you realise you are causing the person you are married to pain and, at that point, you had to make a decision. telling the truth and continuing to lie at both forms of betrayal. he wrote an article and i want to read a brief paragraph from it. it is very

moving. the question wasn't why i waited so long but how was ever po55ible waited so long but how was ever possible for me to come out at all? how cani possible for me to come out at all? how can i take a sledgehammer and bash the life out of everything day andi bash the life out of everything day and i knew? this is not what you say to your daughter, you measure it out and try to come up with something that will not negate the love you had for her mother and something that will not make her feel she was a mistake because they never, ever we re a mistake because they never, ever were a mistake. that is true. it is so were a mistake. that is true. it is so hard to be treatable when you know that truth is really going to hurt the people that you love and that it may destroy the entire world a5 that it may destroy the entire world as they know it. for me, however, when i did accept the truth and gave my family the trace, we all moved to a much better place. —— the truth. but it took a while. you are on the

receiving end of it. your wife came out to you after years of marriage and two kids. how did she tell you? my ex—wife now was very courageous, i have to say. she sat me down on the safer in the lounge and just said, jim, we need to talk about something. i have been troubled for the last few weeks and months about possibly being bisexual. you need to know about this. how do we move forward ? know about this. how do we move forward? she was struggling to find words for what she was experiencing. even though i felt a significant amount of pain, i had to acknowledge her courage in amount of pain, i had to acknowledge hercourage in being amount of pain, i had to acknowledge her courage in being willing to talk about it. the point from william about it. the point from william about the fear of negating everything that went before in the marriage, what did you go through in term5 marriage, what did you go through in terms of those questions to yourself and to her? for me, my faith is about helping people to get the

most out of life and to see myself as someone out of life and to see myself as someone who, as a husband, i failed to make happy. perhaps i was there one cagey in a way and not enabling her to be one cagey in a way and not enabling herto be her one cagey in a way and not enabling her to be her true self. an incredibly 5elfle55 perspective. you had no idea at all she had this going on in her head, there is turmoil. with the benefit of hindsight you can look back on your marriage and say, yes. i had to say there were some sexual discrepancies but nothing major. nothing to make you think, there is something up. nearly 19 years was quite a shock, which i am sure it was to my ex—wife as well. felix, you came out at the age of 15, you 18 now. what do you think? for some it is easy to come out and add as it is not.

we are hearing from people of a different generation when something was buried for a long time. —— others it is not. it is easier now for people to come out as opposed to people in their 405 or 505. they may have had an idea and bottled it up. i would 5ay, an idea and bottled it up. i would say, i personally found it much ea5ier say, i personally found it much easier to tell my friends and peers and my family. that was probably the biggest struggle i had when it came to coming out that... yes. jim, can you just pick up and carry on? the person you thought you knew, i5 you just pick up and carry on? the person you thought you knew, is she still there? well, we were recommended by a producer to make contact with my ex—wife before coming onto the show and oddly enough that led to the best conversation we had on the phone for

over a year. i think there is hope. my main purpose for coming onto the show is to represent straight partners and to tell people you are not alone. i belong to a group i discovered after a lot of googling straight partners anonymous. that is the only group who really helped me connect with other people in the same position. if it were not for victoria live, i would not get to hear about simon's story. you need done. i hope you have a good afternoon. —— brilliantly done. bbc newsroom live is coming up next. thank you for your company today. have a good day. more wintry weather on the way today. the met office and the weather warning enforce for

the southern upland5 of scotland. this afternoon and evening some blizzard conditions with a lot of snow falling on a short space of time. this could affect the belt rush—hour. the snow showers continuing to piling on the brisk north—westerly wind. gusts in northern ireland up to 60, 70 miles an hour. dry and bright in the south. top temperatures between four and eight celsius. tomorrow morning that may be icy stretches. —— there may be with showers creeping into the south west of england. turning still the south west of england. turning 5till me later in the week. storm dennis has been named by the met office for the weekend. more details later.

you're watching bbc newsroom live. it's 11:00am. i'm ben brown, live in birmingham. the main stories this morning. the entire hs2 rail line will be given the go—ahead by the government. the prime minister will address parliament at 12:30. a transport overhaul — the government is pledging £5 billion to buses and cycle link5 across england. there is all sorts of investment we needin there is all sorts of investment we need in transport infrastructure in particular acro55 need in transport infrastructure in particular across this country. i have long 5aid particular across this country. i

have long said this. i'm annita mcveigh — the other main stories this hour. the businessman at the centre of the uk coronavirus outbreak has been named. steve wal5h from hove says he's made a full recovery. and as the coronavirus death toll hit5 one thousand the world health organisation will begin a two day meeting to speed up research. police investigating the murder of the journalist lyra mckee in londonderry arrest four men. a deportation flight to jamaica has left the uk despite a last—minute legal challenge but with fewer people on board than planned. good morning and welcome to birmingham.