hello, it's ten o'clock, i'm joanna gosling and we're live from new broadcasting house. it's a global health emergency spreading with nine confirmed cases in the uk. but how prepared would the uk, and, crucially, the nhs, really be if coronavirus were to spread further here? we'll be asking these senior health service figures about their plans. one of them says hospitals are already looking at how they prioritise patients, which could mean routine operations being stood down. gareth evans was at the fishmonger‘s hall conference on prisoner rehab where usman khan launched a vicious knife attack. he speaks to us exclusively about that day and pays tribute to jack merritt, one of the two people killed.

it was painful to find out. one of my best friends. a good man. he made me believe i could be normal. he was pa rt me believe i could be normal. he was part of the first people that make me feel like that. the prime minister's new—look cabinet meets for the first time right now, without former chancellor sajid javid. does boris johnson's first shuffling of the pack mean a significant power shift in whitehall? i was told people fall in love. but with you, i fell upwards. i was told people fall in love. but with you, ifell upwards. i rose and love. on the annual celebration of romance, we celebrate relationships in all their guises and ask why some couples are opting out of marriage and choosing civil partnerships instead.

hi, welcome to the programme. what do you think about a civil partnership versus marriage? would you prefer that option? we're talking love and commitment because it is valentine's day. what do you think of this? name? bond. james bond. # you were never on my side # you were never on my side # full me once, fool me twice... # it's the new bond theme tune from billy eilish. how does she stack up against the iconic bond songs we know and love? we're live until 11 this morning. use the hashtag victoria live. email victoria@bbc.co.uk. text 61124 — it'll cost the standard network rate. first, the news.

borisjohnson is boris johnson is chairing borisjohnson is chairing the first cabinet meeting after a dramatic reshuffle saw sajid javid quit as chancellor four weeks before delivering his first budget. replaced by rishi sunak who in the past half an hour arrived in downing street for the meeting. sajid javid said he rejected an ultimatum from the prime minister to fire his advisers. the death toll from the coronavirus outbreak in china has continued to rise. but there are doubts over the true scale of the epidemic as china deployed the military to combat the virus, officials said a further 121 people died yesterday. it signalled a marked decline in wednesday's dramatic increase. the who is concerned over the way cases have been counted. cases of mumps in england are at the highest level in a decade. public health england says the increase has been largely driven by outbreaks in universities and colleges among

young adults who missed out on the mmr vaccine when they were children. police are looking for a british woman missing in new zealand have said they have found her body. 32—year—old stephanie simpson from essexis 32—year—old stephanie simpson from essex is thought to have gone on a hike last weekend in mount aspiring national park in the country's south island. us attorney general william bar has had president trump undercuts him by tweeting, making it impossible for him to do hisjob. his criticism of mrtrump him to do hisjob. his criticism of mr trump comes him to do hisjob. his criticism of mrtrump comes amid him to do hisjob. his criticism of mr trump comes amid intense scrutiny of the justice department over the handling of a case involving roger stone, a convicted former adviser to the president. the attorney general had been accused of bowing to presidential pressure. the high court here is going to rule ona the high court here is going to rule on a case brought by a former police officer who sent tweets seen as offensive to members of the transgender community. harry miller was interviewed by police and it was

locked by a non—crime hate incident. he argues it goes against his right to freedom of speech isaac could show up in the future searches by future employers. a survey of 2000 people for a mobile phone company, new rules taking effect tomorrow mean customers must be told about the best deals from the provider when the initial contract ends and have a year after that, if they remain out of contract. —— every year. that is the top stories. now back to joanna. as year. that is the top stories. now back tojoanna. as we were just hearing... another 121 people died from coronavirus yesterday in china and 5,000 more cases were recorded in the country. chinese officials are using a broader definition to diagnose people, and global health experts say the figures don't show a big change in the nature of the outbreak. but it's still a global health emergency. and this is what it looks like under the microscope. these are some images

released by experts looking at the first case in the us. here in the uk, nine cases have been confirmed. sir simon stevens, the head of nhs england, has warned many more people may be forced to self—isolate as part of efforts to stop the coronavirus spreading further here. and dental surgeries across the country say they are facing a serious shortage of face masks because of the global outbreak. so, if this disease were to spread, how ready is the uk? and, crucially, how prepared is the nhs? let's speak to saffron cordery, the deputy chief executive of nhs providers. drjennifer rohn, a principal research fellow in the division of medicine at university college london. rose gallagher is a professional lead for infection prevention and control at the royal college of nursing. and niall dickson is the chief executive of the nhs confederation. welcome, all of you. saffron, what

work is being done in hospitals to prepare for the potential of a widespread outbreak? we know hospitals are very well—prepared, they already have the plans in place to manage any kind of outbreak, actually. they are extra precautions around coronavirus. we know they have pods in place people have talked about which mean instead of people who believe they may have the virus going into an a&e department, they instead go to the pod, based away from my unwell people are and they phone 111 from the pod. critical people self isolate. the other thing in place is the fact we are getting people out and about in the community testing people in their own homes. so—called swab squad is going out into people's homes to avoid people going to places where the disease may spread. in terms of preparations, they are well under way, they have been under way for three, four weeks now. the

nhs is as well—prepared as it can be. the critical thing is to remember everyone needs to self isolate and i think people's instinct is to go to a place where they can be treated. critically, they can be treated. critically, they need to self isolate. about hospitals thinking about standing down routine operations?m hospitals thinking about standing down routine operations? if it were to get to the position where the coronavirus had ta ken to get to the position where the coronavirus had taken hold to such an coronavirus had taken hold to such a n exte nt coronavirus had taken hold to such an extent they were inundated with cases, of course, we would be in a situation where they would need to prioritise who was being treated for what. in that situation, we would see things like routine operations being stood down. but we are a long way from that at the moment. we only have nine confirmed cases at the moment. those cases when treated will go to centres such as the one at guy's and st thomas‘. we will go to centres such as the one at guy‘s and st thomas‘. we are not in the place where there is a big outbreak that means routine operations need to be cancelled. do we have enough health care staff in the event of a widespread outbreak?

we have seen how china has managed drafting in medics from across the country, building new hospitals, do we have that capability? already shortages of medical staff. there are shortages on the system is under enormous pressure but the nhs is legion at adapting to emergency situations. we are nowhere near emergency situations. there are very detailed plans going on throughout the nhs, and at the centre we have a very experienced clinician, masterminding the process. i think at the moment, without being complacent, i think we are managing this, it is about identifying and isolating and contact tracing the individuals, and that should be done in private without the media putting people's names around, as if they are a criminal. we need to do that work. as far as the services concerned, massive service, and of course it can adapt. when terrible things like terrorist incidents

occur, it is fantastically good at managing to deal with emergency situations. they would tend to be quite contained. if this were to become much more widespread, the routine operations would start to suffer quite quickly. yes, the service would have to adapt depending on how far it had spread. it is also at the moment, i guess, interesting to hear what jenny says, in terms of the virus itself, it could be pretty widespread, but not terribly fatal and serious. it partly depends on that. it may be most people if the virus does come would be able to treat themselves at home, if we can find a way of doing that. the key point is in sense to isolate them. a very large number if they came forward, we would have to concentrate on treating people at home. jennifer, a very reasonable thought about, if it turns out to be something that we don‘t need to worry about so much, but obviously, at the same time, we are seeing extraordinary measures taken to

limit the spread of this disease. how effective do you think they are being, bearing in mind it is spreading without symptoms showing and there are reports may be one in three cases are being picked up? the reason why everyone is so rightly concerned is because whenever a virusjumps concerned is because whenever a virus jumps from animal to concerned is because whenever a virusjumps from animal to human, you don't know what will happen. even the initial presentation of the virus could evolve, the virus could mutate, might not be stable. hopefully, that won't happen. do we know if it has been mutating already? no, i don't think we know that yet. but i think what the chinese have done with draconian measures, as horrific as the scenes are coming out of wuhan, it has done are coming out of wuhan, it has done a great deal for preventing the onward spread. but there are people who estimate we are only catching one out of every three people getting into other countries, especially countries that perhaps are not being so open. what about the messaging? we had for instance a

statement from easyjet after the businessman from brighton who got it in singapore and came back to this country via france, five people had come into contact with him there having caught it, they put out a statement after he was on the flight, statement after he was on the flight, saying we are tracing the people on the flight, but don‘t worry, not showing symptoms, the risk is very low. it seems com pletely risk is very low. it seems completely at odds... that statement was a little bit at odds with the evidence. already responsible for onward transmission. not his fault of course. if you are in an aeroplane with recycled air, we are not sure how spread, thought it is spread by droplets, but it might be airborne, we're not sure what is happening in hong kong with transmission in an apartment complex to pipes, we do not know exactly how to pipes, we do not know exactly how to spread. explain more about the pod on under way this would be tested, your speciality, isn‘t it,

containment? i cannot talk about the testing per se but i can tell you following the advice from public health england, we need to assess people quickly, if they present with symptoms, and they have a history of travel, to china orfrom other countries identified. by having these pods, we are reducing... they are outside hospitals? they are an area where the person can be assessed confidentially... in a hospital, private room ? assessed confidentially... in a hospital, private room? it could be a portakabin outside, it would depend on the geography of the hospital. it would be slightly different for every hospital. they would be separate from other people. in order to prevent onward transmission of infection while they are being assessed, it is secure in terms of privacy and access to handwashing121... terms of privacy and access to handwashing 121. .. with this presenting in a very similar way to normal flu, what does that mean for management testing and containment,

presumably anyone with flu right now is thinking, should i be tested for coronavirus? awareness of flu and cold symptoms is high at the moment. with everything in the media around coronavirus, people are naturally worried. at the moment, we only have nine cases here. in england. the focus is on, have you been in contact with someone who is suspected to have coronavirus or known to have coronavirus or happy travel to china... known to have coronavirus or happy travelto china... how known to have coronavirus or happy travel to china... how can you know if it is spreading without symptoms, it can be several stages removed? we cannot 100% say it is not the situation but what we know is we do not have large numbers of people presenting with symptoms, particularly severe symptoms, so if it is present, it is a low presentation of symptoms we have and it is not causing pressure currently. one anonymous person has got in touch to say, i have been

told to go to a&e by nhs one on one who spoke to a public health doctor ata who spoke to a public health doctor at a major london hospital, not once told to isolate, not told her to get told to isolate, not told her to get to a&e without being in public. according to the gp, they were meant to come and swab me but never did. there was the case in london where the patient went to hospital by uber and was sent away. what is your reaction to that and to this person here saying it does not sound like the correct procedures are being followed ? the correct procedures are being followed? it doesn't, if that person, as rose says, hasjust come back from china or believe they have beenin back from china or believe they have been in touch with coronavirus. if it is someone with flu—like symptoms, you would not go through the isolation procedure at the moment. at the moment, we are saying most people with flu—like symptoms have flu or flu like something happening. obviously the procedures are in place so that if somebody is

in that category where they are saying, i have been to china or one of the countries identified, absolutely, going along to a&e is not the right thing. if they go along, there are procedures everywhere to take them into a more isolated place. it is hard to tell from an individual case. generally speaking, i think the system is very aware of all of this. obviously patients are extremely anxious around this. you don't want to be complacent. i don't think any of us know what is likely to happen over the next weeks and months. but i think we do not want to worry people unnecessarily. at the moment, it appears the level of virus in this country is very, very low. therefore, people should not get too anxious. stocks of things like face mask, dentists are running out, and also the swab testing kits, what are the stocks like? i am afraid i don't

know the full answer to that. do you know, are there enough stocks for demand, niall dickson?” know, are there enough stocks for demand, niall dickson? i understand there is a problem in dental surgeries, but i am not aware of a problem in the nhs in terms of accessing that. there are it has to be set in terms of supply chains into the nhs, you get shortages all the time in various things because of the complexity of the supply chains. clearly there will be efforts made to increase supply to make sure there are enough masks. it's make sure there are enough masks. it‘s not something you would be worried about full medical staff working with coronavirus? for health ca re working with coronavirus? for health care workers needing personal protective equipment, it is really important they have access to it. we know colleagues in the nhs supply chain are working hard to ensure supplies with distributors and manufacturers and also alongside that we need to test staff to make sure they know how to wear the equipment appropriately. a lot of work going on at the moment around this. i think there is also one thing to bear in mind about when we

think of the impact. we are managing it in the nhs. when you think about someone it in the nhs. when you think about someone with suspected coronavirus who has been conveyed by ambulance, that ambulance has to be completely cleaned and disinfected before it can be used again. when we think about the turnaround time for ambulances, that really does put delays in the system. we have to think that it is having some impact, we are managing it and containing it. what happens if someone gets to hospital in an uber? it is the responsibility of the taxi driver. people should self isolate, they should not use public transport or taxes. anonymous text, i recently two returned from italy, we were checked, temperature, why are we not doing this? why is there so much concern regarding this virus whenever year 10,000 people die in the uk from normalflu? is it because it is unknown virus and the

rate of vitality is much higher, around 2%? i think seasonal influe nza around 2%? i think seasonal influenza is a big killer, five figure debts in the us alone, but the population has some residual immunity to influenza, it is an old virus, whereas this is entirely new, highly contagious, no immunity in the population. even if it only killed 1% of people, if it got a foot foothold and spread everywhere, it would kill a lot of people. is it too late to stop it being a pandemic? i don't think that. with viruses, you never know. thank you. to let you know, if you want more information about the virus, including how to protect yourself, go to the bbc website, health section. should we stop with the social niceties? no more handshaking ? social niceties? no more handshaking? i think so. we probably

should not be sitting so close. noted, we will sit further apart next time! i keep meaning not to shake hands but i do. coming up later in the programme... gareth evans was at the fishmonger‘s hall conference on prisoner rehab where usman khan launched a vicious knife attack. he speaks to us exclusively about that day. coming up later in the programme... why are so many couples opting out of a traditional marriage and going for a civil partnership instead? we‘ll hear from one couple who were married for many years, then divorced, and then got back together. they entered into a civil partnership last month. the prime minister‘s new top team is meeting for the first time this morning without sajid javid there. he quit as chancellor yesterday, saying he couldn‘t stay in the job because borisjohnson wanted him to sack his team of advisers. it all meant the government reshuffle, which was billed

as being pretty minor, suddenly became pretty big. before december‘s election, the two men seemed pretty close. this was the prime minister being questioned by a reporter at a business conference just weeks before the election. if you are re—elected, will you commit to keeping sajid javid as your chancellor? my dearjohn stevens, daily mail, i am going to give you an absolutely categorical assurance that i will keep sajid javid as my chancellor. how about that? applause i think he is a great guy and i think he is doing a fantasticjob. and i am proud to count him as a colleague. it did not age well. but after gaining a big majority at the election, the prime minister has been working on plans to create a central pool of advisers in downing street so that number 10 and 11 work more closely together. one of the prime casualties of that

was sajid javid. the man behind much of the plan is mrjohnson‘s top adviser, dominic cummings. advisers are usually unknown to the public, but many of you will have heard of mr cummings since he came into downing street with borisjohnson last summer. reporters caught up with mr cummings earlier this week, before the reshuffle. referencing a children‘s superhero, he seemed in cryptic and joking mood. comment on the cabinet reshuffle?- would do a betterjob than all of them put together. dominic cummings. in the past few minutes, these comments from the prime minister inside the cabinet meeting. good morning, everybody. great to see you all here and congratulations to you all. inaudible here to deliverfor the inaudible here to deliver for the people of this country who elected us to serve them and this government. in the

next few years, we must get on with our day—to—day work. you know what it is. inaudible how many hospitals are we going to build? 40. how many more police officers? how many nurses? how many more buses? laughter 4000 beautiful buses. boris johnson with his new cabinet, new faces, missing faces, reduced cabinet. our political correspondent, helen catt, is outside downing street where that cabinet meeting has been taking place this morning. it all unfolded in a way that no one had foreseen yesterday. this reshuffle was billed as originally a few months ago the idea was it would bea few months ago the idea was it would be a huge reshuffle, really dramatic, than it was the

expectation that it would not be massively huge changes we would see. it went slightly awry yesterday when sajid javid chose not to stay on as chancellor, faced with the ultimatum of having to sack his team of advisers and have the centralised tea m advisers and have the centralised team instead, an offer he later said no self—respecting minister could accept. that through a huge spanner in the works of this entire reshuffle and ended at the a lot more dramatic than anyone was expecting. —— ended up being. some bigger moves we would have expected in normal times to make the headlines, the sacking ofjulian smith, northern ireland secretary, his replacement with home office minister brandon lewis, julian smith getting power—sharing up and running again, a key part in that, seen as doing a good job. that whole element was totally overshadowed by what happened with the chancellor sajid javid and of course his replacement

rishi sunak who used to be chief secretary to the treasury. he arrived with the new chief secretary to the treasury, steve buckley, arriving together, show of strength and unity. —— steve barclay. we can talk now to peter cardwell, who until yesterday was a special adviser at the heart of government. special adviser to cabinet minister robert buckland. and sharelle jacobs from the daily telegraph. how did your boss tell you you were on your way out? robert was called to downing street as is the case for most cabinet ministers either to be told they are retaining their position or being promoted. he went about 11 ternet and, he was delayed because of the sajid javid situation. he came back to the department, ministry ofjustice, where i worked for six months with him,i where i worked for six months with him, i worked for other secretaries of state three years previously, i gave him a hug, well done, great you are staying on. he talked me through the discussion he had with the prime

minister. then he said, i need to talk to you. my colleague, still his special adviser, another guy, left the room. he said, i‘m sorry, bad news for you. i said, not a huge shock. i got a six month bonus, to be honest. i am a relic of the theresa may well —— theresa may resignation. special advisers do not last long. is it true he said to you, i have to let you go because dom wants you out? is that not true? there has been misreporting. what i would like to clarify. the process is there are two approvals you need to be special adviser, one from the secretary of state, one from downing st, and robert was happy for me to continue, downing street wasn‘t, and thatis continue, downing street wasn‘t, and that is their prerogative and that is what they can do. did he say to

you, dom wants you out so i have to let you go? those words were not used to me. i mean, we had a very nice conversation, i want to emphasise robert is a great guy, brilliant lord chancellor, gave me a fantastic opportunity to serve him for six months, picked me up from the scrapheap of spads, i have nothing but warm words for him and for my former colleagues across government including in downing street. it is their prerogative who they want to be special advisers as a collective unit and in the words of the great philosopher celine dion, that is the way it is. you are not confirming, you are saying that exact language i was quoted was not used, a tweet by dan hodges, and in response, on the theme you are talking about, basically, your boss would have kept you, downing street didn‘t want you to stay in that post, anna soubry tweeted to say, i very much hope robert buckland

secretary of state forjustice and law chancellor will announce this is not true. he must speak truth to power as lord chancellor. if ministers stay and they are effectively told how to manage their department, who is around them, by number10, department, who is around them, by number 10, what does it mean in terms of the way things are done and their ability to speak truth to power? very unfair of anna soubry to do that. robert speaks truth to power every day, he talks to boris johnson the prime minister all the time, talks to very senior advisers and other cabinet ministers, a man of the highest integrity. dan hodges isa of the highest integrity. dan hodges is a good guy, i know him. he is a very good journalist. but the conversation was slightly different in terms of what i spoke to robert about and i want to make that clear. is it true dominic cummings said that the aid of the weekly meeting of spads last week, i will see half of spads last week, i will see half of the next week. he said, i will see you next week. i remember

clearly because i was standing at the back of the room beside a very good friend of mine, senior adviser in downing street, and dom said, i will see you next week. i turned to my friend, or not, in a spot of black humour, remembering it clearly. that has been misreported as well. there were over 100 people in the room, sometimes people must hear things, sometimes they tell journalist different recollections of what they had, but my very clear recollection is dominic cummings said, i will see you next week. the fa ct said, i will see you next week. the fact sajid javid chose to go rather than get rid of his advisers has been contrasted by those who have chosen to stay and advisers have gone. how do you see that contrast? i think it is a contrast, a different set of circumstances that sajid javid was presented with than others, for example robert, sajid javid has made his own decision. i have been in contact with the

people... just to interact, is it a different set of circumstances or valley‘s ? different set of circumstances or valley's? different circumstances. if you are told all four advisers, some with you for a very long time at number 10 has decided, as is their prerogative, they have to go, and you decide to resign, that is your decision. different set of circumstances to be said, this bloke you could not pick out of a police line—up six months ago is moving on, we‘re bringing someone else and, very different set of circumstances. i want to emphasise robert is a great guy, we will remain friends. thank you. what is your perspective on that, sharelle jacobs? making the fair enough point that if people are not so widely known in what they wa nt to not so widely known in what they want to be a titre in a circle between number 10 and 11, is this the right strategy? i think from the government has

mapped perspective, they want to drive change from the centre. they feel they have this huge thing to do, brexit, and the manifesto they wa nt to do, brexit, and the manifesto they want to deliver because they have won all the seats in these new hartland lens that used to belong to labour. they feel like there is this... what‘s known as the blob, bureaucratic blog... what is it? pat white hall, the civil servants, also from the perspective of cabinet, you have this tradition of special advisers who see their role as to protect their minister and establish that power base and increase the power base of that particular minister. i think that number 10 very much once the treasury key and number 10 on the same page, in order to drive their agenda. the two most

important things are a proper, clean brexit, no regulatory alignment with the eu, and also fulfilling all of those manifesto pledges, whether it is 20,000 police or new gp appointments. this is the approach they are taking. there are risks involved. there are already some whispers about whether just involved. there are already some whispers about whetherjust giving a cabinet minister a brief and saying this is what you have to do rather than come up with ideas will be bad for creativity and people might be afraid to put their neck out and voice opinions, which might descend from the agenda of number 10. peter, do you think that is a realistic fear? no, i think do you think that is a realistic fear? no, ithink there do you think that is a realistic fear? no, i think there are a lot of robust discussions that take place between special advisers around the cabinet table. the point is to retain that in private and not go public with any criticism you have

of any policy. there were things in government over three and half years, not everything the government did didl years, not everything the government did did i agree with but that is not the point. the point is you have a job to do and i think this characterisation by some people, for example, of rishi sunak as a patsy is completely incorrect. i worked with him at the ministry of housing. he set himself out as an diligent and thoughtful minister who cared about a and thoughtful minister who cared abouta numberof and thoughtful minister who cared about a number of things. one thing in particular, which was very sort of not particularly glamorous as a policy, which was disabled toilets in stadiums for disabled people, in so—called changing places. it drove that through with a great gusto. he wasn't going to win any votes for it or plaudits, but he really cared. he will be an excellent chancellor. let me say right here and right now, i think is the next leader of the conservative party. dominic cummings is a name i said

before advisers are not always well known among the wider public. he is well known. is he effectively a lightening bolt for boris johnson, taking the heat away? all the talk is about him being the sort of master mind of this? perhaps dominic cummings is the biggest dead cat of them all. dominic cummings is very much at the centre of the thinking behind the strategy, i would say. i think boris knows that he does owe a lot to cummings, from the leave campaign to his campaign to become prime minister. i think he does trust cummings‘ judgment and his judgment is the tories need to deliver on the manifesto and drive from the centre. it could be that it also just happened to agree philosophically on those two points but categorically, this is cummings‘ attitude and it seems to be the direction the government is heading.

so he definitely does have power. thank you both very much, great to talk to. staying with politics. the mspjackson carlaw has been elected as leader of the scottish conservatives. he‘s been interim leader since the resignation of ruth davidson in august. he beat the only other candidate, michelle ballantyne. a key task ahead will be preparing the party for the scottish elections next year. it‘s, of course, valentine‘s day. this year‘s day of romance comes in the week that the first—ever same—sex marriages took place in northern ireland. and in the year that mixed—sex couples can, for the first time, join together in civil partnerships. 84, 000 mixed—sex couples could take advantage of the new rules this year, according to government estimates. so, why are so many couples opting out of a traditional marriage and going for a civil partnership instead? our reporter, shamaan freeman—powell, went to meet one couple to find out. music.

today, this loved up couple tied the knot, but with a difference. we‘re going to be exchanging items, but not rings — so, a watch and a necklace. thank you for swiping right on tinder. we are calling them oaths, rather than vows. i was told people fall in love, but with you, i fell upwards. i rose in love with you. instead of getting married, they decided to legalise the love they have for each other with a civil partnership. i don't know, it feels like it's taking back control. in a perfect, modern—day love story, julia and paul met on tinderfour years ago. i can‘t believe she had her tinder radius settings to about 0.5 miles, and i lived pretty close.

it didn‘t take long for them to meet in person, where they discussed marriage on their very first date. we were slowly becoming aware of the campaign for civil partnerships and we see civil partnerships as being a sort of opportunity to have a more circular and a more feminist and equal way of celebrating our relationship. upon meeting paul, i realised that although i didn't want marriage, about three months later, i had an incident in my family where my step dad died and my mum and my stepdad weren't married and he died abroad. actually, what ended up happening is she had no rights. so she had no rights as to what happened to his remains, she had no rights as to a lot of really important things that i would want paul to have rights over. so, i would want him to have that sort of control and to not be disenfranchised in that way. paul and julia aren‘t alone. mixed—sex couples have been

campaigning for years to have their love legally recognised without having to get married. in 2004, civil partnerships were introduced to provide legal recognition for same—sex couples. then, in 2013, same—sex couples were told that from march the following year, they would also be able to marry. so, mixed—sex couples then argued they too should have the choice. but what‘s the difference? those in a civil partnership get most of the same rights as married couples, in terms of tax benefits, pensions and inheritance. but unlike a traditional marriage, there are no religious connotations. a civil partnership is registered when the second civil partner signs the document. but a marriage is registered when the couple exchange spoken words.

a marriage certificate requires that names of both partner‘s father‘s, but a civil partnership certificate requires the names of both parents. so it is seen as less patriarchal. just sign your normal signature in here. i know that some people can have relationships and can use marriage and the term in a way that fits with an equal feministist or humanist or atheist relationship, but, for me, it's very difficult to reconcile that with the term marriage. and so i really prefer the term partner. i prefer to call paul my partner, not my husband. i prefer... ..i'm not entwined in this long history of, frankly, oppression. it's not to say that all the relationships that have the term marriage have that, but i don't like the history. every time i tell anybody about this, i have in the back of my mind this thought process about, do i want to get into an explanation of what‘s actually going on or do ijust say we‘re having a wedding?

and then avoid the other conversations! having discussed it with my grandparents and my family and everything, and obviously we‘ve explained it to all ourfamilies. that even there half of them go — i still don't understand what the difference is, why do you care so much? and then it's back to the people care about labels. to take it one step further, julia hasn‘t taken paul‘s surname either. instead, paul livingstone and julia shaw have become the livingshaws. they were able to change whatever they wanted and put in different bits of them, which may be you can't get in a strictly religious ceremony, and i like that. it went down well with the guests, but were there any regrets from the couple themselves? no regrets, and i think everybody actually enjoyed doing the readings and the fact that they were so us, was so beautiful. not only no regrets but we actively encourage everyone else to do the same! yes! # you‘ll never walk alone. ..#

cheering. well, we‘re joined now by sue and robert, who were married for many years, then divorced, and then got back together. they entered into a civil partnership last month. welcome, both of you. thank you very much. was yours like that? no, very small, just ourselves and our two witnesses. so why did you decide to go for a civil partnership the second time around? we'd been waiting to do it for a long time. when it became available to same—sex in 2005...? we were waiting for it to become available to opposite sex. you immediately thought you‘d like to do it but couldn‘t? you immediately thought you‘d like to do it but couldn't? yes. we voted for it, helped for the lobbying and

everything, supported charles and rebecca and as soon as it came, we we re rebecca and as soon as it came, we were straight down the registry office to register our intent. why should civil partnership rather than marriage question what you had marriage question what you had marriage and it didn‘t work out? marriage question what you had marriage and it didn't work out7m became quite important to us about a year ago because i had a massive heart attack. without the framework ofa heart attack. without the framework of a construction, it‘s a problem? yes, and in actual fact, of a construction, it‘s a problem? yes, and in actualfact, so of a construction, it‘s a problem? yes, and in actual fact, so wouldn't have been my next of kin, although it was what we wanted, legally she wasn't my next of kin. so there is this legal element to it and we wanted to be partners. the thing is, when it goes into the realms of it‘s a legal issue, it doesn‘t sound very romantic. does it? laughter

the day... it was... very good. and the actual ceremony, in a sense didn‘t mean that much to us because we‘d been together. didn‘t mean that much to us because we'd been together. that was first time around. a long time ago. you started dating when you were 15? yes. sorry. it was a lovely, informal, wonderful little ceremony, the partnership ceremony. and on your vt introducing it, the fact i had my mother‘s name as well as my father‘s, including my mother‘s maiden name, those things were really important and the same for you. mother‘s name and everything. in our report, actually, i can‘t call her a bride, the partner were saying that they call each other partners, she calls him her partner and not her husband. she doesn‘t wa nt to and not her husband. she doesn‘t want to be entwined in a long history of oppression. when you talk

about your father‘s name, history of oppression. when you talk about yourfather‘s name, taking your husband‘s name, is that a thing for you might get a very much so. i picked my own name. a word you like it is now your surname? forward. it came about from a drunken evening with some female friends. we were bouncing around names and i don‘t think it was me, someone else said well you are not going back, you can only go forward. that is a very sober choice for a drunken night! let‘s bring in some comments from people watching at home. susan says, how about some protection for long—term partners who don‘t want to go ahead with ceremonies? my partner andi go ahead with ceremonies? my partner and i have been together 28 years, there are no safeguards. this matter regards urgent protection legislation. another on twitter, choice is great but if a husband and wife subscribe to old—fashioned roles in their marriage, that is theirfault not roles in their marriage, that is their fault not the type of marriage they chose. and on twitter, i support them, i could never

understand why any woman would want to be married given the social and historical providence of marriage. did you give much thought to this stuff before, robert? yes, really right from the start, even when we we re right from the start, even when we were married. we started off, i can remember that we went to the bank. we got a joint bank account. the bank were very upset because we insisted that sue was going to be the first name on the account. so the first name on the account. so the letters came through... why did you do that? to be different? the letters came through... why did you do that? to be different7m the letters came through... why did you do that? to be different? it was making a stand, yeah. and the same with the cheques. extraordinary, that was so controversial? yes. the other thing was, we walked out of a shop one time because they wouldn't acce pt shop one time because they wouldn't accept sue's signature on a hire purchase unless i signed it as well, to guarantee it. i'm thrilled to say

your son has got in touch. simon. he was one of our witnesses. was he? he saidi was one of our witnesses. was he? he said i was present at my parents civil ceremony last month in stoke—on—trent. they are on your programme today. wave to him. i would just like to say i was very proud to be able to attend their ceremony in the manner they wanted. that‘s... thank you, boy. ceremony in the manner they wanted. that's... thank you, boy. it's been great to have you on, thank you, wishing you every happiness going forward. thank you for your comments, as well. on 29th november last year, usman khan, who had been convicted of plotting a terrorist attack in 2012, spoke at a conference on prison rehabilitation at london‘s fishmonger‘s hall. shortly afterwards, wearing a fake suicide vest, he launched a knife attack which left two people — jack merritt and saskia jones — dead. after the attack, borisjohnson vowed an end to early prison release for terrorists and minimum sentences of 14 years. gareth evans had been in prison

serving a form of indeterminate sentence for two counts of aggravated robbery, involving two victims, when he started working with learning together. he was at the conference when the attack took place and spoke to us in his first interview. i started by asking him how he came into contact with the organisation. the organisation came into the prison that i was in and they set up an education programme, which took students from universities into the prison. it gave me a sort of identity to move towards. i‘d sort of grown up being, i don‘t know, troubled, i guess. and i‘d known for a long time that i couldn‘t be like that for the rest of my life but i didn‘t know what to move towards. you then, as part of being involved with the organisation, went to the conference at london bridge on november 29th and then, of course, got caught up in those horrific events. i know that out of respect

for the families ofjack merritt and saskia jones that you don‘t want to go into too much detail, but would you just tell us about your recollection of the day? it began in a celebratory mood. we were, me and my peers had run down the stairs and we were presented with an horrific scene. we tried to help, i guess. a lot of people had been hurt. a lot of people were confused. the man, usman, was shouting and sort of screaming and stuff. my instinct was to help people that had been hurt. the first time i saw usman, i realised we couldn‘t let him get upstairs where the rest of the delegates were. so you put yourself in danger, to protect others? i think we were already in danger.

we closed him in the foyer and then we got him out onto the street and then... ..i went back in to help. is he someone that you‘d been aware of previously? so, i knew of him but no particular details. ijust knew him as another member. i‘d seen him that day, in the same workshops and stuff, in the conference. and how had he been at that point? unremarkable. i mean, sort of he didn‘t stand out for any particular reason. he wasn‘t quiet or loud or... i don‘t know. so, i didn‘t knowjack had been hurt at all until later on in the evening. that was painful to find out. he was one of my best friends. he was a good man. he made me believe that i could be normal and kind. he was part of the first people that

made me feel like that. i always got the sense that he wanted to be there and he cared about the people he was talking to and he didn‘t have a different face for work and another one for outside. what happened there gave rise to the government talking about a change in policy. what are your thoughts on that? i hope jack cannot see what‘s happening in his name, because he wouldn‘t want people... to isolate people more. he wouldn‘t want people to look for vengeance, he‘d want people to find out what the problem is and help people with it. i think that jack realised that the more compassion and social capital you give people, the more you ensure that they‘re going to want to look after the people around them and be nice to them and stuff. there are some, it would seem, where that doesn‘t break through, that doesn‘t make a change and that makes people fearful.

we had the attack in streatham also. a recently released terrorist stole a knife and attacked others in the street. our solution is to surveil—... ..or to impose restrictions... i can‘t help thinking that maybe the money used to watch someone struggle with society, could have been used to help them cope better with it. because of your crimes for which you were convicted, you are out on a lifetime license and that means for you you‘re on probation forever at the moment. how does that impact on you and where do you see your life going? it feels sometimes restrictive, it feels arbitrary. it feels like the rules aren‘t really... the conditions of my licence aren‘t set up to help me be safer.

people like jack has given me the idea the experiences i‘ve had can be useful and it could be good for society, if i can find a way of talking. i already feel like the energy i have should be used for something better and good and i‘d like to do my own thing but know that jack would like that i‘m remembering him. thank you very much, thank you forjoining us. that was gareth evans, who was at the fishmonger is called terror attack, talking about rehabilitation as well. a ministry ofjustice spokesman said:. "the public expects serious criminals to spend time behind bars but we are determined to continue improving rehabilitation and drive down reoffending — which costs taxpayers £15 billion a year. that‘s why we are investing £2.75 billion improving prisons, training 800 new probation officers and have recruited 4,400 prison officers since 2016." the high court has ruled

that allegedly transphobic tweets from a former police officer were lawful and humberside police interfered with his right to freedom of expression. harry miller, from lincolnshire, challenged police guidance on hate incidents against transgender people, after he was officially logged for comments he made on social media. mr miller claims the guidelines issued by the college of policing, have had a chilling effect on freedom of expression. clive coleman joins us from the clive coleman joins us from the clive court —— crown court. tell us about this ruling. to give you a little background on this, this guidance the police supply arose out of the stephen lawrence case, the idea is you damped down on non—crime hate incidents before they escalate into serious hate crime. harry miller regularly tweets. he is very much of the view that a man cannot become a woman. he says this is all, his tweets are in the context of the

debate the government have invited. the proposed reforms would make it easierfor a man the proposed reforms would make it easier for a man to the proposed reforms would make it easierfor a man to be legally recognised as a woman and vice ve rsa . recognised as a woman and vice versa. if proposed reforms go through, there would be a greater element of self identification. currently, it‘s a long and stringent process but that to take place. what thejudge has ruled today process but that to take place. what the judge has ruled today is the guidance that allows the police to log these non—crime hate incidents, and they can be turned up on an advanced disclosure check, he has ruled the system, the guidance is lawful by the way it was applied by humberside police in the case of harry miller was unlawful. the fact they logged 31 of his tweets and went to his place of work, that he was interviewed by a police officer and told if he didn‘t desist, he could be prosecuted. very strong

words from mrjustice knowles. he says freedom of speech without the la ke to says freedom of speech without the lake to irritate is not worth having. he says we have never had a gestapo or stasi in this country so the actions of humberside police we re the actions of humberside police were disproportionate in relation to mr miller plasma exercising his right of free speech. i should say, their transcripts are of the view these should be logged notjust to protect transgender people but everybody. this is a very, very heated and often acrimonious debate, with very strong and passionate views held on both sides. i anticipate trends groups will be concerned about the ruling today. —— trans—groups concerned about the ruling today. —— tra ns—groups will be concerned about the ruling today. —— trans—groups will be concerned about the ruling today. pop star billie eilish has recorded the title track for the newjames bond film, no time to die. the us singer, who turned 18 last month, is the youngest artist in history to write and record a theme for the franchise.the song

was released at midnight, at the same time as a new trailer for the film, starring daniel craig. let‘s have a look at the new trailer with that new bond theme now. asi as i speak tojimmy. as i speak to jimmy. it sounds to me, as an untrained ear, quite familiar, in terms of the type of song we have come to expect of a bond theme tune. definitely has all the hallmarks of a bond theme tune, the hallmarks of a bond theme tune, the rising strings and a brass section. but it starts out as a typically billie eilish some. she has produced and written it with her older brother, who has worked on all the music with her. the start of the track has eerie piano and whispery vocal but by the end we get to a point where she has these soaring vocals that fans of hers might not have known to expect from her yet. people who might have listened to her after her winning five grammys think they expect a certain thing but by the end of this a different side to billie eilish that people might not have seen before.

side to billie eilish that people might not have seen beforem side to billie eilish that people might not have seen before. it is absolutely incredible, the career she has had so far and she is only 18. how prestigious is it for someone 18. how prestigious is it for someone to get to do a bond theme tune, not even mentioning the age at which she has done it? it's a massive deal. it‘s exactly a month since they announced their son was coming out. i was speaking to someone coming out. i was speaking to someone from her label on that day and they were very hush—hush about it. they said we have done it, it is in the can and they have known about it for months. it‘s always a big dealfor it for months. it‘s always a big deal for whoever is involved. it for months. it‘s always a big dealfor whoever is involved. billie eilish said that as a franchise she‘s always wanted to be involved in and she still finds it crazy she‘s been asked to do it. you look at the people that have done it recently, adele and sam smith, they both won oscars for it. the sum has only been out 11 hours and they say billie eilish‘s take on it is lined up billie eilish‘s take on it is lined upforan oscar billie eilish‘s take on it is lined up for an oscar next year as well. well, thank you. and on valentine‘s day, a single man made a plea for love by advertising himself on a billboard. he has got himself a date

tonight. the 31—year—old from sheffield pet took drastic action, paying for the roadside sign. he got fed up of online dating was that he has had thousands of people contact him and tonight he is going on a date, his first since last september. he said he is really nervous but he hopes it goes well. and i hope it does too. whatever you are doing on valentine‘s day, whether you are alone or with someone, whether you are alone or with someone, i hope you have a good and peaceful day. bbc newsroom live is coming up next. see you soon, bye—bye. hello. i bring you the scene from stornoway, wet and windy here and we haven‘t even got messed up with storm dennis yet. it comes courtesy of this weather front, working through northern ireland and through scotla nd through northern ireland and through scotland during the course of the next few hours. and then comes the rest across northern and western

parts of england and wales. it stays dry for the most part in the far south—east until late in the day. sun and showers followed that a weather front to the north and west. the weekend, storm dennis, already met office amber warnings are out and about the saturday and sunday, for parts of england and wales. this is the scene on saturday, make the most of the dry start if you see it because it will turn very wet. not quite as windy as last weekend but still potentially disruptive lease oh, 40-60 still potentially disruptive lease oh, 40—60 or 70 still potentially disruptive lease oh, 40—60 or70 mile an still potentially disruptive lease oh, 40—60 or 70 mile an hour gusts depending on your location and the rain keeps on coming across england and wales. not just rain keeps on coming across england and wales. notjust during the course of saturday but on into sunday as well. wherever you are, ta ke sunday as well. wherever you are, take care.

you‘re watching bbc newsroom live. it‘s 11am and these are the main stories this morning... will the budget still be going ahead? be delivered on time? the new chancellor attends cabinet meeting following yesterday‘s reshuffle, amid uncertainty over the budget taking place as planned on march 11th. a test on policy figures to start, as borisjohson tells his cabinet they must repay the trust of the people who voted for them. register is much more vocal inside number ten than they were arriving here at number ten earlier. the first meeting gets under way after yesterday‘s drama.