who was a foreign national. despite being born in the uk, the twins haven't been registered as british citizens. now 2a and serving prison sentences for unrelated cases of gbh, they face deportation to different caribbean countries that they've never visited. in an exclusive broadcast interview, a partner of one of the twins tells our correspondent ashley john—ba ptiste that attempts were not made by the council that looked after them to register them as british citizens. this is darren‘s partner who wants to remain anonymous. she is also the mother of their five—year—old son, and says that ten months ago darren was told by a prison officer that he would be deported to grenada on release. still carrying out his sentence, she says the news has taking its toll on him. i think he is at a point where he has given up, so our conversation wasn't like he is willing to fight it or he is willing to... it was just, he doesn't feel he has the power to

fight the system any more. so if he goes, just make sure i bring my son to see him. how is this impacting your son? i think at this point in time he doesn't understand. his main concern all the time is when can he see his dad? ido i do think my son will question his british citizenship, because for me, the definition of a british citizen is someone who was born here and raised here, and that would be the same for my son, born here, raised here, gr appear. so same for my son, born here, raised here, grappear. so wide same for my son, born here, raised here, gr appear. so wide with he be any different? —— grew up here in the why would he be any different? the council who looked after darren and derrell since the age of 13 has said that attempts have been made to register the twins signed the necessary documentation. the home office issues a deportation notice to anyone without citizenship who has been convicted of a serious crime

and serving a sentence of at least 12 months. davin‘s partner disagrees that the council made attempts to register the twins. speaking to derell, they haven't, being with darren, they definitely haven't, i have a had a lot of dealing with the council on behalf of darren, and it has never been straightforward with them. i do feel like they should have registered them as british citizens when they were 13 and when they were minors. the home office denies it's issued deportation orders to the twins, but an immigration lawyer for darell has seen a notice. i am aware of davin telling his family member that he has been told by prison officials there is a plan to deport him to grenada, and with regards to darell, i have physically seen his page one notice of intention to deport. why shouldn't the government deport someone who is not a british citizen and commits previous bodily harm ? they both are paying their debt to society, why

should they now be subjected to a double punishment when all but for an application which should have been done by adults who were in charge? darren‘s partner says the twins now feel as if they are in limbo when it comes to their future, but to her, the picture is clear. i would say that he is already being punished, he is in prison, he is serving his sentence. so for me, it doesn't matter what is written on paper, when someone was born here, raised here, grew here, you are british to me. now on bbc news, louise minchin has been speaking to the duchess of cambridge about her involvement with the bbc‘s tiny happy people initiative. aimed at the 0—4s, it wants to help parents develop their childrens communication skills with simple activities. music.

hi! hello! it's like a game of hide—and—seek in the woods. thank you so much. very nice to see you. isn't this lovely? i'm ryan, this is mia, she's eight months old today. her favourite word now to say is dada, and she loves to try and blow raspberries. hello, my name is henrietta, and this is my partner. my name is abu. this is our lovely daughter, amira. she is almost one and she isjust learning how to stand up. hi, i'm kerry. and i'm darren. and this is dexter. he's two. he now strings words together into sentences. pigeon! pigeon? oh, well done! never said that word before.

hello! thanks for coming down. how are you guys doing? is that your digger? very nice. louis would like that digger. it is such a fun age because they start to, like, express more. she can now scrunch up her nose and everything. we play peekaboo a lot as well. so that's amazing. but yeah, i've learned a lot through tiny happy people as well, how much food she should have. and her first word was dada as well. 0h, amazing. i was trying to get her to say dada and it worked. dada! there you go! you are absolutely passionate about early years development. yes, very passionate. people sort of assume it's because you're a mum, but actually it goes back quite far for you, doesn't it? yeah, it goes back a long way. i think, you know, in a way, lots of the parents here and lots of the parents and families that you speak to, i think they all know how important

it is to look after our children, and to nurture and care for young kids. but i didn't realise, before i started all this work, i didn't realise just how important it is. some of the science behind all of it is extraordinary, it's sort of 90% of our adult brain grows before the age of five, and it just shows what a precious time this is and what an amazing opportunity us as parents have to really nurture their minds, and really put them in the best possible position for their future lives. dada, dada? dada, dada. at the heart of the bbc‘s tiny happy people initiative, a simple message. talk to your children from as early as possible. want some more yoghurt? are you making a mess?! mess is good. it's important, because more than one in four children starting primary school in england don't reach the required level of literacy development, and it's a similar picture right across the uk.

the duchess of cambridge has been involved for some time. chatter. today, she and i are meeting three families at sandringham to find out how they're getting on. she's very chatty! she is. she learns a lot from us, she copies a lot. like eating shoes! does that happen a lot? you just want to eat? yeah! my children have bottomless pits. i feel like a constant feeding machine for them! just a few more bits? he is the same age, isn't he, as prince louis? when's his birthday? the 2nd of june. 0k, gosh, yeah, very close together. louis' end of may. hello! i wasjust saying, louis doesn't understand social distancing. so he goes up wanting to cuddle everything, and particularly any babies youngerthan him. what kind of resources did you use with yours,

and are still using, obviously? well, i think it's really hard, so much focus, particularly during pregnancy, and when you've just got a newborn baby, is on the physical development of your baby, and you as a mother. but what i think is really missing, and what i found was missing, too, was the support there in how to help their social and emotional development — you know, how do you interact with a newborn baby, what is it that you should be doing? not perhaps... in the first few months, there's a huge amount of support from midwives and health visitors and things, but from then onwards, you know, there's a massive gap before they start school, and it's that bit that i think you really need the support. have you learned anything new from being part of tiny happy people that perhaps you didn't know before? you don'tjust need all these toys. you canjust use something simple like a tree or, you know,

a bit of paper rolled up. and just a pen to paper is the best way for them to learn, is what i find. and talking. because talking is free, isn't it? what is that? what is it? can you say pasta? can you say princess kate? princess kate. you are so clever! look at you, so many words! me and her mum broke up three months ago, we have been co—parenting. but we get on really well. particularly for first—time dads, is it quite daunting? it is very scary. with the midwives, mums get more support, i feel the dads do not get as much support as they could. but obviously the mums go through it

all, all respect to them. he has taken to running everywhere. i know that. you put louis down, he is off. having a child young, all eyes are on you. do you feel you are being judged? i feel there is a stigma towards young parents. they don't know what they're doing, they're young... you don't know what it is like to have a baby. but ijust feel like, just take each day as it comes and you just do your best. there is an assumption that you should know that, you should know what to do. do you think people are fearful to reach out for information? i think so, i think we have heard it from a couple of parents today, and i hear it a lot, there is a sense of being judged if they feel they are not doing a particularly good job or something is not right, they do not feel they can reach out for help, which is very sad because we all need support, i needed support. and we have to work with those

around us who can be there as our lifelines, really. ryan, i'm interested in what you said about she has five different cries? which is incredible, to know that. one cry, if, say, i need to get a drink, there is a fake cry. it is like, show me attention. there is one cry if you are watching tv, she is sitting on your lap, you think she is crying, you look at her and she starts smiling. then there is this cry, which is another attention cry. and then she has a feeding cry, which is very more high—pitched, and then you have a night terror cry. which is the worst one. that must be really hard, the middle of the night is so lonely. ryan saying how his baby has five different cries, he has learned a huge amount from tiny happy people. it is information like that i wish i had had as a first—time mum,

so many parents, it is gold dust for families to be given those tips and tools to use, particularly in its first five years. in ——these first five years. how have you guys found lockdown? i work a lot, it takes up a lot of my time, at least 40 hours a week, so being at home, it is a lot different to being at work, i am seeing things i don't usually see as a parent. it gives me time to spend with my daughter and bonds. it is a very beautiful thing. it is very hard, i did not see my dad or any of my family. for months, until boris said... it was a struggle.

how do you think it will be for these parents and children? i think some of the elements will be really positive, families have spent much more precious time together, and really reflected on some of the simple things that make a difference to their kids, particularly in the first five years. for others, it has been really tough on relationships, money issues, relationship issues, it has been a real challenge. i'm usually home a lot, myself and the baby, it has been difficult with him at home with me, he has he has been my face a lot. we have had lots of arguments. ijust want to know how you can work to make things again and make the love strong again. juggling parenting and relationship. it is such an importantjob as parents have but it is such

a huge responsibility. it is really hard. henrietta and abu were very honest about the stresses of a child unable unable ——on a relationship and lockdown as well. massively. in a way, we have forgotten almost how important relationships are and almost... it is that connectivity, that intimacy that we have already ——all really missed during lockdown. if nothing else, hopefully one of the silver linings is people will really revalue how important those things are. you talked about going back to work, but you have loved being with her? we grew so close over the lockdown, i went back to work on monday and did not see herforfive days and that was so challenging. how do you extend that umbilical cord, having had

that precious time together? from a personal perspective, having lots of the extra time together as a family but then being able to stand back again and go back to how things were is really hard for lots of families. i think you guys do an amazing job, and so many families, it is a hard job but one of the most important jobs we can all do is raising the next generation of happy, healthy kids, and you are doing a greatjob, i can tell. thank you for having us. thank you for coming, i am sorry about the weather. we'll take the tent down when we go! it has been great to meet the families, and what tiny happy people has provided for parents is a great lifeline. there is not a huge amount of support and guidance and it is very much needed.