good morning, this is bbc news, i'm victoria derbyshire. here are the headlines... special forces board an oil tanker and detain seven stowaways after a suspected hijacking off the isle of wight. this was a very efficient operation. it only took nine minutes from the word go to the stowaways being rounded up and identified. as half—term begins for many, ministers insist they won't change their minds on free school meal vouchers over the holidays, saying they're providing help through extra funding to local authorities. we have put in £63 million precisely to support councils to deliver, and i think that is the best way of doing this. a covid test that can provide a result in 12

minutes will be available at boots, costing £120. young people, especially from deprived backgrounds, have had their earnings and job prospects hit hardest by the coronavirus pandemic. if you are part of the covert generation, let me know if you have been affected and how you feel about your future. you can been affected and how you feel about yourfuture. you can message me on instagram or twitter. or send me an e—mail. and coming up this hour, an historic day for british sport, as lewis hamilton breaks the all time record for race wins and tao geoghegan hart wins one of the toughest cycle races in the world.

good morning. a navy special forces unit has stormed an oil tanker off the isle of wight after a suspected hijacking. seven stowaways — thought to be nigerian nationals — have been detained after they were reported to have threatened the crew. andy moore has the latest. late last night, and the tanker andromeda was back under the control of its crew after what the ministry of defence called a suspected hijacking. 16 members of the special boat squadron, based at nearby poole, were landed on the ship as night fell. defence secretary ben wallace said... what is good to see is the reaction from ourforces, the coordination between our agencies. number 10 would have been fully involved in what was going on, indeed. this is a good outcome for britain. the drama began yesterday morning as the ship prepared

to enter the fawley oil refinery near southampton. seven stowaways — believed to be nigerians — are said to have become violent and made verbal threats to the crew. they retreated to a safe place on board the ship. there are few official details from the ministry of defence, but it's understood several military helicopters landed heavily armed troops by rope onto the deck of the ship. faced with overwhelming force, the stowaways are said to have surrendered almost immediately. this was a very efficient operation. it only took nine minutes from the word go to the stowaways being rounded up and identified. and, of course, this reflects the training that both the fleet air arm crews and the sbs — the special boat service — undertake all the time. none of the 22 crew of the andromeda were injured in the incident. the seven stowaways have been detained. andy moore, bbc news. ministers are continuing to insist they will not fund school meal

vouchers for children in england during half—term, despite calls for a rethink from some conservative mps. the government has come under pressure on the issue following a high—profile campaign by marcus rashford. scotland, wales and northern ireland have already introduced food voucher schemes. the health secretary, matt hancock, said the government was providing help through extra funding to local authorities. we have put in £63 million, precisely to support councils to deliver and i think that is the best way of doing this, through the councils who, you know, we have been seeing over the last few days have been rolling out these programmes, who are there in local areas in the community and who are supporting people and trying to make sure that this gets to the people who need it most. so absolutely, we put in that extra money.

as you say, some people have estimated the cost at around £20 million so we put in £63 million. you know, my own local authority in suffolk has received over three quarters of a million in order to support people right across suffolk. that is the way we are delivering this, including, in addition, in these really difficult times, putting an extra £20 a week on to universal credit to make sure people who are in receipt of universal credit can get that extra support that might be needed. in a moment, we'll speak to a conservative mp who last week voted against extending free school meals for this half—term but now regrets it. first, let's speak to julie in middlesbrough. she's asked us not to use her surname. she is a mum of five, and three of her children receive free school meals. good morning. good morning. you used

the free school meal vouchers in the summer the free school meal vouchers in the summer holidays so explain how much ofa summer holidays so explain how much of a lifeline they were for your family. they really were a lifeline, they helped us so much because we really struggled through lockdown financially. even with the shortages in the supermarkets, prices of things going up. honestly, they were literally a lifeline. did you always get the vouchers on time? no, there we re get the vouchers on time? no, there were issues and they were delayed. sometimes they didn't show up until a week, two weeks later. so that must have been tough to have them at all was the key for you? it really was, it really did help financially and made such a difference to us. you can't work because you can't afford the cost of childcare, i know your partner is also out of work currently. what the government says about this, you probably heard the clip from matt hancock, they said

they increased universal credit to an extra £40 a week and have given 63 million local councils like yours in middlesbrough to help families like yours. —— extra £20. white is that not enough? i think it's a case that not enough? i think it's a case that it needs to be more national, it has to cover everybody. that might be delays in that being rolled out and it's not helping people here and now when we really need it. how tough has it been generally, would you say, during lockdown periods to manage when it comes to food and your five manage when it comes to food and yourfive children? manage when it comes to food and your five children? it has been really tough. we have relied on food banks and the local shop to help us. it's really difficult, sometimes it has been a case of missing bills to afford to eat. have you ever had to miss meals yourself to pretend to your kids that you're not hungry? yes, on quite a regular basis. just

pretending i'm having a cup of tea instead of a meal, i don't fancy lunch or i had a big graph quest which i didn't, so they are going with food and it's me without —— a big breakfast. you will have seen some conservative mps say it is a pa re nt‘s some conservative mps say it is a parent'sjob to some conservative mps say it is a parent's job to feed their children and effectively if you can't afford to do that, you shouldn't have had them. what do you say to that?” don't think anyone goes into the situation of ending up on benefits asa situation of ending up on benefits as a choice. it is something that has happened in their life that has caused that situation and anybody can end up on benefits, it can affect everybody and anybody. some tory mps have also received horrific abuse for voting against extending free school meals come at least one having a death threat made against him and his children. what you think of that? i don't agree with the

death threats. i agree there needs to be changed and people want to feel more supported, it is something that has been happening for a long time, holiday hunger is not a new issue. it has been going on for yea rs issue. it has been going on for years and the covid situation has helped highlight it. what would you say to the prime minister if he was watching right now?” say to the prime minister if he was watching right now? i would urge him to reconsider on the vouchers. i think a lot of people are relying on them. they need the help and support. so many people have lost theirjobs and it is a lifeline to these families. and what would you say if marcus rashford was watching right now? that we are all proud of him for what he is trying to do, and his support is appreciated. hopefully we will be able to get through to the government? thank you very much for talking to us and take care. that is julie, very much for talking to us and take care. that isjulie, a mother of five in middlesbrough plundered

three of her children are eligible for free school meals. this is an official government statement. "this government has expanded eligibility for free school meals for more children than any other in decades, providing free school meals when schools were partially closed, increasing welfare support by £9 billion and giving councils £63 million forfamilies billion and giving councils £63 million for families facing financial difficulties in england." let's speak to conservative mp for bournemouth east tobias ellwood. last week he voted against extending free school meal vouchers for this half—term and now says the government should revisit how welfare funding is spent. why did you vote that way? you have illustrated how there is a wider package of support given for welfare issues. this was missed in the debate. labour painted this as i that you support free school meal provision in the holidays or somehow you want our school kids to go hungry andi you want our school kids to go hungry and i think that was very disingenuous point of the nbn meant —— the amendment put forward

articulated the fact that universal credit has increased, £9 billion more as you mentioned support for councils and i think conservatives need to do better at articulating that. but what i have learned in the last three or four days is there issued passion and desire to see this system continue. there are many ways in which we can provide welfare assistance, of which the free school meals provision is simply one point it is tried and tested, it is popular and has been put in place before. i am saying that given all the difficulties and the challenges we face in the approaching winter with the pandemic continued, let's work together and recognise that if the national picture is such that they want to support this, it would be churlish not to recognise this is an avenue worth pursuing. do you regret voting the way you did on wednesday? i regret the manner in which the debate came through, i don't want to take away from it because ultimately what unite us all

is the fact that this generation of children have had their lives impacted in ways not seen since the war. and yet that debate, the vote itself, was very binary and it was disingenuous to the fact that the situation we face today is different to that in spring and summer when we first looked at extending this free school meal provision. it was binary, you are right. and in the end, it seems to some people you voted against children eating. again, you are almost falling into the deliberate trap from labour because it glossed... i'm telling you how it lost... could finish? there is a support package in place which matt hancock and others have articulated. i am saying that clearly there is massive support, popularity for one particular tool in our tool box of support for welfare support and for that to

continue so i am saying is that absolutely, if that is the case, keeping national resolve to get it in this enduring emergency, it would be wise for us to arise and plan for christmas and reconsider whether or not we should reintroduce it. that would be a sensible thing to do to bring people together. but i think many conservative mps were very unhappy on that wednesday evening when the scale of support now in place was completely glossed over, painting the conservatives as they did not care about support for children in schools and welfare provision and that is completely, i think that is irresponsible by labour. or a failing of the conservatives to communicate in the way you would have wished. yes. absolutely. my understanding is you are urging your government to change its mind before we get to the christmas holidays? yes, i agree with the communication piece and we need to do better than that point of the nation needs to recognise that we are in a different place, there isa we are in a different place, there

is a huge amount of support their. what we are arguing is what is the vehicle are providing that support and how should it be utilised. as i said, if there is massive support for a particular system, it's quite wise we work with that point we are facing so many difficulties in this pandemic, we have six months of a tough winter ahead and we should not be making a hurdle for ourselves. we should be looking for avenues to bring people together and if free school meals is that provision, it would be churlish of us not to adapt that and see this through, making sure the support for children is the thing that comes first. the government doesn't seem to be in the mood for a u—turn as we speak now? the word u—turn is exactly perhaps a problem, it's not just the word u—turn is exactly perhaps a problem, it's notjust this government but all governments. change of heart then. they don't wa nt to change of heart then. they don't want to be labelled with that, but what i would like to see is an advancement and recognition are simply of the deluge of national support there is for this particular

system. let's not forget that this provision was only temporary, in normal times we don't provide free school meals outside term type itself. it doesn't actually tick all the boxes because those in preschool art not covered for example and therefore government was looking at other avenues to advance the welfare package. ultimately, this seems to work, it is very popular, that's what i'm suggesting it is worth revisiting and i hope my government will go in that direction. your colleague conservative mp ben bradley said the school meal vouchers increased dependency on benefits, "extending it to school holidays passes responsibility for feeding kids away from parents to the state, it increases dependency." do you agree with him? no, i and i think he won't be agreeing with himself in the future when he makes comments like that put the debate became very passionate last wednesday. things were said on the other side also put distracted us

from our focus which other side also put distracted us from ourfocus which is providing the necessary welfare support. what can we do to get through this difficult period of the pandemic? a tough winter ahead, we need to work together. thank you for talking to us. tobias ellwood, conservative mp. your views are welcome on that, send us an your views are welcome on that, send us an e—mail. or you can message me on twitter or instagram. the headlines on bbc news... special forces board an oil tanker and detain seven stowaways after a suspected hijacking off the isle of wight. as half—term begins for many, ministers insist they won't change their mind on free school meal vouchers over the holidays, saying they're providing help through extra funding to local authorities. retailers will meet the welsh government today to clarify the ban on selling nonessential items in supermarkets. more than 60,000 people have signed a petition calling for the restrictions, which have stopped people buying items like clothes and toys, to be lifted. our wales correspondent tomos

morgan sent this update. loads of pictures and videos on social media from disgruntled members of the public, going to shops like this one behind me and not able to buy things like toys, baby clothes, children's clothes, normal clothes, books, cards, because aisles have been closed and items have been covered up. it has been done, the welsh government say, for two reasons. first of all, in fairness to smaller businesses that might only sell toys, for example, that have had to shut in this period, so in fairness to them, but also to limit the reason people might go out to the shop during this period which of course is another lockdown in wales. and the whole point of the lockdown is to stop people from mixing and potentially catching the virus so there is a valid restriction over coronavirus to do this. however, people are still disgruntled but last night the first minister told me that the rule

would not be changed but they would be clarifying the situation with supermarkets later today. a coronavirus test that provides results in just 12 minutes will be available at high street pharmacy boots, for £120. the nasal swab test will be available for travellers who require one before going abroad, or for people who want peace of mind before seeing vulnerable family members. customers won't need to be displaying symptoms to get the test, which will be available in more than 50 uk stores. coming up at 11:30am today, we'll be answering your questions on the latest covid—i9 restrictions. virologist dr chris smith from cambridge university will be here to answer your questions. you can get involved by sending your questions to ‘yourquestions@bbc.co.uk‘ or tweeting us using the hash tag bbc your questions. the government's job retention scheme comes to an end this week after supporting people's wages since march. it's given furloughed workers across the uk 80% of their current salary, and its estimated that one in ten workers are still furloughed.

the end of furlough coincides with the end of mortgage holidays and interest free overd rafts. our business presenter ramzan karmali is with me. that scheme is now being replaced. how does the new scheme work? it's very different and a little more complicated and keeps us all in jobs! employers get 20% of their normal hours —— employees. them at work one out of five days a week and the employer pays this putter on top of that they will get 67%, about two thirds of their wages with 61% being paid by the government and 5% by the employer. the employer contribution is much reduced? exactly. but they will still have to work that one day out of five to get two thirds of their wages. effectively the government says people receive at

least 73% of their wages to a maximum of around £3000 and the employer will have to contribute around £1500 which is a massive difference to the straightforward 80% beforehand. one of the things we have been talking about is the changes that have not happened for universal credit which will run out in april, the extra 20% a month people are receiving and the government says that costs £9 billion and it is not feasible to get going but they are looking at it. can speak now to minesh patel. why do you believe this scheme has to carry on? the government says it will cost £9 billion, they are on course to spend over 200 billion this financial year which is a record in peace time so how can we justify it? i think we are facing a challenging time with a huge job

crisis, people struggling to make ends meet. citizens advice currently we are helping one person every two minutes with a redundancy issue which shows the scale and these problems will not go away in the next couple of months. that extra £20 a week for someone on universal credit can mean the difference between putting food on the table, paying bills. we are calling on that permit to make that uplift permanent after much so people can stay afloat in the coming months. we have found that lower earners have been particular hard hit in the pandemic. what are you seeing on a day—to—day basis? is it though as low earners coming to you or are we seeing a wider range of people coming to citizens advice? it is a real mix for people we are seeing, people we are supporting with debt for instance, people are facing more problems in the pandemic, but also people accessing the benefit system for the first time. we have been supporting them in making

applications for universal credit. i think the scale of the crisis shows how important the benefit system is going to be as things like the job support scheme, so it's important for the government to look at the whole range of support available, not only in terms of benefits but also support schemes to make sure that everybody can put food on the table and survive the tricky couple of months. we talked about a low earners but a lot of work in sectors that have been particularly hard—hit. is that have been particularly ha rd—hit. is there that have been particularly hard—hit. is there anything more the government can do for those sectors? i think the job support scheme and the changes made last week are a good step, a good first step to support industry further. i think the benefit system will be crucial and making sure the support is there for everyone maintaining that 20 per -- £20 a for everyone maintaining that 20 per —— £20 a week uptake and also helping other groups like self—employed people and to make sure people have the right skills and training to move intojobs as

the economy starts to recover. it will require a range of measures to make sure people can weather the next couple of months. minesh patel, thank you very much. thank you. the scale of the impact of the lockdowns and coronavirus on the lives of 16 to 25—year—olds has been revealed in research by the london school of economics and exeter university. the study examines the effect on thejob prospects, education and mental health of young people. it demonstrates that deprived pupils have been worst hit. kashjones reports. i remember standing there and talking about how gcse exams were cancelled. my first reaction i think was disbelief. i think that moment when life for me really started to change. roberta has just started in year 12 at harris westminster sixth form. it's a selective school in central london and it gives priority to bright but disadvantaged 16—year—olds. in her year group of pupils from every borough in london and 20 were privately educated.

that break of six months did so much damage. usually i would just be able to sit for hours and be able to revise and really absorb it in my mind. now i get kind of restless after maybe one or two hours. and you've all come from different schools as well. yes. is there people in your classroom who had a good six month period when they were getting the right access to materials? yes. the disparity would be this big in the classroom, there are people who don't know anything and people who know almost the whole content. research given exclusively to panorama shows pupils in private schools were five times more likely to have had four online lessons or more on a day during lockdown than those in state schools. even though schools like this one are doing their best to make sure students don't miss out, four in ten pupils across the country still aren't getting the same number of teaching hours as they did before lockdown. here staff are getting used

to running lessons online. in the week before half—term one of year 13 caught covid and so the whole year group had to work remotely. kylie whiteley is one of the deputy head teachers. schools will still go on educating young people. that's what we are here to do. but we are not in the bedroom with them checking in on them, checking that they are ok. checking that there is somebody at home looking after them. we are not there for them to talk to when they are having moments where they feel really down. this is the uk's largest online mental health service for 11 to 24—year—olds. they've seen demand for counselling rise since the national lockdown. at times by more than half. adele is one of the councillors. they are really anxious about the pandemic, you know, and not being able to go to school. not being able to have that routine. usually they know where they are going. theyjust haven't got that same life and they are unsure if they are going to get that back again. professor lee elliott—major is part

of a team researching the long—term impact of covid on 16 to 25—year—olds. we call it the covid generation. it's about young people growing up now and what are their prospects. i do wonder whether the younger generation will kind of start demanding some sort ofjustice, if you like. intergenerational justice about all this. i do think we need to have a fundamental reset of thinking on these issues because if you don't solve them now, they are going to store a bigger problems for future generations even more. this is the chance in many ways for us to address some of these inequalities in society. kash jones, bbc news. and panorama: has covid stolen my future? is on at 7.35pm on bbc one tonight and will be on the bbc iplayer. thank you to rosie for this, she is in cardiff and is 19 and she said if kobe had not happened she would be in uni celebrating her birthday —— if covid had not happened. she says

she has many friends at university who have just started but have little to no support from that university for when they have to go into self—isolation. one friend has said they don't feel safe going outside their room and wear a mask almost constantly because of their household is not set in stone and there was confusion about a few users which shared bathroom or kitchen. corridor is interlocked and are continuing to go out and it sounds stressful for young people have left home as they have to be the ones to solve their accommodation problems. other friends are beginning six or more gcses and are having to sit exams and a couple of weeks, the curriculum for which they feel they basically had to teach themselves because of school closures. and in terms of masks, says rosie, and this is interesting, there is an odd school and university peer pressure that friends have told me about where it is not cool to wear a mask and you are made to feel like you're being over dramatic. some teachers even encourage students not to wear them when clearly the student feels safe at wearing one. friendship groups are being formed based on

stu d e nts groups are being formed based on students are part of the views towards dealing with covid. i would say that a positive part of my experiment is that i have been able to be part of a mutual aid group where you see how local people are helping each other and i have met a wide variety of people although it makes it even more depressing that i have seen so many people my age who i saw as have seen so many people my age who isaw as a have seen so many people my age who i saw as a mature and as friends having parties and blatantly disregarding social distancing measures. thank you very much for getting in touch, rosie, and have as happy a birthday as is possible. if you want to send us an e—mail, you are very welcome. or you can you want to send us an e—mail, you are very welcome. or you can message me on instagram or twitter. now it's time for a look at the weather with darren. hello there. it is a very unsettled week ahead. there will be some sunshine at times, but we are going to find some showers, some spells of rain, and it's going to be pretty windy over the week ahead too. eventually, those temperatures should be rising. not so today. another cool feeling day. some sunshine, yes, but still some showers which could be heavy, particularly affecting western scotland, northern england, pushing into eastern

england for a while. through the afternoon it may turn a bit drier in northern ireland and particularly wales and the south—west. they'll see some sunshine. the wind is turning more to west, blustery with their showers. temperatures are similar to what we had yesterday, typically 11 or 12 celsius. still some heavy showers around to end the day. i think through the evening, though showers do tend to fade away and the winds drop. we'll have some clearing skies, but rain comes in off the atlantic to northern ireland, wales and the south—west ahead of it with clearer skies in eastern scotland. lows of two or three degrees. that band of rain pushes eastwards during tomorrow and on wednesday it will be followed by some sunshine and some blustery showers. hello, this is bbc news with me, victoria derbyshire. the headlines. special forces board an oil tanker and detain seven stowaways after a suspected hijacking off the isle of wight.

this was a very efficient operation. it only took nine minutes from the word go to the stowaways being rounded up and identified. as half term begins for many, ministers insist they won't change their mind on free school meal vouchers over the holidays, saying they're providing help through extra funding to local authorities. we have put in £63 million precisely to support councils to deliver, and i think that is the best way of doing this. a covid test that can provide a result in 12 minutes will be available at boots costing £120. young people, especially from deprived backgrounds, have had their earnings and job prospects hit hardest by the coronavirus pandemic. sport and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, here's holly hamilton. good morning. this morning we're reflecting on another record breaking

weekend for lewis hamilton, winning his 92nd grand prix in portugal to surpass michael schumacher‘s record. afterwards his race engineer simply said, "what a race. "you are rewriting the history books". joe wilson was watching. always thinking, always winning. for lewis hamilton and formula 1, this circuit in portugal was new. lights out and away we go! the start was familiar. from pole position, hamilton led, but within seconds... bottas ahead of hamilton! he was second. team—mate valtteri bottas was in front. this is hamilton's view, in pursuit, watching, hunting, passing. started on pole, back into the lead now. it took him a little while, but that was the race. hamilton has the best team, they have the best driver. simple. his 92nd victory. the record is broken! i could only have ever dreamt of being where i am today, and i did not have a magic ball when i chose to come to this team

and partner with these great people but here i am and what i can tell you is that i am trying to make the most of it every single day. statistics prove who is best but they are only part of it. a new history of f1 has just been written by maurice hamilton, no relation, who said lewis has taken the sport into new territory. he is not afraid to use his public platform and to speak and speak his mind. people might not agree but he doesn't mind, he just wants to get it out there. i think he will be remembered as the first grand prix driver who has been willing to stand up and speak about matters outside racing. thousands were there to watch hamilton win. only one of them really mattered. now the top of the world, it all began with just him and his dad. joe wilson, bbc news. and from four wheels to two. great britain's tayo gaygan hart says his victory in the giro d'italia is beyond his wildest dreams, after he became only the fifth british rider to win one

of cycling's grand tours. gaygan hart began the day in second place overall, although level on time with australia's jai hindley. the final stage was a ten—mile time trial on the streets of milan and gaygan hart was the faster rider, winning by 39 seconds. hejoins bradley wiggins, chris froome, geraint thomas and simon yates in british cycling's history books, the fifth briton to win a grand tour and the second to win the giro after froome. team inneos grenadiers boss sir dave brailsford said it marks a new era in cyclng. he's part of this new generation of young guys coming through and they are racing more aggressively, they are racing more openly and a bit of flair and a bit of panache. that's held them in really good stead and the way he's managed himself through the entire race, he sort of became, "ok, i might be able to do this. and i think he kept going day by day and he didn't get ahead of himself and putting pressure on himself.

he rode beautifully, he really did. leicester city continued their great start to the premier league season with victory over arsenal. jamie vardy came off the bench to score the only goal of the game. it's the first time leicester have won at arsenal in 47 years. rangers are now six points clear at the top of the scottish premiership after a comfortable 2—nil win against livingstone. jermain defoe scored his 300th goal of his club career, and what a goal it was, brilliantly finished by the former england international. celtic were held to a 3—all draw at aberdeen. england's women have retained the six nations without even playing. that's after scotland did them a big favour. they launched an incredible fightback against france to salvage a draw, meaning that england win the title and complete back to back grand slams

if they beat italy next sunday. more from the bbc sport centre throughout the day, but for now that's all from me. thank you very much. this weekend marked seven months since the country was put into lockdown. the aim was to curb the ever rising infection rate across the uk, but despite the most stringent measures, ca re homes were some of the worst hit, with over 15.5 thousand covid related—deaths up to 18 september. most homes closed their doors completely to visitors in order to protect residents, and seven months on, many homes still don't allow face to face visits. major charities have warned the government of the "hidden catastrophe" happening in care homes as a result of the deterioration in the mental and physical health of residents from restricted visits. relatives say it's heart—breaking watching their loved ones decline, or even die without being allowed to be by their side. but when the number of covid deaths in homes is increasing for the second week running,

what is the solution? let's talk to jenny morrison and her partner diane mayhew. jenny's mum is in a care home in liverpool and she says that not being able to have visitors has seen a rapid decline in her condition. they've set up the rights for resident campaign to try to end the current restrictions. we're also talking to maree kivlichan whose parents were both in a care home when covid struck. maree was only able to watch through the glass patio door as her father lay dying in front of her, on the screen now you can see one photo of maree's dad when he was very poorly. maree has agreed to show this photo to show the reality of watching a love one dying through a window. she only managed to go into the room and sit beside him when and i quote, "death was imminent". since then maree's mum has had

to grieve alone in her care home, unable to have a hug from her family for the last five months. also talking to us is vic rayner executive director of the national care forum and chair of the government strategic advisory forum on social care workforce and co—chair of the national social care advisory group. she represents members of not—for—profit care homes including dementia care homes as well as adult social care facilities. welcome, all of you. thank you for talking to us. such a massive issue affecting so many people across the country. journey, your mum in a care home right now, how often have you seen her? since lockdown back in march? hello, victoria. myself and diane have seen my mum in person twice in the last eight months. like many other care homes, her home at close the doors a week before the actual national lockdown. during the

summer, my sister was allowed to have a few outdoor visits in the garden but they were restricted to 30 minutes and were also weather dependent, and because my sister had those visits every other member of the family were reduced to banging on the window to see her. that's the only contact. other than these two visits that we've had with her in eight months. what has been the effect on hair, would you say? the effect on hair, would you say? the effect on hair, would you say? the effect on her, victoria, has been immeasurable. before the pandemic struck, mum was a happy, settled, her mental health was very good, she had family visits, full—day visits, six out of seven days. since then, we see her at the window and she is

often distressed. she is tearful. she says she misses us. and she's lonely. she just sits with her head in her hands. and ifeel her mental health now and her well—being are in a very, very precarious situation. and, on top of that, victoria, there is now an outbreak of covid at mum's home, so we are now being denied. we had ourfirst home, so we are now being denied. we had our first visit with mum, home, so we are now being denied. we had ourfirst visit with mum, second visit on friday, after the visit mum was, you know, quite distressed again because we were told by the ca re again because we were told by the care home as we were leaving that there had been another outbreak of covid and that we won't be allowed to see mum now going forward, so a further ban has been introduced and, at the very minimum, it will be 28 days until we see her again. and

what would you expect? if covid rates are rising in that particular ca re rates are rising in that particular care home, notjust on that one but others across the country, does it not make sense for the staff in that ca re not make sense for the staff in that care home, whose reason is to protect your loved one, to stop people like yourself visiting? the difficulty is, victoria, no visitors have been in so covid has got in anyway. via members of staff. it's not a criticism in any way but a fa ct. not a criticism in any way but a fact. you know, members of staff have got husbands, children, lives, they are allowed to go back to their daily lives and rightly so. and then the next day they go into the home and offer personal care to our loved ones. so the covid is getting in any way. the government are saying that their main priority is to protect loved ones from getting covid. not

only are they not being protected from getting covid, because they are getting it from staff, but they are also not being protected from dying of loneliness and isolation.” also not being protected from dying of loneliness and isolation. i was just going to bring in marie and then i will come back to you if i may. thank you for talking to us. we showed that incredibly moving picture of your father with your permission because you want to show people the reality. can you tell us what the experience was like of effectively watching your father die through a patio door? heartbreaking. what other word can you use? we were really, really fortunate, the home facilitated dad moving into a ground—floor room so at least we could see through that window, through that door. but you look at this man who you love... dying in

front of you and all you want to do is sit down and held that persons hand. to offer care. don't get me wrong, the home were fantastic. i cannot fault the care they gave dad. he's one of many, many residents, and they came in and did that care but could not sit there and tell him that they loved him. i want to ask about your mum. obviously your mum has been grieving for her husband. she is in the home. and you have not been able to even hug her. no. again, ithink been able to even hug her. no. again, i think we have been able to even hug her. no. again, ithink we have been been able to even hug her. no. again, i think we have been very fortunate, we are in a lower area and the home, the care organisation have facilitated all they could, so we've had the garden visits, over the summer. we have been able to see

her largely face—to—face. she has incredible hearing problems, so even the two metre distance and a mask creates a huge barrier. she not been able to have a hug. we've not been able to have a hug. we've not been able to have a hug. we've not been able to do the things normal families would do at this time. you would share memories. even planning the funeral we were given half an hour with her the day after he died when we were still hugely in shock. my sister and when we were still hugely in shock. my sisterand i, when we were still hugely in shock. my sister and i, my sister mainly who was fantastic, plan the funeral, because she's in that industry. but mum just looked bewildered on the day of the funeral because she had not been able to be included in that. you've been really clear that the care home staff have been pretty wonderful actually. i want to bring in vic, ifi wonderful actually. i want to bring in vic, if i may. i want to ask

about the dilemma care homes find themselves in because they have to protect the residents, yet they are aware some of those residents' mental health could be declining because they can't hug their daughters like marie, likejenny. yes, thank you. first of all i want to thank the incredible extraordinary generosity of diane, jenny and marie sharing the stories but also being really clearjust how much they see this incredible work force, social care workforce, doing whatever they can to alleviate an impossible and untenable situation i think is the situation we are in now. as was mentioned at the beginning, care homes locked down often before the 23rd of march. this has been nearly eight months where they have been trying to manage this impossible situation for those that they are caring for and their

relatives. when we are faced with potentially another six months of this in terms of localised lockdowns, and essentially blanket bans on visiting within homes, it's clear we've got to take some action andl clear we've got to take some action and i think what's really important is this message for those who are relatives and the residents being a pa rt of relatives and the residents being a part of this, but also providers of ca re part of this, but also providers of care want this to change urgently now and i think we got some pretty clear ideas of what needs to change and put in place. let me go back to jenny, because last week the government announced a pilot for ca re government announced a pilot for care homes for loved ones to be made key workers so they could have visits. you might say it's too slow that this is taking to get up and running, but what are your solutions, jenny? firstly, on the pilot, what i would say for that is the only time frame given for the

pilot is that it's going to happen sooner. what i would say to the government is soon is too late for people who have already died and who are dying every day from loneliness and isolation in care homes. what we would say to the government is we wa nt would say to the government is we want you to produce some guidelines that encourage care homes and support them to facilitate safe visiting. we also want you to produce a plan that protects people from dying of loneliness and isolation and the two things they could do right now our granted key worker status to family members, particularly to one nominated family member who is actually a part of that person's care. right now, so they could have access to tests in they could have access to tests in the same way the staff are already doing. that would allow an element of safe visiting. also the other thing we want the government to do right now just as thing we want the government to do right nowjust as they have done in the nhs, is to indemnify care

providers who are frozen with the fear of being sued by relatives if the virus is brought back into a ca re the virus is brought back into a care home. i would like to say my mum is being cared for by amazing ca re rs mum is being cared for by amazing carers who do every single thing they can to make her life better. but they can't be with her all the time because they are busy. they can't fill in the gaps left by families. not only have residents been left by this government, they are also turning the other way and ignoring this huge psychological effect on care workers and care homes, families and residents. jenny and diane, marie and vic, thank you very much for your time. what you say will resonate with so many people. thank you for talking to us. we will keep reporting on this and i have a statement from the department of health.

our priority remains the infection in care homes to protect staff and residents which is why more than 120,000 residents which is why more than 120 , 000 tests residents which is why more than 120,000 tests have been sent out every day. to help visits continue safely where possible and we are tightening the infection measures through our! tightening the infection measures through our 1 billion tightening the infection measures through our! billion patrol fund for care homes and three ppe and considering plans to allow specific family and friends to visit care homes are safely. and this is what we we re homes are safely. and this is what we were just talking about. we will set out further details in due course. although we don't know when. if you want to get in touch on that issue, please do. psychiatric services for pregnant women and new mothers have told the bbc they're concerned some patients are turning down specialist care due to strict covid—19 restrictions. mother and baby units brought in measures to prevent the virus spreading on the wards — including isolation periods for new arrivals and dramatically reduced visiting, meaning some mums have been more reluctant

to accept help. nhs england says its 19 units treat around 800 women a year — and people should seek help if they need it. anna collinson has been granted rare access to one unit in nottingham becoming a mum can be the happiest time of someone's life, but for a small group of women who experience serious psychological problems, places like this are a lifeline. they may be actively suicidal and absolutely want to die. there may be times when they may have thought to harm their baby. clinicians say separating a mum and baby can affect their relationship so they focus on keeping them together while the mother received psychiatric treatment. but in a time of upheaval, building trust is harder than ever. due to coronavirus restrictions, catherine went through 13 hours

of labour without her husband. she believes this triggered her postpartum psychosis symptoms just days later. i had hallucinations and delusions, i had urges to do things i would never normally want to do. i ended up actually reliving my birth at one point which, again, was very traumatic. and there were times when i thought that actually myself and ollie didn't actually survive labour. catherine was admitted to the margaret oates mother and baby unit in nottingham. if you want to come this way, i'll just show you to a patient bedroom. new patients must isolate in their rooms until a coronavirus test gives them the all clear. it can be really, really difficult for some mums, just being in these four walls with their baby, and it can be, you know, that ladies don't particularly want to come into hospital because they are going to have to isolate for the first 24 hours. while patients isolate, the only contact they have are with staff dressed

in full protective equipment. there are women that are acutely unwell, they are often quite frightened and we are wearing all of this kit. they cannot see our facial expressions. we try as best we can to express compassion and kindness through our eyebrows but we are fairly limited. so, it has been a difficult night on the unit. a woman was admitted last night, she was acutely unwell and she had to be restrained by staff. we have been told incidents like this can have a ripple effect and cause further distress to other patients. after a drop in demand during lockdown, nhs england says admissions for mother and baby units are now close to pre—covid—19 levels. strict measures like reduced visiting are in place to protect an already vulnerable community, but they are putting some women off. there are women who have turned down psychiatric care because of covid restrictions.

are you concerned about those women? yes. the lack of community services, or face—to—face community services, can have an impact. early intervention is really important. it stops anything lingering. a month after leaving the unit, catherine has come to thank those who helped her. aside from a few visits, husband chris had to miss the first weeks of his son's life. at the start there were obviously concerns, i didn't understand the illness really. it is really good to have them home. i know it's not over, but the worst bit is now we are just getting on with trying to get back to normality, really. anna collinson, bbc news. with me is elizabeth sankey, a patient during lockdown at east london mother and baby unit. also i'm joined by ella baker, a clinical nurse manager for the east london mother and baby unit.

into how you are feeling each day when you woke up after your son was born? yes, so i would say three days before he was born, sorry three days after he was born i started experiencing severe anxiety. which is adrenaline coursing through my body every morning when i woke up and it was horrific. and my husband and it was horrific. and my husband andi and it was horrific. and my husband and i had no idea what was happening. it wasn't until we talked toa happening. it wasn't until we talked to a midwife, i was planning on having a home birth so we had homebirth midwives, one of them said you need to go to a&e because i think you need a health assessment. so we did that. and then what followed was a month of me trying to get help, trying to understand what was happening to me, me being terrified i was going to feel like this forever. and i would hear things about mother and baby units when i would go to a&e because i was

feeling suicidal, but it always felt like it was something out of reach, and also i was doing all of this on my own because of covid, so my husband couldn't come with me to hospital and i had to have these evaluations and things like that. it was all very, very difficult. you we re was all very, very difficult. you were diagnosed with severe postpa rtu m were diagnosed with severe postpartum anxiety. how did the unit help you? it was incredible. when we finally got into one, we were so thrilled to get into the east london unit because the covid restrictions we re unit because the covid restrictions were less clear, so my husband would come every day whereas at some units at the moment families can only meet once or twice a week which i think is really tough. it was really scary. incredibly scary to be hospitalised for a mental illness. i'd never had anything like that before. but i knew i was going to get better. it was the first time since the illness started i felt relief because i just since the illness started i felt relief because ijust knew i was

going to get better, my husband was so relieved, as well, and that the incredible thing about, this silver lining, mental health issues around pregnancy and birth. it's really treatable. but only obviously if you get help. of course. let me bring in allah who helps people like you. what impact has coronavirus had on the help that you are able to give to mums like elizabeth? —— ellla they have been stopping admitting mums throughout the pandemic. but the isolation period at the beginning had a big impact. on new mums. beginning had a big impact. on new mums anxiety is. especially if you are already suffering from a mental illness and being told to stay in your room and especially with a mental illness and being told to stay in your room and especially with the baby, it's very difficult as previously mentioned, the no

face—to—face assessment. the lack of perinatal community. prior to coming into a mother and perinatal community. prior to coming into a motherand baby perinatal community. prior to coming into a mother and baby unit, perinatal community. prior to coming into a motherand baby unit, i perinatal community. prior to coming into a mother and baby unit, i think it had a big impact on the mums, so luckily, elizabeth had a bed with us other mums continued to get beds, but there are only 19 units in the uk. but actually, what reporting todayis the uk. but actually, what reporting today is some moments of dan that must consent to someone like yourself? you can still get the help and the health visitor coming into hospital, the restrictions are there, but there for a reason, to keep everybody safe. you can still have visitors, mostly from baby

units. the restrictions are there for a reason, but we are human and we understand dads and partners want to see their new babies etc, so... elizabeth, what would you say to anybody who is a new mum or coming to the end, about to give birth, and is feeling anxious? what would your message be to them? just tell people how you are feeling. i think it's so difficult with a lack of face—to—face, it's very difficult to convey sometimes how terrible you are feeling. so many women want to cope especially when they've just given birth. you want everything to be wonderful and you feel ashamed if you don't feel like that all the time, but there's things you can do to get help and, as i say, it is so treatable. yeah, talk to people, talk to yourgp, treatable. yeah, talk to people, talk to your gp, be honest about how you're feeling, and reach out to

other women as well because one of the things which help me so much was talking to other women who had been there, had a mental health issues around perinatal period, so yeah, ask for help and contact me on twitter. thank you so much for that. it's good to talk to you. thank you for your time, appreciated. now it's time for a look at the weather with darren. hello there. it is a very unsettled week ahead. there will be some sunshine at times, but we are going to find some showers, some spells of rain, and it's going to be pretty windy over the week ahead too. eventually, those temperatures should be rising. not so today. another cool feeling day. some sunshine, yes, but still some showers which could be heavy, particularly affecting western scotland, northern england, pushing into eastern england for a while. through the afternoon it may turn a bit drier in northern ireland

and particularly wales and the south—west. they'll see some sunshine. the wind is turning more to west, blustery with their showers. temperatures are similar to what we had yesterday, typically 11 or 12 celsius. still some heavy showers around to end the day. i think through the evening, though showers do tend to fade away and the winds drop. we'll have some clearing skies, but rain comes in off the atlantic to northern ireland, wales and the south—west ahead of it with clearer skies in eastern scotland. lows of two or three degrees. that band of rain pushes eastwards during tomorrow and on wednesday it will be followed by some sunshine and some blustery showers.

this is bbc news with victoria derbyshire. here are the latest headlines in the uk and around the world. special forces board an oil tanker and detain seven stowaways after a suspected hijacking off the isle of wight. this was a very efficient operation. it only took nine minutes from the word go to the stowaways being rounded up and identified. as half—term begins for many, ministers insist they won't change their mind on free school meal vouchers over the holidays — saying they're providing help through extra funding to local authorities. we have put in £63 million precisely to support councils to deliver, and i think that is the best way of doing this.