lawyers say the essure coil, which was withdrawn from sale in 2017, "has caused irreparable damage physically and mentally". the german company bayer says it will vigorously defend the claim. live now to philippa roxby, our health reporter. tell us more about this legal action at the moment. it is tell us more about this legal action at the moment.— at the moment. it is called the essure, at the moment. it is called the essure. and — at the moment. it is called the essure, and it _ at the moment. it is called the essure, and it is _ at the moment. it is called the essure, and it is a _ at the moment. it is called the essure, and it is a tiny - at the moment. it is called the essure, and it is a tiny metal l at the moment. it is called the l essure, and it is a tiny metal coil that goes into the tubes to the woman because my ovaries to prevent pregnancy, so it is a bit like sterilisation without the need for surgery. in most women it is effective and it works well without any complaints, but some women allege that it has caused them continuous pain after using the

device and they have also experienced side effects like headaches and feeling sick sometimes, rashes and horrible etching that really affected their daily life. lawyers for the women in this group in the uk state the implant is caused terrible pain and suffering. most eventually had to get hysterectomies to get the implant removed and some experience pain for years. the german company behind the device as it stands by its safety. it will vigorously defend itself in the uk courts, it says, and it is also carried out many trials and a lot of independent research before the device was approved, but it is facing legal action in many different countries. thank you. we do have more on that story on the bbc news website. we do have more on that story on the bbc news website. the schools minister nick gibb has defended the government after criticism of its approach

to carrying out essential maintenance on school buildings in england. more than 100 schools will remain fully or partially closed this week over concerns about crumbling concrete and there are questions about how many more could be affected, but the schools minister nick gibb said the government's response to the ciris has been "world leading". live now to our chief political correspondent, henry zeffman. lots of twists and turns on this. the latest statement, comments from the schools minister there, what more have you heard from the government. i understand the cabinet has been meeting today? that’s has been meeting today? that's riaht, this has been meeting today? that's right, this was _ has been meeting today? that's right, this was just _ has been meeting today? that's right, this was just the - has been meeting today? that's right, this was just the usual - right, this was just the usual weekly cabinet meeting, but the first since mps come back from their break and crucially it was the first since this raac issue, the potentially dangerous concrete and public buildings, i think it is fair to say it has engulfed the government. it is the only thing that people in westminster are talking about. the levels of concern

are rocketing in government and we know that rishi sunak talk to his cabinet ministers today about what the government is doing to address it. as you mentioned, there is a bit of a dispute over actions taken by this government and previous conservative governments that might have contributed to the situation, so nick gibb, the schools minister you mention, was defending rishi sunak�*s actions when he was chancellor under borisjohnson, chancellor under boris johnson, saying chancellor under borisjohnson, saying he did not slash the number of schools that would be built or refurbished, but kept them at existing levels. what is not in dispute, which is quite politically sensitive for rishi sunak, is the department for education asked for a certain amount of money because they said that this issue was really problematic and they wanted more money to refurbish schools and the

treasury, when it was led by then prime minister, it could only give them less money. that is a bit for rishi sunak. figs them less money. that is a bit for rishi sunak-— rishi sunak. as this crisis continues, _ rishi sunak. as this crisis continues, how _ rishi sunak. as this crisis continues, how much - rishi sunak. as this crisis continues, how much of l rishi sunak. as this crisis i continues, how much of a rishi sunak. as this crisis - continues, how much of a problem rishi sunak. as this crisis _ continues, how much of a problem for him is going forward? i was reading that a number of schools have been asking for marquees to hold lessons and because concerns over classrooms. more than 100 schools will be close or partially closed this week. will be close or partially closed this week-— will be close or partially closed this week. , , , . ., this week. this is difficult for the government _ this week. this is difficult for the government going _ this week. this is difficult for the government going forwards. - this week. this is difficult for the i government going forwards. there this week. this is difficult for the - government going forwards. there are so many questions left unanswered. so many questions left unanswered because even people at the top of government to know the answers. the government to know the answers. the government is a few days of publishing a full list of the schools affected. there are surveys

to be done in hundreds of schools around england. there will be a question about what schooling looks like in some of the schools which have had to close down some or all of their buildings. is it very makeshift? what is happening for the education of children? and then, there is the question of what other kinds of buildings might be in trouble. there is a particular reason to be very sensitive to the presence of this material in schools, but what all these other buildings constructed with this other kind of concrete —— with this kind of concrete? i think we will hear much more about that in the coming days and weeks. we hear much more about that in the coming days and weeks.— hear much more about that in the coming days and weeks. we have also had news from — coming days and weeks. we have also had news from the _ coming days and weeks. we have also had news from the chancellor, - coming days and weeks. we have also had news from the chancellor, jeremy hunt, that he will deliver an autumn statement on spending on the 22nd of november. , �* statement on spending on the 22nd of november. , ~ , ., , november. these autumn statements ha - en november. these autumn statements happen every — november. these autumn statements happen every year- — november. these autumn statements happen every year- it _ november. these autumn statements happen every year. it is _ november. these autumn statements happen every year. it is a _ happen every year. it is a requirement of the chancellor in law

that they do a budget in the spring, then other tax and revenue raising measures in the autumn. the confirmation of the dates means that it gives those who want to lobby the chancellor, and without teaming conservative mps who want tax cuts, a clear day for which they have to get those demands in. jeremy hunt, the chancellor, will resist that, saying the government is committed to bringing down inflation and the worst thing they can do at this point is cut taxes before the government is over the worst of it. once they are over this concrete issue, you will see the government and conservative party more generally start to focus on whether the government's economic policy isn't quite the right place. on monday, we reported on how family court rulings have led to dozens of children being forced into having contact with fathers who have

been accused of abuse. today, we have a special report on how some mothers who feel they have been failed by the justice system have fled abroadtaking their children with them. they all claim they were victims of domestic abuse and were offered no legal protections. many of the mothers went to turkish controlled northern cyprus. we should warn you, you may find parts of this report from our special correspondent ed thomas distressing. victims of domestic violence. i was raped. family court just didn't listen. hidden, and on the run. if i'd stayed in england, i'd be dead. it was state sanctioned abuse. for the first time, mothers who fled uk family courts, abducting their children tell their stories. i was abused by that court, as well as my husband. when i left him there was a campaign of abuse. i was stalked. i was harassed. rose, not her real name, was the first to tell her story. my daughter, she'd come back with bruises, all documented. and when your child says, "mummy,

daddy's hurting me", it breaks you. rose's story highlights complex family court cases. her partner was never convicted of a crime, but we've seen multiple police reports written at the time that said she was at risk of domestic abuse. i was referred to victim support. i broke court orders on the advice of the police, but the court wanted contact at all costs. rose has never been accused of physically harming her child, but she was accused of alienating her ex. the court said, if you don't send your child, we're going to remove her. and they did. the concept parental alienation is controversial. there are calls for it to be banned. and we've learnt the government is investigating its use in our family courts. we can't move from here. we are safe, but in a type of prison. and rose isn't alone. we've been told dozens of women, victims of domestic abuse, have fled uk family courts,

and many are now hiding in turkish—controlled northern cyprus. we made the same journey to ask why. i'd face bursts of anger. that's when alarm bells started to go off. i'd be manhandled, left full of bruises. in all, i made about 50 separate phone calls to the police. this mum, we're calling suzanne, fled after a decade of family court hearings. i was in and out of court all the time, it got so bad. over 120 appearances. the bbc has seen multiple police reports detailing domestic abuse against suzanne. i was going to have a breakdown. i was literally screaming in my head. health professionals said she was suffering trauma, but suzanne was accused of alienation. i was not listened to. my child was not listened to. it was state sanctioned abuse. some of the mothers risk prosecution for child abduction. some have had their bank accounts

frozen, and been placed on interpol no—fly lists. hi, are you 0k? we spent months building up trust to tell their stories. so that's another mother. she's really, really nervous. she is frightened, and she doesn't know whether or not she's going to speak to us. those who did open up to us would only speak anonymously, and if we change their voices. i was handing my child to an abuser. i couldn't do it any more. this mother says her child became suicidal. the judge made the decision that i was parental alienating him from his dad. i was told i was the abuser. but should you have stayed in england? i had to go. i watched my son's childhood disappear. the women who i've met here, who have fled from the uk, are terrified. mina atla is a turkish cypriot lawyer, who represents many domestic abuse victims. these women are being failed in their countries. they need to be offered

some kind of amnesty, and there needs to be a path to safety for these women and their children. she says many are running from allegations of parental alienation. it's not child abduction, it's not parental alienation, it's domestic violence, it's child abuse. many of the mothers we spoke to acknowledged they've broken the law. it's so difficult. i left my family, my friends. i've lost everything. after suffering years of coercive control, this mum said the family court became an extension of that abuse. the court should be trying to understand why women give up everything to flee just to protect the kids. the basic need of a child is to be protected, and we can't even do that in the uk. the domestic abuse commissioner said the cases uncovered by the bbc were harrowing, and there was a need for urgent reform of the family courts. in response to our report, the government said it's investigating the use of parental alienation, but that it takes international child abduction very seriously. ed thomas, bbc news.

we can now speak to ed thomas. what happens to these women next? that we can now speak to ed thomas. what happens to these women next?- happens to these women next? that is the question- — happens to these women next? that is the question. that _ happens to these women next? that is the question. that is _ happens to these women next? that is the question. that is the _ happens to these women next? that is the question. that is the question - the question. that is the question they want answering. it took weeks and months to get into position to speak to these mothers. they were traumatised, terrified about who we wear, what we wanted. some have changed their names, their appearances, they do live a life as being on the run. as you heard there from the family law barrister, she is calling for some sort of amnesty or safe passage back to the uk for these mums. that does not look like will be happening anytime soon. these women that what they have done is has broken the law and the

government is clear on that, they say they take international parental child abduction very seriously and all of those people that we spoke to are at real risk of prosecution. taste are at real risk of prosecution. we aired one of your report yesterday in which he discussed the concept of parental alienation, where mothers are accused of turning their children against their fathers. is there any likelihood that that global change, because clearly the concept of parental alienation plays a big part in these cases which involved domestic abuse. yes. a big part in these cases which involved domestic abuse. yes, sent re orts involved domestic abuse. yes, sent reports have _ involved domestic abuse. yes, sent reports have gone _ involved domestic abuse. yes, sent reports have gone out _ involved domestic abuse. yes, sent reports have gone out we _ involved domestic abuse. yes, sent reports have gone out we have - involved domestic abuse. yes, sent| reports have gone out we have been contacted by dozens and dozens and dozens of parents who say, yes, this has happened to me as well. many people seem to have suffered a lot of anguish inside the family courts. it is notjust mothers, we have been contacted by fathers. two have had traumatic experiences. we have been

told that the government is investigating how it is used in our courts and a further action is needed. thejudiciary courts and a further action is needed. the judiciary has courts and a further action is needed. thejudiciary has recently issued new guidelines on parental alienation, may be a framework, if you will, through the debate of fit as they go through family court, especially when it comes to these complicated cases like we have been hearing this week. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. the aim of this app launched in somerset today is to save lives. it's called carrying naloxone and information about what naloxone is, how to use it, and where to find it. and it's got a handy little app which shows locations

and it's available suppliers across somerset, including pharmacies. naloxone comes is either an injection or a no spray hybrid. then this is a receptor in your brain. when an opioid like heroin is injected into the body, its molecules attach on top of the receptor. when naloxone is taken, it knocks the opioids off, which can reverse the effects of an overdose. it can work in just two or three minutes. to get it to someone in need quickly, more people need to start carrying it around with them just in case. so there's quite a big uptake on people actually taking naloxone, but lower on people actually carrying it. more than 400 avon and somerset police officers have been trained to use naloxone. you're live with bbc news. with ukraine making advances in its south—eastern region of zaporizhzhia, first lady 0lena zelenska will host the summit of first ladies and gentlemen on wednesday dedicated to mental health. dozens of countries are expected to participate, although the exact number and names of the guests are being kept secret for security reasons.

0lena zelenska has been speaking to the bbc�*s yalda hakim about the impact of the war on mental health in ukraine and within her own family. first lady 0lena zelensky, thank you so much for taking the time to do this interview. i just want to begin by asking about the summit that you're hosting. if you could just tell me a little bit more about it. translation: thank you very much. we started it in 2021 as a platform for sharing thoughts, experience and common work for first ladies and gentlemen of the world and, luckily, this format really works. we could see it, basically, from the first days and weeks of the russia's full—scale invasion of ukraine in 2022. as the first lady of ukraine, i saw my colleagues starting to help straight away, effectively, promptly. many processes become faster when the first ladies or gentlemen get involved. so, in a couple of days, the third summit will take place,

which will be dedicated to such a very hot topic as mental health. it's an important theme for discussions in many countries, therefore, this year we gather the record number of the first ladies and gentlemen in various formats, online and in person, as well as record number of experts. you've got this national campaign for mental health called how are you? but i guess how often do people ask you how you are? so this... it's a difficult question. i can respond honestly, which will be a long answer and the time set up for this interview will not be enough. all i can respond the way we respond here to each other. i am holding on. really, for a year and a half now, we cannot be sure about tomorrow. we don't have confidence in our future. in one month or two, we have a huge hope for victory, but we do not know when it comes.

and this long wait, constant stress, it takes its toll. so everyone finds their own way here to deal with it. for me, such stimuli are work, including our interview, because when you have the reason to wake up and go to work, it doesn't give you a chance to stop and think why this is happening to us. and i am very much supported by inspiring stories of ukrainians every day because in every tragedy, there is a story of saving, help, heroism and it inspires me a lot. i'm holding onto that and i think so are my colleagues and friends. how do you deal with other strains on yourfamily? for example, your husband being compared to winston churchill, how do you respond to that?

translation: well, it depends. on the way you would like to look at winston churchill. of course, he is the historical figure. i did not dream about my husband becoming an historic person. maybe it's selfish, but i need my husband, not a historicalfigure beside me. but, on the other hand, if it is about a leader who led his country through the difficulties of war, if that kind of comparison would be accurate, i'd love it. he really does has the energy, the willpower, the inspiration and stubbornness to go through this war so we finally see our long—awaited victory. i believe in him. and i support him. i know that he has enough strength. for any other person i know, i think it would be much harder to handle this situation. he really is a very strong and resilient person and this resilience is what we all

need right now. you can watch the full interview with ukraine's first lady right here on the bbc news channel with yalda hakim on the daily global, which starts from 5.00pm gmt, that's 6.00pm bst. a bbc investigation suggests that three major water companies in the uk illegally discharged sewage hundreds of times last year on days when it was not raining. the practice, known as "dry spilling", is banned because it can lead to higher concentrations of sewage in waterways. raw sewage can legally be discharged if the system is overwhelmed, but only after heavy rain or snow. it stinks, but is it legal? raw sewage was released

onto england's beaches and into its rivers, more than 300,000 times last year. some of it was allowed, but our analysis of water company data suggests they're regularly breaking the law. rural west sussex and one of southern england's celebrated chalk streams. so here we are. welcome to the river lavant, or as we locally call it, the river lav. the river lav? the river lav. just full of full of effluent. rob, a retired businessman, is notjoking. there would be no river lavant in the summer without the treated discharges from the next door sewage plant. when we came, it was overflowing. so we had the storm overflow coming out here, untreated sewage coming out here. and we came back a few days later, it was still going on. a few days later, again, still going on. rob filmed what looks like a white fungus growing on the sewage slick. but why was it spilling? there was no rain on the day the flow began, or on any of the previous three days.

rob complained, the environment agency investigated, and those southern water was found to have broken the rules, it was only given a warning. they treat it as a one—off, absolutely. whereas it had been going for probably three to four months, and continued for three to four months afterwards. it is a scandal. over the last few years, the water companies have been forced by the government to report details of when and where they discharge raw sewage. it's only supposed to happen when the system is overwhelmed. after heavy rainfall, or snow. it's not supposed to take place, as it did here, during periods of dry weather. so, how common are these dry spills? to find out, the bbc requested details from all nine english water companies. three of the largest complied, providing us with huge amounts of data.

we then cross—referenced that with rainfall and found what looks like nearly 400 sewage spills lasting thousands of hours that started during dry weather. any spill that we can verify that's taken place during a dry spill condition would be illegal, against the permit. many of the water companies, like southern water at the lavant, say ground water leaking into cracked pipes is behind some of the spills. thames water apologised for some of theirs. wessex said some of the data they'd given us was flawed. there should never be a dry spill, and any suggestion that there has been one should be investigated fully by the environment agency. but i think really enforcement is not the way we're going to fix the ultimate issue, which is to reduce, and ideally eliminate, sewage going into our rivers and seas, which is why we have unveiled an ambitious plan to triple investment so that we can tackle the root cause of the problem, which is an ageing system, a tired system, and a very large system.

the environment agency told us it's now working on its largest ever criminal investigation into water companies and their sewage spills. jonah fisher, bbc news. scuffles broke out at the venice film festival premiere of woody allen's new movie. here he is, arriving on the red carpet for the premiere of �*coup de chance' — which translates into english as �*stroke of luck�* — he was accompanied by his wife, soon—yi previn, but as that was going on, a group of protestors, most of whom appeared to be female, seemed to try to disrupt the event. they were prevented from reaching the red carpet area and chanted slogans about abuse. woody allen has consistently denied allegations made by his ex—partner mia farrow and has told reporters he supports the #metoo movement "where it does something positive". a part of china's world famous great wall has been severely damaged by construction workers who used an excavator to dig through it.

police, who released this image of the damage, say two people are suspected of digging a "big gap" to try to create a shortcut for their construction work. chinese media say police in shanxi province followed tracks made by the machinery. stay with us here on bbc news temperatures will continue thursday. with the heat and the sunshine, we are also going to see the humidity increasing. that will make it feel more uncomfortable, both by day and by night. we have low pressure part to the far south—west of the uk. high pressure is dominating the scene over most of the atlantic and thatis scene over most of the atlantic and that is allowing us to tap into the hot air that is being driven up on a south easterly breeze. for the rest of this afternoon it will stay sunny and very warm or even halt across

southern areas again, temperatures reaching around 30 celsius and one or two locations. the best of —— a bit of mist and mark the north sea coast of scotland. cloudy for 0rkney. through we will see cloud, look like miss denmark become more widespread across eastern scotland and eastern england and a few patches into the irish sea. foremost, clearskies patches into the irish sea. foremost, clear skies and warm and muqqy foremost, clear skies and warm and muggy night to come. we start off rather grey in eastern scotland and eastern england. that mist will burn back to go coast. foremost, another dry, sunny and hot day. probably to pick up the heat up to about 32 celsius across the south—east. high 20s further north. with the heat and humidity in place, thursday will be another dry and sunny day, but an increasing chance of thundery showers developing because of the humidity in northern and western areas. most places will stay dry.

another very warm or hot day with plenty of sunshine and temperatures in the low 30s in the little south—east. change heading into friday. i pressure continues to hold on to another fine day. the low cloud and denmark to start off with the game, certainly in central and northern areas. sunshine will become widespread into the afternoon. temperatures low 30s in the south—east, mid to high 20s across scotland. signs of a bit of a change taking place across scotland and northern ireland at the weekend, turning colour, and increasing chance of showers, but churning sunny for england and where is, with temperatures coming down here into next week.

today at1:00... a bbc investigation suggests water companies discharged sewage hundreds of times last year in england on days when they weren't alllowed to. the sewage was released into waterways when it wasn't raining — which is illegal. i'm here at langstone harbour, on the south coast, a harbour frequently blighted by sewage discharges, to report on a nine—month long bbc investigation that reveals what looks like regular rule breaking by our water companies. also on the programme... birmingham city council, europe's biggest local authority,

has declared itself effectively bankrupt — only essential spending can now continue. the grandfather of sara sharif, the ten—year—old who was found dead at her home in surrey, talks to the bbc in pakistan. and a convoy out of nevada — tens of thousands of revellers finally leave the burning man festival, after torrential rain turned the desert into a quagmire. and coming up on bbc news... mason greenwood trains for the first time with his new club getafe, afterjoining the spainish side on loan for the rest of the season. good afternoon and welcome to the bbc news at 0ne. a bbc investigation suggests that three major water companies in england discharged sewage hundreds of times last year

on days when it wasn't raining, which is illegal.