Transcripts For BBCNEWS BBC News 20171227

Author Sophie Kinsella about her book my not so perfect life. Good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. Aid workers have begun evacuating critically ill children from a rebel held suburb close to the syrian capital, damascus. Its been reported that four patients were taken out of ghouta overnight. Another 25 are expected to be evacuated in the coming days, although hundreds more need urgent treatment. Some 400,000 residents have been besieged by Government Forces since 2013. Matthew thompson reports. A wave, a smile. And for eight year old imjy a chance, at least, at life. 29 seriously ill civilians are due to be evacuated from this besieged suburb of damascus. Many others were not so fortunate. Eastern ghouta is one of the last strongholds of rebels fighting the forces of president bashar al assad. It has been under siege by Government Troops since 2013 and as peace talks in geneva have faltered, the humanitarian crisis has escalated. Food and fuel shortages have led to rampant inflation, starvation, and with medical supplies severely limited, doctors are powerless to help those in need. To escape the constant bombardment, for months families have sheltered in the basements of shattered buildings. But they offer no protection from hunger and disease. These people have been besieged and bombed. And living in the most atrocious conditions. But there is just a little chink now, and if we can get the ceasefire extended, there are peace negotiations starting up again in sochi, in the next few weeks. Russian sponsored talks may offer a way out, but so far rebel groups have refused to engage. Meanwhile, the un has identified nearly 500 seriously ill civilians in desperate need of evacuation from Eastern Ghouta. 29 may be a start, but there is much more to be done. Matthew thompson, bbc news. Well earlier i asked about the condition patients are in. With the director of the red cross. Of course they are exhausted and in dire need of medical treatment and we are happy to see this evacuation has taken place and we hope more people from ghouta will be able to exit to get the medical treatment in the coming days. This mustve been a ha rd coming days. This mustve been a hard one concession. Well it is needed and i think medical treatment should not be part of any political tit for tat. But life is such that this has happened and today were happy that this will take place and hope this is a new and positive dynamic that will enable more evacuations to happen in the coming days. The reality is though a number of people will have died whilst waiting for an evacuation. This is something that your organisation together with the un has been trying together with the un has been trying to achieve for some time. What changed, why did it happen now do you think . Well this is a political agreement that was negotiated between the parties in the conflict. We have been pushing repeatedly on all sides to have medical treatment inside is ten ghouta and medical supplies flowing on a regular basis because it has been under siege for yea rs because it has been under siege for years now. because it has been under siege for years now. Eastern. And there has been steadily deteriorating humanitarian situation. And now there are aggravating factors, very intense fighting for one months now and also the cold that has started in syria. So everything is becoming more urgent and we hope that not only those who are in dire need of medical treatment will be allowed to get out but for the rest of the people in Eastern Ghouta and other localities, humanitarian aid is being transferred in to make their life easier. The head of the Un Humanitarian Task force for syria said last week the original list have been 500 civilians in desperate need of evacuation, that was some months ago and the list has been shrinking bluntly because they were dying. You must still be concerned that a large number of people in the city may not be at that stage yet but their health may yet deteriorate not least because the problems of getting adequate food and Water Supplies first 7 getting adequate food and Water Supplies first . Well the 500 figures certainly conservative. What we are reporting is a very dire humanitarian situation where everything is running low, food, medical supplies, electricity nonexistent, water is not there. And people are dying from preventable chronic diseases such as diabetes, renal failure, chronic diseases such as diabetes, renalfailure, cancer chronic diseases such as diabetes, renal failure, cancer and so forth. So there is a sense of urgency today and we hope this will help more evacuations. And an important point, hope and patients are also running low for the people here and we hope that this beginning of something positive will generate more tolerance in order to make things easierfor the tolerance in order to make things easier for the people there. Thank you very much. Police are warning drivers of Hazardous Conditions on the roads after heavy snow hit parts of the uk, leaving thousands of homes without power. I jackknifed lorry caused ijackknifed lorry caused delays for several hours in northamptonshire. And the runway at Stansted Airport was closed for a time as snow and ice were cleared. As many took to the roads again after the christmas break, heading home or back to work, these were the conditions people were facing in bristol. For the emergency services, the wintry weather meant numerous call outs, crashes, breakdowns and jackknifed lorries kept the police busy. Torrential rain overnight has become snow in many areas and that has led to some pretty grim conditions on the roads. Many are slushy, theres ice in a lot of areas. Notjust the minor roads, but motorways have been affected, too. Particularly hard hit was the a14 near kettering, a series of crashes led to some drivers being stuck for hours. Im on the a14, trying to go eastbound to northampton. I set off from my house in hinckley at 6am this morning. Ive been on the a14 for three hours now. As you can see, theres nothing going in the other direction. A bit cross those who braved the conditions to get to Stansted Airport found flights disrupted or cancelled, after the runway had to be shut. The snow also brought down power lines, more than 20,000 homes left without electricity, as temperatures plummeted. There were warnings for ice in scotland, Northern Ireland, and north east england. 0n boxing day, two walkers had to be rescued from a precarious ledge in snowdonia. The coastguard said they werent properly equipped a reminder, like here in the lake district, that the snow may look beautiful, but its posing considerable risks. Simonjones, bbc news, high wycombe. 0ur correspondent simonjones is at Stansted Airport and we can speak to him now. Dusk has fallen and still slow visible, what is the situation with flights . Well the snow has stopped falling now but it remains on the ground near the runway behind me and it remains very icy this evening and thatis it remains very icy this evening and that is continuing to have an effect on the flights. The big problem is that they had to shut the runway twice during the course of the day, the first time at around nine oclock this morning when it had to be shut for almost an hour to clear the snow away. But the snow kept falling so at around 1230 it had to be shut once again for 25 minutes to clear that snow again. And with the number of planes here they also had to be de iced. So that issue is that it has caused a lot of complications here today. We had ryan are cancelling 16 flights, other passengers have told us through social media that they had boarded their flights and then had to wait for several hours on the tarmac before being able to take off. Some complaining they had had very little information. Ryanair which complaining they had had very little information. Rya nair which uses complaining they had had very little information. Ryanair which uses this airport told us unfortunately passengers had been delayed and have their flights disrupted but that was simply down to the weather. They cannot do very much about that. The big fear now is going into tonight and tomorrow, the snow may now have stopped falling but it is very cold, temperatures are falling, the ground is very wet and the roads have a lot of surface water because much of the snow that fell was that wet snow that really makes things wet and penetrates and as a result of that as temperatures fall we could see ice forming on the roads. The critters will be out once again tonight, a constant battle to try to keep the roads clear. So the critters will be out but the question is with the temperatures dropping we could see issues with rice into tomorrow morning. Thank you. Ice. The company that ran Grenfell Tower is handing back control of its other properties to the local council, saying it can no longer give tenants the service they expect. The kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation has responsibility for 9000 properties, as andy moore reports. Grenfell tower is owned by the local council, but it was run by one of the largest Tenant Management Organisations in the country. This body manages thousands of properties in the area. It was this Management Organisation that made the now controversial decision to refurbish Grenfell Tower in cladding suspected of fuelling the fire. Both it and the local council are now under investigation by the police, over possible corporate manslaughter charges. The organisation has now sent out a letter saying it would be in the best interests of all residents that the services which the Tenant Management Organisation currently provides are handed back to the council. The handover, which will start at the end of next month, means the royal borough of kensington and chelsea will take over repairs and day to day running. But a resident on the Grenfell Recovery Scrutiny Committee says the council isnt up to the job of running a large housing stock, when, he claims, it has failed to deal effectively with the aftermath of the fire. And theres also a fear the Tenant Management Organisation could escape criminal responsibility if it ceases to be a functioning company. The organisation said that wouldnt happen. The royal borough of kensington and chelsea said it saw this as a temporary measure and residents would ultimately decide how they wanted their homes managed. For the survivors of grenfell, who recently attended a memorial at st pauls cathedral, this comes as one more complication, after the rejection of a special panel to work with the Public Inquiry and reported delays in special christmas payments. Andy moore, bbc news. A man whos serving a 20 yearjail sentence for throwing acid across a packed london nightclub, has pleaded guilty to being in possession of a prohibited item in prison. 25 year old Arthur Collins hid a mobile phone, two sim cards and two usb sticks in a crutch while he was on remand in september. He was awaiting trial over the acid attack, in which 22 people were injured. Two people who died following a crash in sheffield have been named. Lorraine stephenson and pc dave fields were both killed after the cars they were travelling in collided on Christmas Day. Another man remains in a serious condition. The family of pc fields described him as a loving husband and dad and a dedicated officer. A woman who was hit by a police car in pursuit has been named as miss shaw. An investigation is underway to identify who was at the wheel of the other car. The headlines on bbc news. The first of a group of critically ill syrian children are allowed to leave a rebel held area of damascus. Motorists are being warned that snow and ice are causing travel disruption in england and wales. Laura plummer who was jailed in egypt for drugs offences has been moved to a different prison. Staying with that story. The family of the briton Laura Plummer who has beenjailed in egypt for drug smuggling has told the bbc she has already been transferred to another prison. Lets speak to our correspondent Matthew Thompson who can bring us up to date with the latest. Well what we do know from speaking to the family and her lawyer is that she has been moved to an infamous prison in upper egypt. It is notorious both for its inmates, human Rights Groups say contains a number of so called Islamic State fighters but most significantly for the squalor in which it is supposed to exist. The lawyer has said theyre trying to get laura moved to another more sanitary prison closer to cairo but it is not certain if that will be possible. That will add to the worries the family have about her mental condition in terms of withstanding the stress of her ordeal. Absolutely, on Christmas Day when the trial was meant to happen it had to be stopped in large part because of laura just not being in a fit state to continue. What is meant to have happened is that she has been following the proceedings of the trial through translation and she was in such a state that she misunderstood some of the translation and ended up actually confessing when she had no intention of doing that. So it sounds as if shes not in a great place and i do not think going to a squalid prison will do much to help. What about the prospects of another peal, the family said they would pursue that . The family are hopeful and hope that they can get the three year sentence reduced on appeal. But part of the problem, thejudge has not given the fulljudgment yet in the case of age are not quite know exactly what she has been charged with. Well the hopeful thing is trafficking offences hopeful thing is trafficking offe nces ca n hopeful thing is trafficking offences can carry a sentence of 25 yea rs, offences can carry a sentence of 25 years, the fact that shes had a three year sentence is according to a lawyer at least an indication that watches when charged with is more possession of illegal substances rather than trafficking. After all the street value of these tramadol ta blets was the street value of these tramadol tablets was Something Like £23. So thatis tablets was Something Like £23. So that is the suggestion that the offence is perhaps less serious and therefore they hope an appeal can happen but it could be 60 days before that can be lodged. Now how do you stop poachers from devastating wildlife in remote parts of africa . One solution is military style training and tactics. Its being used in the Central African country of chad. Zakouma National Park has lost 90 percent of it elephants over the past 40 years, and when African Parks took over there were less than 500 elephants left. Alastair leithead travelled to the remote park where the population is finally recovering and tourists are now helping fund the conservation work. They were the herd heading for extinction. But the elephants of zakouma National Park have made a dramatic recovery. Translation before, there used to be elephant carcasses everywhere. So what has been the difference, since African Parks took over . Translation since African Parks arrived here, we no longer see carcasses of elephants in the park. Across the continent, a private, not for profit Conservation Group called African Parks believes it has the answer to saving africas disappearing wildlife. And its controversial. They are arming rangers and giving them military style training. In some places, its become a war against poachers. Adoum allam is a sniper with Fast Response unit mamba number two. His father was killed by poachers in this park. He jumped at the chance to join. Its a very dangerous job but i love doing it, he said. Its a good income. But its also personal. This was zakouma, ten years ago. Decades of poaching killed 90 of the parks elephants and many rangers as well. But, today, its a much healthier picture. They havent lost an elephant in two years or a ranger since 2012. And last year, the population started to grow again. There were more than 20,000 elephants in this parkjust 40 years ago, but now there arejust over 500. Whats encouraging, though, is that theyve now got babies, theyre reproducing, their numbers are starting to go up. And if the poachers can be kept at bay, the population is going to recover. This is the best way to counter raids from the heavily armed sudanese horsemen. The main perpetrators whove been poaching ivory here for centuries. But now, both sides have automatic weapons. And local communities are a key to success. Schools are being built, kids are learning about conservation. Villagers now often tip off the rangers, if poachers are seen nearby. African parks take on delegated management of protected areas in africa. Normally where Public Sector has failed, African Parks will step in and, with donorfunding, will then manage protected areas. But eventually it should pay for itself. Zakouma National Park is now attracting high end adventure tourists who cover one third of the parks budget. 0ther, marginal reserves in africa will never make money. Animals have to be worth more alive than dead, notjust to rich westerners, but to local people as well. Alastair leithead, bbc news, zakouma National Park, in chad. Workers could go without a pay rise this year, according to the Resolution Foundation think tank, which looks at Living Standards in the uk. It says any year on year rise in real pay wont be noticeable until December Next year. Sebastian crispian is here. How badly have incomes being hit . Average earnings are going up so they are higher than a year earlier. But the problem is the cost of living, inflation, is going up even higher so people are getting paid more but the pay rises are swallowed up more but the pay rises are swallowed up because people have to spend more on up because people have to spend more o n exa ctly up because people have to spend more on exactly the same things that they we re on exactly the same things that they were paying for previously. The Resolution Foundation has crunched the numbers and they reckon on average weekly pay, where about £15 per week worse off than impaired to the peak before the crisis. And again they have extrapolated from that and they look at what wouldve happened pay continued his trajectory before the crisis. And they reckon had it continued at that rate families could be earning potentially thousands of pounds more than they are now. But in terms of the prospects for next year . One the Resolution Foundation is expecting the trend to continue. In fact what they say is that next year set to be they say is that next year set to be the worst year for the three decades before the crisis, compared to that although a bit better than the average year after the crisis. The reason for this is inflation at the moment is running high, about 3 . What the Resolution Foundation expects is going into the new year that rate of inflation will begin to peter out but unfortunately for workers, people with average pay, that will also peter out so in the course of the year wages will stay pretty flat although towards the very end of next year we will see a slight increase. Why is the outlook for the economy is so poor . Well a number of theories around, and the Resolution Foundation said that since 2012 we have seen a bit of a boom injob creation, the since 2012 we have seen a bit of a boom in job creation, the latest employment figures say implement rate is 75 , pretty high compared to historic standards. But what they expect is that that rate ofjob creation will begin to decrease next year or at least slow down. The reason this matters isjob year or at least slow down. The reason this matters is job creation has been one of the drivers for pay going up and if it starts to back off than the reason for paid to go up off than the reason for paid to go up will also start to back off. In recent months employers have voiced frustration in trying to find employees with the right skills. In those circumstances, we would expect pay to go up as people can almost said premium and yet that does not seem to be happening . Yes when employment is why you would expect employers to be fighting over each other to attract the best workers and pay to go up accordingly. That has not happened. A number of theories as to why, but what economists say, it is down to the productivity puzzle, productivity is the amount the economy generates per hour or per worker and for the past decade or so those productivity figures have been pretty disappointing. The good news is that the latest productivity figures were a bit better, the best quarter since 2005. So if that continues to increase then perhaps we will see pay rises begin to grow. But to date productivity has been disappointing. The former us president , barack 0bama, has warned against the irresponsible use of social media. In the first interview hes given since leaving office in january this year, mr 0bama said social media was, in some cases, simplifying complex issues, and reinforcing peoples biases. He was speaking to prince harry, guest editor of the today programme on radio 4. This report from our royal correspondent, nicholas witchell. Prince harry, first of all, you are very welcome to our studio. Good morning. Joining the today programme for the day had been a big learning curve, harry said. But he had enjoyed being the interviewer, rather than the interviewed. It was quite fun, especially interviewing president 0bama. His principal scoop had been to persuade barack 0bama to give his first interview since standing down as us president. The word trump was never mentioned, but may have been in mr 0bamas mind when he warned about the irresponsible use of social media. How do we harness this technology in a way that allows a multiplicity of voices, allows a diversity of views, prince harry, first of all, you are very welcome to our studio. But does not lead to a balkanisation of our society but rather continues to promote ways of finding Common Ground . Harry had also interviewed his father. The main focus had been on Climate Change the issue Prince Charles has championed for decades and for which he was sometimes derided. Maybe now, some years later, theyre beginning to realise that what i was trying to say may not have been quite as dotty as they thought. But, i mean, the issue really that has to go on being focused on, big time, i think, is this one around the whole issue of Climate Change, which, you know, now, whether we like it or not, is the biggest threat multiplier we face. And then at the end of the programme, it was time to face questions, rather than to ask them. First about his fiancee, meghan markle, and herfirst christmas at sandringham. She really enjoyed it. The family loved having her there. And, you know, theres always that family part of christmas, and always that work element, as well. And i think, together we had an amazing time, we had great fun staying with my brother and sister in law. Harrys commitment to issues he cares about, like the armed forces and mental health, had come through strongly. So how does he see his future . Part of my role and part of myjob is to shine a spotlight on issues that need that spotlight, whether its people, whether its causes, whether its issues, whatever it is. So i will continue to play my part in society and do myjob to the best of my abilities, so that i can wake up in the morning and feel energised and go to bed, hopefully, knowing that ive done the best that i can. Not so long ago, he admits to having doubts about a royal role. Clearly, no longer. Nicholas witchell, bbc news. Lets ta ke lets take a look at the weather. Some excitement and also problems with the snow earlier today but it was very much a short lived feature. And tonight and tomorrow morning the biggest hazard will be ice which in some areas will be quite extensive. Especially where you had that snow earlier on. That will melt during the day and then freeze again first thing on thursday morning. A lot of clear whether around tonight, just some wintry showers in the north. Some freezing fog forecast early on thursday for parts of Northern Ireland. These are the temperatures for towns and cities but in rural areas it could be even lower. Tomorrow a beautiful sunny day for many of us, some wintry showers in the north of scotland and perhaps some rain later in the day in south western parts of england. Then friday morning we could have some snow. Hello again. This is bbc news. Our latest headlines. The first of a group of critically ill syrian patients have been evacuated from a rebel held suburb near damascus. Aid groups had urged president assad to allow treatment for dozens of urgent cases, including seven children with cancer. Heavy snow and ice have been causing disruption across many parts of the country with Hazardous Conditions on the roads, and thousands of homes without power. The Environment Agency has issued 11 flood warnings, and more than 90 flood alerts in england and wales. The family of the briton Laura Plummer, jailed in egypt for drug offences, says she has already been transferred to notorious prison. Laura plummers lawyer told the bbc that hes planning to apply for her to be moved to another prison with better conditions closer to cairo. Prince harry has set out how he views his role as a senior royal. He promises to remain above politics, but shine a light on certain issues and causes. He was speaking as guest editor of radio 4s today programme this morning. Now it is time to look at sports. He has all the details. Hello. Finally a bit of christmas cheer for england as former captain Alastair Cook made his first ashes century for almost seven years. The visitors finishing on top after day 2 of the fourth test. Cooks knock helping england close on 192 2, after stuart broad had earlier returned his best figures of 2017 taking 4 for 51 to spark an australia collapse. Patrick gearey was in melbourne for us. This wasnt the day we were expecting. We thought we would come here to see steve smith the australian captain make a huge score ona australian captain make a huge score on a scorching day. After all he just missed this after three years bit so i imagine everyones surprise when he played one on to his stump. Mitchell mart went next in exactly the same way. From there, stuart broadjimmy the same way. From there, stuart broad jimmy anderson, englands most successful bowling partnership of all time took charge. An answer to those for him to be dropped. Australia were eventually all out. Losing the last seven wickets for 83 runs. In reply, england did lose. James fans also went to an lbw. The evening session was all about Alastair Cook. He scored his first 50 of the series, but was then dropped. He ended up scoring his century in the last over of the day. Finished alongside the captain. Just the mac australia frustrated in the sheet. England have been to the mac had their best day of the series so far. They are still fighting. We created quite a lot of presser yesterday. And we were rewarded with wickets today. We are very patient we wickets today. We are very patient we were very wickets today. We are very patient we were very patient yesterday. Today we got lucky with a couple of chopped on spirit and a couple of wickets. A stray was probably disappointed with, but we were delighted. It has been a pretty tough couple of weeks, really. It makes playing and taking wickets very rewarding. Vitaly mutko has stepped down from his role as chief organiser for next summers world cup in russia to concentrate on government work. Its been a turbulent month for Russias Deputy prime minister, he temporarily left his post as the Russian Football Union president just two days ago. This comes off the back of his life ban from the olympics which was handed out by the ioc at the start of december after hed this comes off the back of his life ban from the olympics which was handed out by the ioc at the start of december after hed been accused of running a huge state sponsored doping programme. Record breakers, Manchester City show no sign of slowing down, they head to newcastle later tonight with an unprecedented 18th Successive Premier League victory in their sights. Pep guardiolas side looking to extend that domestic record, with the european record of 19, incidentally also held by guardiola when he was in charge of bayern munich, on the horizon. But even though newcastle are just one point outside the relegation zone and withjust1 win in 10 games, hes approaching this match as seriously as any other. We won a lot of games. We were very happy. 0ur life is better when we went. It is as simple as that. It is not that im thinking about it. That im going to break a record. Nothing special. This is newcastle. I could not see them. In the christmas time, so im just going to sit down with my stuff, laptop, im going to try and discover what they do and keep our pace, our intensity. That is our target. Some rugby union for you finally. Bath have been fined £60,000 pounds for releasing Taulupe Faletau to play for wales in their Autumn International against south africa. The match fell outside the official International Window allowed by premiership rugby. Bath say they understand the position but theyre pushing for a resolution to the conflict between club and country schedules. Thats all the sport for now. Back to you. Thank you very much. I look forward to more later. Jim naughtie talks to the bestselling author Sophie Kinsella about her book my not so perfect life. Sophie kinsellas new novel is called my not so perfect life, which gives you a clue. It is about a woman in her 20s who leads an apparently glamourous life in london although the truth is much more prosaic and who has to move back onto the country when she is sacked to work for her father. But the life that she finds there isnt quite what she expected. Sophie kinsella has written a string of worldwide by sellers including the confessions of a shopaholic series picked up by hollywood. And if you are wondering, well, she doesnt mind the term chick lit, she much prefers what one book shop called her novels, wit lit. Welcome. You are introducing us in the book to life that isnt quite what it seems. Do you think thats the truth about the way that people live these days particularly in london . I think that all of us are suckered into projecting the perfect life. I think that social media has not helped this tendency, which i think was always in us. You know, back in the day, you would have your portrait painted, wouldnt you . Speak for yourself. Well, you know, a hundred years ago. I wasnt around, but i think my forebears probably would have aimed to look as rich and prosperous and happy and wonderful as they possibly could. And then the portrait would get hung on the wall and you would go about your everyday life. And i think now what we do, we constantly throw out portraits of ourselves. Through social media also perhaps through our professional demeanour. Just the sort of image and then we look at other people and although we know its inventive, we sort of believe it anyway. This book does seem very much of the moment in the sense that this picture thats built up say on instagram, which really is a construction which is quite fake. I mean, she goes back and lives in a little 1 room place. When shes out about, she looks quite glamourous. This really is a bit of a problem for us, not for us all, but it is a bit of a problem for the time, isnt it . I think it is. And i think that its sort of accelerating and i think that. I mean, social media has exploded, certainly in my lifetime, from not existing to being like a planet that we have discovered. And now we live on weve gone and colonised it and we have to work out how to make it work for us as humans. And i think it brings out the best and the worst. I love the connection, but this measuring and judging is not good. You know, you write about women with particular feelings. Notjust women in the book, but particularly for young girls, teenage girls, the world they are introduced to you talk about measuring, testing, living up to expectations whether its the way you look, your sexual experience, whatever. I mean, this is the sort of thing in your young life, in my young life, something that didnt exist. It absolutely did not exist. You had your own teenage struggles. Perhaps you told your diary about them and a few close friends. You spent a lot of time on the phone to one person whose voice, by the way you could hear. And i think that as humans we respond to so many signals voice, touch, eyes, but on social media there is a sort of barrier. It is just a visual construct and in this wretched liking which everybody gets addicted to. The sort of validation that we gotten hooked on. It is not good. Where can end . It can only lead to a sort of addictive reliance. We should not give the idea that the book is a meditation on contemporary society because it is not. It is a story. But that is the theme, really. When you get an idea like that, does it sort of eat at you . Yes, i think i go around the world with a sort of radar and whenever i see goes into my stories. When i see people shopping too much, that goes in. When i see people projecting lives and feeling anxious because they are not living up to some sort of measure of success, that goes into a story. What i tried to do is i try to make people laugh, to let them see what is coming next. And so i dont. Its not a treatise. Its not a thesis. But the thesis is sort of there between the jokes. What is it that you think youve got that makes you a good storyteller . I think from what my readers say, they relate to my characters. They sort of see themselves in the characters. They see those flaws and foibles and they think, oh, ive done that. In everyday life. In everyday life, but then what i do is i push it to the nth degree. Whether it is getting into ridiculous situations. I love a bit of farce. I love silly situations and quite intricate plots. Im a very geeky plotter. You start off with somebody relate to and you go with them to the story. Its the old story, isnt it, if the reader does not care about the character, not necessarily total affection, but doesnt care in the sense that it is not interesting, then the thing is a dead duck . I completely agree. Exactly, you can have anti heroin, but you have to have somebody that is interesting. All of my novels i have written in the first person, which i think makes him quite intimate. There is a connection. What is the thinnest of writing in the first person . I find an instant intimacy with the character. I know these characters so well. And i did used to write in the third person and there was a slight level of detachment. You were sort of moving chess pieces a round. And now it is like method acting. You are in one persons had. I live these plots and i actually. My husband can tell when things are going badly for my character, they go badly for me and i weep, i laugh, you know it is quite an emotional journey. When you are in the throes of the story, what once you have got the idea, you think you are there, the character has begun to form in your mind, do you just go at it hard . I do, i do. I am a real planner in terms of plot because i love a plot. I love structure. So i spend quite a lot of time working things out, turning points and getting it all clear in my mind and also working out what i want to say. Because you can have an idea for a story, but you are not sure what youre trying to say about the world. 0nce ive got that, im impatient. What do you want to say about the world . What do you want to say about the world . I think all my books want to say look at us, we are human, arent we ridiculous. Look at the pickles we ridiculous. Look at the pickles we get into. It is about absurdity. It really is. Were all like but never mind. Are you one of those writers that goes around literally with a notebook in their pocket or a notebook in your head when you spot something in a coffee shop or something in a coffee shop or something and you say, right, ive got her. I do. And i thinki do it all the time. Ive got you right now. Well, good luck. I never have the right person for the right chapter. If i could go into a coffee shop and get the right person it would be very handy. But you store it up. It comes back to you later. Do you think about your readers when youre doing this . Youve got a vast army of readers here at what do they want . I connect with them and when i meet them, there is the same everywhere i go. What is the question they asked . They want to know what is happening next for my characters. I know they love to laugh. To be honest, i dont visualise them when im writing that would freak me out. I write the book that would please me. What would i like to read . I love a plot, i love comedy and i love something to think about. What about endings . Have you thought about a really tragic ending . Well, i sometimes thinki should do that. A gut wrenching tragedy, no i havent done that. You just think why as you turn the final page. So far i have not been bold enough to do it. Maybe one day. Sophie kinsella, thank you very much. Thank you. More from meet the author next week. The increasing pressure on teenage boys and men in their 20s to chase the perfect body has led to more of them taking anabolic steroids to achieve what they see as the ideal body type. Now the British Cardiovascular Society is warning tens of thousands of people who take the drug could be putting themselves at increased risk of dying early, as radio1 newsbeats Dan Whitworth reports. The way people chase the dream of their perfect bodies is changing. The pressure that men are now facing is similarto the pressure that men are now facing is similar to what women to had to deal with for decades. Diets, workouts, days spent at the gyms and for young men, anabolic steroids are being increasingly used to help achieve that dream. In this film in this in this film im going to find out why one person takes them and put him through a series of test to see what damage if any has been done to his body. I will hearfrom the experts and look at the laws around steroids and speak to a dealer about why he does it. This man is 29, he livesjust outside of cardiff he is one of the estimated thousands of people who ta kes estimated thousands of people who takes anabolic steroids. Estimated thousands of people who takes anabolic steroidslj estimated thousands of people who takes anabolic steroids. I have been using steroids for about four or five years. When you train nationally which i have done, you. You tyre quicker. You ate more. And obviously when you use the performance drugs, which is a steroids, you dont have those muscle soreness anywhere as near much. You feel more awake. I feel more of myself. I have a high six drive. There are some serious risks. Of drive. There are some serious risks. Of heart attacks, strokes, mood swings. In fertility. Of heart attacks, strokes, mood swings. Infertility. Do of heart attacks, strokes, mood swings. In fertility. Do those things not worry you . Everything in life carries a risk of cancer, heart attack. What ever it is. Whatever i do im going to get those risks, so i choose not to do certain things so ido i choose not to do certain things so i do other things. I dont go out tricking and smoking. I take steroids. Steroids can take Health Problems because they created imbalance of hormones in the body which can damage many organs but especially the heart. Garrett says he tries to minimise any risk by taking his steroids in cycles, 16 weeks on an eight weeks off. There are weeks on an eight weeks off. There a re two weeks on an eight weeks off. There are two types of steroids theres one that comes in a liquid form which is this type. You would inject this. Eric leaned to the muscle. Dose times a week. The other type when im using this type of steroid, i would use five a day. Over the course of around six months, roughly how much do you think you spend . rough guess would be the cycle itself and the treatment would be up around £500 spent. That is a lot of money. It is. It is probably a lot less that somebody spends on weekend. Is it worth it . For me, personally, gap. Yeah. When it comes to the law of anabolic steroids it is legal to use them and possessed him across the uk, but what is illegal is supplying them unless you area illegal is supplying them unless you are a doctor. That means selling them or passing them on for free. Are a doctor. That means selling them or passing them on forfree. If you are caught, you can face up to 14 years in prison. Because garrison is only using steroids, are not supplying them, he is not in trouble with the law. It could be a different story with his health. Later this week, he has agreed to go to london for a series of test and find out what damage if any he has done to his heart. I basically started working out because i was bullied very bad for beings mall. For being small. Ijust ended it by locking myself away in the gym, getting stronger. Getting inked. I keep falling into the same procedure. In the middle, there it is not nice. Going to london to have all those tests, im excited about to be honest yet, slightly nervous because it could come out with them saying something is significantly wrong and if i dont change my lifestyle, then. 0bviously wrong and if i dont change my lifestyle, then. Obviously i could have health issues. My prediction is that i think i would be pretty stupid or naive to think that my heart would not have changed. Four or five years using performance enhancing drugs is going to have that effect. I think. 0bviously enhancing drugs is going to have that effect. I think. Obviously if it is significant, there is no doubt that i would change my lifestyle overnight. Whether people use or abuse anabolic steroids as a matter of opinion. For some and the medical world if it is not prescribed by a doctor, is simple, taking them is abuse. Many people who research dosage to try to minimise the risk so they dont abuse them. One thing thatis so they dont abuse them. One thing that is widely agreed on is that the issueis that is widely agreed on is that the issue is now affecting more people than ever before. We dont know the exact number of steroid users peer potentially in the hundreds of thousands. Were seeing a different population of users. We still have people who use for body building, we are seeing a new population of young males, but also quite older males as well. Who will use it for cosmetic reasons. There is a lot of pressure on young man. Social media, mainstream advertising. If ever you see a man with her shirt off, chances are, they will have quite a well defined physique. Again, men may not be used to dealing with this. This is something women have had to deal with for generations. It is something new for many men. For gareth, he is about to undergo a series of tests to show what damage if any he has done to his test. This man isa if any he has done to his test. This man is a cardiology doctor. We are going to do three test today. The first to look at electronegativity, the second is the heart muscle itself and the third to actually exercise your heartened to see how you perform. Is that ok yeah, no problem. By taking steroids he is risking mood swings, heart tax even strokes. Im just assessing risking mood swings, heart tax even strokes. Imjust assessing how quickly the blood flows through that valve. Im expecting it to show some sort of abnormality. It is bound to have changed in some way after four or five years of taking performance enhancing drugs. Or five years of taking performanceenhancing drugs. The British Cardiovascular Society say that tens of thousands of people could be putting themselves at increased risk for the reduced the next and cycling toward the cheesecake. There is cheesecake on the horizon. Im getting there. After pushing himself to the limit, gareth will need to find out how his heart has performed and what affect his steroid use has had. With hundreds of thousands of people now thought to be taking steroids every year right across the uk, clearly they are getting them from somewhere. Government figures show that for the whole of 2015 and 2016, right across england and wales, there were just 25 convictions related to the illegal supply of steroids and just seven of those endedin steroids and just seven of those ended in a prison sentence. For this man who spoke on condition of anonymity, the law has not come close to stopping him from dealing. We know you supply steroids. 0bviously we know you supply steroids. Obviously it is illegal, you are breaking the law. A lot of people are saying you are putting a lot of peoples lives at risk what would you say to that . Start off at the health risk, i think steroids are available to anyone who wants access them. I see myself as someone who provides information so they can do it safely. They are going to use them regardless of who they buy them from. If they can talk to me about it, ican from. If they can talk to me about it, i can tell them some safety on doses. Even tell them not to if i dont think it is appropriate for them and i will. That is the reason i tried to. Thats why im involved. Who is coming to you for this stuff . There is a very broad spectrum. It ranges from young guys who were just starting out and they are training and they want to bulk up for a summer holiday. For some holiday . Or they just want to go summer holiday. For some holiday . Or theyjust want to go on a night out attract girls. These are the guys you have to be very informative with making them aware of the risks and the dangers. What about the health of the people you are giving the drugs too. They can face mood swings, strokes, decades earlier than other people. It is illegal for a reason. Yes. I dont agree with it being illegal. Im telling you, doctors provide this. You are not doctor. I know. Im saying doctors prescribe it. If it was killing people left right and centre, they would not be prescribing it. And i think the media sensationalizes it. Im going to tell you now there are people who abuse it and that is their choice. One man who is all too aware of the risk of taking steroids hes got on the black market is gareth. After using them nearly for five years, he is about to find out the affect they have had on his heart. Please take a seat. I have your results. Ive seen your echo report and the report from the exercise test as well. What it shows is that your heart is working well. And that. You have come through your exercise test as well very well. We do think you are at the upperlimit of well. We do think you are at the upper limit of normal for the thickness of your heart. And that is most likely due to your weightlifting and steroid use. You are still young and you have not been using steroids for very long, but if you continue to do so you are increasing your risk for heart attacks. Steroid use does have a friday use has a variety of bad effects on the heart. I have taken my own health into a account it would be sensible, not to push the boundary. So not keep using steroids . Not keep using steroids yet. It is cheaper to. It looks like gareths steroid days might be numbered. But he isjust one gareths steroid days might be numbered. But he is just one of hundreds of thousands of users. Dealers are unlikely to get caught. The number of convictions for supply is low. And doctors. Is change on the way . We do know that a group that advises the government is in the middle of a big review into steroids. We dont know yet what is going to say. We had a little bit of excitement with the snow earlier on today. No further snow expected in the short term. The hazard tonight will be ice forming particular across the southern of the uk. Clear and cold this evening. Very cold overnight. In fact where we have snow covered across the uk, particularly around the hills they can be as low as 10 bruised 10 degrees. A few more wintry showers across the highlands. Tomorrow, it will start off cold, frosty with some ice in places. In the afternoon, it is looking absolutely beautiful, crisp and cold. In the southwest of the country just a chance cold. In the southwest of the countryjust a chance of cloud and a little bit of rain. Look at that. Moving northwards, it is looking absolutely beautiful and cold. With those temperatures barely above freezing. Wintry showers appear. Going across the scottish highlands. The next bit of snow and there is some snow potential beyond this, that isnt a thursday night and early friday morning. Look what happens. A weather front comes across the atlantic it hits the cold airand goes into across the atlantic it hits the cold air and goes into wales Northern Ireland and england. It is difficult to say if it is going to settle on the ground. In towns and cities, it is too early to say. But be prepared. Might be some across the northern parts of the british isles. The thinking is by the time we get to friday that will start to turn to rain as we have as we see milder atla ntic rain as we have as we see milder atlantic air pushing through. New year weekend, saturday in increasing jet stream pushing weather front in our direction. It will be very blustery around the western coast. Temperatures up to 13 degrees potentially in the south. It will be a little bit of rain. New years eve, it looks like we might be between weather systems so there could be some clear spells around. It will be chilly and just a few passing showers. Thats all for now. Goodbye. This is bbc news. The headlines at six. The first of a group of critically ill syrian children are allowed to leave a rebel held area of damascus. Motorists are being warned that snow and ice are causing disruption to motorways in england and wales. Stansted airport was closed earlier after snow caused all flights to be suspended for several hours. And thousands of properties are without electricity, mostly in the english midlands. Laura plummer, the britonjailed in egypt for drug offences, has been moved to a different egyptian prison. Also in the next hour. Prince harry reveals how he sees his future role as a senior royal. He was the guest editor of the today programme on radio 4. The prince says hell remain above politics, but still seek to shine a light on causes he cares about. I will continue to play my part in society and do myjob to the best of my ability, so i can wake up in the morning