Transcripts For BBCNEWS Victoria Derbyshire 20240714

Of abuse in the 1990s. I never spent a day in court we will bring you the full interview in the next 30 minutes. Conservative mps casting their ballot to choose their next leader will talk to us in the next hour about who they voted for borisjohnson may Boris Johnson may be borisjohnson may be the frontrunner but who will be second, who will be the main challenger or is this turning into a canter in the park for thejohnson turning into a canter in the park for the johnson bandwagon . And a new Study Suggests two thirds of students think universities should be able to tell their parents if they have a Mental Health crisis. Are you a student or are your kids at uni . Do get in touch. Hello and welcome to the programme. Were live until 11 this morning. On the subject of whether universities should be able to tell pa rents universities should be able to tell parents if their children are having serious Mental Health problems. Alis on twitter says given that support for students with Mental Health issues at uni is pathetic, parents should be told. My son suffered for several years at uni and the support was virtually non existent. Laura, also on twitter says not without the students consent uni students are adults, not children, and are entitled to privacy around their health if they so wish. Agreed the students should be encouraged to share with their family but the decision should rest with the student. More on that to come in the next hour. If you are at university right now would you want your mum and dad to know if you are having serious Mental Health problems, would you wa nt Mental Health problems, would you want the university to tell on your behalf, let me know. Send me an e mail. Heres Annita Mcveigh with the news. Good morning. The first round of voting in the conservative leadership contest has just started at least one of the ten candidates will be eliminated this lunchtime. Tory mps will hold a private ballot, with contenders needing a minimum of seventeen votes to stay in the contest. The knock out rounds will continue next week until two names remain. They will then face a ballot of party members. Police have apologised to six victims of football coach bob higgins, who has beenjailed for indecently assaulting young boys, for the way the case was handled in the 1990s. Their lawyer is now calling for a change in the law, so child sex abusers can be retried if new evidence emerges. Higgins was given a 2k year sentence for indecently assaulting 2a boys. But six other victims were told their allegations could not be tried in court because the claims were part of a 1991 case. The us navys fifth fleet says it is giving assistance after receiving separate distress calls from two oil tankers in the gulf of oman. Explosions and fires have been reported on both vessels, the front altair and the kokuka courageous after a suspected attack. Members of crew have been safely evacuated from both the tankers. Nearly three quarters of nhs services in england failed to treat new Cancer Patients within 62 days of an urgent referral last year according to research by the bbc. Cancer charities have expressed their concern about the figures but nhs england say its due to increasing demand on services. Plans to add folic acid to flour in a bid to cut birth defects, such as spina bifida, have come a step closer, as the government launches a 12 week consultation. Folic acid is a type of vitamin b, and is crucial during the first weeks of pregnancy. Women are encouraged to take it as a supplement to cut the risk of their babies failing to develop properly. An overwhelming majority of students say they support universities being able to warn parents if they have a Mental Health crisis. A study by the Higher Education policy institute says more universities should consider asking students permission to alert their families in extreme circumstances. The uk is one of the worst places in europe for paid parental leave and affordable quality childcare, the uns Childrens Charity has said. Researchers for unicef ranked 31 countries on their length of maternity and paternity leave and the proportions of Pre School Children in childcare. The uk came fourth from the bottom of the list. The four time Tour De France winner, chris froome, is in intensive care in hospital after suffering serious injuries in a crash. He fractured his femur and broke his hip, elbow and ribs in the accident during a practice run in central france. Froome hit a wall during a practice ride. Hell no longer compete in this years Tour De France. Thats a summary of the main news this morning. Back to victoria. Thank you. Police have apologised to six victims of football coach bob higgins for the way the case was handled in the 1990s. A former southampton footballer who says he was sexually abused as a boy by his coach is calling on the front runner in the tory leadership race, borisjohnson, to apologise for his disgusting comments about the money spent on investigating child sexual abuse allegations. Borisjohnson said it was like spaffing it up a wall. Dean radford tells us exclusively theres no explanation why someone would use that sort of language which is derogatory to all survivors. Well hearfrom him in a moment. It comes as police have apologised to six victims of football coach bob higgins for the way the case was handled in the 1990s. Their lawyer is now calling for double jeopardy laws to be changed so child sex abusers can be retried if new evidence emerges. Yesterday, higgins was handed 2a years in jail for indecently assaulting 2a boys. But six other victims were told their allegations could not be tried in court because they were part of an earlier 1991 court case against the coach. One told the bbc he was completely unaware of that first case, and his complaint as part of the latest trial was only dropped after police found his name on paperwork in higgins loft in 2017. Hampshire police said they were genuinely sorry victims did not get the justice they deserved. Our reporterjim reed spoke to one of those victims. In 15 hours of police interviews, he didnt say a word. Bob higgins spent a long Career Coaching at southampton and peterborough. His trial heard he used that position to abuse dozens of boys over three decades. He was sentenced yesterday and will now start a 24 yearjail term for those crimes. Football was our lives, football was our dreams, football was all that mattered to us. Bob higgins used our desire and our determination as a tool to exploit our vulnerability. These victims waived their right to anonymity to speak outside court. But while there was finally justice for some, others will miss out. This ex premiership footballer was abused as a teenager in the 1980s. I was an innocent young child. In 1989, he went to the police to report bob higgins. Five other Young Players made similar claims around that time. I was only there about an hour. He left the Police Station and buried that abuse for the next 25 years. Were going to talk now to billy seymour. Hes a former southampton youth player. Then, in 2016, this programme broadcast an interview with another bob higgins victims. Cos i was tired cos i obviously had to be back for school, so just sort of lay your head in my lap. I watched that and had a bit of a quiet spell in my house, in 2016, the player went to the police for a second time and was interviewed for seven hours. He was later told he would be treated as a victim in a new case against the coach. Im just scanning. Then, as part of the investigation, police searched bob higgins home. In his attic, they found paperwork with the players name on it. Back in 1991, bob higgins was arrested and went to court on child abuse charges. Back then, he was acquitted of one offence. The prosecution entered no evidence on the other five. The legal principle of double jeopardy stops anyone going on trial twice for the same crime. The player says he was never told he was involved in a court case, but because his name was on old court documents, police said he had to be dropped from the latest trial. The assistant chief constable of Hampshire Police told this programme he was genuinely sorry that some victims did not get the justice they deserved in this case. He said, unfortunately, complaints made by some victims in the 1990s werent treated in the same way as they would be today. In 2003, the government did relax the double jeopardy rule, allowing a retrial in cases where strong new evidence emerges. But the change only applies to 30 of the most serious crimes, like attempted murder and rape. Because bob higgins was charged with indecent assault, double jeopardy still applies. Having boys staying at the home. 30 years after some of his crimes then, the coach will now start a long prison sentence. But some believe the full impact of his actions may never be recognised or properly accounted for. Jim reed with that exclusive report. Ive been talking to dean radford a former footballer who gave evidence in this latest criminal trial of higgins as a character witness he was one of six complainants against higgins back in 1992 like the man you just saw injims film and also his lawyer dino nocivelli. First of all, your reaction to the sentence higgins received yesterday. The first feeling is relief, for the survivors, waiting so long to get this conviction, to send him to prison where he belongs and thats what most of them fail. There is no iy what most of them fail. There is no joy from this, its a relief, this man is finally behind bars for what he did to them. You represent three of the six complainants from the original 1992 trial. Six werent involved in this criminal case. Because of the double jeopardy rules. Do you want a change . demand it changed. Its unfair that these forgotten men have suffered with the impact of this for so long and theyve been prevented from obtaining justice because of a legal technicality. That cannot be right 01 technicality. That cannot be right or proper in 2019. Why do you say its a legal technicality, its cold doublejeopardy, explain its a legal technicality, its cold double jeopardy, explain what that means. It gives the accused finality so means. It gives the accused finality so if they have been dry for an offence and found not guilty you cannot retry them for the same offence. For the same offence unless there is compelling new evidence and u nless there is compelling new evidence and unless it comes in under one of the exceptions and thats what we want to change. In our view, any form of child abuse should be severe and classed as serious, the ministry of justice disagree with us on that. Youve written to the justice secretary, have you had a response . Not yet, we are still waiting, we have previously tried to do that backin have previously tried to do that back in 2017, their response was that its only for the most serious offences, they have no intention to reconsider. Let me bring in dean if i may. Former footballer reconsider. Let me bring in dean if i may. Formerfootballer who gave evidence in the latest trial of bob higgins isa evidence in the latest trial of bob higgins is a character witness but you were one of the six complainants against bob higgins back in 92 and you are waving your right to anonymity this morning. Your reaction to the 2a years that bob higgins was jailed for yesterday. Its relief all around. A lot of sadness there as well. But its relief that the judge, you know, it was a heavy sentence for him, but rightly so. I hope they throw away the key, as most of the others would have done but 24 years and three months, you know, hes going to grow old in prison now. Hopefully he will never come out. You say you were abused by bob higgins when you were abused by bob higgins when you were a young teenager, 14, a member of the Youth Training squad in southampton and that case, your case, went to trial in the early 90s. Bob higgins was acquitted. Can you remember how you felt about that back then . Just disbelief. So many circumstances that went on about that original case. Theres a lot of questions to be answered. Quite the case was split up into six individual trials. Which i wasnt told about until two or three years ago. Apparently the judge made the ruling as well, it wasnt the jury that decided he was not guilty, it was a judge that made the decision. Another question, why. From everybody else on the outside, might say that he was acquitted, but you know, i think theres a lot of answers to be answered and a lot of questions to be answered and i think you know, whether that will ever happen, i dont know, i dont know. What would be the main question from back then, for you, that needs answering . Look at the whole circumstances, the cps at the time put the case together. It wasnt just on a whim, it took a lot of time, iwas just on a whim, it took a lot of time, i was a professional footballer at the time. And all of a sudden, you know, the lead prosecutor, the qc was changed a couple of days before the trial. The judge split up into separate trials, i was always told there were six of us i was always told there were six of us going into court, i was basically the lamp to the slaughter, i went in and it was my word against his. And the judge ruled that there was insufficient evidence, howl the judge ruled that there was insufficient evidence, how i could have proved what he did, it was impossible. Thats why it becomes releva nt impossible. Thats why it becomes relevant again after this latest case. Because, as your lawyer has just explained, because higgins was acquitted back then under double jeopardy laws, he cannot be retried for the same offence against you. Despite all these new cases, despite the wealth of evidence that has been brought in this latest criminal trial. What do you think about that . Things went on back then in the 905 that shouldnt thing5 went on back then in the 905 that shouldnt have, there5 que5tion5 that shouldnt have, there5 questions to be answered. The fact i5| questions to be answered. The fact is i knew i was telling the truth at the time. Ajury never got to decide that back then. It was the judge. For whatever reason. Im glad the truth is out there now. Im glad the other lad5 have gotju5tice. But, all i would say to these people, politician5, whoever made these rule5, politician5, whoever made these rules, you know, try and think of thi5 rules, you know, try and think of this as if this was one of your own family, dont treat it like its a page ina family, dont treat it like its a page in a book where a rule or a law ha5 page in a book where a rule or a law has to stay. You know, u5e page in a book where a rule or a law has to stay. You know, use your common sense. Look has to stay. You know, use your common sense. Look at this, look at the facts, the evidence, look at what5 the facts, the evidence, look at whats happened. And treat this like it would be with one of your own family, whether its your son, your knees, your nephew, ju5t family, whether its your son, your knees, your nephew, just use your common sense. You knees, your nephew, just use your common sense. You said, include sexual abuse against children is one of these major crimes where someone can be retried even though theyve previously been acquitted. Exactly. How can they say this is in serious enough . Child abuse. How is that not 5eriou5 enough . Child abuse. How is that not serious enough . Who actually would ever say that . That it5 serious enough . Who actually would ever say that . That its not serious enough . You said you were glad for the men who gotjustice on seeing higgins jailed yesterday for 24 yea rs. Higgins jailed yesterday for 24 years. You were a character witness against him in this latest trial, do you feel in any way like you personally have got anyjustice . dont, ive got a sense of pride. I feel as though ive helped a lot of people and their families. Notju5t the victims and 5urvivor5. It5 people and their families. Notju5t the victims and 5urvivor5. Its the families as well. And i get a bit of 5ati5faction out of that but not ju5tice, there is noju5tice there for me. And the other five that were originally back in the 905. Yes, it5 originally back in the 905. Yes, its a bitter pill to swallow. But ye5, its a bitter pill to swallow. But yes, i its a bitter pill to swallow. But ye5, itake its a bitter pill to swallow. But yes, i take a bit of satisfaction out of the fact that ive helped other5. Out of the fact that ive helped others. Finally, the voting begins in the tory leadership contest today. As you know, borisjohnson is the frontrunner to be the next tory leader and our next Prime Minister. I want to ask you about his comments on investigations into historic child sexual abuse. He talked about £60 million being staffed up a wall on historic child abuse. What do you think of that language . Its di5gu5ting. It5 despicable. He5 not apologised, you know, hes been called out a few times. And as i 5aid, called out a few times. And as i said, earlier called out a few times. And as i 5aid, earlieron, he5 called out a few times. And as i said, earlier on, hes got to think of this as if it was one of the members of his own family, hi5 of this as if it was one of the members of his own family, his son, hi5 members of his own family, his son, his nephew. And i would welcome ten minutes of his preciou5 his nephew. And i would welcome ten minutes of his precious time rather than talking about brexit. Ju5t minutes of his precious time rather than talking about brexit. Just to explain why he said what he said and where he is actually coming from. There is no explanation for what he 5aid. There is no explanation for what he said. Hes there is no explanation for what he 5aid. He5ju5t insulted a lot of people. And as i said, its 5aid. He5ju5t insulted a lot of people. And as i said, it5ju5t di5gu5ting. Ten minutes. Bori5, if you want to sit down with me and explain your comments. I would love to understand them, i know i never will but i would love to hear your 5ide will but i would love to hear your side of it. For anyone who doesnt know, spaffing means ejaculating. Im amazed. He5 know, spaffing means ejaculating. Im amazed. Hes been called out on it. There is no explanation. No explanation why somebody would use that sort of language. It5 derogatory toward5 everybody, all the survivors out there. All the people who have been trying to get ju5tice people who have been trying to get justice and lots of people that havent yet got ju5tice. How is that going to encourage others to come forward , going to encourage others to come forward, 5peak forward, going to encourage others to come forward, 5peakforward, once going to encourage others to come forward, 5peak forward, once on the line at the moment and there are other5 line at the moment and there are others out there. Its just a despicable behaviour. And iju5t cannot give any explanation, i would ju5t cannot give any explanation, i would just love him to explain it. An apology i5 just love him to explain it. An apology is definitely something that 5hould apology is definitely something that should have come, it should have come straightaway a5 should have come, it should have come straightaway as soon as he said it. No, its come straightaway as soon as he said it. No, it5ju5t in explainable. Whats your reaction to the language he used . Its absolutely disgusting and abhorrent. We are discussing child abuse, we are discussing child abuse survivors, people like dean who have been through these absolutely horrendous crimes, if we dont live in the past, how can we live for the future, for someone like him to say that it causes me huge concern. Thank you both, thank you very much for talking to us. We will see what the justice secretary does with regards to your latest demands. Thank you. Thank you for your comments. Tony tweets, Boris Johnson and his comments are beyond despicable. He needs to apologise and explain. Another bureau says eve ryo ne and explain. Another bureau says everyone who was a victim of child sexual abuse deserves an apology for borisjohnson from sexual abuse deserves an apology for Boris Johnson from that disgusting statement. This text says Boris Johnson it seems this man ex child sexual abuse is not important, i am an abuse survivor. They asked, its terrible what happens to the young boys but could you tell me why Boris Johnson needs to apologise, hes never been secretary and he is not Prime Minister. Still to come. Do you want your uni to tell your mum and dad if youre having serious Metnal Health problems . Mike on twitter we should be open and honest about our Mental Health issues. Probably a better way is for universities to encourage their students to share it with trusted friends and family. Stuart on twitter unis have support services. I understand the confidentiality issue, i do think these services should liaise with parents if there is a problem. Conservative mps have begun voting for who they want to take over as leader as the party. Its a secret ballot and voting began about 20 minutes ago itll last for two hours. And we shld get the result around 1 ish. There are currently ten mps in the running, and they need at least 16 of their colleagues plus themselves to vote for them to ensure going through to the next round. The second ballot is next tues when candidates will need 32 votes to stay in the contest. Lets speak now to tim lawton, cons mp for east worthing and shoreham and harriett baldwin, shes currently a minister in the Foreign Office and has worked under both borisjohnson and jeremy hunt. Have you just cast your vote, harriet . Yes, i have. And based on my experience ive had a huge privilege of working with a range of the different candidates in the election. Its a strong field but i thinkjeremy hunt has the qualities and the values and the character that im looking for in our next Prime Minister so ive nominated him and voted for him this morning. And mr lawton, you are on your way to vote, have you made up your mind . I have. Will you tell us . Why. Its a secret ballot. Im interested to know what youre keeping it to yourself. I have voted in every leadership contest since 97 when i got elected and ive backed the losing candidate in every one of those contests, this time i thought i would keep out of it and reserve myjudgment i would keep out of it and reserve my judgment and not i would keep out of it and reserve myjudgment and not be the kiss of death on somebody Plasma Campaign so for the first round at least im keeping my counsel. Right. That would sort of protect you not telling, that would protect you, no one would know if you voted for the losing candidate so you could say, however, i voted for you all along. Ican however, i voted for you all along. I can say what i like, i respect the right of the secret ballot and i will come out later and in the entire competition to say who i will support but at this stage, until we whittle it down to two its a secret ballot. Fair enough, harriet, you described why youd voted forjeremy hunt, youve worked for Boris Johnson and mr hunt, whats the difference . I have huge admiration for everyone who put their name forward and what im looking for is someone whos got a track record in business whichjeremy someone whos got a track record in business which jeremy hunt someone whos got a track record in business whichjeremy hunt has got, someone whos had a track record in government, delivering the largest increase in funding for the nhs has been a real success, something important in my constituency and ive seen the way he works. He works ina way ive seen the way he works. He works in a way that is very inclusive and puts for example, the british citizens first in terms of Foreign Policy and patience first in terms of the nhs. I like what hes done. And what hes done in terms of the character im looking forward for the next Prime Minister. Youll have to forgive me. I got to go and a nswer to forgive me. I got to go and answer an urgent question on sudan. I believe you to talk to tim for a bit longer. I appreciate your time. Thank you. Harriet baldwin has cast her vote forjeremy hunt to be the next leader of the conservative party and your next Prime Minister. Tim lawton, you backed Andrea Leadsom last time, you were her campaign manager. Between Boris Johnson, dominic rab, Andrea Leadsom, all saying that they would go with no deal, come what may by october the 31st if there was no other way of getting out, which of those do you think is drawing you, im not asking you to tell me who you are voting for but of those three that have similar policies when it comes to no deal, who a tt ra cts when it comes to no deal, who attracts you the most. You dont get attracts you the most. You dont get a different answer by asking the same question in a different way. All the candidates, all three of them are creditable to be Prime Ministerandl them are creditable to be Prime Ministerand i agree them are creditable to be Prime Minister and i agree with their views on brexit but one thing i have said, ithink views on brexit but one thing i have said, i think its essential that the next Prime Minister is a concerned brexiteer, it was an original brexiteer, all three of those were and i think being in the cabinet, albeit we have some first class candidates i absolutely respect what Hermes Harriet said aboutjeremy respect what Hermes Harriet said about jeremy howe, i respect what Hermes Harriet said aboutjeremy howe, i think its a disadvantage if you are in the cabinet to be Prime Minister at the moment, given the cabinet could have responded differently to the way theresa may was taking things. And the withdrawal bill before. Any of those three candidates i would be perfectly happy to serve as Prime Minister. Andrea leadsom resigned not that long ago as leader of the, she was there sort of until the end. Some say, you know, she precipitated the resignation of theresa may, is that good enough for you this time . He said she perhaps precipitated the fa ct we he said she perhaps precipitated the fact we now have a leadership contest and she fought hard and cabinet to make sure that the strong brexit voice was heard, the others decided to come out of cabinet early. Look, isaid, decided to come out of cabinet early. Look, i said, any of the three candidates, i would be perfectly happy with and perfectly happy to serve as Prime Minister. Whoever it is, weve got to get on with brexit and its absolutely clear the public demand that we resolve brexit and we do what they told us to do in the referendum and come out by the 315t of october and all three candidates have shown a real determination to make that happen and if it doesnt, we have serious problems, not just happen and if it doesnt, we have serious problems, notjust for the conservative party but for the way we do democracy in this country. Quickly, we appreciate your time and i know you are on your way to vote, the leaked report in the Financial Times this morning suggesting we are really not ready in the case of a no deal exit. 6 8 months needed to stockpile medicines, 4 5 to improve readiness for border checks, at least two months to help british citizens living abroad and by the time the new Prime Minister gets a post itll be three months to go. havent read yet another leaked report but i do know we absolutely need to step up that preparation for no deal if that becomes necessary. Its not our first preference but it may become necessary. An awful lot of work has been done for no deal preparation but is Andrea Leadsom in particular said in the various hustings, her priority would be to step up no deal planning in case it becomes necessary. There is also the possibility of extending transition periods, having legislation going through as a matter of urgency now, to clear the decks for as much as possible before october the 315t, of all the many things we agree on and all the many things we agree on and a lot of preparation has taken place on both sides of the channel, more thanl on both sides of the channel, more than i think many people will admit but we just need to get on with it. Thank you very much. Thank you. Tim lawton on his way to vote and hes going to keep it, who he is holding for secret for a while. The debate will be shaped by your questions so do get in touch on e mail. Include your name and Contact Number if you are interested in asking your question of the candidates live on the night. That is tuesday night. If you were mentally ill would you want your parents to know . Two thirds of students replied yes to that question at least in extreme circumstances. That matters not just because of the growing number of students facing Mental Health issues but because Data Protection laws mean that universities need students permission before they can disclose confidential data about them. Joining us now from brighton is my gabriel. She is the outgoing welfare officer at Sussex University and helps the university provide Mental Health services. On webcam is Lesley Okeefe Deputy Director of student and Academic Services at Brunel University where they have introduced an opt in system. Tell us how that works . We asked all our students at registration and weird moment if they would like to t weird moment if they would like to opt in inaudible. We are opt in inaudible. We are trying to re establish the line because we want to hear the details and we missed most of them. Other times a student might not want their mum and dad to know if they are having serious Mental Health problems . Absolutely. I think there are so many situations where students might not want their parents to know, for instance, those who are part of the Lgbt Community who are part of the Lgbt Community who have come to university to find themselves and parents may not be aware or may not approve, students who dont have positive relationships with their parents but rely on them financially and students whojust rely on them financially and students who just dont have rely on them financially and students whojust dont have good relationships with their parents, i think its important the student has the autonomy to opt in to a service. I dont think the university should have the authority to tell all students parents about their Mental Health needs or issues. It interesting this particular survey today suggests two thirds of stu d e nts today suggests two thirds of students say they would want the university to tell their mum and dad in extreme circumstances and only 18 said no. 18 , when i look at that, is quite a large number of students. Students may have positive relationships with their parents, 18 dont. I think the violating the confidentiality and the autonomy of that 18 of students is wrong and as an 18 year old thats a point where weve decided someone becomes an adult, just because someone goes to university i dont think we should not have those rights apply. Wisely, you are back with us, tell us about the system where you work . We asked all our students if they wanted to give us details. Inaudible. The same thing has happened, i really apologise to our audience and to you. I am sorry, we will have to try to sort that out. I will bring injudy, her try to sort that out. I will bring in judy, her daughter starts at university in september, hello. Would you want your daughters university to tell you, without her permission, if she was having severe Mental Health problems . Not without her permission. If she expressly said she did not want them to tell mel said she did not want them to tell me i would expect them to understand her wishes. I would like at the beginning of the process for them to discuss it with her, if she was having problems with her Mental Health that they had the option is to contact me and express their concern. If that was the system would that make you feel slightly more secure about your daughters emotional and mental well being . More secure about your daughters emotional and mental well being . M would, absolutely. Its worth reminding people when you go away for the first time you can be homesick, you can experience severe Mental Health problems and we know its an increasing issue at universities across the country. Partly because we are more open i suppose. To talking about those kinds of issues. Do you agree . think, absolutely. Sorry, judy, i was just putting that to me, go ahead. I think absolutely, was just putting that to me, go ahead. Ithink absolutely, people are more open about their Mental Health issues. I think students are accessing counselling services more but i think having a situation where universities automatically tell parents if their child was in crisis it would put some people off accessing those counselling services and we all know how to stretch the nhs is and often University Counselling services are the only support students can access and i think if we take away that option from some students it will make vulnerable students more vulnerable. We have reported on this programme concerns about student suicides in particular and the worsening levels of anxiety on campus. Paul has asked to who else should know if not mum and dad . Another says i had great experiences at uni but i would not have reached out of my parents were notified because an adult is an adult. Kerry said i believe parents should be informed, i have first hand experience of this, my child does communicate with me but sadly some dont, for whatever reasons these young people do need help. Judy, what are you going to say before i interrupted . help. Judy, what are you going to say before i interrupted . I wasjust going to say we need to recognise the context which is when you go to university its a set of circumstances that adults would struggle with. Theres a whole new set of friends, there is a very stressful things to go through if you are an experienced adult. If you are a less experienced adult and i think we need to emphasise to students going to university that the needs to be aware of their Mental Health, look after their Mental Health, look after their Mental Health, look after their Mental Health and be forearmed to manage their Mental Health, to find approaches to make sure they dont get into crisis. In terms of opting out or opting in, and opting an approach at the beginning of University Study are the beginning of term is the really good idea because asking people whether they wa nt because asking people whether they want their parents to be notified when they are in crisis is probally not the best point at which to do so. Thank you, appreciate your time, both of you and i apologise to you and leslie who valiantly tried to talk to us from Brunel University, they have an opt in system where 82 of stu d e nts they have an opt in system where 82 of students choose to give permission to the university to contact parents in case of need. Thousands of victims who were abused by family members or carers could be compensated when the government reverses a rule today that stopped victims of Violent Crimes before 1979 from Getting Compensation if they lived with their attacker. Ministers have now acknowledged the rule was unfair. This programme has found that the same roof rule led to three members of one family not Getting Compensation while another member of their family who suffered the same abuse did. Weve spoken to two brothers who suffered extreme abuse and torture by their father for more than 15 years. They are hoping they will finally get the same compensation that one of their sisters was awarded five years ago. We cant reveal the brothers Real Identities their stories have been voiced by actors and were calling them jack and sean. A warning the film were about to show lays out graphics stories of abuse that you may find very distressing. Jack and sean said they cant remember a time when they werent being abused by their father. Their earliest memories involve being beaten with a belt or wire and being locked overnight in the cellar. Hell come walking up the stairs and wake us up. Youd be lying in bed crying because i knew what he was going to do. I was so scared i was pretending i was sleeping. Then he would hit us with his belt and chase us downstairs, and then he would line us all up and call us one by one, get us to lean across the table and whack you on your back. Hell be quoting the kings james bible, stuff like spare the rod and spoil the child. Jack, sean and their two sisters were systematically abused for more than 15 years, so they were surprised when only their youngest sister was awarded criminal injury compensation. One torture method was to wake us up at about 9 00 at night. We had to go downstairs and stand on the chest fridge freezer with one hand holding one leg and the other holding. Wed then swap every 30 minutes on to the other leg, and if youd moved, he would whack you with a hosepipe, and that would go on for hours. But the abuse wasntjust physical. The children werent allowed to have any friends or outside interests or even toys. They would often have to sit in silence and watch their father eat while they went for days without food. It wasnt normal. We didnt even know when our birthdays were or how old we were. We just guessed, really. We didnt know how to live normal lives. After one particularly brutal beating, jack, who was just 15, jumped out of the window and ran to social services. I packed a bag and arrived at their office. I told them what had happened. I told them my siblings were in the house. They knew exactly what it was like because i had to welt marks on the back of my legs and the school had reported it. Social workers came around and they saw it. And even when they came round, he was trying to get his belt off to hit me in front of the social workers. And he told them to eff off. And they did, theyjust left me there with him. That was in september 1981, but Lewisham Council, their local authority, already knew about the family. Weve seen his social work report, which says they held a child abuse conference with teachers and Health Workers earlier that year, and in the year before that, theyd place the children on an at risk register. I told them absolutely unequivocally, i told them what was happening. Then you jump out of the window and run to your social workers, they should have done more. Its ridiculous. His file from Lewisham Council showed three different social workers were involved with his case. His siblings also had their own individual social workers. They described his father as running a dictatorship and said he justified his whipping with the bible. Another social worker said his father was in a towering rage, trembling and trying to remove his belt, as he was screaming that i could watch him beat that boy. Yet the authorities didnt intervene, and the abuse continued for decades. Jack finally ended up in a hostel, but his younger brother suffered for another six years after he left. He says he still has flashbacks of his dad locking him in the cellar. You could be there for an hour, or a day, or whatever, in the dark. He took out the light bulb. There was nothing there but his tools. No mattress, blankets nothing. One time he closed all the windows and squirted paraffin down there and got a box of matches and started sparking them. I was terrified and crying sorry, sorry, dad. I was only seven. The abuse was also sexual. After decades of suffering from anxiety and depression, sean had a breakdown and went round his Fathers House to confront him. I wanted to basicallyjust get some answers, and obviously i didnt get no answers, so i got a bit mad, and, yes, i did kick off the door and stuff like that because i was angry, i was so angry about what hed done to me. And then i got arrested, and it was just like verbal diarrhoea. I told the police what he did to me as a kid. I just couldnt stop. I told them everything. His father was charged with assault, neglect, abandonment and indecent assault, and he was jailed. The police recommended they seek criminal injury compensation, but extraordinarily under the governments same roof rules, it was only the youngest sister who was eligible because the abuse took place after 1979, and her siblings were abused just before that. We just want some redress, really. Were not talking about life changing sums of money. We just want to be able to rebuild our lives. Weve lived for years without any help and its almost a manageable. Help and its almost unmanageable. They both now suffer from alcohol dependency, and sean is a recovering drug addict. He said drink and drugs were the only thing that could blot out the memory of his childhood. Their sisters are unable to talk about the abuse they suffered. One of them has tried to take her own life. But they believe they should all be compensated equally, and theyre hoping todays change in the law will now make that possible. We should have all had help years ago not now in our 405 and 50s, when the damage is already done. It might be too late, but we want to try and rebuild our lives, because i know we cant live like this. A Lewisham Council spokesperson said since the 1970s and 1980s measures to protect children from child abuse have improved greatly. We welcome the fact that the courts will now acknowledge the enormous suffering child victims have endured, whenever such abuse happened. Lets go back to westminster to talk to conservative mps who are voting now in the first round ballot to choose their next leader and your next Prime Minister. Lets speak now to rishi sunak, hes currently a housing, communities and local government minister. Have you voted . I have, i voted for borisjohnson have you voted . I have, i voted for Boris Johnson because have you voted . I have, i voted for borisjohnson because he has a track record of winning elections and winning four people in government when he was the mayor of london and making a difference. Who trusts him to deliver brexit . You said he is trusted to deliver brexit, how do you know . He led the campaign to ta ke you know . He led the campaign to take us out of the eu, a Campaign People thought cannot be won, led from the front and people know he believes in the project and i think thats what they are looking for in the next leader of the party and the Prime Minister of the party. Do you expect him to renegotiate with the eu before october 31 or do you expect him to take the uk out of the eu without a deal . Hes been clear, his intention is to renegotiate the deal, but to do that its right and responsible to properly plan for no deal with conviction and with regular that strengthens our hand, shows our European Partners we mean business and ultimately helps us get the deal we all want to see. Are you worried when you hear about this lea ked worried when you hear about this leaked cabinet document that suggests we arejust leaked cabinet document that suggests we are just not ready for leaving without a deal and we need 68 leaving without a deal and we need 6 8 months to stockpile medicines, 45 6 8 months to stockpile medicines, 4 5 months to improve readiness for border checks and when a new Prime Minister gets thejob border checks and when a new Prime Minister gets the job there will be three months to go. We are meant to be prepared to leave in march, if we are talking about october its a few months beyond that and preparations have carried on but boris has been clear, if hes elected to be Prime Minister you will absolutely step up our preparations, give them a sense of urgency and conviction and that will send a strong signal of intent im sure we can renegotiate because it shows we mean business and can walk away if we need to. Andrea leadsom told us yesterday on the programme one of the reasons she thought he was so far ahead at this stage is simply because hes famous, is there more to him than that . think there is. Its fair to say he is one of the most recognisable politicians in the country, hes been a successful mayor in our capital city, re elected, delivering four people in government, and he led the referendum campaign. That fame has come from a place of delivery for people, hes been on their tv screens and they know what he stands for and what hes capable of delivering and now they think what he has to offer as i do is an attractive opportunity for the country. All the criticism hes received, the mistakes hes made, the mist speaking, the offensive comments, the racist comments, do you put that one side . comments, the racist comments, do you put that one side . I stand and wholeheartedly believe he is not in any way shape or form a racist. He has a particular way of communicating but one of his great strengths is you can communicate and engage with people across the country especially in places where we asa country especially in places where we as a party have not traditionally had a strong message. Because he speaks ina had a strong message. Because he speaks in a plane and direct style people respond to that. They want that in their politicians, they dont want cookie cutter central casting politicians and his direct, way of speaking engages people in the process. Not Everyone Wants the plain way of speaking, this morning ive been talking to a formal southampton footballer who says he was abused by his coach when he was a young boy, a coach called bob higgins you may have read was actually jailed higgins you may have read was actuallyjailed yesterday. In recent months borisjohnson actuallyjailed yesterday. In recent months Boris Johnson has actuallyjailed yesterday. In recent months borisjohnson has talked about historical child sexual abuse investigations as like spa thing money upper wall and this is what dean radford said to us. There is no explanation why someone would use that sort of language, it is derogatory to all the survivors out there, all the people who have been trying to get justice there, all the people who have been trying to getjustice and lots of people have not yet gotjustice. How is that going to encourage others to speak forward . Ones that are on the line at the moment. There are others out there. Its despicable behaviour. Despicable behaviour, would you agree . I think its right we vigorously investigate historic allegations of child sexual abuse, your programme before i came on was very powerful and moving in that regard, as a minister im responsible for local government who are the people on the ground delivering this. Its right we focus on that. The broader point he was making is weve also seen extremely expensive and cumbersome investigations of people which have cost the taxpayer millions of pounds, people are being pursued to have passed away and you question whether justice can have passed away and you question whetherjustice can there be any justice when the person potentially is deceased and we found those investigations have collapsed without merit after ruining peoples reputations and costing the taxpayer millions of pounds and we all saw that happened over the last few yea rs that happened over the last few years and the broader point he was making as we should try to avoid the situations and i agree with that. Do you know what spaffing means . It means evacuating. Do you not think he should apologise, do not agree he should apologise for that of language . Bodice is responsible for his own language. I am asking whether you think the man you support should apologise for using that language . It is not for me to police his speech, i am simply asking your opinion, do you think you should apologise or not . asking your opinion, do you think you should apologise or not . I dont know the context, taking what he said out of context is not appropriate but. I will tell you exactly what he said. It was an interview on lbc. He was being asked various questions. He is talking about police on the streets, keeping numbers high on the street is important but the question is where you spend the money and where you deploy officers. He goes on, one comment i would make as i think an awful lot of the money, a lot of police time now goes into these historic offences and all this malarkey. 60 million which is what is being spent on the independent enquiry into child sexual abuse, 60 million being spaffed up the wall into historic child abuse and all this kind of thing. You have illustrated the point im trying to make which is why we decide when and how to spend taxpayers money we have to decide the right priorities, allegations have made and reputations traded in the process and now those people are themselves facing criminal investigation. Its right to highlight that and thats the point he was trying to make. So you dont have a view on whether he should apologise for using spaffing . Its not language i would use but the broad point is one many people agree with. These comments are totally u na cce pta ble says agree with. These comments are totally unacceptable says this on twitter and i think he in retrospect realises this, these comments are u nworthy of realises this, these comments are unworthy of any candidate of the office of pm. Another says my heart brea ks office of pm. Another says my heart breaks for dean radford. That is the gentleman you have just heard, as someone who worked with victims of child abuse borisjohnsons comments disgust me and add a slap in the face for the brave souls in football who have spoken up. Guess he will call them snowflakes. Thank you for talking to us this morning we appreciate your time. I think we are going to talk to two more in peace . We are not. We are going to talk to two more s in a moment while sort out the technical side of it, thank you for your messages on whether university should let mum and dad no if stu d e nts university should let mum and dad no if students are having serious Mental Health problems. Holly says both universities i have studied at have been supportive with my Mental Illness but i went in with a diagnosis. If a student faces crisis they should be encouraged to talk to family, the university could facilitate but with consent. This e mail says on 30 april phd students. If the university mandated to inform my elderly parents i was having Mental Health issues i would consider that a gross and inappropriate invasion of privacy. Student either my age or 18 are adults which i suppose is where the system of opting in when you turn up at University Comes in. This text says i have two friends who have sons have taken their own lives at university. My own son isolated in his third year. He was very depressed. He did not end up getting his degree because he did not go to lectures. The university happily took his fees but did not care about is Mental Health. I believe i should have been notified that he was not attending. You put on an act to me when i saw him. He did not want to be worrying about him. Thanks for those, keep them coming in. You can send us an e mail. You can message us on twitter. Lets teak to more conservative mps, glenn davies and gillian keegan, have you bothjust voted . Gillian keegan, have you bothjust voted . I voted forjeremy hunt. A difficult decision but in the end i did vote for him. Why was it difficult . I have been split, i have agonised for weeks over whether i should vote for him on michael gove and in the end you can only go for one. I decided to go forjeremy, hes the best unifying candidate which is per way the greatest skill we need at the moment as a nation and a party and i think hes man. Gillian . I voted for rory stewart. Do you expect him to get through . hope so, hes had a Brilliant Campaign and hes a brilliant choice. Hes got star quality. I think hes had the best campaign and i think is the best person. Think hes had the best campaign and i think is the best personm think hes had the best campaign and i think is the best person. If he doesnt, who will you swing towards doesnt, who will you swing towards do you think . I would probably not say, i think its difficult to keep saying i am backing this one or that one. I spent a lot of time going through, talking to other candidates trying to understand what to do about brexit and beyond. In the end i think truth and honesty is the integrity i was looking for. Theres a lot of things which have been said which i dont think will happen on brexit which is why i voted for rory. Do you agree with him that it would be, quote, a constitutional outrage, his words, to suspend parliament to try to get an ordeal through . Absolutely, its unbelievable, we cannot take back control of sovereignty Via Parliament and then get rid of parliament, taking back control to the hands of a few people . Thats not how we work in this country. You said it was between michael gove and jeremy hunt, i just said it was between michael gove and jeremy hunt, ijust wonder if the drugs regulations. I thought it might have damaged michaels campaign. Did it influence you . Its not influenced me at all. I did not know before and i think its a big mistake but i mean, talking about truth and honesty in rorys Brilliant Campaign, i think its the only way to deal with things like that and i think michael has dealt with it as well as he could have. I just believe in second chances. Briefly, you both voted for candidates who said they want to get a deal before we leave the eu. You have talked about truth, thats not possible either, is it . Some candidates say they will have a deal, we will leave on the 31st matter what but im not sure one can say that. What i want to see is the 31st of october we are in a position of knowing we are leaving, if that means it takes a few more weeks or even months to get the best deal when i can live with that. But i think the public, the population will have to be sure on the 31st of october we are leaving. Its not the deal that is a problem, its parliament. A hung parliament, getting anything through has been the problem and thats where there needs to be changed. Its as simple as that. Even if we get more movement on the backstop perhaps it still has to get through parliament and thats key. Thank you both very much, we appreciate your time. We will get the result at about one oclock this afternoon so make sure you stay tuned to bbc news that result. Newsroom light is next, thank you for your company, have a good day. Had a lot of rain over the last few days, and there is more around this morning. Its particularly heavy in parts of eastern scotland and the north east of england. This is what weve seen so far this morning. Its stretching down into north wales, another band of rain in east anglia went to southern parts of england. That heavy rain continues across the east of scotland, this band of rain here across the south east will break up into more showery rain. Staying quite cloudy for many of us this afternoon. Brightness in western scotland, northern ireland, throw tonight, further showery rain spreads in across wales, the south of east england and further north. Throughout friday, their worst start to the day but we are hopeful that they will be drier and brighter spells developing through the afternoon. It will feeljust spells developing through the afternoon. It will feel just a spells developing through the afternoon. It will feeljust a bit warmer as well. Goodbye. You are watching bbc newsroom alive, its 11am and you are watching bbc newsroom alive, its11am and these are the main stories this morning. The first round of voting in the conservative leadership race has begun. The results are expected this lunchtime. Reports of explosions and fires on oil tankers in the gulf of oman. Us vessels are responding and both crews have been rescued. Almost three quarters of english hospitals miss nhs targets to treat Cancer Patients quickly enough. Hong kong shuts down some government offices in financial districts after the worst violence the city has seen in decades. A survey finds two thirds of stu d e nts a survey finds two thirds of students want universities to tell their parents if they have serious Mental Health