Transcripts For BBCNEWS Victoria Derbyshire 20240714

So getting an escort helps me to kind of explore things that i dont get to often. Warnings about an obesity epidemic and not just for humans. Over half of dogs in the uk are overweight, and new Research Shows one in two british adults dont know what a good diet for their pets is. Well be asking a vet what tips she might have for luigi the beagle, who is 7kg over his target weight. Welcome to the programme, thanks forjoining us. Were live until 11 this morning. We always love to hear about and if you have any photos of your overweight pets, or tales of their weight loss journey, please let us have them just use the hashtag victorialive. First, Carole Walker has the news. Boris johnsons working parliamentary majority has been reduced to just one after the conservatives lost the previously safe seat of brecon and radnorshire to the liberal democrats. A by election was called after the sitting tory mp was convicted of making a false expenses claim. The lib dems won by just over m00 votes. Liberal democrats are winning again, and this by election victory shows that the people of brecon and radnorshire not only have a first class mp injane dodds, but they have shown the people of britain that we can do better than the choice on offer between Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn. The Emergency Services have been working through the night to try and divert water away from a Reservoir Dam in derbyshire, which is in danger of bursting and flooding a town. This morning an raf chinook has been dropping tonnes of ballast in an attempt to protect Whaley Bridge. More than 6,000 people have been told to leave their homes. The police and the Environment Agency say there is a real risk the dam could collapse. A holiday firm which took bookings from more than 50,000 people has collapsed. Super break specialised in organising city trips along with its sister company, the booking website laterooms. Com. 0wners the Malvern Group said people who were currently on holiday might have to pay again. They said bookings through late rooms should be secure. The governor of the bank of england has warned that a no deal brexit would result in an instant shock to the uk economy. Mark carney said that items such as petrol and food would become more expensive and thered be a further drop in the value of the pound. Hes also rejected claims by senior conservative brexiteers that hes reviving project fear by warning about the negative effects of a no deal brexit. Donald trump is formally withdrawing the us from a treaty banning intermediate range nuclear missiles, prompting fears of a new arms race. Washington has accused russia of breaching the terms of the 30 year old treaty by developing a new short range missile, something moscow denies. A granddaughter of the late american senator Robert F Kennedy has been found dead at the familys home in massachusetts. Saoirse kennedy hill, who was 22, was the daughter of robert and ethel kennedys fifth child. Emergency services were called to the Kennedy House and ms hill was pronounced dead at cape cod hospital. The american pop singer katy perry and her record label have been ordered to pay close to £3 million for copying another acts song. A jury in los angeles found that katy perrys 2013 hit dark horse contained a musical passage from a song called joyful noise by the rapper known as flame. For the first time, women in saudi arabia over the age of 21 will be allowed to travel abroad without getting permission from their male guardian. The ultra conservative kingdom is relaxing the guardianship laws which had faced criticism from International Human rights groups. Last year, saudi women were officially allowed to drive. Global temperatures forjuly could be the hottest on record. Thats the initial assessment of the eus Climate Change service. Definitive figures will be released next week, when temperatures from the final days of the month have been collated. The Research Also shows thatjuly was on average 1. 2 degrees celsius above pre industrial levels. Thats the news for now, back to riz lateef. Hes only been Prime Minister for a little over a week, saw his parliamentary majority cut tojust one. The conservatives lost the brecon and radnorshire by election to the liberal democrats. You can see the number of votes for each party on the screen. Hopefully the lib dems overturning a majority of over 8,000 to beat the conservatives by more than 1,400 votes. We dont have the graphics, those are the numbers. 0ther pro remain parties had stood aside to give the lib dems a better chance of winning. Turnout was almost 60 , the highest for a by election for over 20 years. It was also not a great night for the labour party, who were beaten into fourth place by the brexit party, and narrowly avoided losing their deposit which happens if you get less than 5 of the vote. On a walkabout in the constituency this morning, the new mp, jane dodds, said her constituents had chosen hope over fear. 34 3a years ago last month, Richard Livesey stood here celebrating a by election victory just like livesey stood here celebrating a by election victoryjust like this one. A by election victory that would restore the liberal values that we have all fought so hard for to this country. Anterior stand, and here we stand, boasting Boris Johnsons bubble in the first week of his premiership. Speaking in brecon among party activists, liberal democrats leaderjo swinson said that the party was winning again. Liberal democrats have a vision for a cleaner, safer, Richer Country in the European Union. And as leader of the European Union. And as leader of the liberal democrats i will fight to keep our country in the European Union, and we now have in Parliament One more mp who will fight to make that happen, jane dodds will be a sparse representative for brecon and radnorshire and potentially a key vote and cutting borisjohnsons majority to just one. For their part the conservatives have been talking down the scale of the defeat. 0ur Political Correspondent pete saull is in westminster. I guess any party would . It is all expectation management and looking at the positives in every situation. It is quite quiet in westminster, many mps are ransom a holiday, but they will come back at the start of september and we expect a series of knife edge vote again over brexit. Why this is important for the conservatives, the governments working majority is down to one, meaning it only takes one conservative mp to rebel for them to lose a vote. There are some former tory mps facing criminal allegations, they will continue to vote with the government, and to labour mps have traditionally voted with the government when it comes to brexit, but nevertheless it highlights the scale of the challenge faced by the new Prime Minister, particularly he might face a vote of no confidence in Early September and then some votes on brexit as well. This point was put to the conservative Party Chairman James Cleverly on bbc breakfast earlier. The simple truth is that, as we have seen over the last six to 12 months, whether it is a majority of one, two or three is largely irrelevant. How is it irrelevant, if anyone decides to leave. |j irrelevant. How is it irrelevant, if anyone decides to leave. I was about to explain. Go on, then. The house has rejected the withdrawal agreement, specifically because of the backstop. If the backstop can be removed, then democracy can win out and we can leave with a deal. But thatis and we can leave with a deal. But that is not really dependent on the numbers, whether it is one, two or three. James cleverly putting forward what the governments intentions are for the coming months, to negotiate toe reopen negotiations with the European Union, to remove the backstop, to remove border checks on the island of ireland from the agreement negotiated by theresa may, and hopefully for us to leave on time on 0ctober hopefully for us to leave on time on october 31, but if they cant do that, to take us out without an agreement. Even if they were to remove the backstop, i think there is no guarantee it will get through the house of commons. It has a greater chance of getting through, but many brexit supporting conservative mps do not like other aspects of the withdrawal agreement. And bearing in mind the various factions and other parties as well who may vote along the lines to try to stop the government in its tracks. We have a brand new Prime Minister facing tracks. We have a brand new Prime Ministerfacing many tracks. We have a brand new Prime Minister facing many of the same challenges as theresa may. For now, pete, thank you very much. We can speak now to chris bryant, a welsh labourmp, and Christine Jardine from the liberal democrats. We did ask the conservatives if we could speak to a front bench minister, as well as trying to find a back bench mp ourselves, but no one was available to come on. Ifi if i can start with you, christine, obviously congratulations on the victory. 30 say it was not a landslide . It was a 1096 swing, more than 10 , way from the conservatives who went into this with an 8000 majority, so i do not think we should underestimate the scale of the success here that jane has managed to win this seat. On the doors in brecon, i have been a couple of times during the election, and there was a feeling that simply people wanted a different approach. Very positive on the doors, which we 110w very positive on the doors, which we now see was a victory, this is a big swing to us and shows we are still and will continue to be the leading remain party. You did really throw the kitchen sink at eight, and given that it was not a very large majority, wasnt it the remain alliance that won it . The conservative party can make excuses for losing, which they do increasingly. What they need to do is look at what people are saying, which is they do not like the style of politics, the confrontational approach, they want Something Different and better, which is what we are demanding. The liberal democrats demands better style of politics, a better approach, a better solution to the brexit problem than the conservatives are offering. They can buy tactics, but until the conservatives look at what people are saying, they will not get out of this mess. Given you have 13 mps, arent you concerned that it is not a significant forcing parliament . Every voice is significant in parliament. The conservatives only have a majority of one, it would just take one conservative mp to vote against them, as you havejust conservative mp to vote against them, as you have just heard. Conservative mp to vote against them, as you havejust heard. We conservative mp to vote against them, as you have just heard. We are 110w them, as you have just heard. We are now the loudest voice for remain, we are leading the movement to get this country back on an even 13, to improve our politics and get it away from this confrontational labour versus conservative thing we have had for a century and get to a modern situation where every voice is heard and you have a variety of parties coming up with solutions. A different style of politics, but the priority has to be sorting out this brexit mess. Let me interrupt you and bring in chris, christine mentioned a majority of one, it would not take much to overturn that. The party of remain, they are calling it. As labour, you had to be disappointed . Congratulations to jane dodds, i knowl disappointed . Congratulations to jane dodds, i know i would much have preferred if tom davies had taken the seat but i look forward to working with her in parliament that there are many things we would want to agree with, and my commiserations to agree with, and my commiserations to chris davies. He did something silly but i feel for him. For the tories to put up the same candidate again, was that perhaps not the wisest . Maybe, but there were quite a lot of people in the constituency who felt chris was a good representative. The biggest problem for the labour party as we nearly lost deposit, i am glad did not. That its quite embarrassing, labour beaten into fourth place by the brexit party . I get that, some others have said for quite some time that one of the problem is about trying to be all things to all men and women is nobody ends up liking what you are offering. Do you think it was the ambiguity . what you are offering. Do you think it was the ambiguity . I think of a constructive ambiguity has not helped us over the last two years, we have tried to say we are in favour of brexit to brexit micro vote rs favour of brexit to brexit micro voters but that we are in favour of remain to remain supporters. I am fundamentally a remainer and believe it to be in the interest of wales and our country that at the very least we should try and achieve a soft as brexiters possible to continue trading with europe. Soft as brexiters possible to continue trading with europelj soft as brexiters possible to continue trading with europe. Ijust wa nt to continue trading with europe. Ijust want to go back to christine, we talked about a remain alliance model, could that be used again and would you want to include labour . Chris is here with open ears . Chris knows this, we will work with people with the same names as us, we are happy to do that, the remain alliance did work here and it is important that we realise there is 110w important that we realise there is now a movement of people who want to get the country out of this brexit mess, and were happy to work with anyone who will come and join us and we are moving forward and we think we are moving forward and we think we wa nt we are moving forward and we think we want a positive from this. Christine, can i break a secret that we have occasionally been enabling together and talked about ways of achieving things . Occasionally beenin achieving things . Occasionally been in room together. I think many vote rs been in room together. I think many voters would have heard were spending 2. 1 billion p on a no deal brexit and would have gone, cant we spend that on the local health we are spending chinook billion. We have somebody at the head of government who promised us all that extra money for the nhs. Now there is an extra 2 billion. And we even have tories. I would love to put that to them, but nobody would come on. You have been enabling together. That stance disturbing, it is not meant to be bet that sounds disturbing. Christine, the new push for a no confidence vote in september . We have already suggested that, we asked Jeremy Corbyn to support it because it has to come from the official opposition. Support it because it has to come from the official oppositionm Jeremy Corbyn pushes porridge, will support it . Yes, jo has already asked him to lay a confidence motion, we put forward an early day motion, we put forward an early day motion saying there should be a vote of no confidence. Motion saying there should be a vote of noconfidence. It feels like the government is planning directly towards a no deal brexit, they had not even open negotiations tuck i am getting to it they havent opened negotiations with the germans, french or anybody. Enthusiast will not get us through this, i would be amazed if we did not table a motion iio amazed if we did not table a motion no confidence. An age does not necessarily mean there will be one. I have been amazed by lots of things in the past few years. Should Jeremy Corbyn commit to bringing in a vote of no confidence in september . would not announce what i am going to do in september in the middle of august. To his own Party Members . You cantjust august. To his own Party Members . You cant just announce august. To his own Party Members . You cantjust announce secretly august. To his own Party Members . You cant just announce secretly to Party Members. Would you like to announce a much clearer position in brexit . We have a clear position on brexit, we will campaign for whatever deal or no deal, we cannot possibly leave the eu without putting that version of events back to the british people so they can have the final say, and in that we will campaign for remain, that is unambiguously labours position. You think the opportunity for a further referendum exists . Of course, and i hope the labour party, along with allies and other parties, will want to make that happen. And as a welsh mp, yesterday, hearing the idea we will be burning 38,000 sheep carcassesjust made me think. If no deal happens. Thank you. carcassesjust made me think. If no deal happens. Thank you. I will give the last word to christine. knew that chris is a remainer at heart and believes with us that there should be another referendum, this time on the final say on the detail, people now know exactly as chris said that the welsh farming industry and family across the country could be in serious trouble if we come out of the European Union without a deal with the proposed deal, and the thought of burning all those carcasses, of land being on a 40 tariff, it is terrifying. Of bmb 40 tariff, it is terrifying. Of lamb being. It affects us all. We will have to leave it there, but thank you both very much. And congratulations once again in wales. Thank you. Keep your comments coming. This comes from susanna, lib dems have a lwa ys comes from susanna, lib dems have always won cancelled, nothing new. There are many more, keep them coming in. Still to come does more need to be done to normalise sex among People Living with a disability . Well hear from alex, who doesnt allow his disability to get in the way of a sex life. And well hear from a british woman in syria, one of tens of volunteers whos left the uk to partner with Kurdish Forces in the countrys north. She says a new law that criminalises her presence there will not make her leave. Thousands of residents of a derbyshire town have spent the night away from their homes because of the very real danger a reservoir wall could collapse. The wall holds back 1. 3 Million Tonnes of water, and the town of Whaley Bridge lies down stream. Streets there have been deserted, as a whole host of officials and responders deal with what they are calling an unprecedented, fast moving, emergency situation. Early this morning a Royal Air Force chinook helicopter was brought in, dropping 400 tonnes of aggregate thats a mixture of sand, grand and stone in an effort to strengthen the wall and divert reservoir water. The helicopter has already made several trips carrying tonnes of material on each journey. Situated just downstream of toddbrook reservoir. Almost all of Whaley Bridges 6,500 residents evacuated the town on thursday evening amid fears they were in mortal danger. They have been told the timescale for repairs is unknown. A number of roads have been clsed in the area and further travel disruption is expected after east Midlands Trains said Railway Lines near Whaley Bridge remain closed. The chief fire officer described the scale of the operation. It is a national response, a really big incident. We have 150 firefighters on scene in derbyshire, 50 from derbyshire fire and rescue service, the rest are made up of fire and rescue services from around the country who brought in ten high volume pumping appliances to get the water down, and along with a number of specialist operators of those appliances and technical officers helping us with a flood response of this nature. The damage to the reservoir was done earlier this week, when there was heavy rain and flooding in the area. And these extraordinary pictures from wednesday show the ferocity of the water gushing down the side of a spillway, which is designed to take water away from the reservoir, but clearly something went very wrong and a large hole was created. 0ur correspondent laura foster is at the reservoir now. Laura, give us an toe a sense of what has happened here today . Give us a sense of what has happened here today . Since about five, every ten minutes also aria Chinook Helicopters have been bringing in aggregate, a mixture of sand and gravel, to stop water coming into the reservoir and also to balance out and protect the dam. You see the individuals in the high viz, that is the bridge above the spillway which has caused so much trouble, sandbags have been piled up beneath it. It is to reinforce the dam. And looking further over you can see the Emergency Services and water cannon which have been working really hard overnight to pump water out of the reservoir. Both to try to protect this dam and the whole of Whaley Bridge and everyone who lives there. The water level has dropped overnight, but the Emergency Services are still working hard, they will bring in more Water Cannonsjust here they will bring in more Water Cannons just here because although things are calmer than overnight they are still working very hard in order to protect this dam. Do we have any idea how long this will go on . No, the engineers are still assessing the situation, as are the Emergency Repair waters. If you look to the left you can see they are clearing a path where they are trying to build an area for the next water cannon to come through. Residents have mostly been evacuated, apart from the ones living above the reservoir, they are sitting in hotels at the school in a nearby village, just watching and waiting to find out when they may be able to come back. At the moment, the timescale is not yet known. Laura, from Whaley Bridge, thank you. Sharon withington is a teacher who lives just past the evacuation line in Whaley Bridge, and Melissa Welliver lives nearby. Thank you both forjoining us this morning. Sharon, tell us what your situation is now . Yesterday morning at seven oclock i walked across the reservoir down with my dog, the water was trickling but nowhere near as high as it had been the day before and i thought, oh, things have improved. I left the house, went out for lunch, while i was having lunch my phone started ringing, including my dog walker, who said i dont know what to do, the whole of the villages close to. Icame the whole of the villages close to. I came back here at about four oclock, i was allowed to the house, literally outside my gate is the barrier which marks the evacuation point and barrier which marks the evacuation pointandi barrier which marks the evacuation point and i was told that at the moment i was ok where i was, but a bit later in the evening i overheard conversations about if the corbidge came, try to get out as quickly as you can, and at that point i took the decision to stay with my partner elsewhere, where i would be safer. Watch rupm tell now in terms of what could happen . A girl i am back in the house now, when i spoke to the Police Officer of the road galfi celek go back to my property at my own risk. I am officially outside the evacuation zone but i am the last house, everyone symphony has been evacuated. Studio thank you, sharon. Lets talk to melissa, is it right you live quite near the reservoir that you have not evacuated . Why . It is about 100 metres but we are above the dam, not in the flood zone actual, we have not needed to evacuate. Are you worried . No, certainly not flooding, there is no risk, we are up a hill. Whaley bridge is quite hilly so we have never really worried about flooding before, there is no worry. Are you helping others who needed . We took down some water yesterday when the facebook page, the main way we are keeping in search at the moment, said that volunteers needed refreshments, we have been keeping up refreshments, we have been keeping up to date with any friends who needed places to stay. The main reason. Needed places to stay. The main reason. Were never sure exactly what is going on so we are looking online and seeing who needs help and what needs watch, that the Emergency Services have its very well covered so we are staying out of their way. Sharon, you are back home, i imagine you may know people who are not . Down the road there is a real eerie silence about the pace, the only thing we can hear at the moment is the chinook helicopter coming in and out with regularity, it is a very strange feeling. My intention is to stay u nless strange feeling. My intention is to stay unless i am told otherwise, if they say i need to go i will, but i will sit it out for the time being. Thank you forjoining us, take care of yourselves and everyone else. Thank you. A charity says paying for sex should be a choice for disabled people, but not the only option. Enhance the uk has told the bbc more needs to be done to normalise sex amongst those living with a disability. Being physically or mentally disabled can have a profound impact on your sex life, on the way you do it, and also the amount you have. Well be talking more about those issues in a moment, but first ben moore went to meet disabled blogger alex squires who has paid for sex in the past but would like a long term relationship. And just a warning that this report and the discussion after it will contain sexual language and references, so thats about 15 minutes in total. And the report contains some flash photography. Its something that i feel like im kind of missing out on. So getting an escort helps me to kind of explore things that i dont get to often. Ive seen clients who have just never cuddled someone, have never laid in bed naked with someone. Have never french kissed someone. Have never had physical affection and tenderness. Disability is not something alex squire allows to get in the way of a sex life. The 29 year old blogger and power chair user has had girlfriends in the past, and occasionally used sex workers. I need help to get on the bed. I need a hoist. Once im on the bed, and undressed, then the escort can do the rest. My names marianne. And what do you do for a living . Im a sex worker. Marianne, not her real name, obviously, lives in portsmouth. Anything from companionship to company time, nudity, full french kissing, and full intercourse, penetration, protected with a condom. She specialises in disabled clients, and she used to be a care worker. Profoundly disabled people, physically disabled, their bodies are very exposed to other people, but its in a care role, isnt it . So, strangers, sometimes complete strangers, come in and touch these people in their most intimate regions, but in a completely non affectionate way. Marianne advertises on a variety of websites run by organisations who legally provide contact between disabled people and sex workers. Hi, everyone, emily here, and welcome to the love lounge. I think my personal standpoint regarding disability and sex workers is that it should be a choice, but it shouldnt be the only choice that disabled people have. The problem that we have is disabled people saying, i want to be sexual, and people saying, oh, right. Go and pay for it then. Well, that shouldnt be the only option. Emily works for a charity called enhance the uk, and hosts a podcast called the love lounge, which helps break the taboo. If i only had £300, which is what it usually costs, then i wouldnt spend that on escorts. I only do it when i have more than enough. Those who get disability benefits can use them how they wish. Its absolutely their money, so they can choose to go to the cinema, say, or eat out, or pay for a sex worker. Yeah, in an ideal world, a long term partner would be better. If i can find the right person. But so far that person has not materialised, so in the meantime, escorts are a solution. But probably not long term. Are there any legal issues for you to work around . There actually isnt, but a lot of care staff and social workers dont know that. If they support a client to book my services, they are not promoting prostitution. In fact, they have a legal obligation to support their client to access a full and healthy sex life, whatever that means to the client. This and that is exactly what is in our equality act. Is in our equality act. It is illegal not to support disabled people to enjoy the same pleasures as others. Somebody could make an incredibly powerful argument that this is a basic human right. Ok, you dont die from a lack of sex, like you do from a lack of food and water, but really . There are parts of you that do die. Graham is a sex therapist with disabled and able bodied clients. He says the time is right for a sexual revolution. Often clients say, im so glad you do this because i dont know where else i would turn. I dont know who i would go to. I dont know how to solve this problem in any other way. It makes me feel like, yeah, in some ways this is a job before its time. I wouldnt be at all surprised if in five years time, this isnt on the national health. But when two thirds of people admit they feel uncomfortable just talking to disabled people, how are we going to get any sort of sexual equality . One of the biggest blocks, if you like, is societys attitude to it. Just educate yourself, use the right terminology surrounding disabled people. Realise that actually disabled people are sexual beings, they do want to have a bit of a laugh, they do want to get into relationships. Im not really sure what i like yet, im after exploring certain and eye opening experiences, yeah. But of course, thats what it is for everyone, isnt it . Its never plain sailing. Its never like in the movies, is it . No, its trying it out, really. Ill get there in the end talking to us now is c1 kelly perks bevington who says talking to us now is kelly perks bevington who says she is confident with sex and dating. Mik scarlett, a volunteer Fora Campaign which offers free online sex and relationship advice to people with a disability. Jennie williams is the ceo of the charity enhance uk, which wants to change the way society views disabled people. And Charlotte Rose is a sex worker whos spent the last few years specialising in clients with disabilities. A warm welcome to all of you. Thank you for being here to talk about this. What do you make of what we have heard . The thing is, it always gets conflated, disability and painful sex gets conflated, disability and painfulsex and gets conflated, disability and painful sex and paying for sex. It damages disabled community. Of course there will be disabled people who pay for sex, because all so non disabled people pay for sex, but its not something the majority of us its not something the majority of us have thought about. I get a lot of people writing letters and people ask, i dont know what im going to do. They are normally young, quite nervous, they havent been taught about sex and they havent been told they can be sexual. Thats a much more important thing to explore than the idea that some disabled people pay for sex and we should focus on that. I do think it should be an option, but its the same as the option, but its the same as the option for anyone else. I dont think it should be a special thing thats provided for disabled people. We are not all at home dreaming of having sex one day. The majority of us are having sex one day. The majority of us are out there with partners and relationships and having the same social life. We need to make society more accessible for those people who cant get out. Not have it so that we can pay for sex. The whole discussion around benefits is also very troubling. For me, its this whole juvenile way that relationships are looked at. Everybody comes up dotted not everybody, but people come up to me and say, have you had a boyfriend before, have you ever kissed anyone . Would you normally say that to a 30 year old woman . I feel really in shock. I dont see myself in that way. Ive always been to a mainstream school, i have been around people who make me feel good about myself and i make myself feel good about myself. When somebody comes up good about myself. When somebody comes up to you, its a real reality check. Thinking, people do see me like this, and why is that. check. Thinking, people do see me like this, and why is that. I guess you feel the prejudice of people not acknowledging your sexuality. Exactly. Its something that took me a long time to process. Especially going through my teens, and wanting to be seen as a sexual person as well. And then people assume you are not. Its a really big battle and i have definitely put myself into some bad situations because of that, and trying to prove a point, when i should have been going about my normal life. Charlotte is nodding, when you talk about bad situations. Charlotte, tell us why you decided to specialise in clients with disabilities. One of the biggest issues for sex workers is people with disabilities, because some people are scared of seeing people with disabilities only because they dont know exactly what they should be doing. For me, i thought it was a perfect opportunity not only to enjoy the experience with them, but the majority of people want to be able to learn something to better and benefit themselves in the future and benefit themselves in the future and for future relationships. Its notjust and for future relationships. Its not just about one experience, and for future relationships. Its notjust about one experience, its about how they can learn, progress and gain experience and knowledge for themselves in their own personal development. And how do people find people like you . Im on a website called the tlc trust, which specialises in escort is available to people with disabilities. People contact me on there. I get carers, parents, friends and the people themselves getting in touch. Jenny from enhance the uk, a couple of questions come to mind. Do you think there should be more. It was mentioned earlier, more targeted relationship and Sex Education for young disabled people . Absolutely, thats a key campaign of ours. Its incredibly frustrating. I was on the Victoria Derbyshire show about four yea rs Victoria Derbyshire show about four years ago talking about a similar thing but i would love to say that we have moved in leaps and bounds in that time, but we really havent. We have worked with brooke and the Family Planning association in the last few years saying we will help them, well come in and train their staff for free. We them, well come in and train their staff forfree. We need them, well come in and train their staff for free. We need to start with the basics, going back to young people. There is no point making Sex Education inclusive for disabled people only. You have to include non disabled people. Otherwise you have all these really empowered to disabled people and non disabled people thinking, you are completely alien to me. It should be naturally inclusive. We ran a survey and 100 people disabled people responded, asking them if there Sex Education was inclusive, and it wasnt, 100 . We have a long way to go. That resonates with the two of you, because you are both nodding your heads. Yes. We need it taught in schools that sex happens in different ways. Sex education is basically how to reproduce. For many disabled people, thats not how we do it, and it needs to be a broader subject, it needs to be taught that people have different kinds of bodies, different ways of enjoying yourself, because sex is about fun as well as babies. For me it is about trust as well because you are putting yourself in vulnerable situations and there is a huge amount of trust between a disabled person, or anybody and their partner, and that can be taken for granted a lot. You need help in these situations, and its not taught or thought about. In the meantime, teaching in schools takes a little bit of time. We heard in the film there, the sex therapist said he wouldnt be surprised if in five years time this wasnt on the national health. In places like denmark and the netherlands, they do do Something Like that. Would you expect to see that happen . Absolutely not, thats not going to happen. And mick will agree with me, he has campaigned for many years on this, as have i, there is no way that will happen. Its really dangerous tojust that will happen. Its really dangerous to just assume that. I keep going back to the basics, but disabled people in care homes arent even disabled people in care homes arent even getting things like smear checks and and breast checks for their health, because they are not even seen as their health, because they are not even seen as being sexually active, let alone anything else. I think when it comes to not only Sex Education. People say education. A lot of disabled people who are older, they dont need to be taught how to have sex. But equally in care homes, the staff dont have any training whatsoever. It was mentioned earlier with the sex worker that care staff dont know how to support disabled people in a ca re how to support disabled people in a care home and that education and Training Needs to happen for care staff. They are rightly very frightened by this because its a very grey area in the law. The bottom line is, they should have the choice. Everyone should have the choice. Everyone should have the choice to be sexual and have that human right. Thats the bottom line of it. However people want to do thatis of it. However people want to do that is down to them. of it. However people want to do that is down to them. I dont think its healthy to keep focusing on disabled people and paying for it. There are lots of barriers to stop disabled people going out and meeting people the way everyone else does. Lets focus on those. In that way we other ourselves. Disabled people are weird, they pay for it, they cant get it any other way. Other people see themselves as normal, going out and getting married and having kids. Only a small percentage of disabled people pay for it, just like the same amount of people who are not disabled. On that note, with modern technology, what about dating apps, is that a help or hindrance . technology, what about dating apps, is that a help or hindrance . I dont know because im too old for them. I met my wonderful wife in 1989 and we have been together for the last 24 yea rs. We have been together for the last 24 years. We took a while to get together because we were friends first. But i have no idea so i will pass over to the younger person. Can i answer that, there pass over to the younger person. Can ianswer that, there is pass over to the younger person. Can i answer that, there is actually a charity called the outsiders charity that works alongside the tlc trust. They put events together once a month for people with disabilities to meet and socialise with the possibility to possibly date. There are things out there, but we just need more of them. Again, it is a specialist event, isnt it. In terms of dating apps, it is mixed. It is for everybody. I have had some really good responses when talking about my disability and being completely open. My main picture is me in my chair. I dont want it to be the elephant in the room. There are some people that say, it doesnt change who you are. I like you, i think you are attractive, i want to ta ke think you are attractive, i want to take you out. Other people have said, i feel so sorry for you. Just having that discussion and debate. Its about education as well. The people who say, i feel sorry for you andl people who say, i feel sorry for you and i would hate that. I ask them, why do you feel sorry for me, because i dont feel sorry for me. Its about normalising it. We are like everyone else, just because we are disabled, it doesnt make me different. Jenny, a final thought from you. I met my partner on tinder. I from you. I met my partner on tinder. Lam from you. I met my partner on tinder. I am a hearing aid user. Its interesting because we get asked questions about whether people should disclose their disability online. People i was speaking too previously, i didnt mention my hearing loss, but people can google these days, and they can look me up and there are pictures of me with my hearing aids. I got completely ghosted. Maybe i wasnt funny enough, but it was partly because of my hearing loss. People dont understand. They either think you are completely deaf or not, so hearing loss is confusing for people. I had to explain my hearing loss, the first time i met what is now my long term partner. People think disability is just wheelchair users. The whole perception around disability itself . Its massive, its only a very small percentage of disabled people who are wheelchair users, its around 8 . You have a range of hidden disabilities. Its whether you want to put that on your profile and mention it and i think most people dont. I dont know whether thats a good or bad thing, but its one of the most common questions that emily yates, who also runs the love lounge, she gets a lot of those questions, do i disclose. Its a big problem, especially for the younger generation. We will leave it there for now but thank you so much for coming in to speak to us about it. And thank you to you at home for getting in touch. Kenneth on e mail says, im very pleased you have highlighted the dilemma of many disabled people. It is their right to receive care and that any form it ta kes, to receive care and that any form it takes, including physical well being. I was moved by this and hope many others will support a care structure where this is regarded as being normal and civilised. Christopher by e mail says, is sex a human right . Honestly i would say no, but a chance to gain relationships that are loving and affectionate is crucial for somebodys ability to deal with a difficult life. I hate the way we sometimes deny a simple cuddle to someone because sometimes deny a simple cuddle to someone because of a disability, especially if it is autism or a learning disability. Thank you for those and keep your views coming in. A group of self styled british revolutionaries who travelled to syria to help build a Democratic Society in the Kurdish North say they will defy new government legislation which could see them prosecuted on terrorism charges. The home office revealed in may that it planned to designate Northern Syria a no go area and that british citizens would have 28 days to leave or face a 10 Year Prison Sentence if they attempt to return to the uk. It said the law was aimed at tackling terrorism. The volunteers say the government are failing to distinguish between britons in thejihadist enclave of idlib, in syrias northwest and those working in the northeast alongside kurdish groups that helped defeat the so called islamic state. Dozens of britons have been drawn to that autonomous region, known as rojava. We can speak to one of the group, 30 year old lizzie irvine. Shes originally from near glasgow in scotland, but travelled to rojava eight months ago. She says shes been living and working in the community there to build what she describes as a revolutionary feminist, socialist Democratic Society. Lucy, can you give us a sense of what you are doing there . Hello. Yeah, the revolution here has brought a lot of different people, to learn from it, to share with the movement here. Its really inspiring. In really difficult circumstances, the movement has been building a Movement Based on grassroots democracy, ecology and womens liberation. That makes it stand out as different from other previous real socialism experiments. Whats also really beautiful here is that there is a commitment to internationalism, and these values are something we need to see the world over. For that reason there is a welcome to people who want to come and learn and share and be part of the movement here. Thats why we are here. You say you will defy the new law, which if the area becomes designated, you could face up to ten yea rs designated, you could face up to ten years injail, a fine, or both, when you return to the uk, potentially. Potentially. Is that right . Well, i not sure. Whats important here is we talk about what the law is about, where it has come from and what is really significant here, its not just about individual people and what the consequences may or may not be, if the government designates this under the legislation where it is already giving it the power to do so. Is already giving it the power to do so. Its also significant for politically what the uk government is saying about the movement here. How is the uk government aligning itself with grassroot, democratic, feminist, incredibly progressive and inspiring Peoples Movement . Its highlighting this area specifically, not just highlighting this area specifically, notjust in general, something that needs to undergo checks when people return. Or potentially prosecution. Thats why i think its really important to talk about what this law means and what the government is doing here. In practicalterms, britons who are there, there are exemptions for humanitarian work, journalism, isnt that enough . You could still have people who are doing humanitarian work staying there. Unfortunately the definition of humanitarian work that is given in this law is linked to working for certain official organisations. It is not linked to the work you are doing or what you are doing. It is linked to whether or not you can get a certain badge or certain certificate and the standards are actually quite high. Its not a wide open thing. Its to allow journalists, for example the bbc, to come here and work. Obviously they will not stop anyone doing that, but thats what the exemption is about, its not about people here working with the Political Movement at all. To ask you briefly, if that does happen, how do your family feel about it . My family know that im here. They fully support me and what iam doing. Here. They fully support me and what i am doing. I think that they have an understanding of whats going on here. The law isnt to do with keeping people safe. It isnt to do with keeping britain safe. If the uk government was really concerned about keeping britain safe from fascist movements, we would be doing a lot more to ask itself why so me people left britain to fight for isis, and we would be taking responsibility for those isis fighters, not just responsibility for those isis fighters, notjust enacting more draconian laws that give it wider control. People could say, you could work for any one of those organisations that you mentioned there. And actually this is being done to stop people travelling overseas to join terrorist organisations and keep our country safe. Yes, i think thats the explanation that the government is giving. Asi explanation that the government is giving. As i have said, ithink there are much more productive ways that would keep both britain and the whole world is safe. Where the government could look more closely at the root causes of this fascism that has come, for a lot of people come from britain, instead of slapping this blunt instrument on something after the fact. And why specialise or particularly highlights the place that has done more than anywhere else in the world to fight against isis and that threat of fascism. If it comes to keeping the world a safer place, the British Government should also ask itself why are we. We will have to leave it there. Apologies for butting in but thank you for speaking to us and stay safe out there. We have had a statement from there. We have had a statement from the government will stop it says, we have consistently warned against uk nationals and residents travelling to syria for any reason, with certain areas particularly dangerous because of the risk of mixing with militias and islamist terrorists. The new legislation allows for the designation of carefully defined areas overseas where there is a high level of terrorist threat. That has come from the government. Now to something completely different. When we talk about the obesity crisis, jamie oliver and turkey twizzlers might come to mind. Not necessarily pets, i imagine. But over half of dogs in the uk are overweight and thats up 6 on five years ago according to research from the pet food manufacturers association. Now, new Research Shows that one in two british adults dont know what makes a healthy diet for their dogs. A poor diet can put pet health at risk and can increase the chances of an animal suffering from heart disease, high blood pressure, cancer and even breathing difficulties. Joining us now is luigi the beagle. He has been on a diet since weighing in at 30 kg. With him is perrie jordan, his owner. This is bilbo the terrier he has had a rather successful weight loss journey. With him is Alison Brennan senior vet at the Animal Charity blue cross. We know that he weighs about 30 kilograms. How much should he way . He currently weighs about four and a half stone. Ideally he should be losing want to get to a down to about 20 kilograms. No owner wants to think their pet is overweight. Did you think that was the case . U nfortu nately, yes stop did you think that was the case . Unfortunately, yes stop what you said that sort sheepishly. Its not something that makes me proud that it has happened, but we are tackling this problem with the pdsa. Was it a case of food, not enough exercise . Probably. He is so cute, handsome, he always puts on the puppy dog eyes to get the scraps off my plate, or treats, whatever he can smell. I didnt measure his food out properly so didnt measure his food out properly soi didnt measure his food out properly so i was probably giving him that bit too much which slowly over time added up. And now you are doing something about it. He looks very happy and relaxed. Bilbo has had a successful weight loss journey. What happened . He came to our clinic for his yearly booster and he had a full health check with the vet, who advised his owner that unfortunately he was a bit overweight. She checked him overto make he was a bit overweight. She checked him over to make sure there were no Health Problems and then she started to give the owner advice on how to measure out his food properly, how much to give to reduce treats, and increase his exercise. He was booked in for monthly checks afterwards. What are the potential health risks, because some are really serious. Studies have shown that dogs who are overweight can have a shorter life span. They also suffer from diseases that will spoil their quality of life, things such as arthritis, breathing difficulties, heart disease, as you mentioned, and also diabetes. Its that thing of potentially killing your pet with kindness. Before bilbo disappears, for any dog owner is watching, are there simple ways, if it is not obvious, to check whether their pet is overweight . He is looking for his owner at the moment. The first thing is to look from above and by the side. They should have a waist that should taper up. And feel along their body. You should be able to feel their spine. And their ribs, without really much pressure at all. If you are having to dig deep to feel any of those bones then there is too much fat coverage and they are likely to be overweight. If there are any concerns, because dogs do vary in shape, just visit your vet and get some advice. Im assuming its not just vet and get some advice. Im assuming its notjust dogs that are overweight. What about cats . Absolutely. There is a problem especially with indoor cats, especially with indoor cats, especially in london that are in flats. They can become overweight and its a very familiar way of telling, just how they feel and see if you can feel those bones. Make sure there is no skin or tissue sagging down and that sort of thing. Thank you for that. Im sure it helps enormously. Luigi, bilbao, thank you. Working with animals bbc newsroom life is coming up next. Thanks for your company and have a fabulous weekend. There are fewer showers in the forecast for today. Those that we do see shouldnt be as torrential as we have seen recently. We still have a severe Flood Warning in force for the river goyt in derbyshire issued by the Environment Agency. Lingering low cloud this morning for north east england and south east scotland, lingering for much of the day with some showers. A good deal of fine and dry weather. Showers getting going through the afternoon, the pennines and the derbyshire peak district, south wales and south west england. They will be scattered and shouldnt be as intense as they have been recently. Those showers tend to fade as we head through the overnight period but this area of cloud is a weather front that will start to show its hand as we head through saturday, turning the sunshine hazy through parts of Northern Ireland where we will see outbreaks of rain before the end of play. Saturday for most of us, a fine and dry day with sunny spells, light wind and feeling warm. Youre watching bbc newsroom live. Its11am, and these are the main stories this morning the liberal democrats win the brecon and radnorshire by election leaving borisjohnsons government with a working majority of one. I will fight to keep our country in the European Union. And we now have in Parliament One more mp who will fight to make that happen. The raf are dropping hundreds of tonnes of sand and gravel onto the damaged Reservoir Dam in Whaley Bridge. Theres still a real risk that could collapse . Yes, the Structural Engineer on site is very concerned about that. Basically, the information we have had is that we have to do something here, because its not going to go away on its own. Two holiday firms, with bookings from more than 50,000 people,