Transcripts For BBCNEWS Victoria Derbyshire 20200228

Are taken advantage of and misled by housing developers, says the competitions watchdog, which now says it is taking enforcement action. Weve covered this issue for many months, speaking to leaseholders whove found themselves with unexpected hefty bills to pay and unable to sell their homes because of the issue. I had to save for that deposit, like anyone buying a freehold property would, i pay my mortgage, exactly the same as somebody that would have a freehold, but im treated like a rental tenant. Companies could be taken to court if they dont comply with new regulations. Well bring you that story at 10. 15. Theres been a massive explosion in space, the largest since the big bang. Well explain where its happened and what it means. And why is the generation of South Africans who were born free to love who they want not embracing mixed race relationships . Being in south africa now, its a bit like a cappuccino nation. So you have like, your strong black society at the bottom, and then you have your white. And then you have your little sprinkle of integration on the top. Hi. Welcome to the programme. Were live until 11 this morning. Did you buy a leasehold property and then discover it wasnt what you thought . How has it affected you . Its an issue weve covered loads on this programme, and today the competition and markets authority says its going to launch enforcement action against companies it believes have broken Consumer Protection law. Let us know your thoughts. Use the hashtag victorialive, email victoria bbc. Co. Uk, text 61124 itll cost the Standard Network rate. First annita has the news. In the last half hour its been confirmed two more patients in england have tested positive for coronavirus. Englands chief medical officer says it brings the total number of cases in the uk to 19. There are currently 17 cases in england, one in wales and one in Northern Ireland. European stock markets fell 3 when they opened this morning because of concerns about the spread of coronavirus. Asian markets have continued to slide too. Tokyos nikkei index was down 4 , its worst drop in four years. Shanghai, sydney, singapore and seoul also fell. Jet2 says it wont fly home britons who are staying in a hotel in tenerife affected by coronavirus. The airline says the holiday makers will have to stay until they have tested negative or until the incubation period has passed. Some 168 britons are among 700 guests who are in quarantine in the costa adeje palace. Its after at least four guests, including an italian doctor, were found to have coronavirus. Dozens of brits who arrived there this week were told they can return home yesterday. The competition watchdog says its found what it calls troubling evidence that people who buy Leasehold Properties are being treated unfairly. The competition and markets authority says homeowners have been taken advantage of and prospective buyers misled by housing developers. Its announced that its to take enforcement action against companies. The teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg will lead thousands of protestors in bristol later this morning. The swedish environmentalist willjoin a bristol youth strike 4 climate event and a march through the city. Police are warning that Safety Measures may not be adequate for the size of protest. 0rganisers insist they are prepared. Canada has confirmed it will stop paying for security for prince harry and meghan in the coming weeks, when they step down as senior royals. The duke and duchess of sussex will formally leave their roles on the 31 march, and have spent much of the last three months living in canada. They will no longer carry out duties on behalf of the queen, but arrangements will be reviewed after 12 months. Flood hit communities are preparing for more bad weather, this time from storm jorge. The met office says parts of wales and england could see up to 80 milimetres of rain and strong winds are forecast for tomorrow. In east yorkshire more than 60 homes were evacuated in the town of snaith and in the village of west cowick. People there have been warned the disruption could last for days. Meanwhile river levels in shropshire and worcestershire could rise again following heavy rain upstream in wales. Astronomers detect what theyre describing as the biggest known explosion in the universe since the big bang. The blast came from a supermassive black hole some 390 million light years from earth. It was detected by telescopes in western australia. The light from the explosion has been travelling for about 400 million years. Thats something to get our heads around. Back to you, joanna. Studio thank you. The impact of the spread of coronavirus is being felt across the world. Stock markets are suffering their worst week since the Global Financial crisis of 2008, several countries have confirmed their first case, including new zealand and nigeria which is the first case in sub saharan africa. The number of infected people in south korea has risen to more than 2,300 and in japan, schools have been ordered to close. There are now 19 cases of coronavirus in the uk, including the one confirmed in the last hour in wales. Health officials in Northern Ireland say they are working to identify everyone who came into contact with the latest case, understood to be a woman who had travelled from northern italy via dublin. And a professional cycling event in the United Arab Emirates has been called off part way through because two team Staff Members from italy tested positive for the coronavirus. Riders taking part in the uae tour, including britains chris froome and adam yates ,are to undergo tests. Here, the chief medical officer has warned that schools could be closed and major events cancelled if the uk is badly hit by the virus. Lets talk to Steve Forster who is in lockdown in a Tenerife Hotel where theres been a confirmed case of the virus. The virologist dr chris smith and geoff barton who leads the Teachers Union the ascl bothjpin us. Chinas. Steve, the lockdown continues . Yes. Some people who arrived on the 24th, i believe, february, have left this morning, who were travelling with tui. We have heard they have left the hotel, thatis have heard they have left the hotel, that is all we know at the moment. I have been in contact with the British Consul in tenerife who have taken our details and have told us they are liaising with the local authorities. It must be a horrible situation where you just dont know when you will be able to come back and how you stand . We flew with easyj et, and how you stand . We flew with easyjet, i called them yesterday because we were told that we could because we were told that we could be leaving on march ten, but because we dont know, we will have to cancel our flights and once we find out when we can leave we can rebook them. What is the situation in the hotel . We have been seeing pictures of people not staying in their own rooms and it sounds like not a really effective quarantine situation . When you walk down the corridor to your room, there are some rooms with a sign on the jaw where people have been confined to their rooms, and i believe there are people with Underlying Health issues 01 people with Underlying Health issues orare people with Underlying Health issues or are pregnant. Other than that, everybody is moving freely within the hotel in the grounds. People are wearing masks. That is within the building. But outside, most people are taking their masks off. Are you doing this . Outside of the hotel, yes. Are you worried . There are cases where the virus has spread without people showing symptoms . am concerned. I feel without people showing symptoms . am concerned. Ifeel i am a without people showing symptoms . am concerned. I feel i am a fairly healthy person and i think people are over estimating the dangers of it. As i understand it, the mortality rate is lower than normal flu. Whether that is right. I mean, there is so much information and gossip flying around, i dont think anybody really knows. Virology is doctor chris smith is with us. Respond to that from steve, he thinks people might be over estimating the dangers of this . Thinks people might be over estimating the dangers of thi57m is very early days, meaning our information is based on retrospective information. Large amounts of edge come from china, thatis amounts of edge come from china, that is a subset of what we know its really going on, because china filters the information and we dont really know, based on how many people have tested positive, but thatis people have tested positive, but that is a fraction of an terms of how big the real number of cases. We have information from this cruise ship in yokohama, you have a very large group of people who have been monitored, significant numbers caught the virus, which has helped confirm what we think the rate of spread is, we know it infectious and probably twice as spreadable as normal seasonal flu. It has probably twice as spreadable as normal seasonalflu. It has been interesting from the perspective of the mortality rate. We know how many people have caught the infection and how many people have subsequently died. In that group, the mortality rate was about 0. 4, 0. 5 . That does not sound much and it is probably about five times higher than the mortality rate of seasonal flu. It spreads about twice as well as the flu and kills people about five times as often as the flu, but when you ask who is dying from this, it is an equal opportunities virus when it comes to men and women but it is different when you look at the age range, because by and large people coming off worse are older people and people with pre existing health conditions. Younger people and especially children seem to be quite triply affected. What is your thought on the extreme measures being taken to contain it, and whether they are effective . We have heard from steve and others where they are effectively in lockdown, it does not seem like a very sterile environment at all, and talk of schools being shut down potentially for two months if it gets really serious here, and injapan schools are already being shut down. These viruses have got millions of years of head start over as an terms of doing what they do best, spreading. They are airborne, they can land on surfaces and you can pick them up from that, but because they spread through the air, we cant not breathe, so if you walk down a corridor and somebody has been down that corridor coughing and spluttering, you could pick up these viruses, so it is really difficult not to catch these sorts of things. The average person in society gets three orfour the average person in society gets three or four codes every winter. Nobody actively looks to catch a cold, we try to avoid that, but we still succumb and this is no different. What is the point of these extreme measures to try to contain it when theyre having, apart from anything else, a huge Economic Impact as well . The reason they have resorted to this is not to kid ourselves into thinking we will stop the virus, because we are not, but we are able to slow down the rate of spread, which is where these measures can help. Why that helps is we are still in wintertime at the moment. Hospitals, the nhs and Health Services are struggling under the burden of infections that come naturally every winter, things like the seasonal viruses become more common in wintertime, services are already stretched and there is an excess mortality in winter because people find it hard to cope, especially older people in winter. If we can slow down the rate at which the virus propagates across this country and others, we can reduce the pressure on the nhs, there will be more resources and we can cope better. But as the current rationale. It is to slow it down, rather than kid ourselves we can stop it, to learn more about whether we can find drugs, make a vaccine and enable our resources to cope better. Jeff, what is your opinion on the situation for schools . We heard from the minister for schools saying school should not be closing but there are contingency plans for if the virus were to spread any much more widespread way. To potentially close for two months . Be the biggest spread of an Infectious Disease judge michael sorry, chris, i wanted to get the thoughts ofjeff, he is from the union that represents teachers and there have been complaints that schools are getting confused with these mixed messages. I represent 19,000 also head teachers and deputy heads, our expertise is education, not help. We look to Public Health england to give us advice, i think that has been very clear and consistent but from being a head teacherfor 15 yea rs i from being a head teacherfor 15 years i know you take that and look at your own context. If you had a secondary school where maybe you had a ski trip werejo like one in middlesbrough has, with staff and student skiing in northern italy, it seems to reassure parents you should send out a message youre taking precautionary measures to close the school for a day and do a deep clea n, school for a day and do a deep clean, that probably takes the National Advice but localises it and does what you believe is right in your context. It is difficult for schools, it is concerning for pa rents schools, it is concerning for parents and kids, and particularly in exam season, not very far away. What would happen in the event of schools being closed to students, particularly doing gcses and a levels . Particularly doing gcses and alevels . It feels a bit premature to talk about that given what we have just heard, the to talk about that given what we havejust heard, the people to talk about that given what we have just heard, the people least likely to get this healthy children in adults, schools remain safe places. There is an argument for saying that whether you are in a class of 28 are responsible during your gcses or a levels, in a sports hall of 200, probably it is not a significant risk, but that is not my expertise. If we were being instructed me needed to do that, so we will, we were just a check for guidance every day, reassure parents and try to cut through 1000 pretty dramatic headlines and reassure people we are doing everything we can to keep schools as safe as they have been. Thank you, and, steve, do stay in touch and let us know what is happening in tenerife. It is having a very bad effect on the stock markets, the worst since the crash, we have been told. And what does that mean for the uk economy, given the governor of the bank of englands warning about downgrading growth forecasts this morning . Our Business Correspondent Katie Prescott is here. How bad is it . It has been quite dramatically, most of the major indices are down about 10 and it is a sign of how scared investors are about the violence and how uncertain they feel about how it could be contained. Theyre pulling out of investing in companies and stocks and moving money into safer places. We are starting to see a tangible effect of the virus in businesses. British airways have said this morning they will not be able to say how much money they will make this year because they do not know what impact the virus will have, they are already having to cancel flights and their businesses being restricted as a result. With markets crashing, Commodity Prices going up, the fear and uncertainty that you have described, we cant know how long this will go for and where it will go . No, and we have heard that from some experts. It is having a major impact on economies around the world as it spreads. China is the wells second largest economy and the wells factory, what happens there, the shutdown Economic Activity has had a Ripple Effect into other countries and supply chains have been disrupted, but as the virus spreads to other countries, if their Economic Activity has to be shut down, that will have an impact too. Thank you very much, katie. Of course, we will keep updated. The competition watchdog says its found troubling evidence that people who buy Leasehold Properties are being treated unfairly. The competition and markets authority says homeowners have been taken advantage of and prospective buyers misled by housing developers. This morning, its announced that its to take companies to court and is calling for a change in the law. Its an issue weve covered on the programme numerous times, including the story of garrii, who spoke to our reporter Colleen Harris injuly last year. I want to get out. I dont want anything to do with these freeholders. Theyve not been nice to me. Theyve come in and put me in a position where i have anxiety, my antidepressants have doubled in dosage, because sometimes ijust cant cope. Garrii bailey bought his victorian converted flat in 2006. Initially he says he was paying about £270 a year for ground rent and management fees, but when the freehold was sold to another freeholder, he received an annual Service Charge invoice for £1240. If i pay them, im going to be short on my mortgage, or short on bills. The pressure thats been put on me is absolutely horrible. The thing is, i had to save for that deposit like anyone buying a freehold property would. I pay my mortgage exactly the same as somebody that would have a freehold. But im treated like a rental tenant. That is one person affected, there are many more. Our reporterjim reed has covered this for a long time, phil is in on the background . As you said, this programme has covered this for three orfour said, this programme has covered this for three or four years now. You heard from garrii, this also affects people who have bought new build properties in particular. It is those two groups, said negroponte converted flat. They think they have in common is they bought their properties with a leasehold contract rather than freehold. Think they have in common. That means they have to pay an amount ground rent each year, when they buy the property it is normally manageable, but the problem comes when that amount suddenly shoot up. Back in happen for two reasons, in garriis eight, some sport the right to his freehold and his bills shot up from around £300 to around £1200. And sometimes buried in the small print of the contract there are things like every ten yea rs contract there are things like every ten years your ground rent will double. That might not sound dramatic but can become incredibly expensive pretty quickly and some people have found it difficult to sell their properties or remortgage, which is what the regulator is very concerned about. The regulator is talking tough, what is it sane . The competition and markets authority is the regulator in question, they have called it worrying evidence that people have been misled when sold leasehold contracts, leasehold deals. Three main reasons, when we have covered, the idea that your ground rent suddenly shoots up for various ground rent suddenly shoots up for various reasons. Ground rent suddenly shoots up for various reasons. The second one, technically you need permission from the field to alter your property, an extension, fitting new windows, Something Like that. In some cases the freeholder had said i will give you permission if you pay me x amount of money, that can be very expensive. Thirdly, technically as a leaseholder you have the ability to buy back the leasehold and make it a freehold, but in some cases it is incredibly difficult, especially if the freehold deal has been sold off, for example, by a developer to a third party, an investment company, and that is a concern that the regulator has this morning. Has there been any we action from House Builders . There been any we action from housebuilders . No, we try to contact the organisation representing House Builders. This is not just your representing House Builders. This is notjust your big developers, it can be these Financial Companies that have bought some little contracts. There are various people involved. There are various people involved. The regulator has said it is willing, and this is important, to ta ke willing, and this is important, to take direct enforcement action, so we think it will talk to some of these companies and say sort yourselves out, give these People Better deals or we could go to court. They are talking about working with the government, the regulator, to change the law to make it safer, a better dealfor some people affected. Thank you, jim. The conservative mp Peter Bottomley is chair of an all party group of mps whove been looking at the issue of leaseholder reform for many months. Thank you for coming in. It is a big step, will it solve the problem . Thank you for coming in. It is a big step, will it solve the problem7m is an inexact comparison with the anti trade slave with the anti slavery trait, not you had to deal with the slaves. Think of the people stuck with leaseholds where they are prisoners. We have the cladding prisoners who cannot sell their homes or improve them, they are the only tenants being asked to pay for everything themselves. With this you have the people with second hand doubling ground rents, not just houses but second hand doubling ground rents, notjust houses but flats, how can they be released . Notjust houses but flats, how can they be released . So i would add to they be released . So i would add to the cmajob, how they be released . So i would add to the cma job, how about ruling unreasonable some of the terms of making them void . That would make the developers wake up, landlords and freeholders. Do they have the power to do that . Yes, if a term is wheeled on fire, it is buoyed. Retrospectively void without any legislation . Yes. What they are proposing on ground rent matters, what they are proposing on forfeiture matters. You might the case of dennis jackson, who got into a dispute when he was swiftly right at the freeholder was roughly wrong, but they could take away £600,000 worth of his flat because of another court case. We intervened and got the result that the courts and the law should not allow that, parliament to act. This has been going on for ten years. The Leasehold Knowledge Partnership and the trustees are the experts, the government should have listened to them before. Before govan bible became housing minister nothing happened, and the media did not get involved until your programme did, soi involved until your programme did, so i would like to say thank you to you and all who work with you. The law needs to change, it needs to say that ground rents, if they have to exist, should be peanuts. So whether they are doubled or not is an extra bag of peanuts, it is not money. If you dont have money insult, you can save all sorts. In the retirement field, you need to have leaseholders recognise having an interest in the property, whether insurance are other things, they are a legal party. The law is feudal, out of date,it party. The law is feudal, out of date, it needs changing and i and determined with other parties to make sure it happens, but it would be lovely if the media could be consistently involved. Three you are making invitation to the head of news of the bbc, who is your reporter involved in housing, who could make a watching brief on this, because three stories and four do not echo that, people do not understand them. We have covered it for a long time and we will continue to. You obviously know there is in great detail, the people affected, you have heard evidence from them before your committees. What would you say directly to the Housing Companies and the people who own these freehold that cannot be oblivious . Some people are good and innocent, some are careless, some are greedy, some have been criminal, some i have names in the house of commons. I would say to each of them, if you have grandchildren, great nieces and nephews, when they think of you after you have gone, do they want to say that was a city crook who exploited people, a business person who did not pay or insensitive so he could make money but provide Good Services at properties . We with the other cadburys, we revere the cadburys, people who have had Good Business practices, the one of them. Thank you. Keep getting in touch if you have been affected. Thousands of people are expected to descend on bristols College Green this morning to hear the 17 year old swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg address students. Pupils from across the country will skip school to attend todays youth climate strike. It is not clear how many people will attend but police have warned that the event has grown so large that Safety Measures may prove inadequate. Our environment correspondent Claire Marshall is there at the protest in bristol with some climate strikers. What is it like this morning . There are what is it like this morning . There a re lots of what is it like this morning . There are lots of climate strikers, lots of kids already skipping school. Let me give you a picture of the scene, these guys have been having lots of fun in the mud, just look at their speech. It is turning into a festival atmosphere. Let me show you who is over here and i will take you ona who is over here and i will take you on a tour. That is the Bristol City Council building. Hello, what is your name . I am leo guilfoyle, i am 15. Why arent you in school . I think this is more important. Living on the somerset levels, when the sea levels rise, we will be the first ones to get it. I am toby, i am here today because i am also one of the ones living on the somerset levels andl ones living on the somerset levels and i think Climate Change is such a big thing in society nowadays, especially with everyone driving around in theircars, especially with everyone driving around in their cars, i think it is around in their cars, i think it is a real issue and something we are definitely going to have to tackle, and if we just ignore it then it willjust and if we just ignore it then it will just amount to and if we just ignore it then it willjust amount to bigger things happening and it will be worse. willjust amount to bigger things happening and it will be worse. I am leo. Why are you not in school . This is such a bigger issue than going to school. I know gcses are around the corner but this is so much more important. Thank you very much, a few views. We will skid over the mud and give you more of a view as we go. There has been criticism of the organisers of this. Just a few young girls, 16 year old girls have been organising this themselves, there have been some real worries that will be crushers and that kind of thing, no evidence of that at the moment. Lots of people are heading to the city, Greta Thunberg is due in about half and nobody knows quite how she will get here, there is talk of her coming on a train, even talk of her coming on a train, even talk of her coming up here on electric police car, but it is a big mystery. Transport takes up a lot of carbon and that is what she is here to talk about. My producer is pointing me in the direction of these guys, who i spoke to earlier. Where are you from . Back well. My name is jacob. I am 15. You are skipping school . This is more important. What about you . What about you . We could be in school right now studying for things we could do in the future but this is more important so we have a future to do things in. And your point of view . I think if parents we re point of view . I think if parents were not letting their kids come today, i think they should have done because its our future after all and its more important than not having one. This is our future. We all need to do what we can to make a difference. I have been asked to hand back but i willjust talk to you quickly. How do you feel . We have to fight for our future before its too late. Some voices here, there are more people coming all the time. The rain is falling with storm jorge coming this way. Studio thank you, claire. Some breaking news on the latest in coronavirus in iran, a real hotspot. There are now 34 deaths reported, 388 people effected so far. The Health Ministry spokesman has put out the latest coronavirus figures. Several members of the government have tested positive for coronavirus as well. Its having a big impact in that region. Iran are now reporting 34 deaths due to coronavirus. Universal credit is linked to an increase in Mental Health problems to those who are unemployed. Thats the main finding of a nine year study into universal credit, the first of its kind to examine the psychological impact of the benefits system which was launched in 2013 in a bid to simplify benefits payments and help more people into work. But with reports of long delays in payments and increased use of sanctions researchers from the university of liverpool suggest universal credit has negatively affected peoples Mental Health. The government says that this report doesnt prove that the poor Mental Health of clamaints is a result of the way universal credit is designed. Sarah spoor is a full time carer to two disabled sons, who says the universal Credit System has left her emotionally broken. Alex tiffin is a disabled universal credit claimant in inverness who has struggled when universal credit payments were delayed and says he attempted suicide when things were at their worst. Professor ben barr is senior author of the study from the university of liverpool, and ayaz manji is senior policy officer for the Mental Health charity mind. Welcome to all of you and thank you for joining welcome to all of you and thank you forjoining us. Welcome to all of you and thank you for joining us. Sarah, welcome to all of you and thank you forjoining us. Sarah, what difference did the introduction of universal credit have on your family financially . My oldest son went on to universal credit is about two and a half yea rs to universal credit is about two and a half years ago. We lost £2500 income with £2000 recurring. My younger one is moving on to universal credit and i will also be forced onto it when he turns 20 so i expect morelos, more stress more pressure. I expect morelos, more stress more pressure. I never expect morelos, more stress more pressure. I never used to be somebody who went to the gp and i now talk to them every week and the Mental Health nurse. Its the cumulative impact of all these issues, pip, abuse from services who withhold funding and universal credit is just another thing. I now think, my whole summer will be involved in a fight with universal credit. Thats the personal independence payments and other issues as well. The government says because this report links mental Health Issues directly with the universal credit, it sounds like it is difficult for you to put it directly at that door but it is part ofa directly at that door but it is part of a picture. That is my up and coming issue for the next few months. I have a friend working at Citizens Advice Bureau in a job centre dealing solely with universal credit and he said itjust yesterday that its driving people nuts. They dont get the first 45 weeks. They then dont get the first week. People are very vulnerable who are applying for universal credit often. He has seen an increase in sick notes from gps. When you say you go to the gp a lot, whats life like for you now . How has this pressure impacted on you . It makes me feel suicidal, often. Thats been going on for years because ive been fighting every single thing, everything a disabled person needs isa everything a disabled person needs is a fight, even to get your freedom pass renewed for my eldest son was a performance. Everything, you are having to provide evidence, and every form you fill in, for instance the universal credit form, is slightly different from the pip form. You cant do a stick and paste. So the bureaucracy is consuming you as well as having to disable sons to care for. Yes. Alex, what impact has universal credit had on you . Hello. When i initially went on you . Hello. When i initially went on to universal credit i was moved over from esa because i am disabled and have a Mental Health condition. They decided after nine years i was fit to work despite my doctor saying i was not. Because i fit to work despite my doctor saying iwas not. Because i made fit to work despite my doctor saying i was not. Because i made the mistake of taking the advance, this left me with £190 for my bills and food. I have children that i see. My Mental Health slowly started to decline because i couldnt afford to see my children, i couldnt afford to feed myself. It got to the point where i was writing in my universal credit diary, begging for help for food. They said, and i quote, food is not a reason that we would provide financial help. I thought, if they are not going to help me, who is . It broke me. I attempted on my life, and luckily i am here now, but its notjust that, its the Work Capability assessment, and i have another one of those coming up and its already starting to stress me out and cause me problems. Professor, you are the senior author of this study. To read you a statement that is fairly long from the department for work and pensions. It says the wrists research does not prove people experience distress because of the design of universal credit will stop people coming to the job centre often do so at a difficult time in their life and there is a range of support available for people with Mental Health conditions. We know the vast majority of people on universal credit are satisfied with their experience. This report might show people in an area of universal credit are showing higher levels of distress but it does not prove this is causally due to universal credit. It is likely they are experiencing distress because of external factors such as a loss ofjob, relationship breakdown or changes in the Labour Market in their area. How do you respond to that statement . Professor barr . We have heard some really harrowing stories of how universal credit and other parts of the benefit system are negatively affecting peoples Mental Health. We looked at how the standard roll out of universal credit across the country, and used it to look at whether the introduction of universal credit in an area led to an increase in Mental Health problems among people eligible for the benefit compared to people who are not. We saw a marked increase in Mental Health problems amongst the unemployed as universal credit was introduced into an area. Of course, we cant prove with complete certainty that those effects are due to universal credit, but its incredibly likely. There is no other particular explanation as to why the Mental Health of Unemployed People should suddenly get worse just at a time when universal credit is being introduced in an area. So what is your conclusion . Do you think this is enough evidence to say that universal credit needs to be looked at . I think, clearly universal credit needs to be looked at . Ithink, clearly the universal credit needs to be looked at . I think, clearly the government keeps to push forward with major welfare policies that affect millions of potentially Vulnerable People without first investigating whether they are having an adverse effect on peoples Mental Health. Crucially the first thing the government should do is to robustly assess what impact universal credit is having on peoples Mental Health. Thats before they further roll out the benefit to millions of other people. And we have a representative from the Mental Health charity mind. Whats your view of this . It sounds like there is an increase in the number of people suffering from mental Health Issues which is affecting lives. Absolutely. For us at mind, the findings of the research are not particularly surprising. They reflect what people tell us every week. We constantly hear from people who are struggling to cope with the impact of claiming universal credit and we can see some specific aspects of how universal credit works that leads to that. One of them is the five week wait for payments. We have already heard how People Struggle to cope during that time. Another is that requirements to look for work and attend job centre appointments are more intensive under universal credit, and particularly for people experiencing health problems. When people report those problems is there sympathy with those in the system dealing with them . There can be from individual members of staff but the more fundamental problem is that the system is not designed to respond to peoples needs. When people report health conditions, we still see people who can be required to turn up tojob still see people who can be required to turn up to job centre appointments, at a time in their life when they might be struggling to even leave the house. Whether or not individual Staff Members are sympathetic, Vulnerable People are being put at risk by a system that doesnt have the required safeguards in it. Thank you all forjoining us. Some breaking news from the geneva motor show, the latest casualty of the coronavirus. That has been cancelled because of concerns about coronavirus, one of the most important Auto Industry gatherings of the year. The bbc has seen an e mail being sent around saying the show will not take place. The swiss government has banned gatherings of more than 1000 people in an effort to stop the spreading of the virus. Ordinarily the show due next week would have been attended by over 600,000 visitors. This feeds into the news we have brought to you about the impact of the coronavirus on the economy with the governor of the bank of england saying growth forecasts need to be downgraded because of it. We have some comments coming on about leaseholds. John on twitter says, my cousin won a leasehold case after a ten year battle through never ending appeals. Noreen on text says she is affected by this, she owns a flat leasehold and has been slapped with a Service Charge bill for £2000 plus a £2000 repair bill for a chimney that has to be paid within the year. I am a single parent and cannot afford these charges. One anonymous text says they are a leaseholder who has had to pay more than £2000 for solicitors fees to have an adaption permission certificate for my flight andi permission certificate for my flight and i still need to pay for the work to be done. Keep sending your comments in. Its being described as the biggest explosion the universe has witnessed since the big bang itself. Scientists say they have evidence of an colossal blast five times larger than anything theyve ever detected before. It came from a super massive black hole 390 million light years from earth, and invoved an eruption of energy so powerful it made a huge dent in a cluster of galaxies. Dr Tamela Maciel is an astrophysicist at the National Space centre shejoins me now from our studio in leicester. It sounds massively significant. Can you explain in laypersons terms what it means if you can. Its incredible the impact. When scientists first got the data in and we re scientists first got the data in and were looking at the gas of dust around this cluster of galaxies they know to stay differed in the bottom bit. They thought it could be from an outburst from a black hole but its so much bigger than we have ever seen before that they initially discount it because the amount of Energy Required is colossal. Five times bigger than anything we have seen before. Recent follow up data in different wavelengths of light has shown that yes, this is from a super galaxy kind of punching its way through and sending out a jet of plasma and radiation thats millions of light years long. Plasma and radiation thats millions of light yea rs long. You plasma and radiation thats millions of light years long. You could fit 15 of our own galaxy is inside this cavity, this divot that has been carved out. Its absolutely enormous. And really interesting to discover. What can we learn from it . It definitely pushes the envelope up in terms of the power we know that supermassive black holes can have. Its not just about accumulating things. Sometimes black holes get a Bad Reputation that theyjust swallow everything in and kill stuff off but we know they can actually go through an active phase where they send out jets of through an active phase where they send outjets of material and radiation and this can stir things up radiation and this can stir things upa bit. Radiation and this can stir things up a bit. It can be beneficial and trigger new stars to form or galaxies to form in a different way that we dont fully understand. Its about understanding the sheer colossal impact that a black hole can have on its environment and that teaches us about how galaxies can form. Fascinating, and good to hear your explanation to enhance our understanding. Thank you very much. Now, south africas so called born Free Generation, which describes everyone born there after 1994, when Nelson Mandela became president , now accounts for 40 of the countrys population. And new data shows that whilst there has been an increase in interracial relationships between white people and people of colour in the country since the end of apartheid, the percentage of relationships between people of colour has increased by just 0. 1 . Megha mohan has travelled to south africa to see how free the born Free Generation of south africa really are. Do you have a thing for people of my race . Erm. During apartheid south africa you could go to jailfor dating somebody outside your race. But now, more than 25 years later, a whole generation, the born Free Generation, have grown up together. And more and more of them are falling in love with each other. And its notjust black and white. Whats it like dating between people of colour . Ithra and tumelo are a blasian couple. Tumelo is black and ithra is of mixed asian descent. The tiered levels of apartheid meant that mixed asian, indian and coloured people were often given preferences over black people, meaning the divisions werentjust black and white. Lots of people in interracial relationships, is everyone at it . Theres more non interracial relationships than interracial relationships. And friends. A lot of our friends. Yeah. In ourfriends its more interracial, but its more an indian person with a white person, not necessarily with a black person. Interracial relationships have become more commonplace injohannesburg. Although ithras grandma liked her ex white boyfriend, she has concerns about tumelo. Where she comes from theyre very much about the community, and like, the Community Knows everything. So shes very concerned about what people think. We stopped speaking about two to three months ago. Two and a half months ago, yeah. And theres been no contact . Theres been no contact, no. More than 500 kilometres south east ofjoburg, durban has the largest Indian Origin population in africa. One of the features of apartheid meant that people of different races were made to live in different areas, a segregated city planning which still exists today. Shivana did not grow up around black people, and her black boyfriend has not been welcomed by everyone. My mum, she didnt like it at all. And she proceeded to make life difficult for via text messages. What were the kind of messages that she sent . The kinds of things she said was like, that i was sullying myself by being with a person of this race. Its not what she envisioned for me. Just things along those lines. And it was purely because of his race. She didnt bother to get to know him. Durbans chatsworth market is a former indian township. But today, asian origin and black stall keepers work side by side. Have you ever dated a black woman . Not really. Do you think this community would accept it . Not many people. Have you ever dated an indian girl . No . why not . I like my nation you like . My nation. Back in joburg, tumelo introduced me to his friends. Like everyone ive talked to, theyre born after south africas first democratic elections in 1994. A generation free to love who they want, at least in practice. Hi would your parents be ok with you dating a black girl . They wouldnt love it, i think, but theyve said, yes. But theory and practice are two different things. Theyve always said, like, preferrably, stick to your culture, kind of thing. Being in south africa now, its a bit like a cappuccino nation. So you have like, your strong black society at the bottom, and then you have your white. And then you have your little sprinkle of integration on the top. 0k . So, a few people actually integrate, but a lot of the countrys very much divided. So even though were born free in this new south africa, were still quite divided, and we still have a long way to go as a country. Although ithra and her grandma havent spoken since she found out about tumelo, ithras grandma agreed to speak on camera. What were the initial worries that made the lack of contact . What were your initial fears . Ok, let me put it like that. Its a culture. Its not the colour, its the culture. Them dating a black guy or a white guy, does that make a difference . Thats being racist, actually. That is racist. No, we were very racist, im going to be honest with you, because we come from old school. And that stigmas always there, it will never go away. But its strange, when it comes to your own family, then its a different scenario. Then you have to accept, you see . And what is wrong . Like i said, its more cultural and its social, thats what it is. Yeah . Thats the rainbow nation id been told about a young blasian couple in a more rural part of south africa, who had a story that was almost unbelievabe. So i went to meet simone and bandela. Here in our area, i feel like were the only couple. Were the only couple in this area. Yeah. We are. Are there any places that you wouldnt hold hands in public . We dont even hold hands in public its like, so unromantic, we dont hold hands in public. I was so, so scared of my father, especially, that i just kept my whole pregnancy a secret from the whole family. She was scared of telling her father, im about to have a baby. With a zulu guy. I actually gave birth on my bedroom floor. And my mother was just there like, oh, my gosh shes having a baby i told my auntie, please tell my parents that ive got a baby now with an indian girl. Then my auntie told my parents. They phoned me. Theyre like, why you never told us . You see . They were like, shouting at me. But then, after two weeks time, they were with that. They were like, so when can we see the baby . And theres the baby now and theres the baby you couldnt date an indian girl, you couldnt date a white person. So i would say this shows that there is freedom now in south africa, and we are born free. If it is the born Free Generations job to dismantle the invisible barriers of apartheid, and openly challenge racism between people of colour, then a true rainbow nation is at least a generation away. You can watch the full documentary blasian love in south africa on saturday and on sunday at 21. 30 on the bbc news channel. Danielle hindley, a single mother of one from leeds. She says her life was turned upside down after the mail on sunday featured her business in an article on rogue beauticians. She says in the aftermath as well as losing customers, she lost her eyebrow and eyelash hairs because of stress, and became suicidal. In 2017 she complained to the press regulator ipso that the coverage was factually incorrect they agreed, and found in herfavor saying the article was inaccurate. Shes now in the process of settling out of court with the mail on sunday for the stress caused to her and the damage done to her business. Daniellejoins us live now from leeds. Good morning and thank you for joining us. Your dollys hair and nails was a successful business you are running from your home into rooms. What was life like before you became a National News story . You mean before the first story . It was fine. I chose to keep my business small for personal reasons. It was co mforta ble. Small for personal reasons. It was comfortable. I wasnt making loads and loads of money but i was making enough to not think about any kind of benefits. I get zero help from anyone. It was ok, it worked for me. I have three little dogs and my child. It worked for me really well. I love myjob, absolutely love my job and my clients. I had a nice life. And then a client came in who was not happy about the aftermath of a treatment. You had warned the treatment could lead to swelling. She was unhappy and complained repeatedly to you and put stuff online. It came to the attention of the mail on sunday who put out a story and suddenly everything changed for you. What happened when that story was in the paper . When that story was in the paper . When that untrue story was in the paper, it was horrific. Leading up to the story was horrific, but once it was actually published, i was just trolled by a lot of competitors in the same area. I was branded a disgrace in the village that i live in. My son was bullied at school. I didnt get out of bed for a long time. It had the obvious financial impact, but that wasnt even the worst of it. That was really bad and i was left on a lot of debt but the money wasnt really the issue. It was what it did to my Mental Health and what that then knocked on my child. My child had a mother that wasnt functioning and will never recover from that. We will never recover from that. We will never recover from that. We will never recover from the memories we have. Recover from that. We will never recoverfrom the memories we have. I tried to take my own life twice because of that article and there was no truth in it. How does that even happen . How has that been allowed to happen . Its obvious that it has impacted greatly on you and your child. You managed to keep the strength to fight it, though, didnt you, because you had to reclaim your reputation. You managed to get an apology in the newspaper through fighting through the industry watchdog. When that apology came out acknowledging the article had been false and it was on page eight of the newspaper, you then kept on fighting because it wasnt enough, so you then took legal action. What was that like . It was hard to even find someone to take on the case. I didnt really know what i was looking for when i was looking for legal representation. I was phoning around regular solicitors and they just said, no, we cant help you. Only one company said they would help me at one point and they said i had to put down a £40,000 retainer just to get started. As a single mother, even if business was going well, i couldnt afford that. But as a single mother who couldnt work because i physically couldnt get out of bed, that wasnt a possibility. When i found the lawyer that i did get, it was like, i dont know, i couldnt believe my luck, because the lawyer i did get is somebody who works with really high profile cases and he took. Not a big risk, because i made sure he had all the evidence he needed, and it was a relief, but it took a long time to even find a way. I was googling, how do you sue a newspaper. It took me a long time to find ipso and then even longer for me to find someone to do more. Thank you so much forjoining us. I hope you so much forjoining us. I hope you can get your life back on track now. The mail on sunday has given us this statement. The article was an important Public Interest investigation into the beauty and cosmetic Treatment Industry where unlicensed practitioners continue to offer procedures that are potentially dangerous and can result in women suffering lasting damage or worse. Unfortunately Danielle Hindley was wrongly identified and portrayed within the article. We have apologised to her and paid damages for the distress and loss she has suffered. Thank you for your company today. Have a good day. Bbc newsroom live is coming up next. And i will see you soon, goodbye. Good morning. Storm jorge is moving in and will bring us two parts to the weather. The first part will be the weather. The first part will be the heavier rain which has been steadily moving in already this morning and that will last into saturday and bring the risk of further flooding. The second saturday and bring the risk of furtherflooding. The second part saturday and bring the risk of further flooding. The second part is the wind, mainly over the course of the wind, mainly over the course of the weekend. As the rain moves in we have had snow this morning over northern parts of england and scotland, it will probably ease from northern england, turning to rain as the milder air comes in. Still a wet afternoon to come for many of us with maximum temperatures between ten and 12 celsius. Chillier than that in the north east, five or six. Tonight the heavy rain will continue to pile into South West England and wales and north west england, we could see 80 millimetres in the high ground of wales that will feed into the rivers. The rain clearing away over the weekend, and then the gusting us off the wind, 65, 70 five miles an hour in one or two places. Youre watching bbc newsroom live. Its11. 00am and these are the main stories this morning. The number of people with coronavirus in the uk rises to 19 as the first case in wales is confirmed. Its just been announced the Prime Minister will chair a meeting of the Cobra Emergency Committee on monday. The airlinejet2 says british people confined to a hotel in tenerife, because of the virus, may not be flown home for nearly a fortnight until they complete their quarantine. Yes, we will be leaving on tenth march, that they would be flying us home. However, i have asked for their guarantee with regards to our safety, given that we have remained in isolation and there will be other passengers on board the plane who not only have gone into the hotel grounds, but have not been following the protocols. Stock markets across the globe are suffering their worst week