we're talking about this morning — use the hashtag victoria live, and if you text, you will be charged at the standard network rate. our top story today: eu leaders are expected to formally agree to start the next phase of brexit negotiations later. talks on a transition deal could begin as early as next week. at a dinner in brussels last night, theresa may was applauded by her fellow leaders after stressing her desire for a "smooth" departure. christian fraser is in brussels for us. christian, what can we expect today? first, the thing to say is, we have all been surprised by the sort of reaction to theresa may after the defeat in the commons on wednesday night. there has been another round of goodwill, the leaders putting their arm around theresa may and seeing her as the person they want to deal with. that was reflected with the round of applause in the room last night as she set out what she wants from the future relationship. apparently there was also a drink between emmanuel macron, angela merkel, jean—claude juncker and donald tusk, they all got together for juncker and donald tusk, they all got togetherfor a drink. and there is clearly a lot of respect for theresa may as a negotiator, which tells us to make things, i think. first, they don't want someone who might be more hard might have different red lines. and it tells us that they have accepted in this building that brexit is going to happen. they want it to happen in as organised a way as is possible, and they think theresa may can deliver that. what happens next? they will talk today about the last phase, the withdrawal. they will rubber—stamp what has been agreed and what was signed up to last friday. then they will talk about the guidelines for the future relationship. we're not talking about trade. that can't happen until we leave the eu. principally, they will talk about the transition, that two—year period. and they have made it clear that although, in name, maybe britain has left the single market and the customs union, in practice they will abide by all the rules in the single market and customs union and will be under thejurisdiction market and customs union and will be under the jurisdiction of the european court. there doesn't appear to be much wriggle room on that. past that, when it comes to the summit in march, they will talk about the future relationship. it is really the framework for the relationship, what sort of relationship, what sort of relationship theresa may wants. i don't think they've had much detail from her on that, because as we know, she has not even discussed it with the cabinet. there is a lot of work to do on that and there are inconsistencies between the two sides. the mood in the building is broadly positive. christian, for now, thank you. we will catch up the christian later. let's get a summary of the rest of the day's news. the prosecuting lawyer in the trial of student accused of rape, which collapsed yesterday because of the late disclosure of evidence, has blamed the police for the mistakes. the trial of 22—year—old liam allan was halted at croydon crown court after it was revealed the police had not disclosed thousands of text messages from the alleged victim which proved liam's innocence. thejudge has called for an inquiry at the highest level. the prosecuting lawyer, jerry hayes, who uncovered those text messages has told this programme, the case could have been a huge miscarriage of justice. the metropolitan police says it will carry out an "urgent assessment" into what happened in the case. tina has been speaking to the prosecution lawyer. there will be an enquiry, no doubt. i don't think there was any malice or lie in, just pure incompetence. a lot of police officers do not know their duty of disclosure, and what he should have done, he should have examined the desk. ok, there were about 50,000 m essa 9 es desk. ok, there were about 50,000 messages on it, but that is hisjob. he should have made a note, and the reviewing lawyer should have looked at it. that didn't happen. we nearly had a very serious miscarriage of justice, where a young man's life would have been trashed. the church of england has apologised to the family of a bishop for failings in the way it investigated allegations of child abuse against him more than 50—years after his death. george bell, who died in 1958, was alleged to have repeatedly abused a young girl. she made a formal complaint in 1995 and, 10 years later, won an apology and compensation from the church. an independent review of the investigation is being published this morning. one in six parents in the uk gives their children alcohol by the age of 14, according to new research, despite medical advice that says children shouldn't drink until they are at least 15. researchers from university college london found that white, well—educated parents were most likely to have a relaxed attitude to young people drinking. philippa roxby reports. christmas can be a time of year when teenagers get to taste alcohol for the first time, but researchers found that it could be harmful in their bodies are not ready for it yet. i7% of parents have let their children drink alcohol by the age of 14. well—educated parents of white children were more likely to let their adolescent children drink than unemployed and ethnic minority pa rents. unemployed and ethnic minority parents. half of ia—year—olds said they had tried more than just a few sips of alcohol. people at a young age tend to think it is the right thing to do. obviously, it's not really the right thing to do. thing to do. obviously, it's not really the right thing to dam depends on the child, doesn't it? and how the risk —— how responsible they are. obviously, there's a limit. the study found that light or moderate drinking parents were just as likely to let their children have alcohol as heavy drinking parents. pa rents of alcohol as heavy drinking parents. parents of socially advantaged children may believe that teaching them responsible alcohol use is what they are doing, but we have no evidence to support this view. the chief medical officer recommends an alcohol free childhood, so no drinking before the age of 15, because it can be harmful to their growth and development. alcohol charity said parents needed more guidance from schools and doctors on how to talk to their children about alcohol. their advice is to set clear rules for teenagers on alcohol, and to be open and honest with them about its effects. britain's most senior military officer has warned of a new threat posed by russia to communications cables that run under the sea. the head of the defence staff, air chief marshall sir stuart peach, said britain and nato must avoid the risk of a potentially "catastrophic" effect on the economy if the cables were cut. an enquiry into child sexual abuse in australia has made more than 400 recommendations in its final report. the royal commission, which spent five years hearing evidence, said that tens of thousands of —— tens of thousands of children had been abused at institutions including churches, orphanages and schools. malcolm turnbull has paid tribute to the courage of those who came forward to give evidence. the commission has exposed a national tragedy. it is an outstanding exercise in love, and i thank the commissioners and those who had the courage to tell their stories. thank you very much. the white house says donald trump and the russian president, vladimir putin, have discussed working together to resolve the crisis over north korea's nuclear programme. meanwhile, the most senior un official to visit north korea for six years told the bbc, pyongyang should re—open communication channels with south korea, which were suspended in 2009. ryanair has rya nair has invited ryanair has invited pilot unions across the eu to discussions. it said that christmas flights were important to its customers and they wa nted important to its customers and they wanted to remove any worry that they might be disrupted by this and industrial action. ryanair might be disrupted by this and industrialaction. ryanairsaid might be disrupted by this and industrial action. ryanair said it would change its policy on recognising unions to avoid disruption in the run—up to christmas. 9 million adults in the uk are chronically lonely, according to the commission set up by the mpjo cox before her murder. it says that loneliness is as harmful to help a smoking 15 cigarettes a day and calls for a government led national strategy to address the problem. danny savage reports. you can't catch me. in the months before she was murdered, jo cox started a campaign to tackle loneliness. you can't catch me. in the months before she was murdered, jo cox started a campaign to tackle loneliness. she said she didn't want to live in a country where thousands of people live lonely lives forgotten by the rest of us. the campaign carried on in her name and has now concluded we'll have to do our bit to combat loneliness. susan spent months feeling isolated and desperate, but things improved hugely when the royal voluntary service intervened. i was really alone, i was depressed, i tried to take my own life. really bad. in a lot of pain. if it wasn't for these people, all these people that's helping me now, i wouldn't be here. and i appreciate everything that people have done for me. it's not always obvious to people that they might be lonely or in need of some companionship. and what we offer isn't somebody to come in and talk at people. what we are doing is saying to people, would you like to be part of something where you meet somebody, you get to know them, they get to know you and you create a friendship? thejo cox loneliness commission has concluded that government and employers can do their bit to deal with loneliness but that individuals and communities arejust as important in preventing isolation. danny savage, bbc news, west yorkshire. this programme understands that no police were stationed inside this year's v festival in essex because of a dispute over money. organisers submitted a request for police services at a cost of £100,000 but an agreement on the level of policing and money couldn't be reached. it's thought the organisers of the event spent 138 thousand pounds on policing the previous year. around 50 thousand people attend the festival. ‘youthquake' has been named 2017's word of the year by the oxford english dictionary. defined as a "significant cultural, political, or social change arising from the actions or influence of young people". the labour leaderjeremy corbyn's engagement with the youth, in the run up to the general election which saw the number of young people voting increasing significantly is seen an example of a youthquake. the word was first used by the editor of vogue magazine in the 19605 to describe how youth culture was changing fashion and music. that's a summary of the latest bbc news — more at 9:30. lets get some sport now withjohn watson. for people who are just waking up, what can you tell us about the ashes and how england are doing? it is fair to say that australia will be the happier of the two teams. a short while ago, they we re two teams. a short while ago, they were 173—2, which means they trail england by 230 runs. england were all out for 403. jonny bairstow resumed on 75 not out, and went on to move past 100. that was a huge relief for him, as you can imagine, after a number of batsmen have failed to register big scores so far in this series. delighted, as you can see. after the head—butting incident at the start of the series that he was involved in. dawood mallon... the that he was involved in. dawood mallon. .. the wickets that he was involved in. dawood mallon... the wickets started to tumble then. england were all out for 403. in reply, tumble then. england were all out for403. in reply, craig tumble then. england were all out for 403. in reply, craig overton making an early breakthrough. captain steve smith, as we are seeing here, has played superbly, and it's his performance that has pulled australia back into it after that big english scorer in the first innings. he is on 74, so closing in on his century as well. i think that england will feel that because they did not take a wicket in that last session, it is australia who are on top of the match at the moment. some australia the happier of the two teams, obviously. yes, and i think that's crucial. with two matches remaining, england know that if they lose this test, it is all over. they need a draw, if anything. they had put that big score on the board, which will help, but not taking a wicket in that last session will leave them frustrated, and joe root will know that that wicket could be crucial. if they had got steve smith, that would have made a difference, but australia have the momentum. the way the series is placed, england can't afford to lose key sessions, and it is fair to say that they have done that today. my mentor with australia heading into day three, and england's bowlers have a lot of work to do going into that. for now, thank you. we will catch up with you again a little later. sexual health is probably the last thing you discuss with your friends, and public health england say that's the problem. according to new research the topic is still as difficult as ever to talk about. of the 2,00016—24 year olds they spoke to, 56% of men said they found it difficult to talk about stis with friends for women it was 43% 58% of either sex said if they had an sti they would find it hard to tell their partner. but with cuts happening across sexual health, how easy is staying safe and getting treated? one couple shared intimate details of their stis with the bbc. so, i'd had chlamydia previously, so i was familiar with the symptoms. so when i started, when they started appearing, i... initially, i actually thought it was a bladder infection, but that was more wishful thinking, i suppose. so when i got the symptoms, i went to the doctors with an open mind, i suppose. i explained what it was that i was feeling, and we did some tests. i didn't have any symptoms. ijust found out when he actually told me that he had chlamydia. that's quite typical, i think, in men and women. women often don't show any symptoms. because of that, there wasn't a whole lot of blame, it was morejust... just a kind of worry for each other. we just decided to get on and deal with it. let's talk now to dr sara kayat. she's a gp that does around five sti checks a day. noah ross is an 18—year—old college student who contracted chlamydia last year. sophie lane is a university student, who thinks the stigma around wearing condoms needs to change. welcome to the programme. sophie, why do you think young people in 2017 still find it difficult to talk about six? i think people tend to talk about it but nobody wants to discuss the nitty gritty things that are perceived as embarrassing and so people tend to shy away from the topic, i think. it is people tend to shy away from the topic, ithink. it is not prioritised enough, in our country, it is, but in our countries, it is not talked about at a young enough age so when they are learning about this and getting involved, they do not know what they are doing wrong, they might have a misconception of it. you went to school in dubai, what was that like, did you have any conversations at school about sexual health and being safe? unfortunately, not really. for me, i was taught a lot about that from family, but a lot of my friends did not have someone like that to talk to and our school did not offer much in terms of education for sexual health. when you say not really, does that mean it was non—existent? almost, yes, it was a taboo topic because sex outside of weblog is illegal. what impact did that have your classmates? you are having that conversation with your family, what about them ? conversation with your family, what about them? i feel sorry for a lot of my friends because they were almost unprepared when it got to that age. they did not know exactly what they were doing. when it comes to that, the best thing is to be safe and to be educated. let's talk about what we're hearing today, the statistic that 50% of young people will not use protection when sleeping with a new partner very first time does that surprise you? not really. i think the stigma behind condom use is that it is not as fun, it doesn't feel as good. it is boring and things. so i think if people started to recognise that actually, it is not cool to get stis and it is cool to use condom is, because that way you are protected, people. using it a bit more. and both of you, you are part of that demographic, which 50% do you fall into, the half that would or would not? i have quite a liberal friendship group. me and my family are very open. so i am able to talk about it. a couple my who have contracted stis have spoken about it openly with me and our friendship group. the doctor now, what is your response to what we are hearing today? it is really shocking to hear such a large number of people not using condoms. primarily, people use them to avoid pregnancy and not necessarily think about stis. it is so necessarily think about stis. it is so important that this campaign reaches a wider audience to try and get everyone talking about stis and sex and how to do it safely. what are the risks? the risks of stis can have significant consequences in the future. they can be infertility, some people can develop types of arthritis, pelvic inflammatory disease, a numberof arthritis, pelvic inflammatory disease, a number of consequences need to be thought about. why is it important to diagnose those stis early? you do around five checks a day. you want to get it early because it is treatable early. also, because it is treatable early. also, because you are stopping other people getting it. so it stops the snowballing effect. what about this idea that it is difficult, which is understandable, difficult to tell a partner if you have an sti? of course it is. for those confident in themselves and with their partner, it is great to have that open relationship, to talk about those things without blame. but for those that are going to struggle, to beat your health care professional. people like myself, people in sexual health clinics, they can do what we call contact tracing, where we contact partners anonymously for them so that they are able to know they might be at risk of stis. and it is about the blame culture as well. if you are telling their partner, previous partner, you may have parted on bad news, telling them there is a risk they may have an sti is not easy so the anonymous way is slightly scary, but better than nothing. yes, it might sound scary to receive a letter like that, but most of us would rather receive that and find out and never know and potentially get these horrible risks. how regularly would you both have checks? if at all. i get checked every time i sleep with somebody. yes, presley, exactly the same. i have got a long—term girlfriend at the moment and i do haveit girlfriend at the moment and i do have it roughly every three months, igoto have it roughly every three months, i go to the sexual health clinic. what does sti testing involved for people who have never been tested? it depends on the sti we are looking for, most of them, it is a swab. and we can also do ur tests. so it can be as quick as just a wee we can also do ur tests. so it can be as quick asjust a wee in a bottle. easy to do and important. let's know what you think. if you are part of the half but would not use a condom or protection, when having sex with your partner for the first time, let's know. if you have been checked for an sti or have had chlamydia or any stis, let's know what happened. thank you to everybody who has been in touch about our special programme. on the grenfell fire tragedy from st paul's cathedral yesterday. harry said, "it reminded me of your excellent your coverage of the immediate aftermath, the later situation, and how residents feel today and how your programme has genuine empathy with the displaced residents." well, one story which we couldn't bring you yesterday really illustrates the resilience of the grenfell community. dale youth, the amateur boxing club of champion title—holders like james degale and george groves, was located in grenfell tower. six months on, rhia chohan went to meet its members. the night before the fire, we were actually training in our gym, which was in the tower block. we finished here about 9:45, 10 o'clock, then i had a phone call, quarter to five in the morning, from one of the trainers who trains with me, saying that, "i drove by the tower block and it's all in flames and smoke," he said, "it's terrible." i said, "you've got to be laughing, jamie," you know, "we only came out there..." he said, "mick, put your television on and have a look." it was just horrendous. dale youth was a focal point for this community, and it's used to producing champions. it was located in the lower floors of grenfell tower. they relocated from newly refurbished facilities to a converted car park nearby, with no heating and only basic kit. and they could be there for the next two years. it makes you feel very sad because, obviously, first, died in there and their families you've got to think of. obviously, we lost a brand—new gym out of it but, as i say, we can get over that, the gym, because we've got all the lads that were in the new gym back now with us. life's got to go on, and these lads want to box. the gym's been around fora very long... there's lots of boxers round here, lots of champions. there's great coaches around me, so i don't think i'll ever stop. despite everything, the club is still thriving. we started back six weeks after the fire, we've already had four national champions this year. we're both brothers, we both fought in the under—ten novices, we both won. we're still here training. it goes to show that trainers are putting the work in. they're not letting all these bad things, negative things, put the boxers down. it's helping each other, pushing each other, and we're getting the results. there'll be nothing stopping this club, though, because boys who box, it's in their blood to box, you know? as long as we've got even a small shed with a couple of bags in, we'lljust carry on. mick and his club aren't going anywhere, and, like the people of grenfell, they're still fighting. head coach of dale youth boxing club. still to come on the programme. . . a group of people with cystic fibrosis have released a charity christmas single, despite their condition meaning they are not able to meet each other in person. 9 million adults in the uk, evidence that chronic loneliness is as damaging to health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day. we will ask what can be done about it. time for the latest news — here's annita. the bbc news headlines this morning... eu leaders are expected to formally agree to start the next phase of brexit negotiations later. talks on a transition deal could begin as early as next week. at a dinner in brussels last night, theresa may was applauded by her fellow leaders after stressing her desire for a "smooth" departure. ajudge has called a judge has called for an ajudge has called for an enquiry after a student was cleared of rape when police failed to disclose evidence casting doubt on the case. 22—year—old leah mallon spent two yea rs on 22—year—old leah mallon spent two years on bail before his trial at croydon crown court was halted when it was revealed his accuser said the m essa g es it was revealed his accuser said the messages expressing fantasies about violent sex. prosecuting lawyer jerry hayes told the programme this information did not come to light until he's pacific we asked police to give the defence team a list of the women's phone messages. one in six parents in the uk gives their children alcohol by the age of 14 according to new research, despite medical research that says children should not drink until they are a year older. researchers from university college london bound bright and well educated parents we re bright and well educated parents were most likely to have a relaxed attitude to young people drinking. an inquiry into child sexual abuse in australia has made more than 400 recommendations in its final report. the royal commission, which spent five years hearing evidence, said tens of thousands of children had been assaulted at more than 4,000 institutions including churches, orphanages and schools. prime minister malcolm turnbull has paid tribute to those who came forward to give evidence. ryanair has invited pilot unions across europe for talks on their recognition in a bid to stop the first pilot strike in history. the irish no—frills airline said christmas flights were very important to customers and it wanted to re m ove important to customers and it wanted to remove worry they may be disrupted by industrial action. ryanair has disrupted by industrial action. rya nair has never disrupted by industrial action. ryanair has never recognised unions, but it said it would change this policy in order to avoid disruption in the run—up to christmas. 9 million adults in the uk are chronically lonely, according to a commission set up by the mpjo cox before her murder. it says loneliness is as harmful to health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day and it calls for a government led national strategy to address the problem. that is a summary of the latest bbc news. here's some sport now. isaid i said england isaid england had not i said england had not made a breakthrough in the last session of the day and a two of the third ashes test in perth, but they have at last. they would have preferred to ta ke last. they would have preferred to take the captain steve smith who has wrestled back the momentum towards australia. they were 180—3 short while ago so they are trailing by 123 after england made 403 in their first innings. so a key wicket. after wringing his eighth wimbledon title, perhaps surprisingly, not surprisingly the fed has been named the bbc sports personality for the 40 ina the bbc sports personality for the 40 in a row, only muhammad ali and usain bolt have won the award times previously. hereford last week but last night, they take on leicester in the next round so we will see a return orjamie vardy to his former club. and despite being caught napping between frames, he would have thought that? unbelievable from ronnie o'sullivan, but he is awake enough to make it through to the quarterfinals. that is the sport, i will be back later. a group of people with cystic fibrosis have overcome a huge hurdle to release a charity christmas single. people with the condition cannot meet each other face—to—face, as physical contact can cause dangerous bacteria to be passed between them. despite this, a group of them decided to form a choir. here's their story. # this is the sound of one voice. # one spirit, one voice. # the sound of one... what's unusual about this choir is because all of the members have cystic fibrosis, we're not allowed to be in the same room at the same time, and if we did there could be really, really serious consequences and we could become really ill. # i've got cystic fibrosis. # every time i laugh there's a high chance i'll pee. # and i have very low vitamin a + e + d... my name's charles michael duke, i'm 22 and i have cystic fibrosis, and i'm currently waiting for a double lung transplant. it is isolating, being unable to meet others with cystic fibrosis face—to—face. my life currently is based a lot around cf and organ donation, but i do still love to sing. i don't know what i'd write about if i didn't have cf, to be honest. probably boring stuff like bills to pay and women that don't treat me right. is that what people write about nowadays? i don't really know. i got the idea of the virtual choir from thinking about how i could bring us all together even though we're not actually allowed to physically be together. they're the only other people in the world who know exactly what you're going through, and it is difficult to not be able to meet. it has been a bit of a logistical nightmare to co—ordinate it. the person with cystic fibrosis arrives, they record their section of the song on their own in the booth, and they have a two—hour slot to do that in, and then the producers have to clean the studio really thoroughly and wipe any surface down the person with cf has touched, and the studio has to be aired out, and there has to be two hours in—between each person with cystic fibrosis leaving the studio and the next person arriving so that it's nice and clean and safe and ready for the next person to come in and record their bit. # this is the sound of one voice. # one spirit, one voice... one of the reasons i took it on is obviously they are very aware that i have cf and that i'm waiting for a transplant, so the whole singing thing is, if you want to sing it a few words at a time, we'll sing it a few words at a time. # this is the sound of one voice... it was really beautiful to be singing with other people with cystic fibrosis. it was really lovely, and there's a particular line in the song that was, "helping each other to make it through," and that was really emotive. it was really cool that we've found a way to sing together even though we shouldn't be able to sing together, but we've managed to do it. # this is the sound of one voice. # one spirit, one voice. # the sound of one who makes a choice... i think it's weird that this is the closest i'll be to everyone, but we're doing it in the best way and the safest way we can, and i think it kind of still achieves what a choir is — a group of people coming together and making a wonderful sound. # this is the sound of all of us. # oooh—oooh...#. we can speak now to bianca maguire, who you saw there in that film — bianca has cystic fibrosis — and whose idea it was to form a cystic fibrosis choir. also here is james hawkins, the music producer behind the album, which is called ‘stand together‘ — and includes tracks from a number of other charity choirs. it's good to see you here. you have a lovely boys. thank you. when did you come up with the idea to form a cystic fibrosis choir in the first place? i was trying to get it off the ground for a few years, 45 yea rs, the ground for a few years, 45 years, andi the ground for a few years, 45 years, and i wanted to a way to share the fact that singing has helped me, both emotionally, and i feel it has helped to keep my lungs healthy, to share that with other people who have cystic fibrosis and to find a way of bringing us together and breaking down that barrier of not being able to meet in person. one of the most striking things about the condition is that cross infection, so two people with richard never meet face—to—face, which i had no idea about. yeah, lots of people don't know. some people do choose to meet face—to—face. it is a personal choice, but it can be incredibly dangerous, so we do try not to. when we go to hospital, clinics, they have a very tight schedule to keep to to make sure we don't come in contact with each other. how isolating is that for you, then? because you obviously want to speak to other people who are sharing similar experiences to you. what's it like? yeah, i actually was never really close to anyone with cystic fibrosis growing up, but over the last two years, i become incredibly close a couple of people. one girl, victoria, who is on the track as well, is one of my best friends, and well, is one of my best friends, and we co nta ct well, is one of my best friends, and we contact each other at least weekly. it's heartbreaking that we can't meet up in person, because she is one of my best friends, and i suppose it's similar to having a pen pal, ina suppose it's similar to having a pen pal, in a way, but it's a shame we can't see each other in person, because they're the only people in the world to know what you're going to and how it feels. what impact as it had on your life? i know you say this has helped you — what is it like living with cystic fibrosis?m fluctuates. some days, i can be fine, and other days, i can wake up and my chest is really bad. i also have cystic fibrosis— related diabetes, which affects the pancreas as well, so i can't digest my food properly. because it's an invisible condition, unless you are very poorly and on oxygen, people can't tell, which is a blessing and a curse in equal measure, i think. they can't tell that you have this disability. you are part of the reason this album has happened in the first place — how did you first get involved? it is a project that was already happening, which claire cook and i set up early in the year. the idea wasjoining a choir together with the song to get across a specific message about what the charity do, or something like the cystic fibrosis choir, where we're explaining cross contamination and people not being able to be together. it has been a fascinating journey, and it has been great to be able to make situations like this actually easy to understand, and using a choir in this instance has been the best way to describe the fa ct been the best way to describe the fact that these people can't actually be together in the same room. what were the biggest challenges for you? as we saw in the film, the studio has to be deep cleaned before the next person comes in — that must‘ve been tough. cleaned before the next person comes in — that must've been toughm cleaned before the next person comes in - that must've been tough. it was great fun, but we wanted to be sure that everyone was safe, so studio had to undergo the wiping down of surfaces every time someone came in, the fans were on to ventilate the room. we cleaned all the services, maybe a little over the top. room. we cleaned all the services, maybe a little over the toplj room. we cleaned all the services, maybe a little over the top. i have recorded in a studio where it is not so fresh and clean before! there was no dust anywhere. they did a very good job. what kind of feedback have you had from other people who have taken part? everybody feels very much connected as part of the community. choirs create that kind of family spirit, and people have made friendships and bonds that would never have happened without the project. tell me about the other choirs you brought together for the album. we had a missing person's choir. we had them on not long ago. their experience through singing together echoes through the other choirs. it is for people who have children or loved ones who have gone missing and it is an opportunity for them to come together and sing as a form of therapy. you can feel very isolated and on your own, and choirs bridge that gap. it is not directly talking about anything like that, it'sjust talking about anything like that, it's just unspoken, and talking about anything like that, it'sjust unspoken, and you build that bond. i think musicjust does that bond. i think musicjust does that for you. it's very therapeutic. what is it about singing in particular, because there are lots of different forms of therapy, so what is it about singing? there's something about it that is really good for your psyche, and being part of making that beautiful noise, and the harmonies. so, for me, i didn't get to feel that until i heard the finished track. when i did, it was like, wow. this idea i had so long ago has finally come together, and it sounds so beautiful and i am proud of it. it'sjust it sounds so beautiful and i am proud of it. it's just a it sounds so beautiful and i am proud of it. it'sjust a great feeling, i guess, when you have any condition, or you are affected by something to do with any other charities, that you can feel a bit hopeless. but this is doing something to help, doing something positive out of a bad situation. something to help, doing something positive out of a bad situationm is such a lovely story. thank you both for coming in to talk about it. ajudge ina ajudge in a rape a judge in a rape trial ajudge in a rape trial has a judge in a rape trial has found that vital evidence was not put forward. the failure of the crown prosecution service and metropolitan police to release phone evidence only came to light when senior prosecuting barristerjerry hayes was given the brief and ask for more information. we can talk to him live now. thank you forjoining us. can you tell us exactly what happened? it was this: this was a very serious multiple rape case. the woman, the person who made the allegations, had given her evidence. the defence counsel said, have you got a disc of the downloads from her telephone? i said, i haven't seen it, cps haven't seen it. i spoke to the officer responsible for disclosure, and i said, have you got it? and he said he had. he said it could not be disclosed, and i asked why. he said it is personal matters. i said, is there anything on that desk which could undermine the prosecution case or assist the defence? he said no, but i wasn't happy about that. i said that that i thought the defence should have at this. we adjourn for a day. the defence sought information which completely blew the prosecution case out of the window. if they hadn't had that disclosure, this young man would have been sent to prison for 12 yea rs have been sent to prison for 12 years and would have been on the sex offenders register for the rest of his life, with precious little chance of an appeal. so, this was a massive, massive miscarriage of justice which, thank heavens, was avoided. and why do you think that the police repeatedly insisted that there was nothing of interest for there was nothing of interest for the prosecution or the defence?” don't think they had looked at it properly. there were 2400 pages and about 50,000 texts. i don't think they had looked at it. of course, police officers sometimes don't understand that it is their duty to review these matters then report it to the cps. then a cps lawyer will get on dalek —— will get in contact with me and we will decide what to do. that is not lying or misleading, it is just do. that is not lying or misleading, it isjust sheer do. that is not lying or misleading, it is just sheer incompetence, i'm afraid. we also heard that to save costs, material wasn't always handed to defence lawyers — what is your response to that? i'm not entirely sure about that. you have to understand that the cps and the police, and all of us in the criminal justice system, and the police, and all of us in the criminaljustice system, are under tremendous pressure because we're running out of money. this is a system which is notjust creaking, it is about to croak. if we have any more treasury cutbacks, there will be more cases like this, except they won't come before people like you. the defendant has said he is not ready to do interviews yet, but he has said he's so grateful to you. can you tell us about the the tribal collapsed? i gave him advice. as soon as i asked for the jury to be discharged and we had the information available, i wanted that boy to know that there should be no further evidence given. obviously, he was happy, but this has been hanging over his head for two years. a young man of good character, he could have had his life totally trashed. that was awfully wrong. how concerned are you that this could be happening in other cases? concerned are you that this could be happening in other cases7m concerned are you that this could be happening in other cases? it has happened in other cases. i had a similar case and happened in other cases. i had a similarcase andi happened in other cases. i had a similar case and i wrote a piece in the times a few months ago. it was a firearms case. there was a streamlined report, a miniature report, saying that the guy's dna was found on the magazine of the gun. when we looked at the report, it was not on it. the more the cuts come to this service, the more possibilities miscarriage ofjustice will come. and it is unacceptable. jerry hayes, thank you for talking to us. loneliness is as harmful to health as obesity or smoking 15 cigarettes a day — that's according to a report published today, which also says that over nine million adults are often or always lonely. the report comes from thejo cox loneliness commission — a cross—party group set up by the mp jo cox before her murder in june 2016. with us in the studio are two people who have struggled with isolation — becca maberely, who struggled with loneliness as a new mum and then started an online community "a mother place", to help others. and meg mclean, who is being supported by lois muddiman to help overcome her loneliness. also from leeds, we have conservative mp seema kennedy and labour mp rachel reeves. you find the time after you gave birth to be very isolating, what happened? for me, it was a big shift that nobody warned me about, going from having a busy professional life and a social life to suddenly being at home all day every day with a baby who, although my son was much wa nted baby who, although my son was much wanted and loved, babies do not give a lot back. they don't do much rather than triple and we and suddenly being home alone without the adult interaction you are used to commit really isolating. and no matter how supportive your family and friends are, i had lots of great friends and family around, but i i still just felt lonely and isolated. and when you are going through that, would you have described it as loneliness? perhaps not, iwas would you have described it as loneliness? perhaps not, i was not quite sure how to identify what i was feeling. it was the station as well, i think. was feeling. it was the station as well, ithink. yes, ithink was feeling. it was the station as well, i think. yes, i think perhaps admitting you are lonely or admitting you are lonely or admitting you are struggling is difficult if you're used to just sort of being happy and leading a good life. can you describe what it is like, what it feels like when you are living an isolated life, neg?m is incredibly hard to describe. especially if you have gone from a busy life once upon a time to then feeling so isolated. you get frightened if you get attention. if you do go out. because you get scared because you know it is not going to last forever, it is only a short period of time. but you know you are going to go back to being, becoming an agoraphobic. you get scared you don't want to go out because you're scared of going back. because you go back to being on your own. was it gradual, or did itjust happened one day? it was a gradual build—up. toa happened one day? it was a gradual build—up. to a terrible situation for myself. i had a stillborn child. and my life changed massively. and...| and my life changed massively. and... ijust and my life changed massively. and... i just ended and my life changed massively. and... ijust ended up on the streets of oxford. you are homeless for a streets of oxford. you are homeless fora time? streets of oxford. you are homeless for a time? yes, streets of oxford. you are homeless fora time? yes, nearly streets of oxford. you are homeless for a time? yes, nearly six years. what helped you to turn your life around? determination. getting involved with organisations that lewis is involved in. and they bring your self—confidence back. and building up self—confidence. it is very, very difficult. when did you first meet and how did you first start working with meg?” first meet and how did you first start working with meg? i were for oxford computer consultants and we have a website recruit volunteers to meet and befriend people like meg. one of our volunteers goes to visit meg once a fortnight. and he really likes walking dogs and meg has two dogs she finds it difficult to exercise so the relationship works really well. and i meet meg once a week in oxford centre, we meet for a coffee and a chat on a wednesday morning. that is lovely. what is your response to what we're hearing today, that loneliness can be as bad as or smoking? personally, i am a smoker. i would love to give that up. and that is something that i am sure i would be able to do if i really thought about it. but the loneliness, you just can't describe it. you feel like an alien. a complete alien. it doesn't matter if somebody says, oh, you look really good today, you look really well. on the outside, it is not that, it is on the inside and it is not recognised enough. there is not enough help for people. i felt so suicidal, so many times, which is an awful thing to say because i have had a lot of it in my family. and i feel guilty for saying that. you do, you just don't know who to talk to. let's bring in our mps. rachel reeves. and seema kennedy, you are listening to meg and it is heartbreaking. if loneliness is as obesity and smoking and could lead to premature death, why has the government not done more?” to premature death, why has the government not done more? i think it is something people are waking up to and people used to think it was normalfor and people used to think it was normal for everybody to have good mental health and now we recognise many people struggle with mental health and in some ways, loneliness is similarto health and in some ways, loneliness is similar to that. jo cox understood it and she saw it. but i think as a society, it is something we are beginning to recognise. i hope the work we have done with the jo cox commission this year has shed a spotlight on loneliness and how it affects the everybody at different times of their life. meg's story very powerful, but there are many stories from people in all communities and from all walks of life who are struggling with the unbearable pain they have described loneliness. seema kenedy, can you sum up yourfindings and recommendations? what we would like to see, we would like a national strategy on loneliness. what we are recognising, it is a problem the government needs to act on as well as civic leaders, local government and all of us. what we want government to do is what government does well. things like measuring loneliness. until now, there has been measures of loneliness and isolation in older people, but as meg's story tells us and the other people we will be hearing from i am sure, it can strike any any community. looking at the interventions and the schemes which do take place like the befriending in oxford, which ones are really effective? the government needs to plot a bit of money into that to research what works and how we can replicate that in other parts of the country. and who do you think should be held accountable if those measures are not put in place, rachel reeves? in our manifesto we are publishing today in batley, we are publishing today in batley, we are calling for the government's, the governor to appoint a minister to ta ke the governor to appoint a minister to take forward a strategy of loneliness. a ministerfor loneliness? yes, we do not have one of those today and it needs to be across departments and the department of health, because of the health effects of loneliness we are hearing about, but also, for communities and local government. this is something that touches all parts of government and so we want a minister to coordinate that response, to measure loneliness, as seema says, and put in interventions and measures so there are fewer than 9 million struggling with loneliness next year and viewer the year after. this is not something the godman can do alone, it relies on human scale, step—by—step actions of everybody and single person watching today will know somebody, if they are honest, in their lives, on their street, a family or a friend, struggling with loneliness, especially coming up to christmas. the godman needs to play its role and some do we. i often say if we all live our lives a bit more like jo cox with tears, the world would bea jo cox with tears, the world would be a kinder and a lot of us lonely place. it certainly would be. why is this such a widespread societal problem from the work you have been doing, seema? people have always been lonely, it is something we have recognised over the ages. but as we get more of an ageing society, more people living on their own, and among younger people, the rise of social media is a big driver for this. i am in social media is a big driver for this. lam in my social media is a big driver for this. i am in my mid—40s and if i wanted to see my friends after school, i had to go out and have human contact with them. and we have not evolved that much. we need that heartbeat of another human. sitting in your bedroom with a phone, it could introduce you to somebody, but you need to make that face—to—face contact. that is why it is becoming more of a problem. and also, the bravery of somebody like jo, who spoke about her loneliness when she we nt spoke about her loneliness when she went to university, the bravery of people like meg who have said, i had been lonely in my life. even the duchess of cambridge talked about how she was lonely as a new mother, and that is shifting the conversation and i all so proud of as parliamentarians to carry on this important work in jo's as parliamentarians to carry on this important work injo's name. as parliamentarians to carry on this important work in jo's name. this requires resources as well as talk, how much money needs to deal with this problem affecting 9 million people in the uk, rachel? we are asking government to put money in and fund schemes. we have seen fantastic and fund schemes. we have seen fa ntastic stuff and fund schemes. we have seen fantastic stuff over the year and in my own constituency, the work of helping the hands, and a copy ca rava n helping the hands, and a copy caravan goes to villages in suffolk and places people together. although the things happening. in seema's constituency in lancashire, there is a veterans cafe. we need to measure what works and ensure that people can what works and ensure that people ca n a ccess what works and ensure that people can access things in all parts of the country. we are not putting a e to it, we want the government to respond to our manifesto and come forward with a strategy and money to help tackle this issue. whatever government does, it will not be enough. because at the end of the day, to tackle loneliness, we need all of us to live our lives a little bit differently, to make time for others, but other people first and ta ke others, but other people first and take this time over christmas to perhaps not on somebody‘s door and to find somebody up and go and visit a relative or neighbour and put other people first and live your life it was a bit more likejo cox. thank you both. just quickly, your response. loneliness, that the government strategy, what you make of what you have just heard? government strategy, what you make of what you have just heard ?m would be a great idea. loneliness does not just affect would be a great idea. loneliness does notjust affect people like meg and me, there is everyone in between. having somebody to coordinate and encourage people to do more, i think, could coordinate and encourage people to do more, ithink, could be coordinate and encourage people to do more, i think, could be really important. i think there needs to be an awful lot more out there to let lonely people realise that they are not on their own. because loneliness, you isolated. so you do not believe somebody else feels the same way as you. as we know, there are 9 million people. more information, we are going to print brochures, i can put them in my local church. where i live, i know there are a lot of elderly people. people lonely. and if they see it advertised that there are places you can go, it will encourage people to go out. thank you for coming in and sharing your stories. let's get the latest weather update. we have still got snow on the ground in places, so for some of us this morning, it was a bit slippery. in telford, the snow is still on the ground from last week. many waking up ground from last week. many waking up with sunshine. and most of us today will have a dry and a bright day. noticeably colder because we have aircoming in day. noticeably colder because we have air coming in from the arctic with the isobars. weatherfronts have air coming in from the arctic with the isobars. weather fronts on that northerly wind bringing in showers this morning. some of those they bit wintry over the higher ground of scotland through the north yorkshire moors and north pennines. into the afternoon, eastern areas have some showers. more showers into the far north and north west of scotland. for most of scotland, it is dry and sunny this afternoon and northern ireland and much of northern ireland and much of northern england. heavy showers this morning lightening into the afternoon. showers around pembrokeshire in cornwall, but for much of wales and the south—west, into the midlands, it is looking sunny. showers continuing across the far east of england. these are the temperatures on the thermometer, 46 degrees, and it will feel colder with the northerly wind. this evening and night, with clear skies, temperatures falling away pretty quickly and we expect a widespread frost to develop into saturday morning. temperatures in towns and cities at or below freezing. in the countryside, if you degrees lower. boring saturday morning, we still have this cold area from the arctic. over the weekend, noticed the orange, the mild air spreading over the weekend, noticed the orange, the mild airspreading in from the south and west. with that, more cloud and rain. for the weekend, saturday morning, rather cold and frosty start with sunshine, but more cloud developing in northern ireland in the north west england, wales and the midlands. elsewhere, around that, some sunshine and quite cold in places, temperatures two or three degrees u nless temperatures two or three degrees unless colder towards the south—west because the wind changes. wind coming in from the south and west and with that, these weather systems moving into the north west. during sunday, a very different data saturday. what's more cloud around, heavy rain at at times, turning much milder as temperatures for many go up milder as temperatures for many go up into double figures. and we keep the mild airas up into double figures. and we keep the mild air as we go into the beginning of next week. quite cloudy for much of next week, mist and fog patches could be a problem. lots of dry weather around, although not ruling out some rain at at times. that is it. it's friday, it's 10am. a rape trial collapses after phone evidence which could have proved the defendant's innocence two years ago is finally released to lawyers. a senior barrister in the case tells us what happened. this young man would have been sent to prison for 12 years and would have been on the sex offenders register for the rest of his life, with precious little chance of appeal. so, this was a massive, massive miscarriage ofjustice, which thank heavens, was avoided. eu leaders signal that they're ready to take brexit talks to the next stage and work out what their relationship with britain will look like when we leave. we will talk about moving onto phase 2, talking about the transition period and a new relationship that will exist between the eu and the uk. i think a lot of thinking needs to be done about that. it does seem to be done about that. it does seem to be done about that. it does seem to be quite divergent opinions on what that should look like. it's the strictly come dancing final tomorrow night, marking the culmination of twelve weeks viewing and for many fans the terrifying thought that it will soon all be over. we'll be talking to some well known strictly faces and some of the show‘s biggest fans good morning. here's annita in the bbc newsroom with a summary of today's news. ajudge has called for an enquiry after a student was cleared of rape when police failed to disclose evidence casting doubt on the case. 22—year—old liam allen spent two years on bail before his trial at croydon crown court was halted when it was revealed his accuser said the messages expressing fantasies about violent sex. prosecuting lawyerjerry hayes told the programme this information did not come to light until he's pacific we asked police to give the defence team a list of the women's phone messages. i wanted that boy to know as soon as the decision was made, which i advised upon, that there should be no further evidence given. obviously, he was happy, but this has been hanging over his head for two years. has been hanging over his head for two yea rs. a has been hanging over his head for two years. a young man of good character, he could have had his life totally trashed. that was awfully wrong. eu leaders are expected to formally agree to start the next phase of brexit negotiations later. talks on a transition deal could begin as early as next week. at a dinner in brussels last night, theresa may was applauded by her fellow leaders after stressing her desire for a "smooth" departure. will be live in brussels in the next half—hour for the latest. the church of england has apologised to the family of a bishop for failings in the way it investigated allegations of child abuse against him more than 50 years after his death. george bell, who died in 1958, was alleged to have repeatedly abused a young girl. she made a formal complaint in 1995 and, 10 years later, won an apology and compensation from the church. an independent review of the investigation is being published this morning. an inquiry into child sexual abuse in australia has made more than four—hundred recommendations in its final report. the royal commission —— which spent five years hearing evidence —— said tens of thousands of children had been assaulted at more than four—thousand institutions, including churches, orphanages and schools. nine million adults in the uk are chronically lonely, according to a commission set up by the mpjo cox, before her murder. nine million adults in the uk are chronically lonely, it says loneliness is as harmful to health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day, and calls for a government—led national strategy to address the problem. that's a summary of the latest bbc news — more at 10:30. thanks for your messages. you been getting in touch on our sister fibrosis choir story. stephanie says: my sister has cystic fibrosis. she is only 19 and i know she finds it isolating not being around others with cystic fibrosis, because you are not allowed to meet any other people with the same condition. she can never meet her closest friend. another viewer says: the choir is a great idea to help people diagnosed who sadly can't meet, share their experiences and offer each other support. do get in touch with us throughout the morning. use the hashtag victoria live and if you text, you will be charged at the standard network rate. here's some sport now withjohn watson. we will start with cricket. england are attempting to wrestle back momentum at the end of day two of the third test in perth. this is how the third test in perth. this is how the scorecard looks. england will roll out of 403. australia have closed at 203—3, trailing by 200 runs. this is how the day unfolded. jonny bairstow celebrated his century and was eventually out for 140. mallon's 140, century and was eventually out for 140. mallon's140, england looked set for refuge score at that stage, but when he went, the tail soon followed. craig overton in only his second test. the home fans were encouraged by steve smith's performance, the home captain. he closes in on his century. england with plenty to do going into the third day. the wife of bradley wiggins has apologised for comments she made about chris froome on social media after it emerged that he had been found to have double the permitted level of an asthma drug. she called him a slithering reptile and suggested he had been protected while bradley wiggins had been under scrutiny by his use of medication. she said her comments had been made in the heat of the moment. on sunday, the bbc sports personality of the year awards will be handed out in liverpool. the overseas personality of the year has been announced, and it has gone to roger federer. he has had a great year, winning his eighth wimbledon title at the age of 35. he defied the odds and the injuries to win wimbledon and the australian open at the turn of the year, taking his grand slam tally to 19. this is a record fourth time that he has won the overseas award. imagine your horse, if you have one, jumping overan imagine your horse, if you have one, jumping over an obstacle the size of an asian elephant. that is exactly what this person has done. it is the equivalent height that laura renwick jumped at the olympia will show in london. she is riding top dollar, in an event in which the wall gets higher and higher. she cleared 2.2 metres, which no one else manage. the horses eight—year—old —— the horse is an eight—year—old, so even more impressive. ronnie o'sullivan took power naps at the scottish snooker open yesterday. he said he was totally up for the count at times. it did the trick, though, as he went on to win the match and another in the evening to reach the quarterfinals. he will playjohn higgins tonight. whatever works, i guess! playjohn higgins tonight. whatever works, iguess! i playjohn higgins tonight. whatever works, i guess! iwill playjohn higgins tonight. whatever works, i guess! i will be back, wide awake, later. a judge in a rape trial has called for an inquiry at the ‘very highest level‘ after it emerged that vital documents which proved the defendant‘s innocence were not disclosed to lawyers. after being on bail for nearly two years, 22 year old liam allen was told there was no case against him at croydon crown court in south london yesterday. liam told us it was overwhelming and it was hugely confusing to go from being the bill into being the innocent. barristerjerry hayes told us what happened. this was a very serious multiple rape case. the person who made the allegations had given her evidence. the defence counsel said to me, have you got a disc of the downloads from her telephone? i said disc of the downloads from her telephone? isaid i had not seen disc of the downloads from her telephone? i said i had not seen it and the cps had not seen it. i spoke to the officer who is responsible for disclosure and asked if he had it. he said he had but it could not be disclosed. i asked why and he said it was very personal matters. i said, is there anything on that this which could undermine the prosecution case or assist the defence? he said no, but! prosecution case or assist the defence? he said no, but i wasn‘t happy about that. i think, and i was right, that the defence should have that disc. we adjourned for a day. the defence saw on this disc information which completely blew the prosecution case out of the window. if they hadn‘t had that disclosure, this young man would have been sent to prison for 12 yea rs, have been sent to prison for 12 years, and would have been on the sex offenders register for the rest of his life. he would have had precious little chance of appeal. so, this was a massive, massive miscarriage of justice so, this was a massive, massive miscarriage ofjustice which, thank heavens, was avoided. why do you think that police repeatedly insisted that there was nothing of interest for the prosecution of the defence? i don't think they had looked at it properly. there were 2400 pages and around 50,000 texts. i don‘t think they had looked at it. police officers sometimes don‘t understand that it is their duty to investigate these matters, to report it to the cps and then a cps lawyer will contact me and we will decide what to do with it. there is no question of lying or misleading, it‘s just sheer incompetence, i‘m afraid. we also heard that to save costs, material wasn‘t always handed to defence lawyers. what is your response to that? is i‘m not entirely sure about that. you have to understand that the cps and the police, and all of us in the criminal justice system, and the police, and all of us in the criminaljustice system, are under tremendous pressure because we‘re running out of money. this is a system that is notjust creaking, it‘s about to croak. if we have any more treasury cutbacks, there will be more cases like this. except that they won‘t come before people like you. we spoke to liam this morning, and he said he‘s not ready to do interviews yet, but he is so grateful to you. can you tell us about the moment he found out the trial had collapsed?” about the moment he found out the trial had collapsed? i gave him advice, as soon as we asked for the jury advice, as soon as we asked for the jury to be discharged and we had the information available. i wanted that boyd to know as soon as the decision was made, which i advised upon, that there should be no further evidence given. obviously, he was happy, but this has been hanging over his head for two years. a young man of good character. he could have had his life totally trashed. that was awfully wrong. how concerned argued that this could be happening in other cases? it has happened in other cases? it has happened in other cases. i had a similar case andi other cases. i had a similar case and i wrote a piece in the times a few months ago. it was a firearms case and there was a mini report saying that the guy‘s dna was found on the magazine of a gun. when we looked at the report, it said that his dna was not on it. i‘m afraid, the more cuts come to this service, the more cuts come to this service, the more cuts come to this service, the more chance that a miscarriage of justice will the more chance that a miscarriage ofjustice will come. and it is unacceptable. andy moore joins us now live from theirs broke court. what response has there been? we heard from the prosecuting barrister, and it was hisjob to put liam allen behind bars, and he said he would have done unless this evidence had come to light at the last minute. there is no accusation by him made against the cps. he said they really just had by him made against the cps. he said they reallyjust had to make do with they reallyjust had to make do with the evidence they were given by the police. nonetheless, we have had a statement from the cps, and they say that all prosecutions are kept under continuous review, and prosecutors are required to take account of any change in circumstances as the case develops. they went on to say that they had more material in the case of liam allen and they decided to offer no evidence at the hearing yesterday. they said there will be a joint management review with the metropolitan police to examine the way in which this case was handled. the police themselves have issued a brief statement, the metropolitan police, and they say: we are aware of this case being dismissed from court and are carrying out an urgent assessment to establish the circumstances which led to this action being taken. they say, we are working closely with the cps, and keeping in close contact with the victim whilst this process takes place. a little more from liam allen. i know he spoke to him briefly this morning, but speaking outside croydon crown court yesterday, when this case collapsed, he said: i can‘t explain the mental torture of the past two years. i feel betrayed by the system, he said, which i had believed would do the right thing. i young student at sussex university, he had not been able to go to university for the last couple of years, his name now clear. andy moore, thank you very much. speaking to us from snaresbrook crown court. a five—year inquiry into child sexual abuse in australia has been published, identifying abuse at more than four thousand institutions, including religious organisations, sporting clubs, foster homes and the military. the royal commission heard harrowing testimony from survivors across australia and made a number of recommendations in its report — including calling on the catholic church to overhaul its celibacy rules. prime minister malcolm turnbull paid tribute to the courage of those who gave evidence. what that commission has done has been to expose a national tragedy. it isa been to expose a national tragedy. it is a nexttech —— it is an outstanding exercise in love, and i think the committee —— i thank the commissioners and those who had the courage to tell their stories. ray leary is one of the up to 60,000 survivors. he‘s been campaigning for the so—called ‘forgotten australians‘ to be heard and described what the final report meant to him. i hope they give it to the governments and the government stands up and takes notice of all our sad stories. don't make this sad, but it really happened. and we believe the now around the world because as adults, we were talking about our childhood. and for a lot of us, so, so many of us, it was so hard. men and women in their 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s. hard. men and women in their 40s, 505, 605, 705. it hard. men and women in their 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s. it was devastating. but i think the royal commission heard everyone of us, listens to everyone of us, and again, believed us. like the apology said in 2009, we believe. if they believe is, now do something about it. protect our children and our grandchildren for the future. leonie sheedy is the co—founder of the survivor advocacy organisation care leavers australia network, and she travelled to canberra to see the report being handed over to the governor general. hello. hello. what is your response to today‘s report, after five years? it‘s a momentous day. in australia‘s history. the churches and charities and state governments who failed in their duty of care to children raised in australia‘s orphanages and children in homes and foster ca re orphanages and children in homes and foster care and missions can no longer state they did not know. the churches and the charities and all those people who ran those horrid homes can no longer cover—up the crimes that were committed against us children. we had to grow up without our parents and pretend it didn‘t matter. it did matter. and australia, we need action now. we wa nt australia, we need action now. we want the prime minister and the opposition leader to join together ina bipartisan opposition leader to join together in a bipartisan manner and implement the recommendations of the royal commission asap. what are those recommendations, if you can sum them up, and do they go far enough? look, it has only been about five hours since we saw, i have not even seen a ha rd since we saw, i have not even seen a hard copy of the report, but i know thatis hard copy of the report, but i know that is a mission working with children and it should be with vulnerable people because in orphanages, we are fearful we will be abused again in an age care facility. so we need a national group working with children and vulnerable people and we need, i don‘t think this is in the recommendations, but i am going to make sure it is one of the recommendations that paedophiles should never be able to change their name by deed poll. we need a national sex offenders register. to protect children. and we need recognition that if you remove a child from an unsafe environment, a family home, eat you need to put the dollars and cents into providing therapy for that child on the day you remove that child from their biologicalfamily. and you remove that child from their biological family. and we you remove that child from their biologicalfamily. and we children, we which auden once and we were separated from our brothers and sisters and our parents —— we were children. nobody cared about those feelings and our loss of identity, a loss of culture. we were made to walk in laundries and on farms, we we re walk in laundries and on farms, we were called numbers. and we were not just physically and psychologically abused, we were also used sexually by priests, nuns, holiday hosts. not a lwa ys by priests, nuns, holiday hosts. not always the religious. they had no religion, in what people. they were members of australian society who worked in an orphanage. you did not have to have any particular qualifications to work with children who are suffering deep traumatic events. as we heard, the abuse took place in major institutions, churches, schools, sports clubs. as an abuse victim and from the work you have done, how difficult has it been for these people to come forward and talk about what has happened to them? well, for many yea rs, happened to them? well, for many yea rs , ca re happened to them? well, for many yea rs, ca re leavers happened to them? well, for many years, care leavers who did try to speak out, we were not believed. children like others, we were not raised without parents and we were considered second—class citizens of this country. it is extremely difficult to go and report the people, they arejudged in difficult to go and report the people, they are judged in a very high standard in australia and put on pedestals. australian governments fund these charities and churches to do the work. and if you went back to the organisation that abuse due in an orphanage, you are not believed. and children ran away from orphanages and tried to tell the police and police returned those children straight into the hands of the abusers. the oldest person i have supported at the royal commission was a 92—year—old woman who had been sexually abused in a catholic orphanage. we do not trust people, we don‘t trust the police, the government, the churches. but with all that disbelief and trust, the royal commission worked so hard to gain the trust of care leavers and those six australians are so highly valued for the work that they did to gain our trust, to respect others and the believers and to validate and that knowledge the terrible and he knows crimes that we re terrible and he knows crimes that were committed on us as children. —— and terrible crimes that were committed. thank you so much for talking to us today. breaking news now, the death toll from the collision between a train and a bus in southern france has risen and it has gone up to six. the death toll from a crash between a school bus and a train, four teenagers died on thursday, we previously heard, at an accident at a level crossing in a small village near perpignan on and that death toll has gone up to six. eu leaders are meeting in brussels this morning — without theresa may — to decide whether to allow britain to move onto the second round of brexit negotiations. it‘s thought council members will vote to approve what‘s been agreed upon so far. but theresa may‘s authority was challenged this week, when a number of mps from her own party voted against her to demand that parliament get a vote on the final eu deal. we can speak now to our correspondent, christian fraser, who‘s in brussels. what can we expect? well, a two-hour discussion is currently under way, with a draft proposal, the 27 metres, and we expect to run through the first phase, the withdrawal agreement. i have seen a copy of the text and they say they want the withdrawal agreement put into a regal format and they to be legally binding. and they will talk about the guidelines for the next phase, the guidelines for the next phase, the future relationship. and it is going to be very difficult, the next phase, getting everybody around the same idea about what kind of relationship it will be. she‘s doing with 27 parties. and the 28 his own parliament and there was regulation she had been undermined by the boat in the commons on wednesday, but not a bit of it. there has been a lot of backslapping at the way theresa may has run this negotiation so far and you get that in the words ofjean claude—juncker when he left the building last night.” claude—juncker when he left the building last night. i have extraordinary faith in the british prime minister. she has aggrieved with me and michel barnier that the agreement will be formalised and voted on and then we will see. the second phase will be significantly harder than the first and the first was very difficult. well, i would suspect that in the first two mums, they are primarily talking about the transition, how long the transition will be and what rules britain will be subject to. it seems the european leaders have gathered around one position that britain will be subject to the rules of the single market, the customs union and under the jurisdiction market, the customs union and under thejurisdiction of market, the customs union and under the jurisdiction of the european court which some brexiteers will not like. it appears theresa may has accepted that so maybe we will move from that on the web framework for the future deal. it is there where opinions diverged on the kind of relationship it is going to be. listen to leo varadkar, the irish taoiseach. talking about the transition period and the new relationship that will exist between the eu and the uk. a lot of thinking needs to be done about that. there seems to be quite diverging opinions on what that should look like. needless to say... from an irish point of view, we'd like it to look as much like the current relationship as possible. but that would not necessarily be the view of everyone. the thoughts now of a german mep and a member of the green group in the european parliament. the paper is front of them it seems clear they will rubber—stamp what has been agreed so far. let‘s talk about the transition, how long do you think transition, how long do you think transition should last?” transition, how long do you think transition should last? i think it is not going to be a super affair because it is going to be fairly difficult to agree on something. usually to do a trade deal with any other country, it takes seven, ten years. with great britain, we already have common rules so it might be much shorter, but that means several years. i would not expect a fast transition period. leo varadkar, the irish taoiseach, is concerned about the future relationship and theresa may has not had a substantive conversation with her own cabinet. how do you square the idea of complete alignment with this idea britain will go its own way and sort out its own trade deals? i am really having difficulties with that because for the northern ireland question, this isa the northern ireland question, this is a key question. how this is supposed to be solved, it would really love to see a proposal from the british government which we have not seen so far, and that is a difficult question to solve. are you thinking that the wane negotiations are going at the moment, britain heading towards what they describe asa heading towards what they describe as a soft brexit? i would certainly hope that we don't fall into the trap ofa hope that we don't fall into the trap of a hard brexit that would hurt both sides of the story. sol am hoping that we get a good agreement together because the uk is not going to move away geographically, it is very important to have very good relationships with the uk in the future. it is also clear we need substance, we need the content to be good. so for me, this is really content rather than speed. there was a notion in the parliament, meps voted to approve the first phase of the withdrawal. and there was another that‘s it davis had undermined some the trust, why did you feel it necessary to put that on the record? in finding a way out of a relationship and building a new one, trust is an essential issue. without that, nothing will work, so it is really not a good idea for a minister of the government to say, this is not really clear so we are going to put everything into a legally binding agreement so everything is on paper. but it is not good for the future relationship that we cannot rely on each other any more. that is something we need to stress. when you look at what happened in the last couple weeks, was david davis pushed aside and theresa may came to the fore? having been hit last week and watching what went on yesterday, they want to deal specifically with her and the dynamic has changed quite substantially from where it was a year ago. yes, certainly, because if she is the one you can trust and belief, she is needed in the negotiations. anyway, she is the prime minister, so that is the interlocutor. that is why i am not sure that this is necessarily a shift of attitude, but we will have to see that. it's sort of undermines the position of david davis, he is the position of david davis, he is the front man for britain in this next pa rt the front man for britain in this next part of the negotiation and if there is no trust and you have put that on record in the european parliament, how does he carry on the negotiation? that is certainly for the british government to solve but he has himself undermined his position regarding his european counterparts. ska keller, thank you very much. we are waiting for news of that to our discussion. i don‘t think there is any doubt they will move it onto the next stage and michel barnier who came into the building just under one are ago said that he is optimistic he will be given a mandate to start negotiating that in the new year. thank you for keeping us updated. still to come: this programme understands that no police were stationed inside this year‘s v festival because of the dispute over money. we‘ll have the details. after 13 weeks, it is the strictly final tomorrow night. we will be joined by anton du beke and some superfans. time for the latest news — here‘s annita. ajudge has called a judge has called for an ajudge has called for an enquiry after a rape case collapsed when new evidence was found. liam allen spent two years evidence was found. liam allen spent two yea rs is evidence was found. liam allen spent two years is on trial before it emerged that his alleged victim had sent him text messages about fantasies of violent sex. the evidence did not come to light until thejudge asked more evidence did not come to light until the judge asked more evidence to be produced. eu leaders are expected to formally agree to start the next phase of brexit negotiations later. talks on a transition deal could begin as early as next week. at a dinner in brussels last night, theresa may was applauded by her fellow leaders after stressing her desire for a "smooth" departure. we‘ll be live in brussels for the very latest soon. the church of england has apologised to the family of a bishop for failings in the way it investigated allegations of child abuse against him more than 50 years after his death. george bell, who died in 1958, was alleged to have repeatedly abused a young girl. she made a formal complaint in 1995 and, 10 years later, won an apology and compensation from the church. an independent review of the investigation is being published this morning. reports say that the death toll has risen to six after the train crash in southern france in which a train collided with a school bus. one in six parents in the uk gives their children alcohol by the age of 14 according to new research, despite medical research that says children should not drink until they are a year older. researchers from university college london bound bright and well educated parents were most likely to have a relaxed attitude to young people drinking. that‘s a summary of the latest news. time to get sport now, with watson. is australian captain steve smith has wrestled back momentum after he closed in on another test century when england were all out for 403. a big task for england‘s bowlers tomorrow in a match they can‘t afford to lose. aljaz bid any has decided to switch his allegiance to play in the davis cup. roger federer has been named as the bbc‘s overseas sports personality of the year for a record fourth time. the wife of sir bradley wiggins has apologised for calling chris froome apologised for calling chris froome a slithering reptile on social media. she made the comment in the wa ke media. she made the comment in the wake of a failed drug test but later deleted the post and said she had been speaking in the heat of the moment. that is all the spot for now. back to you. some people may be already thinking about which festivals they‘ll be attending next summer, with tickets for some going on sale in the new year. months after the manchester arena terror attack, this programme has found out that there were no police at v festival 2017 in chelmsford because of a dispute over money. our entertainment reporter, chi chi izundu, has more. how did this information come about in the first place? in the summer, essex police announced there would be no police presence at the v festival in chelmsford. we wanted to know why, so we asked. we ask to see all the meeting notes and correspondence with a freedom of information request. there is a safety advisory group meeting, which consists of people from the festival organisers, emergency services, and chelmsford city council, who grant a licence for the festival to go ahead. the notes revealed a number of issues, including a disagreement over how much would be paid for policing. we must stress that private policing at a commercial event private policing at a commercial eve nt co m es private policing at a commercial event comes out of the pocket of the organiser, not the taxpayer. in 2016, festival republic paid £138,000 for police to be present on site at the festival. in 2017, they submitted a request for it to be £100,000, but police and organisers couldn‘t come to an agreement, so it never really happened. because the agreement couldn‘t be reached, the advice from essex police was that if anything happened at the festival, security was to dial 101, or if it was an emergency, dial 999. a council representative said in one of those safety advisory group meetings that dialling that number became an issue. it became an issue because, as you can imagine, it‘s a numberfor everyone. because, as you can imagine, it‘s a number for everyone. the police because, as you can imagine, it‘s a numberfor everyone. the police did say that the festival had no greater priority than anyone else in the whole county. the other issues flagged were that there was sexual assaults that happen. one of them, they couldn‘t even establish where it had happened. there was a lot of concern over drugs, because security did not have the powers of detention or arrest. and another concern that was thrown up was that, as well as not having detention or arrest powers, security were vetted, because they have to be, as part of getting the licence. but some of the other 740 people working at the event may not have been vetted on time, ahead of the event, and that was an issue that kept being brought up was an issue that kept being brought up by was an issue that kept being brought up by police in these meeting notes. they stretched from november 2016 to october 2017, and they had a number of meetings, including several on the days of the festival. so, yes, that‘s how we found out that the police weren‘t present at v festival 2017 in chelmsford. what have essex police said in response? we spoke to the deputy chief constable, bj harrington, who said that policing and the safety of people at a private event is up to the organisers. it is not up to the tax payer. they will provide it if they can, because the number of forces having staffing issues is widely known, but he did say that it is up to the organisers to keep people safe. thank you very much. for strictly come dancing fans, the annual moment has arrived — the culmination of 12 weeks‘ viewing and the terrifying thought that it will soon all be over. it‘s the final tomorrow night, when the 15th series draws to a close. in a moment, we‘ll be talking to some well—known strictly faces and some of the show‘s biggest fans. but first, let‘s take a look back at some of the thrills and spills from this year‘s competition. dancing the cha—cha—cha, the reverend richard coles... sayo na ra sayonara one thing is for sure, she will never pass for a bowl. —— one thing is for sure — she will never pass for a bull. he has won strictly for me. i found it powerful but sensual. strictly as a marathon, not a sprint, andl strictly as a marathon, not a sprint, and i feel like you are here for the long run. i don't think i've ever seen a tango like that from a celebrity. amazing! well done. you will write? —— you all write? you took a big risk. did it pay off with its inventiveness? i think it did. if you could hear the conversations that were going on here... anton du beke, one of only two mike catt mag strictly dancers who have danced in every series, is with us. kristyna, who danced during her seven years on the show, and we are joined her seven years on the show, and we arejoined by her seven years on the show, and we are joined by super fans. her seven years on the show, and we arejoined by superfans. thanks her seven years on the show, and we are joined by super fans. thanks for joining us. it is a great moment tonight, but a sad one — the strictly final. this series, number 15, i think, strictly final. this series, number 15, ithink, apparently strictly final. this series, number 15, i think, apparently has been the most popular today. why do you think that is? it is because... i don't like to brag, but it was very much be! it isjust a huge like to brag, but it was very much be! it is just a huge show. like to brag, but it was very much be! it isjust a huge show. every year, it comes back with new celebrities, some already, we have a new show. a newjudge. of course, yes. some new dancers, three new girls there as well. the show is so layered that you can love it for so many different reasons. either you love the couples, you see the relationships of the couples, the dancers are much more well—known, having been there for a number of yea rs. we having been there for a number of years. we enjoy getting to see who dances with who. the lawn show is so popularfor dances with who. the lawn show is so popular for that reason. then we are gearing up for the final, and it‘s been a great standard. we keep saying, this is the best standards ever. a couple of those clips there, this year, i must say, the quality has been outstanding. people have tried new things. you're notjust talking about yourself! of course, i‘m talking about myself! we tried new things. i look and i think i cannot believe they are trying to do that in such a short period of time that in such a short period of time that a person who is not a dancer will stop the things that are being pulled off, i still don‘t know how people don‘t get halfway through a dance on a saturday night, the celebrities, and turn round to dave afterwards and say, thank you, dave, i can‘t remember a thing. but they pull it off. what are your standout moments? my tango with simon webb. me, that was the danced to remember, in blackpool in the final. that was the most successful season for me. the show involves so much —— the show has evolved so much. if you think aboutjohn show has evolved so much. if you think about john sergeant and the famous drag across the floor... think about john sergeant and the famous drag across the floor. .. who can forget? it involves so much, and the dancers are pushing the envelope every year. they are carrying the show forward with their inventive choreography and excellent choices of music and everything else. super fans, who do you think will win? we we re fans, who do you think will win? we were talking about this, when we? i think, me personally, i'm really undecided. for the first time. that helps! although i am steering towards gemma, because i like her journey. her, for me. but they are all amazing. and the new partners. gemma is the only one left in the final who hasn‘t had proper dance training, is that right? that's right. joe. he was in a west end show. they have been to stage school and they know how to hold themselves. if you have danced before, or had an element of training in whatever branch of dance musical theatre, it gives you just an advantage, slightly, in picking up an advantage, slightly, in picking up the routine a bit quicker, really. and then, perhaps being a bit more comfortable on saturday night, going out and performing. bit more comfortable on saturday night, going outand performing. but nothing prepares you for going out on saturday night. you‘ve been dancing ina on saturday night. you‘ve been dancing in a studio with your partner all week, and then suddenly, you go about on saturday night in front of 12 million viewers, the studio audience and the judges, and you hear the words — and dancing the foxtrot. . . you hear the words — and dancing the foxtrot... and your legs go numb. you hear the words — and dancing the foxtrot... and your legs go numbm even you , foxtrot... and your legs go numbm even you, after all this time?” sometimes go, you can‘t remember this, can you? you can see it in their eyes that they are petrified. jane mcdonald was like that at —— jason was like that every week. and he was in the west end. back to the final. there had been controversies and we see everything played out on social media. it is interesting how joe mcfadden is the favourite, it‘s fairto joe mcfadden is the favourite, it‘s fair to say. west end experience. alexandra burke, also has had west end experience. but she‘s been getting all the stick. i know she‘s a professional dancer as well. who? alexandra burke. no. the skills help. everything helps. ballroom and latin are different from any other form of dancing because you are partnering someone else and you have to learn how to communicate on the floor. it's so different, it really is. how do you explain, despite being the competition‘s highest scorer, alexandra burke, all the social media trolling?” scorer, alexandra burke, all the social media trolling? i am sad people feel the need to want to do that. she is an absolute beauty, as they all are. and they are having a great time and they have enjoyed the process. we want people to get involved in that element. the other stuff is just people not being very nice and being unpleasant. she is an amazing performer. next finalist, debbie mcgee, disgust. andy mcgee! i admire herso debbie mcgee, disgust. andy mcgee! i admire her so much. some of the evenings when i felt really tired, i bought myself, think about the debbie mcgee, that woman is incredible! she goes out there and does tricks which nobody dares to do. she is incredible. and she did show a lot of good to have somebody like her going all the way to the final and maybe even winning tomorrow night. i know! keep final and maybe even winning tomorrow night. i know i keep going on about professional dance training, buta on about professional dance training, but a ballet dancer. but she is 59 years old. her strength and stamina is incredible. and it was original, nobody expected her to do those things. and her legs suddenly by her ears and all we had seen herdo suddenly by her ears and all we had seen her do was this with paul daniels. it was such a revelation and everybody has got behind her, nobody expected it. it is touching because she said it has brought back the sparkle after he died. and for me, that has touched a little emotional chord. who are you backing to win tomorrow? joel and catty. i think katya has great choreographies gills. and joe perfects them each week. very difficult to say no to katya! try to go, i don‘t want to do that. no, you are! you are doing it! what is it? you are the youngest person, it is fair to say. why does strictly appeal to all generations commit yourself and the entire family set down to watch it? commit yourself and the entire family set down to watch mm commit yourself and the entire family set down to watch it? it is amazing celebrities coming in from different areas of tv and whatever. people who are fans followed them through. to think they are doing dancing, to see how well they do and see them progress each week is amazing. you would not think they would be a dancer or get so far into the final. be honest, at the beginning of the series when the celebrities were announced, did you know everybody? i did not know everyone! i didn't, to be honest! you never know anybody. this is the i°y you never know anybody. this is the joy of it. the joy it is the journey thing. we love to see, the british public, we love to see people, how are they going to get on. let‘s say the word journey. at least you know half the people on strictly. 50% is not bad. that is what we enjoy the most. we just see not bad. that is what we enjoy the most. wejust see how not bad. that is what we enjoy the most. we just see how people get on. as somebody who watches it, just the level is ridiculous. in terms of where it started at 15 years ago and where it started at 15 years ago and where it started at 15 years ago and where it is now. do you think that isa where it is now. do you think that is a problem? it could become a problem. i think those days of mark ramprakash and darren gough winning the show, belmont, because nobody with no training and no idea how to hold themselves in front of camera can go and chain hard and go all the way and win the glitterball, i don't think it will have to learn dutch it will happen like that any more. think it will have to learn dutch it will happen like that any morem depends how much hard time people have and have physically able they are. it is all very well saying to do ten hours of training, but to be honest with you... we have jobs! do ten hours of training, but to be honest with you... we havejobs! it is hard not to do it for more than three hours and not the eight a bit. and then you do it again. it is difficult to commit physically to commit the time it takes to get that good. but all the professionals, last year, when len left the show, we did a lot of looking back at old footage and stuff. to watch series one and two up the series 14 and 15, it is like a different show. because it is like a different show. because it has evolved slowly, it has been wonderful, we have all done it together and followed strictly evolving, the audiences, the professionals, everybody has evolved with the show. to go from that to now ina with the show. to go from that to now in a couple of years would have been a disaster for the show and it could not have coped. let's talk about the potential winner, the favourite is joe mcfadden. about the potential winner, the favourite isjoe mcfadden. last year‘s winner, a good friend of mine, ore. the year before that, jamie gillis. so a pattern of boys. i would love for debbie to win. a slightly older winner. it is all about the young and fit ones with background and dancing and debbie has proved she is so into the show from the get go, she worked hard and she was daring and she blossomed. it would be wonderful to see a woman, a slightly older and more mature woman, to win the show, because she has been incredible. she has a good chance with three of them, a good chance! joe is the favourite, who do you think is going to win? well, i think the winner is dance! what a copout! i thinkjoe is probably going to win it. so exciting to watch. i have given you time to think about it? debbie. debbie or joe. joe, ok! nobody said alex. nobody said alex. back to you, ain! nobody said alex. back to you, again! twins this year. yes, thank you so much. incredibly lush incredible. they are eight months old and they are alex fans. what else are you doing? preparing to go on tour next year and i have released an album as well. from the top. wonderful experience, wonderful exciting process to be involved in. and i‘m going to say this, it is great, iam and i‘m going to say this, it is great, i am so delighted with the way it sounds, it sounds incredible and it is out on christmas. what is it, singing? i tell you and it is out on christmas. what is it, singing? itell you what it is, a selection of my favourite songs i have listened to over the years and i have danced too and i am performing it with an orchestra of 36 so it sounds incredible. as i am doing it and singing along, singing the songs, i just doing it and singing along, singing the songs, ijust imagined people dancing to it, which is exactly the feeling i wanted to get. just in time for christmas! just in time for christmas! and what you up to a strictly? i feel i am christmas! and what you up to a strictly? i feel! am still christmas! and what you up to a strictly? i feel i am still in strictly? i feel i am still in strictly because i'm constantly at rehearsals and i am producing and directing and performing in a show called dance to the music with robin windsor who was my partner for many years. we go on the road next year and it is a big thing to direct and produce. i am very excited. i look forward to dancing. with robin, of course, and other strictly professionals. that is a new venture for me so really excited about next year. and we are excited for you and excited about the final tomorrow night. thank you. thank you! nasa has found a distant star circled by eight planets, equal to our own solar system. it‘s the largest number of worlds ever discovered in a planetary system outside our own. the discovery was based on observations gathered by nasa‘s kepler space telescope, with the help from google. it is said to be very significant. with me is tom kerss, astronomer at the royal observatory greenwich. and alsojoining us on webcam is suzanne aigrain, an astrophysicist at oxford university. good morning. how excited are you about this news? always excited, planet news is thick and fast these days. but this is quite exciting because not so much for the planet but the method that has been used, the kepler data has been used in novel ways and they have had a long and successful running programme called planet hunters which uses the witness dashwood stem of crowds underplaying the recognition of humans looking at the data and we have machines now thinking like humans. exploring like humans. this is very promising for the future of discoveries. we do hear about new discoveries. we do hear about new discoveries to do with the solar system and planets fairly regularly, how significant is this? this is touted as being the record—holder andi touted as being the record—holder and i would say that‘s true. the record number of exoplanets, eight. there is another one with a less catchy name. maybe as many nine worlds but only seven confirmed. the store sold a record and it remains as we are not the only solar system with eight planets, which is nice, and it gives us hope that planets do outnumber in the galaxy stars and the upper limit is around 400 billion stars, that is four for every human being ever born, roughly speaking. and in relation to others, that similarity and parallel, what could that mean? it means there is going to be a great more world is out there than we previously believed which means a great number more chances to find that world that may have something living on it. it is an age with the pace of technology and ability to discover new worlds, in a couple of decades, we could possibly identify if we are alone in our galaxy, that is the pursuit. discoveries like this remind us we can be optimistic about that. that is the ultimate, is there life out there? susan, what is your response to this latest discovery? my take is very similar to my colleagues. i am excited almost more by the method than by the planet, although the planet is very interesting. the system itself is very interesting and it reminds us not only planets are very common, but systems with many planets like our own likely also to be fairly common. one of the astronomers in the discovery said they would almost be surprised if there were not more planets to be found in that system because we have only looked at the inner parts of the system. but i wa nt inner parts of the system. but i want to focus also on the artificial intelligence aspect of the discovery. it is not the first time artificial intelligence is used in one way or another to look at planet data and even at the kepler data, but it is the first time it has been donein but it is the first time it has been done in such an unsupervised way, letting machines do theirjob and trying to find the signals. and it is very early days and they have found something interesting which is very promising. there is a lot of future discoveries yet to be made by exploiting this sort of technique. i think also, as we have already heard, there are so many planets out there. the likelihood that one of them hosts live is now almost overwhelming, and would say. the question isjust, how do overwhelming, and would say. the question is just, how do we overwhelming, and would say. the question isjust, how do we go overwhelming, and would say. the question is just, how do we go and identify them? sorry to cut you off, we have to leave it there, it is fascinating, it is the end of the programme. bbc newsroom live is coming up next. thank you for your company today. good morning. a slippery start to the day again. ice patches and snow of a higher ground. but many of us have sunshine, it is beautiful and ugly. some showers continued into the afternoon across the far north west of scotla nd afternoon across the far north west of scotland which could turn to snow over higher ground and showers down the eastern side of england around pembrokeshire and cornwall. mostly dry and sunny with a brisk northerly wind. it will feel quite cold. temperatures five or six celsius. it feels colder than that with the wind chill. this evening and night, with clear skies, a widespread frost developing into saturday morning. showers around eastern coastal areas and west wales, northern ireland and south—western scotland, temperatures at or below freezing. a frosty start on saturday with sunshine throughout the day. change by sunday, turning cloudier and my south—westerly winds, and outbreaks of rain with that. this is bbc news. i‘m christian fraser live in brussels, where eu leaders are expected to approve moving brexit talks forward. european leaders are expected to formally agree to move onto the next phase of brexit talks but they warn stage two will not be easy. the transition period and a new relationship that will exist between the eu and the uk. a lot of thinking is to be done about that and there seem to be quite divergent opinions on what that should look like. join me for the latest developments. and in other news: scotland yard carry out an urgent assessment after a rape trial collapses. 22—year—old student liam allan was cleared after it emerged. 22—year—old student liam allan was cleared after it emerged police

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