This little device is paired with a pad under the pillow which detects me snoring and moves just enough to stop me without waking me up. Good morning, its thursday, january five, welcome to bbc Newsroom Live. A Record Number of cars were registered in the uk last year but as more of us than ever before splashed out on a brand new vehicle, the industry is warning that this could be the peak of sales. There were nearly 2. 7 million new cars on the roads in 2016. This is largely because the way were buying cars is changing with more affordable Finance Deals on offer. In 2015 nearly three quarters of cars were bought using something called a personal Contract Purchase or pcp. Thats when you pay a deposit, make Monthly Payments for three orfour years, and at the end of that you have a choice to buy the car outright or give the car back to the dealer and upgrade. Manufacturers are also predicting a 5 fall in new car sales this year with the weaker pound pushing up prices. One more detail, there were more new diesel cars registered in 2016 than in any previous year, almost 1. 3 million. Thats despite concerns about the effect of Diesel Emissions on health. The Motoring Editor at confused. Com, amanda stretton, who is also a former racing driver, said the way were buying our cars has changed. Its no longer a purchase that you save up for and you owned a physical carand save up for and you owned a physical car and drive why, its now more like Mobile Phones or you are looking at paying a monthly instalment, maybe youre servicing and other Car Running Costs included in that price, you know what you will pay, you are paying slightly more for it but it is something you roll over and then as soon as the latest model comes out and you want to upgrade you can just roll that deal over. To discuss this further im joined by the Motoring Journalist journalist steve berry, whos in salford, and joining me in the studio to talk about the impact of those record sales in diesel cars is fiona godlee, the editor in chief at the British Medicaljournal. I think we are trying to connect with steve in salford, we will begin by talking to fiona. Thank you for joining us. That statistic about more new diesel cars registered in 2016jumps more new diesel cars registered in 2016 jumps out, given the Diesel Emissions scandal and concerns about the impact on health and the environment, is that surprising . Its very worrying. It is a result of the government encouraging private people to buy diesel with tax breaks on the basis that they we re tax breaks on the basis that they were considered more environmentally friendly because they produce less Carbon Dioxide emissions. Although we have known for sometime and it is becoming more apparent that they are more damaging to health, diesel fumes emitted by taxes, lorries, buses and cars damage Childrens Health in particular and health right across the age range. Tell us more about what we know about the impact of these diesel vehicles on the environment. Diesel is a fossil fuel, its damages the through gases it emits but also it is a pollutant, mainly due to Nitrogen Dioxide and black carbon and things like that so these gases are damaging adults, we know that they are linked to heart disease, strokes, obesity, lung cancer and perhaps more worrying, from conception onwards because these small particulates cross the placenta into the foetus, also they Cfoss Placenta into the foetus, also they cross the blood the Brain Barrier into the brain, we know that high levels of exposure are linked to Mental Illness in and developmental delay, to reduced iq and lung damage, too restricted lung growth, all of these things are long term time bombs, we are feeling up for ourselves in the next ten years. This has been going on since the 19705 this has been going on since the 1970s onwards. Do you feel that not enough time has elapsed for car buying habits to change . For a long time people vote buying diesel was the better option, it was less polluting, and perhaps that message has not had an impact yet for a long time people thought this. Has not had an impact yet for a long time people thought thism has not had an impact yet for a long time people thought this. It is sad for people, i myself had diesel cars, we were encouraged to buy them, the real impact is no use in urban areas. Thats what we need to look at, a fading out of diesel over a specific period of time, to move them from urban areas, that is what cities around the world are doing and we need to call for a Ban On Diesel In London in particular and in all major uk cities. We will pause for a moment, fiona, we can bring in steve, who is in salford. Good morning. Lets talk about that stats, more new diesel cars registered in 2016 than any year before. Im surprised. Im not going to defend diesel cars. What i am going to do is ask why we were told for so long that diesel cars were better because they got better mileage, that meant that they were better for the environment, and well be sure the same criticism of people who buy petrol, Electric Hybrids, or Electric Cars . Will we be told later on because they are not environmentally friendly because all they do is separate the relation between the vehicle and the Power Station where the electricity is generated . It does take some time for car buying habits to catch up with what doctors and scientists and government are saying. It is harsh that on a day that we are celebrating not just the that on a day that we are celebrating notjust the highest ever yearly sale of cars in the uk but also last year more cars made in the uk than at any other time in the history of the motorcar. You want to know how important that is, remember the fuss about nissan is staying in the fuss about nissan is staying in the uk and how much time people like the uk and how much time people like the bbc spent discussing that. Absolutely, that was my next question, there is another angle, a good News Economic angle to this story. How important do you think these figures are, in the sense of showing us a thriving car industry, 01 showing us a thriving car industry, or do you have concerns that this is a peak and there may be a drop of hereafter . They will be a drop of next because of brexit. Right or wrong, there will be a drop off because peoples confidence has been shaken by brexit. So there will be a drop off. Yet it is a great reflection of how well we do in this country. We are the best maker of low volume specialist cars in the world, rolls royce, aston martin, jensen revived, lotus, tvr, we are the best at that. We are also incredibly good at building every day five door family cars. That is why manufacturers want to build in the uk and make engines. Instead of knocking the car industry which employs thousands of people we should celebrate these stats today. That figure about diesel is disappointing but the public were told diesel was better and it will ta ke told diesel was better and it will take some time for peoples perception and their car buying habits to catch up with what is being said to them by scientists and doctors. Fiona, are you knocking the car industry . Not in the least, its an important part of the economy. Yet we must think about putting Public Health above those sort of concerns. We have an estimate of 40,000, 50,000 excess premature deaths in the uk, at a cost of £20 billion to the nhs each year. So we have real Economic Cost not only affecting lives but the economy. I think we need to look at a gradual phase out. We must be realistic, we ban smoking in public and Air Pollution is the second biggest cause of premature death after smoking. We have to act on this. You are talking about phasing out diesel specifically . Athens, paris, mexico city and madrid have announced a phase out of diesel in city centres by 2025 so that gives time to get there. I appreciate that car buying habits take time, but we are damaging Peoples Health and we are laying up large Health Problems the future. Would you support a phasing out of diesel, steve . Absolutely, these are the dying days of fossil fuel in motocross, i have enjoyed it while it has lasted but what i have been glad to see in these stats is the increasing number of Electric Hybrids and Pure Electric cars. In a Motoring Journalist long enough to have driven the early full electric ca is have driven the early full Electric Cars and they were dreadful. The current breed of Electric Cars from nissan, vauxhall and ford are fantastic. I cant wait for the day that every car on sale in the uk is an electric car. I think it is safe to say that you both agree on that point. Steve, fiona, thank you both very much. Lets stay with the theme. The cost of driving your car is going up. 0il theme. The cost of driving your car is going up. Oil prices are again rising on world markets. The price of petrol and diesel rose to the highest levels in a year and a half in december. The rac says both fuels went up by three pence a litre during the month. Joining me from a Service Station in west london is our correspondent, oui west london is our correspondent, our people noticing the difference . They are. Just moments ago i was speaking to some guys who came to fill up their car. They said they we re fill up their car. They said they were frustrated, these figures being released by the rac for december, its the most expensive model of the year anyway, so people are very frustrated. The most expensive month of the year. The rac are predicting that prices will continue to rise. The average cost of Unleaded Petrol in December Rose and four diesel rise was 119. They expect in the next weeks for these numbers to rise. But this particular petrol station, unleaded is £1. 18 and diesel £1. 20. These prices are going to be filed by families. December was expensive, we know that people are quite hard pressed anyway so people are quite hard pressed anyway so these prices will make a difference to people, dont you think . I think so, difference to people, dont you think . Ithink so, if difference to people, dont you think . I think so, if you compare it to this time last year, filling up the average car, they are easy compared with this time last year was more expensive for unleaded and four diesel. I think that will add up. Theres a lot of uncertainty as we start the year politically, we still have a weak pound against the dollar, and of course oil is sold by the dollar. So we rate to see to what extent the election of donald trump will make a difference as he begins to introduce his policies on january 20, and of course brexit, the negotiations might have continued effect on fuel prices if the value of the pound continues to fall. Thank you. The Childrens Commissioner for england has warned that young people are being left to face the dangers of bullying and grooming online alone. Anne longfield says children and often their parents have no idea what they are signing up to on social media sites and pupils as young as four should be taught about Internet Safety in school. 0ur Education Correspondent, Gillian Hargreaves has more. Digital technology can enrich childrens minds, but there are pitfalls too. Millions of youngsters have joined social media sites to keep in touch with friends, but many of those questioned by the commission have little idea of what theyre signing up to. With pages of terms and conditions, it seems few realise the risk to privacy. The Childrens Commissioner calls for the appointment of a digital ombudsman to mediate between children and social Media Companies over online bullying. She also recommends there should be mandatory digital Citizenship Courses in schools and new privacy laws to protect childrens personal information online. What no one has done yet is to look at how we design and intervene with a Digital World in a way that can really give children the support they need for the place they spend an awful lot of time, but also the information and the power to be able to get what they need out of the internet. While instagram, facebook and twitter recommend that their services are most suitable for children over the age of 13, younger children can circumvent the rules and open an account. Gillian hargreaves, bbc news. Lets get more reaction to this story. Professor Sonia Livingstone is from the London School of economics, she was involved in the study and joins me from north london via webcam. Thank you forjoining us. Via webcam. Thank you forjoining us. It sounds as if a lot of parents are crossing their fingers and hoping for the best when their children go online, that they will not be exposed to anything that they shouldnt be. I think thats absolutely right. I think parents are absolutely right. I think parents a re often absolutely right. I think parents are often quite alert to what the risks are but dont really know where to get advice on what the best things are to do and how to keep their children safe. Parents may know that they need to set up safeguards on the computer but beyond that, is that not enough, what else do they need to do . Digital media is changing really fast. I think many parents have understood putting Privacy Settings isa understood putting Privacy Settings is a good idea but they dont necessarily know which social media their children are using and i think that many are not understanding, none of us really understand the ways in which Different Services connect, the way in which one Company Might share data with another, so they dont exactly understand how best to make sure that their childrens images dont get shared. It sounds as if pa rents dont get shared. It sounds as if parents need to understand things as well. If we do have the commissioner recommended that would be one clear source of information for both children and parents. I also think that if children were getting the chance to discuss questions of privacy and safety in school from a young age they should also be encouraged to discuss it with their pa rents encouraged to discuss it with their parents and that would be the best way of parents knowing what their children are doing, what level of understanding they have and where the gaps are that they need support with. Do you think some schools do better than others on this but perhaps it is not uniform provision . Absolutely not uniform provision. Some schools are trying hard. There is no question that when you talk to children about Internet Safety they will roll their eyes and say, yes, we did that last year. What they are not getting is the updating that recognises the way in which social media gets more complex or Privacy Settings change or new risks arise. I think that the other thing is that they are not always getting it young enough. So we have lots of toddlers, aged two, three, four, five online, and theres a kind of challenge in reaching them but we definitely would want digital safety, digital citizenship taught from the start of primary school. So the position we are in now is that we know there is an Information Vacuum and we need to do something about it but we have not decided what that something is 01 not decided what that something is or how to go about it. It is not quite that there is no information, ina way quite that there is no information, in a way that is a lot of information there, the problem is that parents dont know where to get it and children are not always getting it just it and children are not always getting itjust in time and at the right age. That is why, if there we re right age. That is why, if there were a digital ombudsman and a good digital curriculum for children, those would be the place is to bring everything together. But i think to add one further point there is a limit to how much one can place the burden of a complex Social Media Environment and parents, teachers, media and children. It is also down to the companies to make their provision more straightforward, to explain better at the Privacy Settings work, to make the terms and conditions more child friendly, and to be responsive when something goes wrong, one of the other thing is that the Childrens Commissioner found is that when children say, i tried to complain about it or get something taken down from my social media provider, i didnt get a response. And they feel they are using these services, these services are important to them that they are not getting a service which respects their needs and rights. Professor Sonia Livingstone, thank you very much. If youre worried about how sa