Transcripts For BBCNEWS Victoria Derbyshire 20170301 : compa

is going to pick up their phone behind the wheel today without even thinking about it? don't do it because picking up a phone, no matter how nice you are or good you are, accidents like this can happen to anyone on the road by using a phone. and a test which is almost 100% accurate in telling mums to be whether the child they're carrying has down‘s syndrome is being made available on the nhs from next year. this morning there are yet more warnings it could lead to an increase in the number of abortions. we'll get reaction. hello and welcome to the programme. we're live until iiam. throughout the morning, we'll bring you the latest breaking news and developing stories. a little later in the programme we'll ask what's going on with ukip and hopefully speak to nigel farage who is annoyed that his only mp allegedly tried to block him getting a knighthood. should mr farage get a knighthood? tell me what you think. our top story today, drivers caught using their phone behind the wheel will now face tougher punishments. fines in england, wales and scotland will double to £200 and offenders will get six points on their licence. it will mean newly qualified drivers with less than two years on the road face losing their licence if they're caught sending a text. our correspondent, robert halljoined one police patrol in cambridgeshire as it stopped offenders. on a busy main road in cambridgeshire police cameras capture another offender. the evidence from around the uk is crystal clear, we've been warned, but we simply aren't listening. the most recent report from the rac found 31% of drivers admit to using a hand—held phone at the wheel compared with 8% two years ago. she had it held in both hands so texting or whatever with both thumbs. can you just follow me, please? this driver was spotted holding her phone to plot a route. you had your phone in both hands on top of your steering wheel. you may or may not be aware, it is going to change. six points and £200 fine and no option of any sort of education course at all. it's just how she was using her phone that makes it an offence. it's more than just making a phone call. further up the road, a two minute call will have serious consequences for this hgv driver. you were on your mobile phone. you are aware that's an offence? in the 20 odd years i've been on the road i've seen people with laptops. i've seen phone in one hand, lap on the other, and knee on the steering wheel. what just happened there, a minor indiscretion in relation to the scale of things, but no, i should know better. there'd been an accident... unfortunately your mum has been killed. police operations will now run alongside a media campaign centred on the family of one victim. higher penalties are only part of the answer. in the end, we must all be conscious of the lives we put at risk. there is nothing that is so important it cannot wait. don't use your phone whilst you're driving. almost all of us have done it at some point, let's be honest. is the increase in the punishment enough to stop you doing it ever again? we will talk to meg williamson later on. her story is absolutely devastating. she met the man who killed her boyfriend. the man was using his phone. in fact, he was having an argument with his ex—girlfriend and he went through the central reservation head—on into her boyfriend's car as he was driving to work for a night shift on a saturday night. please do listen to meg. that's at 10.15am. that's enough to make you stop ever using a phone again, i promise you. some messages from you. bear with me one second. sorry. "my wife and two sons were killed by a motorist using his mobile phone in 2002." joanna gosling is in the bbc newsroom with a summary of the rest of the day's news. president trump has promised a "new chapter of american greatness" in his first speech to congress. he appealed for unity, saying the time for "trivial fights" had passed. in an hour long speech he promised extra spending on infrastructure, the military and pledged to tackle illegal immigration and terrorism. 0ur correspondent laura bicker has this report from washington. donald trump's trip to congress gave them a few last moments to practise his speech. the president of the united states. applause p. applause. this platform is new territory for this political outsider. donald trump set out his vision with emphasis on border control. we must restore integrity and the rule of law at our borders. for that reason we will soon begin the construction of a great, great wall along our southern border. applause he softened his tone on immigration, talking of reform and a new merit—based system. i'm going to bring back millions ofjobs, protecting our workers also means reforming our system of legal immigration. the longest and most bipartisan applause of the night was saved for the widow of a navy seal. and ryan is looking down right now, you know that, and he's very happy because i think he just broke a record. applause. there was much in the speech for democrats to like. a trillion—dollar investment in infrastructure, talk of paid family leave, but most stayed stony faced throughout. we all bleed the same blood. we all salute the same great american flag and we all are made by the same god. this was the most presidential hour of donald trump's presidency and there will be some in his party breathing a sigh of relief. a new non—invasive test to detect down‘s syndrome early on in pregnancy will be rolled out next year on the nhs. there are concerns that the test could be misused to selectively abort babies on the basis of their sex. policy advisors at the nuffield council on bioethics also warn introducing it on the nhs could lead to an increase in the number of terminations following a diagnosis of down‘s syndrome. this programme has discovered that a charity which tried to force the nhs to give more people a treatment for hepatitis c has received hundreds of thousands of pounds from the drug's manufacturer. sovaldi can cure the disease for good in as little as eight weeks but due to its high cost, nhs england has limited its access to the sickest patients. the hepatitis c trust fought that decision and while it did not take money for the court case, we found it has accepted around £200,000 from the us drugs giant gilead. the charity denies taking the money means it's less lots of people try to influence us, but we just lots of people try to influence us, but wejust come lots of people try to influence us, but we just come back to the same thing. what's right for patients? and as long as we keep that at the fore front of what we're doing then that's fine. if at the same time, as i say, what we're doing is in somebody else's interest, fine. and we'll have more on that story in just a few minutes‘ time. the boss of uber, the taxi—booking app, travis kalanick has been forced to apologise after a video emerged of him swearing at a driver who complained he was not making enough money. mr kalanick later sent an email to his staff saying he was "ashamed" of his actions and that he is seeking help to improve his leadership skills. unite claims the car maker ford is planning to cut more than 1100 jobs at the bridgend engine plant in the next four years. workers meetings will be held at the site today in what unite said was a sign that strike action was one step closer, but ina strike action was one step closer, but in a statement this morning, ford said that levels of engine production from bridgend remain healthy and jobs in the up coming yea rs healthy and jobs in the up coming years a re healthy and jobs in the up coming years are expected to be similar to today's numbers. two women have been charged with the murder of kim jong—nam, the half—brother of north korean dictator kim jong—un. the pair, one of whom is vietnamese, the other indonesian, face the death penalty if found guilty. malaysian police believe they wiped the deadly vx nerve agent on his face just over a fortnight ago in kula lumpur airport. the women claim they thought they were taking part in a video prank. scientists have found evidence of a strong link between obesity and cancer. the study, at imperial college london, concluded that being obese increased the risk of getting 11 cancers including stomach, bowel and liver. researchers say maintaining a healthy weight is the single most important way to reduce the risk of cancer after not smoking. that's a summary of the latest bbc news. more at 9.30am. joe says, "don't assume we have all used mobile phones while behind the wheel. i have never done so." lesley says, "the increase in fines is good news, but it should include hands—free which is just as dangerous." another viewer tweets, "don't use your phone. what do people value more than their posh coffees, their phone." 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. let's get some sport with katherine. good morning katherine. we're going to talk golf first and there are some changes to be announced later? would you say golf is one of the most complicated sports in terms of rules of all the sport, i would say. i can't think of a sport with a fatter rule book. the thinking behind the changes is we need to make golf more simple because the numbers of people participating in the sport have declined rapidly over the sport have declined rapidly over the past 20 years or so and so the people who are behind the rule changes say this is the biggest raft of changes for a generation, designed to make the game more simple and therefore, more attractive and get more people playing. from the outside, they are not major changes. they are probably just minor tweaks to rules for people who don't play golfment for people who don't play golfment for people who don't play golfment for people who play the sport, it might make a lot of difference. people who play the sport, it might make a lot of differencelj people who play the sport, it might make a lot of difference. i never played golf. i've only ever done hitting a ball into a win mill and down an elepha nt‘s hitting a ball into a win mill and down an elephant‘s trunk. give me the rule changes? for people like you and, a round of golf can take you and, a round of golf can take you four—and—a—half, five hours, can't it? they are trying to say we should be playing a faster game. sow won't be able to look for your golf if you've lost it for more than three minutes. that should speed things up. there is lots of etiquette rules where you should wait for the player furthest from the hole to play the ball first. that can slow things down a bit. anyone who is addressing standing next to their ball can play it. that's a change that should speed things up and therefore, people don't have to give up, four or five hours to get into the sport at all. there is tweaks like new—style penalty drops. you will be able to putt and leave the flag in the hole whilst you're putting on the putting green. from outside the sport, it doesn't look like major changes, but they are saying that they are the rule makers of golf, these are the biggest set of changes for a generation. so will it make a difference? peu guess we will have to wait and see. the rules come into effect at the start of 2019. the first in what they say will be a raft of changes to make golf more simple and more enjoyable. make of that what you will. it's not going to be enough to make me go and play a round of golf. i'm not waiting until 2019 to do it! football and newcastle have taken a big step towards the premier league? they say it is the most lucrative promotion. the race is really hotting up, newcastle and brighton, top of table clash last night to see who would be in the position to go into the premier league. brighton we re into the premier league. brighton were leading for most of the match. they were 1—0 up for most of the match, but newcastle came back in the last ten minutes to score two goals and they are four points clear at the top. that could prove to be a vital win for them because newcastle 110w vital win for them because newcastle now have to face every other team in the top seven over the next few weeks. so a really tough few weeks coming upfor weeks. so a really tough few weeks coming up for newcastle in that race for premier league football next season, victoria. and finally roy hodgson is being linked with a high profile return to football? yes, big buzz around roy hodgson. the last time we saw him in action was when his england team were crashing out of the euros beaten by iceland, but many people in football today are saying he's the man with the integrity and the experience to ta ke the integrity and the experience to take over at leicester city where claudio ranieri was, of course, sacked last week. yes, that's that moment when england were beaten by iceland at the euros. perhaps roy hodgson will never be able to shrug off that horrendous experience, but maybe we will see him smiling again as he leads leicester, potentially, he has been lined up as the next leicester boss. all rumours, but we'll keep you up—to—date. hepatitis c is a debilitating illness. left untreated it can lead to cancer and liver failure. a breakthrough drug taken once a day can now cure the disease for good in as little as eight weeks. the problem is it's so expensive that nhs england has said it can only be given to the most sick. this programme has now found out that a charity that tried to force the health service to give more people the treatment has received hundreds of thousands of pounds from the us drugs giant that makes it. jim reed has this exclusive report. you know, it's hard, because there are days when i think about it. there are days like today, when i sit down and think about it, and it gets to me. so i'm cured of the hepatitis c, and yay! discovered less than 30 years ago. hard to find, until recently even harder to cure. 215,000 people in this country are infected with hepatitis c. spread by contact with infected blood, from dirty needles, unsafe transfusions or unprotected sex. left untreated, it can be fatal. for the first time now there is a cure that works for almost everyone. the problem — it's so expensive that not everyone can get hold of it. so that's it. all done. five months later. let's hope it works. keep everything crossed for me. healthcare should be a right for every person. this is the story of what could be the most profitable drug ever made. we've been looking into the company behind it and the funding of a charity that tried to force the nhs to buy more of it. you can categorically tell us that there was no drug industry funding that went into the court case, this was supporting... categorically. more on that claim later, but first, why are these new drugs so important in the first place? if i could speak to her now, then of course i would, you know, give her different advice, but what's gone is gone. you can't have regrets. like many others, zoe had been living with hep c for years, before she was diagnosed. most likely she was infected back in her 20s, when she took heroin for a short period. is there one you've just discovered? 30 years later, zoe is now a qualified social worker, and mum to three boys. four years ago, she found herself sick and always tired. i was struggling a lot, physically, but i put it down tojust being a single mum. i was working as a social worker full—time, a single mum to three boys, you know, you kind of expect to be tired. but the fatigue was just ridiculous. i was falling asleep in my office chair. struggling with memory problems. also having problems with my digestion, feeling nauseous. my diagnosis came along, and then i was able to go, 0k, this is why i've been feeling so rubbish for so long. it's not often a drug comes along that can change the world — antibiotics, the smallpox vaccine, hiv treatments maybe. then there is this, a drug called sofosbuvir or sovaldi, made by the american company gilead. in combination with other drugs, it can cure hepatitis c in as little as eight weeks, with very few side effects. here's the thing, though. we can only show you an empty pot. that's because the pills that should be inside are some of the most profitable and the most expensive ever made. the official or list price for a standard course of sovaldi is £35,000 in the uk, or more than £400 for each pill. the final price paid is confidential, but likely to be at least £20,000 a person. in some complex cases it could be a lot more. nevertheless, in 2015 the medicines watchdog nice ruled the cure is cost effective, compared with older treatments, often likened to chemotherapy. so you're talking about vast profits here, tens of billions of dollars. the academic andrew hill specialised in drug pricing. we should have a plan to eradicate hepatitis c from the united kingdom within a reasonable time, be it five years, maybe ten years. it can be done. it could be done if we tested and treated enough people, but we have to be able do this for a budget we can afford. but the new form of hepatitis c drugs are so expensive that last year nhs england did something it has never done before. it capped treatment, restricting it to 10,000 people a year. and that's despite spending an extra £200 million every year on the drugs. so, if like zoe, your condition is not seen as serious enough, then you miss out. i knew that there was a lot of cuts and a lot of issues financially, so to be told i wasn't sick enough, that because my liver was not cirrhotic, i wasn't on the transplant list, that i couldn't get treatment was absolutely devastating, i have to say. but i don't blame the nhs at all, just to be clear. it was after that i kind of went, 0k, what am i going to do? because i left the hospital in floods of tears, just thinking, well, what next, you know? across the world, the us drugs maker gilead has been targeted by protestors, angry at the high price of sovaldi. it's astronomical. working people cannot afford the cost of these drugs. international charities have been pressing the company to reduce its prices and increase the number treated. nobody is saying that pharmaceutical companies shouldn't make profits. just not the extortionate profits they are making. we are in a situation at moment where 350,000 people are dying each year of hepatitis c, completely unnecessarily because there is a cure. we are living in a world where life—saving medicine is taking a back seat to profit. it shouldn't be like that. i don't want to live with the uncertainties of hep c. gilead spent more than $140 millions in the us last year, advertising its new hepatitis c drugs. a senate investigation in 2015 accused the company of putting profit over patients, something it denied. the firm says it has now treated more than one million people with hepatitis c around the world, more than half of those in poorer countries where the drugs are discounted. in a statement it said... in england, it is not the drugs industry but the nhs which has taken the brunt of the criticism. that's after it capped treatment at 10,000 people a year, a fraction of the 215,000 living with the disease. charles gore runs the hepatitis c trust, which represents patients. this is not the most expensive drug by any means across the nhs. why pick on people with hep c? that's the only bit i am railing against the nhs for doing, is picking on people with hepatitis c and saying you're second class citizens. everybody else gets the drugs that nice say they can get, but not you guys. why? is it because it is associated with drug use? last year, the hepatitis c trust made the unusual decision to take nhs england to the high court, to try and get that cap lifted. the charity lost, but it was unclear at the time how its case was funded. the judge suggested it may have been the drugs industry, which had a lot to gain financially, that was really behind it. that's something the boss of the hepatitis c trust strongly denies. you can categorically tell us that there was no drug industry funding that went into the court case, this was supporting... categorically. categorically for precisely this reason, because we were doing it for patients. the fact that the drug companies stood to benefit from it is neither here nor there. it was very important to us to get crowdfunding for it, because this is patients going for what's good for patients. it might not have taken money for the court case, but we have looked into the charity's accounts. over the last three years it's accepted £200,000 from gilead, the us drugs giant which makes sovaldi. last year, a third of its income, £335,000, came from the drugs industry. the charity denies that taking that money has made it less likely to criticise gilead or other drug companies. 0bviously people try and influence us, the nhs tries and influence us, pharma tries to influence us, lots of people try to influence us, but we just come back to the same thing — what's right for patients? as long as we keep that at the forefront of what we're doing, that's fine. if at the same time, as i say, interests intersect, and what we are doing is in somebody‘s else's interests as well, fine. the drugs company gilead also said... with little chance of nhs treatment, zoe ended up doing what hundreds of others with hepatitis c are now doing. she went online and bought a cheaper generic copy of a drug from a developing country, in this case bangladesh. that's something the nhs cannot do without breaking international law. in the uk, though, it is legal for personal use, and costs around £1,000 a course. how much of a gamble did you think it was? it's still over £1,000 you're spending, that's still quite a lot a lot of money for something that could be a bit risky? you can't put a price on your life, can you? but you don't go know it's going to work? i couldn't go on like i was, so i had to make a decision. it was an informed choice, it wasn't, like, just throwing a coin up in the air. how unfair do you find it is that you have to go through all this? you know, these drugs are working, at a fraction of the cost that the pharmaceutical companies are charging. there's no reason why — i mean, we shouldn't have to pay, but at the same time, you know, we are lucky enough to have a health system in this country that was set up by, you know, some very passionate people in the 1940s, that you know, that gave everybody that equality, that right to health care. now lots of countries don't have that, but i think that's very important that we hold on to that very dearly. it's at such a big risk of being completely wiped out, and everyone deserves the right to be well, if possible. david e—mails, i had hepatitis cfor around ten years. the part that got to me was always having to be aware of not passing it on either through sex 01’ an of not passing it on either through sex oran injury of not passing it on either through sex or an injury where blood could spill. i have the treatment as part ofa spill. i have the treatment as part of a trial and was successfully cured. it is a huge weight off my shoulders. the treatment should be widely available, in my opinion. loads of comments on driving the tougher punishments coming in today if you are caught using a mobile phone. gene sauers who do you think you are when you talk to me and say almost all of us have use mobile phones while driving. adrian says i don't think the penalties go far enough, we ban drink—drivers, why treat the victims of mobile phone using drivers any differently? their they should face the same penalties, ban them automatically. when scissor don't goes far of how about 9—point and a £2500 fine to be paid within 30 days to stamp out this selfish action. john reckons he sees three to four mobiles being used in cars every day round here. i haven't seen a police officer in the last two yea rs a police officer in the last two years either on foot or in a car. the correlation is obvious. no point whatsoever having laws, however draconian, if you don't them. more government sticking plaster i'm sorry to say. andy says i think the penalties are being aimed in the wrong direction, notjust their vehicle they are using irresponsibly, but also their phone. take their phone from them, half of these idiots with lars —— rather use off lose the —— some of these idiots would rather lose their driving licence than their phone the six months. as store to come... a new noninvasive test allowing pregnant women to screen for down‘s syndrome will be available on the nhs from next year — donald trump calls for a new chapter in american greatness. we will ask one of his supporters exactly what that means. joanna gosling is in the newsroom of the rest of the day's news. punishments for using a mobile phone behind the wheel will double from today in england, wales and scotland. motorists face getting six points on their licence and a £200 fine. new drivers caught within two years of passing their test will lose their licence altogether. donald trump has promised a "new chapter of american greatness" in his first speech to congress. he also appealed for unity, saying the time for "trivial fights" had passed. in an hour long speech he promised extra spending on infrastructure, the military and pledged to tackle illegal immigration and terrorism. we just need the courage to share the dreams that fill our hearts. the bravery to express the hopes that share our souls and the confidence to turn those hopes and those dreams into action. from now on, america will be empowered by our as per rations. not burdened by ourfears. a new non—invasive test to detect down‘s syndrome early on in pregnancy will be rolled out next year on the nhs. there are concerns that the test could be misused to selectively abort babies on the basis of their sex. policy advisors at the nuffield council on bioethics also warn introducing it on the nhs could lead to an increase in the number of terminations following a diagnosis of down‘s syndrome. this programme has discovered that a charity which tried to force the nhs to give more people a treatment for hepatitis c has received hundreds of thousands of pounds from the drug's manufacturer. sovaldi can cure the disease for good in as little as eight weeks but due to its high cost, nhs england has limited its access to the sickest patients. the hepatitis c trust fought that decision and, while it did not take money for the court case, we found it has accepted around £200,000 from the us drugs giant gilead. the charity denies taking the money means it's less likely to be critical. that's a summary of the latest bbc news. the boss of uber, the taxi—booking app, travis kalanick has been forced to apologise after a video emerged of him swearing at a driver who complained he was not making enough money. mr kalanick later sent an email to his staff saying he was "ashamed" of his actions and that he is seeking help to improve his leadership skills. two women have been charged with the murder of kim jong—nam, the half—brother of north korean dictator kim jong—un. the pair, one of whom is vietnamese, the other indonesian, face the death penalty if found guilty. malaysian police believe they wiped the deadly vx nerve agent on his face just over a fortnight ago in kula lumpur airport. the women claim they thought they were taking part in a video prank. an appeal court in thailand has upheld the death sentences for two men for the murders of two british holiday—makers in 2015 after a controversial investigation which was marred by questions over the quality of the dna testing on which the conviction was based. that's a summary of the latest bbc news. more at 10am. does nigel farage deserve a knighthood? does nigel farage deserve a knighthood ? there does nigel farage deserve a knighthood? there is a row about it. nick says, "make him a lord and get him to campaign for the abolition of the house of lords." a few people have taken a peerage with the very intention of getting rid of the lords and the house of lords is bigger than ever as you know, over 800 peers now. paul says, "like him 01’ 800 peers now. paul says, "like him or hate him, he has changed the face of uk politics, given that he probably deserves a nighthood, individuals have been given nighthoods for a lot less." ian says, "mr farage does not deserve a knighthood. we don't know what brexit could bring. it could be a catastrophe." katherine downes has the sport headlines now. last night brighton or newcastle could have gone top of the championship after their top of the table clash last night, it is newcastle who are top of the tree for now. brighton lead for most of the match, but newcastle scored twice in the last ten minutes to go four points clear. the rumours are that roy hodgson is being lined up to replace claudio ranieri at leicester. the former england manager is bookies favourite to take over. leicester have declined to comment. golf's rule makers are set to announce what they are calling the biggest set of changes in a generation. they are introducing new rules to make the game simpler and quicker to play to try and encourage more people to pick up their clubs. rule change or no rule change you're unlikely to head out for a round. that's true, i can confirm that. president donald trump says the us is witnessing a "renewal of the american spirit", as he delivered his first speech to congress — the american parliament. the republican president spoke in a measured way, he was upbeat, as he talked about a "new chapter of american greatness". we cannot allow a beach head of terrorism to form inside america. we cannot allow our nation to become a sanctuary for extremists. applause. that is why my administration has been working on improved vetting procedures, and we will shortly take new steps to keep our nation safe and to keep those out who will do us harm. tonight, i am also calling on this congress to repeal and replace 0bamacare. applause. this is a $1 trillion investment in infrastructure of the united states, financed through both public and private capital, creating millions of newjobs. this is a $1 trillion investment in infrastructure of the united states, financed through both public and private capital, creating millions of newjobs. applause. by finally enforcing or immigration laws, we will raise wages, help the unemployed, save billions and billions of dollars, and make our communities safer for everyone. we will look back on tonight as when this new chapter of american greatness began. we just need the courage to share the dreams that fill our hearts, the bravery to express the hopes that sear our souls, and the confidence to turn those hopes and those dreams into action. let's get some more reaction to that speech from scottie nell—hughes a republican journalist and commentator and carmel martin a democrat from the centre for american progress. let me start with you, scottie, what does this renewal of the american spirit mean, do you think? well, it means, it is several things. it is a new programme of national rebuilding that in a rare instance republicans and democrats and economists can all agree about the question later on will be how do we pay for this spending? but what we saw last night was president trump delivering a very vintage trump message and democrats having to tread lightly because while they might not agree with the substance that president trump talked about, like the idea of rebuilding and renewing america. his speech was much calmer and it was something based on patriotism and you will see democrats it will be interesting to see how they continue to either criticise this message that seemed to at first, really unify our country. well, let's see. we can criticise the man's actions. his rhetoric continues to have a very populist feel. he's governing from the far—right. let's look what he has done in little more than a month. his action was to make it harder for middle—class americans, middle—class americans to get away mortgages. he took away overtime protection. he made it harder to save for retirement. he has enacted, moved forward executive action that is line the pockets of corporations and special interests. he reversed the rule that would bring transparency around gifts to oil and gas companies internationally. he made it easier... what about the things he mentioned in the speech? the almost £800 billion infrastructure package. you must welcome that? well, i would welcome investment, serious investment in america's infrastructure. well, you got it. we called that for a long time. but if you look at the plan he put out it would be again, tax breaks for people on wall street to be able to finance infrastructure programmes instead of investments in infrastructure which the end result is that projects that would already be funded will be funded, but there will be subsidies given to wall street which will be paid back by american consumers in the form of tolls and fees. if he is willing to put forward a real infrastructure package like democrats in the congress put forward about a month ago then yes, i would welcome that, but i don't think we have evidence that's what we will see from president trump or from republicans in congress. scottie, he did talk about massive tax relief for the middle classes. is that going to be paid for by poorer people? absolutely not. listen, i'm not denying that both sides don't already have their talking points prepared to combat as ijust heard. it seems like many democrats today did not listen to last night's speech and exactly what president trump was saying and where his emphasis was going forwardment now, we can talk about the details and how you're going to look at it, but no president is going to put... 0ver the last eight years we have seen a burden put on by the democrats and the 0bama administration on the middle—class and at the lower class hence why you saw a successful victory in november. so if the democrats are going to continue to spew this spin on, i guarantee you will see a win by the republicans going forward. i urge them to listen to president trump's speech last night. put partisanship aside and work with us on the side as i believe both sides have good points that we can together on. the democrats look look they want to continue this divide. is that really in the best interest of the american people? i will respond by saying the things i ponted to are things donald trump has done since he has taken the oath of office. these are not things that he said. these are things that he said. these are things that he has done. he has reversed overtime and made it hard tore invest in retirement. these are not things that are beneficial to middle—class people. at the same time he has packed his cabinet with billionaires and people who are pushing their own corporate interests. the provision he talked about that allows oil and gas companies to accept payments from foreign governments, for their actions and in the provision just required transparency around that, he reversed that. his secretary of state, lobbied heavily on that as the head of ex——on mobile. i mean during the campaign and even last night, there is a lot of rhetoric about working for middle—class, working americans, but his actions, he's not walking the walk. he is just talking the talk. when he starts walking the walk and puts forward policies that benefit those at the top of the income scale and not middle—class americans, his childcare proposal would be great for his daughter, it would allow people at the top end of the income scale to put away thousands of dollars away each year for private schools and private tutors. it is $10 a month for those at the lower end of the income scale. thank you, i'll pause there. thank you both. we appreciate it. thank you. coming up, we'll be speaking to the mum of the youngest ever baby to successfully undergo surgery after being born prematurely at just 23 weeks. that baby weighed 500 grams. the reason i've said it like that is because we brought a bag of sugar which is 500 grams. but honestly, tiny. penalties for driving with a mobile phone today will be increased and instead of three penalty points on your licence, you will get six. if your licence, you will get six. if you are a young driver with less than two years on the road, you will lose your licence completely. lose it. tell us if you think those increased penalties go far enough. meg williamson is a 27—year—old teacher. last june, meg williamson is a 27—year—old teacher. lastjune, her boyfriend gavin roberts was driving to work on the motorway when he was hit head—on by another car. the driver was 24—year—old lewis stratford who was on his mobile having an argument with his ex—as he drove to her house. mr roberts died four days after the accident. meg williamson asked to meet the man who killed her boyfriend. he agreed. the bbc‘s inside out south was there to ca ptu re inside out south was there to capture their conversation. the consultant took the family into the room and told them that there was nothing that they could do. and ijust remember my legs completely giving in. i remember my mum grabbing hold of me. and walking me through the intensive care unit. and it genuinely felt like a dream. it felt like i was watching, it happen to somebody else. i was on my phone, i was making the calls to my girlfriend at the time. i was scared of losing her. and yes, they were emotional calls, they were shouting calls, high emotional calls, raging calls that shouldn't have been made that night. and i've got to live with that forever and ever and ever. i know i've caused a lot of pain for a lot of people. for something that could have waited till the next day, i know that. i know what i've done, the lives i've ruined, yeah, i've ruined a lot of people's lives, happiness. i deserve everything i get from whatever comes now — hate, anger. i am sorry, but i can't keep saying sorry because i know people don't want to hear. sorry's not going to make things better, i know. ever. what were you arguing with the ex—girlfriend about? she was due to come up to me on the friday night, but she said no, and then we was arguing all day saturday. we were going to leave it to the sunday, so i'd go down the sunday morning. i got in on the saturday night and ijust drove down, angrily, while she was on the phone. no one thinks it will happen to them. it shouldn't take something like this for them to think, "i'll stop using the phone", people should know before. i learned the hard way, but it shouldn't have to be this way. what would you say to somebody who was going to pick up their phone behind the wheel today, without even thinking about it? don't do it, because picking up a phone, no matter how nice you are, or good you are, accidents like this can happen to anyone on the road by using a phone. something i have to learn from, pay a price for, and i will learn from it. are you angry at me? a little bit. yes. but then, so many people do it. so many people. but it was a stupid mistake. i don't want to hate you forever, i'm not that type of person. and eventually i'll probably be able to forgive you. but ijust needed some questions answering first. to be honest, i expected the hate and abuse. i don't know what you're like. i expect it from anyone that has seen me on the street. if they want to have a go, then i listen to it and i accept anything people have to say, like i was scared to meet you. thank you for agreeing to meet me, and answering my questions. i know it's been hard. wow, i meanwhile, louis stratford admitted the charges of death through dangerous driving. that was astonishing. what was it like for you? the initial meeting, even before i walk of the door, i was very anxious, mostly because i did not know kind of how my emotions we re not know kind of how my emotions were going to come out. i didn't know how lewis was going to react to me and religious making sure that i could get some questions answered. so it was difficult because i did not want to put any more blame on to him than he was overly filling himself. but my main focus really was just himself. but my main focus really wasjust thinking himself. but my main focus really was just thinking how else can i prevent anyone else having to go through this? why was it important for you to hear the answer to the questions you had from the man who was responsible for the death of your boyfriend? i think because of the beginning when i was originally with gavin in the hospital, i had a lot of anger, ifs and buts, and questioned myself. and then as time went on and i started to realise actually lewis is a real person, it could have been anyone behind that will on their phone. so it was important for me to hear from the one howard had impacted his life as well as mine and gavin and his family and friends. let's talk about that on the way to work, gavin was, ina that on the way to work, gavin was, in a chipped on a saturday night. yes, one of his last night shifts. he was working on the electrification of the railway cover something he was so, so happy to be pa rt something he was so, so happy to be part of, and he was so passionate about hisjob. part of, and he was so passionate about his job. we part of, and he was so passionate about hisjob. we had just had dinner with my parents the previous night, the first time they had met him. and then saturday evening came, he went off to work and i did not think anything of not hearing from him because i assumed he had gone out on track. it wasn't until sunday morning when i got that phone cord to say that he had not made it to work, he had been in an accident, that reality kind of hit hard. what happened when you go to the hospital, what are they say to you? they let me straightaway in the go and see him, i sat with him and talk to him, and he said he had been responsible sometime coming to the hospital, but the pressure in his brain had been building, so they wa nted brain had been building, so they wanted to take him down, do a scan, and then they put a stint in to try to relieve the pressure. but u nfortu nately to relieve the pressure. but unfortunately it was not successful, and so then we were told we needed to wait for a miracle. it was very hard. what did you say to him? i held his hand as best i could, because it was bandaged up and there we re because it was bandaged up and there were lots of tube similar way, and i just said to him not to be scared, —— lots of tube is in the way. i begged him to work up, i told him i would swap places with him, talked about the plans that we had, and the holidays and the memories we wanted to make. but time kept ticking by and there was nothing we could do. it was very hard. yes. do you think lewis understood ? it was very hard. yes. do you think lewis understood? what he had done? yes, i think he did, he was very compassionate. he spoke to be very openly about how he felt, he didn't wa nt openly about how he felt, he didn't want the sorrow and he didn't want people to feel sorry for him because he knew that sorry wasn't enough because it would never bring gavin back. but then the compassion in me, he has to live with this for the rest of his life. we can grieve and we can remember gavin positively and hopefully carry on a legacy of changing people's views of using the mobile behind the will but ten one will always have delivered what he did that night. when he asked you if you were angry with him, you said a little bit. a little bit. because the anger had worn off. i had come to realise that he was a real person, and it could have been me, my sisters, any of the friends or family that were either in gavin's position or in his position, and so asi position or in his position, and so as i started to understand ten one, and saw how he was so emotionally charged by the conversation i guess, i started to understand that he knew he had done wrong and he was willing to a cce pt he had done wrong and he was willing to accept the blame. what was really striking is that you said you don't wa nt to striking is that you said you don't want to hate because you are not that sort of person. because hate can bea that sort of person. because hate can be a very destructive emotion, can't it? yes, it would break me apart, make him feel even worse if i continue to hate him. he has told me he is sorry for what he has done, and he has said he is willing to accept the penalty of the consequences of his action. and, to me, ifi consequences of his action. and, to me, if i canjust start making changes, then ten one was part of the programme remade, and so ultimately people will be aware of what we have done at hopefully that will be a deterrent for them so it will be a deterrent for them so it will start to make the for people. lewis stratford is now preparing to go to jail. he is. he has told me he is scared, but he is willing to accept it. as part of igas is coping mechanism, he has looked into what he needs to do, and speaking to be hopped. let me read some comments from people who are reacting to your meeting with lewis stratford, and also the fact the penalties are increasing today. steve said this man deserves some credit. there was probably the hardest thing he has done. he knows it was wrong and he accepted. this person says i think the public victimisation is a bit sick, people don't concentrate 100% while driving all the time. it is natural. the only difference with lewis stratford is that he was having a full on argument with his ex—girlfriend on the phone, very emotionally charged. and driving angrily towards her home. which is not just a little angrily towards her home. which is notjust a little bit distracting, it led to that. somebody has said we are victimising him, it has not been like that at all. it certainly did not come across like that at all. he agreed to do it, and as part of his closure, it was something he wanted to work with to deter others. whether it is an emotionally detached conversation, or picking up the phone and moving it to the other side of the car it can be the difference between somebody getting to the end of theirjourney or not. what do you think about the increase of the sanctions? is it enough?” what do you think about the increase of the sanctions? is it enough? i am emotionally charged by this because of how wrapped up i am by gavin's event. i don't think it is enough. i think it should be increased. £200 is not a lot of money to some people if they can afford to have a car and a phone. so i personally would like to see some sort of deterrent, some sort of, and across europe they have graphically the advertisements to make sure —— tv advertisements to make sure —— tv advertisements to make sure —— tv advertisements to make sure people know the consequences. i think increasing it to £1000 and some ban or driving awareness course would be more beneficial but it is about re—educating people. we know it is illegal, we should not be doing it, and yet most of society have probably done it at some point.|j suggested that earlier and one woman was cross from the two sewing, she said actually not all of us have, some of us are pretty sensible. this viewer says new penalties for driving with a phone are still too small. if we drive of a car, the financial penalty needs to be around £1000 and the points should go to the maximum 12 straightaway. thank you very much for talking to us. appreciate the work you are doing. we will bring you the latest news and sport, but first the weather with carol. if you are thinking of travelling later this evening or overnight, it is worth flagging this up, very strong winds, even inland across southern counties of england, wales, east anglia and the midlands, gusting 50 to 60 mph, more than that of the coast. i will tell you more about that too as we go through the forecast. what we have this morning is very much varied weather, it is saint davids day, the sun in wembley this morning. we have one or two from neath. you can see from the sky it isa from neath. you can see from the sky it is a fairly still day. peter. to the day in edinburgh with lovely blue skies. in camera too just a little bit of cloud but still a very pleasa nt start little bit of cloud but still a very pleasant start to the data stop as we come further south, we have a set of weather fronts already bringing whether —— raining. they will continue to push across southern counties including the channel islands and move a little bit further north and east with as we had through the day. north of that again, we have some showers, particularly across parts of northern scotland, the pennines. some of them could be wintry in nature but most of that will be with height. some showers across the far north of scotland, some in the highlands but a lot of dry weather this afternoon. a fair bit of sunshine, edinburgh and glasgow peaking at six celsius. coming south into the midlands through norfolk and suffolk, we have that sunshine, north wales, cheshires abu dhabi cheshire, a similar story. then the rain in the southern counties through parts of southern counties through parts of south wales as well. behind this band of rain things start to liven up, we are looking at strong winds tonight, and there will also be rain. as it engages with the cold air further rain. as it engages with the cold airfurther north some rain. as it engages with the cold air further north some hill snow, and some at lower levels. the gaels coming about tea—time across south—west england. through the evening and overnight continued across southern counties of england. and we're looking at gusts of 50 to 60 mph. 0n the coast 60 to 70. that is enough to bring down branches of trees, have some flying baby for example and some tricky travelling conditions for high sided vehicles and light vehicles. at the same time, a band of rain continues to migrate northwards, by the time it gets the parts of north wales, the north midlands, northern england and the south of northern ireland, we will see the snow notjust on the hills but at lower levels. as we drift north of that, for the rest of northern ireland and scotland, it is a cold night. some frost around and the risk of ice on untreated surfaces. first thing in the morning it will still be extremely windy in the far south of the country, but quite quickly the wins will ease. it will still be a windy day, just not as windy as overnight. then you can see a lot of dry weather but there was to be showers of the north, some of them wintry. we have another system which keeps changing positions so keep an eye on this, bringing raining from the south—west. hello. it's wednesday. it's10am. i'm victoria derbyshire. coming up, more on the so called wonder drug that can cure hepatitis c. we'll find more about sovaldi. you can't put a price on your life, can you? reporter: you don't know that it is going to work. i couldn't go on as i was so i had to make a decision. why isn't it more widely available the nhs? we'll be talking to a former health minister and a patient who has used it. the coach who couriered a mystery package for sir bradley wiggins in a race he went on to win is due to give evidence to mps later. this was to cure a medical condition, the world governing body said this was not about trying to find a way to gain an unfair advantage. a test for down's syndrome is being made available on the nhs from next year. there are warnings it could lead to an increase in the number of adorations. we'll get reaction. here's joanna gosling in the bbc newsroom with a summary of today's news. punishments for using a mobile phone behind the wheel will double from today in england, wales and scotland. motorists face getting six points on their licence and a £200 fine. new drivers caught within two years of passing their test will lose their licence altogether. with us now is robert hall, who's in huntingdon in cambridgeshire. tell us what's happening there, robert? yes, good morning, joanna. this really simple message which is redrivers have been warned, but too many of us are just not listening to the advice. the latest survey from one of the large motoring organisations suggests that more than 30% of us now admit to using a hand—held mobile or some other device at the wheel. it is really very simple. if you do that, you will get six months on your licence and you will get a £200 fine. what you won't be allowed to do anymore is take a drier awareness course which was a softer option for first offenders. so the clampdown starts today. police forces across the uk, including here in cambridgeshire, we we re including here in cambridgeshire, we were out with them yesterday, are on the look—out in marked and unmarked vehicles. the message is very, very simple, you do not use if you're driving a vehicle any hand—held advice. that means you don't text or ta ke advice. that means you don't text or take pictures or watch things and you don't unless it is fixed somewhere, use it as a navigational device. the core message is we have got to take responsibility. we can't rely on enforcement. we can't rely on the police and we can't rely on the courts. if you have got a mobile phone if belongs in the glove box, joanna. thank you very much, robert. donald trump has promised a "new chapter of american greatness" in his first speech to congress. he also appealed for unity, saying the time for "trivial fights" had passed. in an hour long speech he promised extra spending on infrastructure, the military and pledged to tackle illegal immigration and terrorism. we just need the courage to share the dreams that fill our hearts. the bravery to express the hopes that share our souls and the confidence to turn those hopes and those dreams into action. from now on, america will be empowered by our as per rations. not burdened by our fears. from now on, america will be empowered by our asperations. not burdened by our fears. a new non—invasive test to detect down's syndrome early on in pregnancy will be rolled out next year on the nhs. there are concerns that the test could be misused to selectively abort babies on the basis of their sex. policy advisors at the nuffield council on bioethics also warn introducing it on the nhs could lead to an increase in the number of terminations following a diagnosis of down's syndrome. victoria will be speaking to women who had to make decisions about down's syndrome in the next few minutes. an appeal court in thailand has upheld the death sentences against two burmese men for the murders of two british tourists in 2014. the two men were convicted of the murders of hannah witheridge and david miller in december 2015, after a controversial investigation which was marred by questions over the quality of the dna testing on which the conviction was based. that's a summary of the latest bbc news. more at 10.30am. there is a lot of respect from you from meg williamson who was on the programme talking about the meeting she had with the driver who was on the phone when he crashed into her boyfriend. gavin was driving to work and he died. a lot of people saying how strong she has been. this police officer says, "goodness me, an amazing strength of all involved in what is a massive restorative justice programme. programme." another viewer says, "what a brave lady. this is strong journalism " "what a brave lady. this is strong journalism." steve says, "what a lady. it is easy for her to hate the man who did this, yet she doesn't. i hope they both find their peace." thank you very much for those. we will talk to a chief constable in the next hour. the national chiefs police council for roads policing. some of you say there aren't enough officers out there. do get in touch with us throughout the morning — use the hashtag #victorialive and if you text, you will be charged at the standard network rate. here's some sport now with katherine downes. newcastle have taken a big step towards making an instant return to the premier league. they are top of the championship and above brighton after beating their nearest rivals 2—1. brighton were leading until newcastle had a real piece of fortune with their equaliser. mohamed diame levelled when christian atsu's shot looped up off his boot. ayoze perez completed the comeback for newcastle in the 89th minute, who now have an eight point lead over third placed huddersfield. rumour has it that roy hodgson is being lined up to be the next leicester city manager. hodgson has been out of a job since this — england's humiliating defeat to iceland at last summer's euros. leicester sacked claudio ranieri last week. they have declined to comment on the possibility of hodgson getting the job. more on the rules of golf now, the biggest set of changes in a generation are to be announced this afternoon, according to the game's rulemakers. our golf correspondent iain carter joins me now for more on this. the biggest set of changes in a generation and announced at lunch time so we're not 100% sure what they are. but you've got an idea. can you talk us through some of them? the idea is to make the game easier to understand. quicker to play and more enjoyable. so i think what you will see is decisions made that will mean that you won't get two shot penalties for things, for inadvertent mistakes and those kind of things. i think it will be made simpler. if you're taking a penalty drop ora simpler. if you're taking a penalty drop or a free drop you will be able to do that in a much less procedural way compared in other aspects of the game. at the moment you have to hold your arm game. at the moment you have to hold yourarm up at game. at the moment you have to hold your arm up at shoulder—height and drop from there. you will be able to drop from there. you will be able to drop from there. you will be able to drop from much lower over the ground and the idea is to keep the ball moving, keep play going and get rid of the feelings of injustice that so many of us golfers feel when things go awry and we feel we've been u nfa i rly go awry and we feel we've been unfairly punished by the rules. go awry and we feel we've been unfairly punished by the ruleslj go awry and we feel we've been unfairly punished by the rules. i do play golf. in 2019 when the rules come into play, i will be thinking about how they will affect me differently, how i will be executing them dimply on the course, but i was talking to victoria earlier, she is not a golfer. she says that these seem very minorfrom not a golfer. she says that these seem very minor from outside of the game and they‘ re seem very minor from outside of the game and they're not likely to entice her to play the sport which is what this is all about, do you think that these are supposed to be simp fugue the game and making it more attractive and getting people in and play it. do you think they will make any difference? they will. i think collectively they will make a big difference. individually, they are minor adjustments and the fundamentals of the game will remain exactly the same. it will be a simple ball and stick game in which you're trying to get the ball into the hole in the fewest number of shots. the idea is that you don't get bogged down in complicated rules and that sort of thing and attracting penalty shots and generally having the game working against you. the idea of the us ga and the rna is to make it more enjoyable, to make that rule book so much easier to understand. at the moment, if you get into a difficulty on the golf course, you open up the rule book and i'm a golf correspondent and there are times when i'm scratching my head look at it and saying, "what should i be doing next?" they are trying to get away from it. ian kaerter, thank you. has that convinced you to give ita go? you. has that convinced you to give it a go? the world divides into people who play golf and people who don't. maybe that's really harsh. give it a go. i'm washing my hair. i have got no time! next this morning, we're going to take a look at tests for pregnant women which can detect whether or not a baby is going to be born with down's syndrome. at the moment the test, which is called non—invasive pre—natal testing is only available privately — that will change next year when it's rolled out on the nhs. the tests are 99% accurate and promise to reduce the risk of miscarriages linked to the invasive amniocentesis test, previously the only way of accurately diagnosing down's. but there are warnings this morning that it could be misused to selectively abort babies on the basis of their sex. policy advisors at the nuffield council on bioethics also warn introducing it on the nhs could lead to an increase in the number of terminations following a diagnosis of down's syndrome. they're launching their report with the actress sally phillips, whose son olly has down's syndrome. last year she made a documentary looking at the ethical issues surrounding these new tests. knock, knock. who's there? chicken. chicken who? buck, buck. laughter. what? that's rubbish! knock, knock. who's there? eddie five. eddie five who? doctor! this is olly. my son. he likes chocolate ice—cream. he likes barcelona football club. he also has down's syndrome. when olly was diagnosed 11 years ago, i never could have imagined that our family was going to end up looking like this. or like this. but although olly is the reason i started making this film, it's notjust a film about him. it's notjust about down's syndrome either, it's a film that asks the question — what kind of society do we want to live in? and who do we think should be allowed to live in it? so will it lead to an increase in the number of abortions for childen with down's? we can speak now to lucienne cooper. lucienne's eight—year—old son billy has down's syndrome, and nursev morris, whose eight—month—old baby benjamin has down's. she has had the nipt blood test with benjamin which showed positive. julia langdon had amniocentesis in the early 80s and decided to abort her down's baby. in a moment we're hoping to speak to holly riseborough who is 21 and has down's syndrome, she's been on our pogramme before. i think you were 32 weeks pregnant when you found out. how did you react? i had amniocentesis because of complications in my pregnancy. i chose to have it. it came back with the initial screening as having a high chance of having a child with down's syndrome, but i chose not to have am neo at that point because of the risk of miscarriage and i knew i was going to have my child whether it had down's syndrome or not, but when i was given a diagnosis, i was shock. i didn't know anyone with down's syndrome. i had the outdated notion that a life with down's syndrome would be devastating for my child, devastating for me, changing my life, my whole family's life. i like to say that now my son is seven actually, seven years down the line, it isn't anything like the dismal life i expected to have at that point of diagnosis. billy has a very fulfilling life. he's doing very well at school. and he enhances our family like any other child that, our other son that we have. so yeah, i was devastated, but now, you know, it's a joyous thing. it really is. how is benjamin doing? he's thriving as well as you can see. absolutely. you had the test when you found out that benjamin was going to be down's how did you and your partner react? it was a big shockment we went through a type of mourning process, you know, first of all, we had the gender because we had it privately so we we re gender because we had it privately so we were looking forward to having a girl. it's another boy because we have a seven—year—old boy who is an amazing big brother. sorry, my darling, come. for us, we went lieu this mourning process of what's it going to mean for his life? is he going to mean for his life? is he going to mean for his life? is he going to be able to get married, have children, have a happy life, have children, have a happy life, have a good job, all these things you hope for your children. and for us, we were glad that we had the nip test because it gave us time to go through that process before having benjamin. whereas if we found out after giving birth at that point it would have been much more difficult to go through that process then to build the bond, the relationship, and so we were glad we had it and i've had it again with this new pregnancy. this time on the nhs, so we weren't informed of the sex, but we weren't informed of the sex, but we got a low risk for down's syndrome which again gave us peace of mind and now we canjust focus on enjoying the pregnancy and getting ready for our child to come. we can talk to holly rice pro who has been on the programme before. how are you? i think we need to open your microphone, just give me one sect, can you hear me? yes, i can. we can hear you now. how are you? fine, thank you. to keep talking to us again. i remember last time you said that you love gymnastics, what is biggest achievement?” said that you love gymnastics, what is biggest achievement? i went to america. i really enjoyed it, it was such a big achievement really. very good. absolutely. you are telling us as well about working at tesco, how is that going? really good thank you. i work on checkouts, and i am really enjoying it at tesco's. is that one day a week at the moment? yes. that is it. and what would you say is the best thing about your life? the best thing in my life, i am in college, acting, modelling, acting, dancing outside of college. what about your mum and dad, how supportive are they? 0h, mum... my mum has like really supported me really, because she is there all the time, and my dad, he has always dealt with me all the time, because he always can always looks after me every single time. wow. that is lovely to hear, holly. thank you so much for coming on the programme, really nice to talk to you again. ok. really nice to talk to you again. 0k. thanks, holly. take care. take care. julie comey you had prenatal screening in the 80s, and you decided to have a termination i think in 1982. tell us a little bit about that. well, i was 36, rising 37 at the time. i had become pregnant by accident. and i was not in the position to look after a disabled child, and i asked for amniocentesis and i was initially refused because at the time they only started testing at 37. they saidi only started testing at 37. they said i was more likely to miscarry from the tests than to have a down's baby. i pointed out that if i miscarried from the test i could get pregnant again, but if i had a down's baby i was in no position to look after it, i would have to quit work, and not saying that open my work, and not saying that open my work before my children, i wouldn't of course, but i wasn't in the right circumstances. and my pregnancy was proved to be down's. and i realised then that actually i had taken the decision already when i had asked for the test and successfully secured it. i had to give birth. it was a very traumatic and difficult time. my partner and was a very traumatic and difficult time. my partnerand i was a very traumatic and difficult time. my partner and i were very, very traumatised by it obviously but we went on to have two lovely children when things were sorted between us. let me ask you all about this test that has been rolled out on the nhs. at the moment you can only get it privately, as i said. it is noninvasive, a much reduced risk of miscarriage. do you think it is a good thing, lucienne, that it will be available more widely?” good thing, lucienne, that it will be available more widely? i think as long as it is handled with the enormity that it implies then it could be a good thing, absolutely. but we need to mitchell that if we are talking about down's syndrome... there are two things i want to ask you about, firstly down's syndrome, and termination is based on the sex of the child, which this can show. in terms of down syndrome, they need to make sure there is support out there if you are given a positive diagnosis of down syndrome that you are given balanced information. it is all about both sides of the story. so that the idea in my mind of the nipt for down's syndrome is to give people time to prepare for having a disabled child. they need to have both sides of the story of life with down syndrome. it isn't easy, as you know, it does have its difficulties, but doesn't parenting anyway? yes. and you were not given both sides, as you put it? no. i run a down syndrome support group currently and i know the still goes on in the nhs. i was told, i'm sorry, by my gp, that i on in the nhs. i was told, i'm sorry. by my gp, that i have on in the nhs. i was told, i'm sorry, by my gp, that i have a child with down's syndrome. i was given no up—to—date information, no signposting to support groups, no idea of what life with down syndrome would be full stop what about you, we re would be full stop what about you, were you? exactly the same situation. i am still waiting for counselling, he is a year. no support. they did not give us any positive information, and it was the same actually when we paid privately to have the nipt. we received no information from them. and from the nhs side, we were pushed to abort, we re nhs side, we were pushed to abort, were repeatedly asked are you still committed to the pregnancy, i used committed to the pregnancy, i used committed to the pregnancy, i used committed to the pregnancy, at every consultant appointment we were told i'm sorry... do they not have an application —— obligation to check your state of mind by asking that question? yes, maybe in the first meeting, but when we said we are christians, we have said from the outset we are not going to be aborting our child, we are going to go ahead, we just need your support now. what does it mean, having down's syndrome? now. what does it mean, having down's syndrome ? the now. what does it mean, having down's syndrome? the explanation we received from the consultant, well, you know, these days it doesn't mean much, you know. they lived a bit longer so it's all right, and he will never be a rocket scientist, he will never be a rocket scientist, he will never be prime minister, but it is all right because down's kids are good with music. 0h is all right because down's kids are good with music. oh my gosh, are you joking me? i wish i was. good with music. oh my gosh, are you joking me? iwish i was. it good with music. oh my gosh, are you joking me? i wish i was. it happens time and time again. through my support groups, those who continue to have the pregnancy, they are consta ntly to have the pregnancy, they are constantly reminded, are you sure, it is not too late? this has to stop. there needs to be set protocols that professionals have to follow if you continue to have a pregnancy with a child with down syndrome. let me ask you about the warning from the nuffield council about this test being more widely available and therefore there are concerns it might lead to terminations on the basis of the sex of the child. sex elect of terminations. what do you think of that? i don't think that is desirable at all. they're obviously cultural issues here and i think that would be very alarming. my only point is i think that women, pa rents, point is i think that women, parents, should be able to choose if they want to raise a disabled child. i have two friends who have had down's babies, and they have had a very different, well, difficult lives, but one has been very happy. the little girl is quite disabled, quite severely disabled. so i do know and i understand, but i think it should not be used for selective choice of what sort of baby you want, designer babies as we call it, of course. let me read the messages from people around the country. the street from lose the label, defining a person by their diagnosis is dehumanising. please say a baby with down's or a person with down's please. joe says we should be ashamed for introducing these down's test, its just that to say whatever not worth living. elisabeth says all nhs staff need to be educated with up—to—date information on down's syndrome. kerry says who among us is qualified tojudge who syndrome. kerry says who among us is qualified to judge who is deserving of life and who isn't? thank you very much all for coming on the programme. good luck with your third one, good luck. your own experiences are very one, good luck. your own experiences are very welcome, as one, good luck. your own experiences are very welcome, as you know. voters in northern ireland will go to the polls tomorrow in a snap election. the assembly there collapsed in a row over the spiralling costs to fund a green fuel incentive scheme. but it's again highlighted how, despite years of peace building, the community is still divided. our reporter declan harvey's been in armagh to ask a group of young mums what they'd like to see politicians do so the next generation can grow up more united. when the good friday agreement was signed to 20 years ago, pretty much all of the violence on the streets ended. what about the promises of bringing the community closer together again? well, divides still exist. of course it is not a concern when there are dolls to be addressed and blocks to be built, but their mums hope these toddlers will never know the experiences they had growing up in the split community.” remember the police standing at the back of our house, as you are making your breakfast going to school, they we re your breakfast going to school, they were standing at the bus stop. your breakfast going to school, they were standing at the bus stopm was were standing at the bus stopm was something where you kind of thought, not like there he has a gun, it was just there are thought, not like there he has a gun, it wasjust there are soldiers on the streets, that is what happened. people in england thought whenever you see on the news, wannabe went across the road there we re wannabe went across the road there were bullets over your head, and it was were bullets over your head, and it was not like that. going to school was a wee was not like that. going to school was a wee bit different because you felt the dubai there. we all went to one or the other, so when you with your friends, you were probably that we get more —— we felt the divide fair. there has been changes in the la st fair. there has been changes in the last 20 years from what the troubles were. it has got a lot more liberated and mixed and peaceful but it could still come on a good bit as well. everyone in northern ireland has taken large steps forward, but what signs are there these days?” would say certain names, catholic names and would say certain names, catholic na mes a nd protesta nt would say certain names, catholic names and protestant names, certain names and protestant names, certain names would have certain backgrounds and they would not always certainly go to and they would not always certainly gotoa and they would not always certainly go to a certain pub or bar if you have that name, because you might just be singled out. kerbstones painted, lamp posts painted just so you know what area you are in generally. a common complaint about politicians here is how they avoid talking about day—to—day issues and instead focus on northern ireland's place within the uk. politicians who put leaflets through my door, i would like to have no flag on it, i would like to have no flag on it, i would like to have no flag on it, i would like to have a list of what their policies are for health, education, the environment. because what comes through your door is coloured one side or the other but you don't know what they are actually going to stand for. these mums come from across the community, but when we asked what is the one thing they would like to see changed after the election, they all gave the same answer. integrated schools. integrated education is where anybody no matter what religion you are, what your background is, you grow up in the same school, all religions are taught to all of the children, they don't know any different. as it stands, 9396 of schools available for these kids identify as being either majority catholic or protestant. in my own peer group, there are still some pa rents peer group, there are still some parents who have that opinion of them and us. their children go here and our children do this. their primary school and our primary school and their secondary and arrows. the first integrated school opened in the committee one but growth has slowed, despite funding being promised. existing schools are offering schemes where students can collaborate on mixed projects. none of the five biggest parties in northern ireland support more division, but they vary in their appetite for abandoning religious lead schools. a review is being held but it is one of the many things delayed by this snap election. but it is one of the many things delayed by this snap electionm but it is one of the many things delayed by this snap election. it is very frustrating. it could be all talk. when i look through the leaflets that come through the door, the first thing i look for is the politicians's view on integrated education. why does it have to be one—sided or the other? education. why does it have to be one-sided or the other? these mums talk about how being taught in separate schools affected them but they say the best thing that can be done now is to scrap the system before their kids which the classroom. that election is tomorrow — full results on bbc news on friday. still to come in the last half hour... we'll be talking to a former health minister about a new "wonder drug" for hepatitis c and allegations that a charity campaigning to get the nhs to provide it has received money from the drug's manufacturers. we will talk to the mum of a baby who was born 23 weeks early and survived surgery in the first six days of her life. coming up to half ten, here's the latest news will stop punishments for using a mobile phone behind the wheel will double today from england, wales and scotland. motorists face six point on the license and a £200 fine. new drivers caught within two years of passing their test will lose their licence altogether. we just need the courage to share the dreams that fill our hearts. the bravery to express the hopes that share our souls and the confidence to turn those hopes and those dreams into action. from now on, america will be empowered by our asperations. not burdened by our fears. francois fillon, who only weeks ago was the frontrunner for the french presidency, is to make a statement later after pulling out of a key campaign event. financial police have been investigating allegations that he paid his wife and children parliamentary salaries for bogus work, accusations which they all deny. he's giving a news conference at 11am. katherine downes has the sport headlines now. last night — brighton or newcastle could have gone top of the championship — after their top of the table clash last night, it is newcastle who are top of the tree for now. brighton lead for most of the match but newcastle scored twice in the last ten minutes to go four points clear. the rumours are that roy hodgson is being lined up to replace claudio ranieri at leicester. the former england manager is bookies favourite to take over. leicester have declined to comment. and golf‘s rule—makers are set to announce what they're calling "the biggest set of changes in a generation". they're introducing new rules to make the game simpler and quicker to play to try and encourage more people to pick up their clubs. having spoken about it for most of the morning i haven't managed to persuade victoria to pick up her clu bs persuade victoria to pick up her clubs and have a go. but we won't keep on going on about if! the former british cycling coach who delivered a "mystery" package to sir bradley wiggins on the eve of his win at a big race in france in 2011 will today give evidence at a government inquiry into doping. his name is simon cope. he delivered it to a doctor called richard freeman who was also due to give evidence at the culture, media and sport select committee inquiry this afternoon, but now says he's ill and can't come. team sky boss sir dave brailsford says he was told the package contained a legal decongestant, but mps say they are concerned by some of the evidence they've heard. so what questions remain about sir bradley wiggins and the mystery package? w here is a padded envelope. on the last day of the cycle race in 2011, it was delivered to team sky. simon cope, who worked for british cycling from manchester to geneva before heading into france to hand it to the team sky doctor, richard freeman. shane sutton says richard freeman. shane sutton says richard freeman gave the contents to bradley wiggins. so what was in the package? its co nte nts wiggins. so what was in the package? its contents haven't been independently confirmed. sir dave brailsford, the team sky boss, told mps in december that the package contained a deacon guestant. there is the rules and then there is the principle and our values and our values and our principles are very, very clear. we race clean and that's it. (bleep). but there are some questions outstanding such as why couldn't the team just buy the deacon guestant local? is there a paper trail to back up claims what was in it, why did simon cope not bother to check what was in it and if the contents were destined for bradley wiggins then why was he taking a deacon guestant which is not meant to be used by atmatics as wiggins is one? it is not the first time bradley wiggins faced questions about the way he used medication. this is was to cure a medical condition and the world doping agency and everyone said this was about, this wasn't about trying to find a way to gain an unfair advantage, this was about putting myself back on a level playing field. despite what is known about the package, questions still remain about its contents. a uk anti—doping investigation into the package is still on going. there is no suggestion either bradley wiggins or tea m suggestion either bradley wiggins or team sky have broken any rules. let's talk now to mp chris matheson a labour mp who sits on the culture, media, and sport select committee who are conducting this inquiry into doping and matt lawton, chief sports reporter of the daily mail who has been investigating what was in the package. he's just won an award for hisjournalism at the sportsjournalists' association awards. right, chris, the only other person apart from bradley wiggins who can tell you what's in the package is dr rup ard freeman. he can't now come to give evidence this afternoon. why not? apparently, he's not well. we offered him the opportunity to give evidence by video conference as well and he didn't want to do that. we will be writing to him to get a nswe rs will be writing to him to get a nswers to will be writing to him to get answers to the questions that we still need answers to, but i would have preferred to see him at the committee. will you call him at another time? we will keep that option open. how ill is he? i don't know. i haven't asked. why is richard freeman the only person who would know what's in the package? 123450 there was the third person. there is the physiotherapist at british cycling who was asked to pull it off—the—shelf in the store and package it up. so, but yeah, there are three people that would know for sure that had eyes on the package if you like. and would know which drug was administered. we believe a drug was administered because shane sutton, who was wiggins' coach told the committee in december that freeman told him the drug had been administered that day. after the race. 0k. andjust drug had been administered that day. after the race. 0k. and just explain why you would administer a drug after a race when it has been won? well, the reason that we have been given is because bradley wiggins was ill towards the end of the race. what is slightly troubling about that version of events that dave b ra ilsfo rd that version of events that dave brailsford presented to the committee in december is the fact that british cycling then submitted simon cope's expenses documents to the committee. simon cope was the man who through from britain to geneva and drove to france with the package? yes, but what we know, this isa package? yes, but what we know, this is a seven day race. wiggins won the race, if he was ill, then he was presumably ill mid—way through the race because simon cope was asked to go and get the package and travel to manchester to get the package on 8th june 2011, he didn't arrive in france for freeman to treat wiggins until 12thjune. france for freeman to treat wiggins until 12th june. so what we have france for freeman to treat wiggins until 12thjune. so what we have is a situation where he was given the medication that they could have nipped across a road in france and ina nipped across a road in france and in a pharmacy bought. if bradley wiggins was ill, the doctor had to tell bradley wiggins he would have to wait four days to treat him. for you that raises question marks?” find that implausible. i find it worrying. you will know that sir dave bra ilsford worrying. you will know that sir dave brailsford has said over and over again, we have done nothing wrong. the package contained this deacon guestant, although dave b ra ilsfo rd deacon guestant, although dave brailsford had not seen what was in the package, but that's what he told you in evidence. why don't you believe it was the deacon guestant? it is not that i don't believe. it's the evidence. it's the evidence that we have. there was an allegation, this began with an allegation which was a this began with an allegation which was a story i was told about the package. i began to ask questions about the package. i directed my questions to british cycling, team sky. questions to british cycling, team sky, and bradley wiggins' representatives and then what followed representatives and then what followe d wa s representatives and then what followed was this attempt to basically deny that there was even a trip with a medical package to france because i was initially told by sir dave brailsford that simon cope did not travel to deliver a medical package, but to meet a female british cyclist called emma pooley and that's why he was there. we discovered that she wasn't even in france that day, she was in spain. so things didn't add up from what you had been told. however, dave bra ilsford what you had been told. however, dave brailsford and bradley wiggins say they haven't broken any rules. well, look, all we've done so far victoria is ask the question and all i have done is report the responses to the questions that i've asked based on the allegation that was made to me in the first place, you know, it is the way we work as journalists. an allegation is made, you ask the question and this is the response. the version of events doesn't seem to add up because they we nt doesn't seem to add up because they went to this trouble where a guy we nt went to this trouble where a guy went ona went to this trouble where a guy went on a train from the south coast to manchester and flew out three days later and it is available over the counter in france for eight euros. you had a two hour meeting with dave brailsford, the subject didn't come up then, you weren't told then? no. my original questions, there was something like, it was over a week between my original questions and that meeting so no, that's not quite true. there was so no, that's not quite true. there was four or five days between my original questions and that meeting and no, the drug wasn't mentioned. there was over a week before we prunted the there was over a week before we pru nted the story. there was over a week before we prunted the story. so that meeting was on prunted the story. so that meeting was on the tuesday and it was the thursday the following week that we actually ran the story and at no time in that period, were we ever given flumasil as a reason. do you think flumasil was in that package? it is not suitable to be given to people with asthma and we understand that bradley wiggins has asthma. at we have had more questions than a nswe rs. at we have had more questions than answers. everything is murky. it could have been flumazenil in there. what questions do you need to ask? we need to ask mr pooley what was in the package. it was him that was in the package. it was him that was transporting it and taking it on to planes, he should have known what was in there. mr pooley? mr cope. simon cope. mr cope, we need to be asking him if he knew what was in the package? why didn't he know? why was he doing this courierjob when he is supposed to be the manager of the women's team and where do his responsibilities to team sky begin and his responsibilities for uk cycling. have you requested that bradley wiggins come before you? we haven't yet. it would seem to be a no brainer. we will see what mr cope has to say. why not? we are following the evidence. he was the person who received the drugs being administered so he would know?- the same time, of course, we are talking about issues that might be considered medically confidential to him. so we have to respect that medical confidentiality, but at some point... we all know he has got asthma? indeed. these are the questions we will be asking today. final word. the questions we will be asking today.l final word. the key thing questions we will be asking today. finalword. the key thing in decembersir finalword. the key thing in december sir dave brailsford and the british cycling president agreed with the committee that there should bea with the committee that there should be a papertrail with the committee that there should be a paper trail that proves this that the package contained flumazenil i believe today the uk chief executive, the uk anti—doping chief executive, the uk anti—doping chief executive, the uk anti—doping chief executive will confirm there is no paper trail. thank you very much. that select committee hearing is this afternoon. and just to reiterate sir dave brailsford and sir bradley wiggins have consistently denied any wrongdoing. sir dave brailsford told mps that that package contained a legal deacon guessant. we'll be talking to a former health minister about a new "wonder drug" for hepatitis c and allegations that a charity campaigning to get the nhs to provide it has received money from the drug's manufacturers. surgeons believe they have operated on the youngest patient ever to undergo — and survive — major abdominal surgery anywhere in the world. st george's hospital in london operated on a premature baby who was born atjust 23 weeks and was just six days old. patient abiageal peters weighed only 1.3 lbs — or0.5 kilograms — that's the weight of this bag of sugar — when doctors realised she needed emergency surgery. her intestine had ruptured in three places because of a severe condition of the gut called necrotizing enterocolitis. we can speak to her mum louise peters. and the surgeon who carried out the operation is mr zahid mukhtar at st george's hospital in london. hi both of you. good morning. hi louise, how are you? very well. how are you? i'm very well, thank you. tell us about the birth of abigail. well, it certainly didn't go how we expected it to. i was over half—way through my pregnancy and i was at home on a monday and my waters broke andi home on a monday and my waters broke and i kind of wasn't really sure what was happening to be honest and was in denial hoping that wasn't what it was. so i had to get an ambulance to hospital and when i got there, they said that's what happened and i ended up two days later i went into labour and she was born at 23 weeks plus three days. how was she then? 0h, she was tiny. she, she just, just bigger than the size of my hand. she was a very strange colour, translucent skin and they had to put her on life support. so, put a tube down her throat which took them a while to do. so we were just sat there waiting for an update oi'i just sat there waiting for an update on how she was because they said she could come out looking very ill and probably wouldn't survive or if she looked strong then they would work oi'i looked strong then they would work on herand looked strong then they would work on her and rush her off to help her. so fortunately, they were able to help her, but very scary. i'm not surprised. really a very tough time for you as you were just hoping that she would survive. when did it become clear that she was going to need major surgery? well, on about day five. we were at st peter's and we had a bit of a honeymoon period and we thought she was doing really well and she was in the incubator and seemed stable and about day five she just started to deteriorate badly and needed more oxygen and her stomach was starting to look very plaque and looked bad and the doctors explained it could be a general decline and that she was giving up the fight or it could be that she had a problem with her bowel. so the ambulance came and we we re bowel. so the ambulance came and we were rushed over to st george's in case she did need surgery which she did end up needing, but it was, yeah, day five, really. let me bring in mr mukhtar, clearly you are a very busy man, sol let me bring in mr mukhtar, clearly you are a very busy man, so i am grateful for your time, but you are a very busy man, so i am gratefulfor your time, but i wonder if you could give an insight to our audience about this very important and risky surgery on such a tiny baby? yes, thank you for having us here, victoria. it is a very unusual situation where we had abigail born at 23 weeks gestation. babies very rarely survive when they are born that early. she was a real fighter and had a lot of tenacity and was coming through but unfortunately developed this competition where she had ruptured her intestines. that in itself has a very high mortality, very few babies survive that. then the decision to operate on that was a really difficult and tough one well had to talk to her parents and the rest of her team and make that decision. we have operated on small babies born at 25, 26 weeks gestation before, that this is really the list we have ever done. there is a difference in that abigail, not only was she very small, she was very premature, so her tissues were very fragile, very jelly—like. so the surgery was very difficult. even getting her to the operating theatre alive and stable was quite a challenge and that is a testa m e nt to was quite a challenge and that is a testament to our anaesthetic team who can keep tiny babies alive in that sort of situation. during the surgery, that sort of situation. during the surgery, my goodness, you can imagine she would not have very much blood to lose. so we were really up against it. every drop was very precious. even her tissues, against it. every drop was very precious. even hertissues, her intestines, her liver was so fragile that whatever you touched, even with oui’ that whatever you touched, even with our very fine instruments, it would start to break down, so it was really challenging. we were up against time as well because we could not keep her sleep under the anaesthetic to too long. but tha nkfully anaesthetic to too long. but thankfully she came through. it is a real miracle and testament to the tea m real miracle and testament to the team at saint georges, a group of about ten people who, and we have built this experience up over the last ten or 20 years to do this sort of stuff. louise, how do you think somebody like mr mukhtar and his team? you tell me? i said the same thing to my husband. i said, how do you think someone who saved your baby's you think someone who saved your ba by's life ? you think someone who saved your baby's life? i remember seeing him in the corridor at saint georges with one of his colleagues, and i walked past, this was a few days after the surgery, and i am sure mr mukhtar operates on later babies, andi mukhtar operates on later babies, and i shook his head and said frankie simic were saving my baby's life, and he looked me, you probably thought i was mad. i didn't know what else to say. i bought the unit a little present when i left, but nothing could thank them enough for what they have done for our abbey. when is yourjudaic, louise? what they have done for our abbey. when is yourjudaic, louise? -- when is your due date? it was a week last sunday. she is just is your due date? it was a week last sunday. she isjust over four months. i can see that abigail is really peaceful but i really want a better look at her, is that possible? if you don't want to disturb her i would totally understand! i will do it, that if she kicks off, it's your fault. 0k, no props. 0h she kicks off, it's your fault. 0k, no props. oh my gosh, she is absolutely adorable, wow. she is just perfect, isn't she? she looks much like a normal newborn now. much bigger. she didn't start like this, thatis bigger. she didn't start like this, that is for sure. we saw the photograph is is she doing generally? she is great, all of the normal niggles of a newborn baby. we have had very little sleep the last couple of nights, but otherwise she is breathing fantastically, and she is breathing fantastically, and she is breathing fantastically, and everything's working. she is wonderful, a real little miracle. that is so good to hear. thank you very much, and zahid mukhtar, thank you so much for giving us your time, really appreciated. fantastic story, it is so good to bring you a good news story. kevin says baby abigail is so adorable, so happy she is on the mend, loved her and her parents. hepatitis c is a debilitating illness. left untreated it can lead to cancer and liver failure. a breakthrough drug taken once a day can now cure the disease for good in as little as eight weeks. fantastic, isn't it? the problem is — it's so expensive that nhs england has said it can only be given to the most sick. this programme has now found out that a charity — that tried to force the health service to give more people the treatment — has received hundreds of thousands of pounds from the us drugs giant that makes it. 0ur reporterjim reed has been investigating — we played you his full film earlier — here's a short extract. social and had been living with pepsi. she was most likely affected in her 205 when she was taking heroin for a short period.|j in her 205 when she was taking heroin for a short period. i put it down to being a single mum, wa5 working as a down to being a single mum, was working as a social worker at the time, single mum with three boys. but the fatigue was just would kill us. but the fatigue was just would kill us. for millions, this could be the answer. in combination with other drugs, it can cure pepsi in eight weeks. the medicine's watchdog —— it can cure hep c. but a tent of thousands of pounds per treatment, nhs england did something it has never done before. it capped a treatment, restricting it to 10,000 patients a year. if your condition is not serious enough, you miss out. i knew there were a lot of cuts and issues financially, so to be told we could not get treatment was absolutely devastating. across the world, the us drugs giant gilead which makes the drug has been targeted by protesters angry at the high price. health should be a right for every person! in a statement, gilead said... brendan rogers in england, it is not the drugs industry but the nhs which has taken rogers the nhs which has taken the brunt of the criticism. that's after it capped treatment at 10,000 people a year, a fraction of the 215,000 living with the disease. charles gore runs the hepatitis c trust, which represents patients. this is not the most expensive drug by any means across the nhs. why pick on people with hep c? that's the only bit i am railing against the nhs for doing, is picking on people with hepatitis c and saying you're second class citizens. everybody else gets the drugs that nice say they can get, but not you guys. why? is it because it is associated with drug use? last year, the hepatitis c trust made the unusual decision to take nhs england to the high court, to try and get that cap lifted. the charity lost, but it was unclear at the time how its case was funded. the judge suggested it may have been the drugs industry, which had a lot to gain financially, that was really behind it. that's something the boss of the hepatitis c trust strongly denies. you can categorically tell us that there was no drug industry funding that went into the court case, this was supporting... categorically. we we re we were doing it for patients. it might not have taken money for the court case, but we have looked into the charity's accounts. over the last three years it's accepted £200,000 from gilead, last year, a third of its income, £335,000, came from the drugs industry. the charity denies that taking that money has made it less likely to criticise gilead or other drug companies. obviously people try and influence us, the nhs tries and influence us, pharma tries to influence us, lots of people try to influence us, but we just come back to the same thing — what's right for patients? with little chance of nhs treatment, zoe ended up doing what hundreds of others with hepatitis c are now doing. she went online and bought a cheaper generic copy of a drug from a developing country, in this case bangladesh. i couldn't go on like i was, so i had to make a decision. in zoe buckman case it worked and she is now cure but there are still tens of thousands of others living with the disease who can't access treatment. we can speak now to zoe sharam, who we saw there injim's film. she was given the all clear last week. in cardiff is david cowley — a former hepetitis c patient who was one of the first treated with the new type of drugs as part of a clinical trial. and here is the labour mp liz mclnnes, who has recently chaired a conference on hepatitis c. zoet, how are you feeling? zoet, how are you feeling ?|j zoet, how are you feeling? i am good, hugely relieved. amazing, but you didn't have the drug, you bought a generic version? i was told i would not be able to get the drug, because of the limited ability to treat patients in the south—west. so i kind of put the feelers out, and one of my friends let me know about the generic drug. she had been taking it. so i knew it was working. she had the all clear from taking it. so i knew it was working. she had the all clearfrom her treatment. and then from there, that is how i kind of researched it, and got the drugs myself from bangladesh from beacon pharmacy. so the issue here, david, is the cost of these strokes. it is a wonder drug. does the company that has developed it and spent all that money on it, does not deserve to make vast profits? yes, it does deserve to be remunerated for its efforts but i think there should be some kind of a cap on the amount of profit they are allowed to make on what is essentially a necessary drug for many millions of people. liz mclnnes, do you agree with david that there should be a cap on the profits that a drugs manufacturer can make? i think drugs companies should be more accountable and open about the profits they are making because it is kind of shrouded in mystery. they are private companies. i appreciate that. and they are not in itfor i appreciate that. and they are not in it for the good of our health. the incentive for researching a drug like this is it can cure people and that will make them a lot of money. maybe i am optimistic that i would like to think that the research and development departments are concerned with people's health. they have produced an amazing drug that kills hepatitis c, and i think, i really do think nhs england have made the wrong decision in trying to ration this drug. i think somebody somewhere needs to do some work about how much it is going to cost to keep treating patients with hepatitis c and the problems they have because of their illness, and i'm pretty sure they would find it was actually more cost—effective to likelyjust give was actually more cost—effective to likely just give them was actually more cost—effective to likelyjust give them the cure. so it sounds like you think it is down to the drugs companies to bring the cost down rather than to say an organisation like nhs england or politicians to lobby and say we need a bigger discount? thing you have just given me a job, because i think we do need to be raising the issue about the profits that drugs companies are making. 0bviously about the profits that drugs companies are making. obviously the drug itself does not cost much the manufacture, because zoe has been able to buy it at a fraction of the price bangladesh. but i do appreciate their artists use about research and development costs, about intellectual property, and i am not undermining what the farmer sonka —— the pharmaceutical companies do by any means, my background is in health care science andi background is in health care science and i appreciate the amount of work that goes into producing a drug like this. but i think a little bit more openness from the pharmaceutical companies would not go amiss will stop thank you all, thank you very much, zoe, for coming on the programme, i much, zoe, for coming on the programme, lam much, zoe, for coming on the programme, i am glad you are all right. david thank you for your time as well. thank you very much. joanna's presenting the programme tomorrow and she'll talk to a man who spent 2a years locked up in a tough american prison for a crime he did not commit. fakir very much for your company today, have a good day. join us here tomorrow at 9am. —— thank you very much for your company. this is lovely sunshine out and about. there are a fuchsia was around, wintry winds across the northern half of the country, but the eye is drawn to what is going on further south, thicker cloud and it is slightly milder air. i doubt it will feel pleasant out and about. still quite chilly in the north when the winds escalate to severe gales. we could have gusts of 50 to 60 mph, around the coast, as could some snow across parts of northern england, particularly over the hills but not exclusively. a cold night and a windy night, parsley improving. later on, and with more bad weather on the way, i will fill you in later. this is bbc news and these are the top stories developing at 11: president trump promises a renewal of the american spirit in his first address to congress. from now on, america will be empowered by our aspirations, not burdened by ourfears. penalties for using a mobile phone at the wheel double from today, with new drivers facing the loss of their licence. in the next few minutes we are expecting a live statement from french presidential candidate francois fillon. he has pulled out of a key campaign event later today. this is the scene in paris right now no trains will run in and out of liverpool lime street station for several days after a wall collapsed onto the railway. also, why campers at some

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