everything is fine. someone might have the coronavirus and they don't know it, and then they might sneeze or cough on me, and then they might give me the coronavirus and i won't know. reports say women in labour are being refused epidurals, despite official guidelines saying all women should have that option. were you told you couldn't have an epidural when you were giving birth? get in touch. and an inspiring story from this young woman, who escpaed a life of poverty, violence and drugs and has a strong message about carrying knives. violence is never the answer, and so we all have to make an active effort to create a world of peace, and it sta rts to create a world of peace, and it starts with each of us putting down the knife. hello and welcome to the programme. we're live until 11 this morning. when you were giving birth, did you want or need an epidural? and if you did, was one forthcoming? were you able to have one? talking about the health guiidelins and epidurals and whether those guidelines are being followed for women in labour. so, do send me your expriences — e—mail victoria@bbc.co.uk. text 61124 or message me on twitter. first, annita mcveigh has the news. the midway for kept telling me i didn't need one, they were never going to give me one, says this person. tributes to your mental state post—birth. this one says... i don't believe i had any choice with pain relief within the nhs, the experience was so pain relief within the nhs, the experience was so poor that i would never want to go through it again. send us an e—mail on that subject of epidurals. you can send me a text, message me on twitter, but an e—mail is best, because there might be quite a bit of detail! first, annita mcveigh has the news. a major new public health campaign is being launched today to promote the need for frequent hand—washing, to try and contain the spread of the coronavirus in the uk. the health secretary matt hancock says the campaign is about making sure the public knew what they should be doing to keep themselves and others safe. we're being told that when we wash our hands we should do so for at least 20 seconds. the former us vice presidentjoe biden is celebrating a strong performance in the super tuesday elections, to decide who'll face president trump in november. he's won eight out 01:14 states to become front—runner, in the biggest day yet in the race for the white house. the home secretary priti patel is facing allegations of bullying staff in a third government department. it relates to her time as international development secretary, and follows similar claims at the home office, and the department for work and pensions. britain is in danger of failing a generation of children and young people when it comes to health and wellbeing, the royal college of paediatrics and child health has warned. it says in a new report that progress has stalled or reversed in a number of measures over recent years. it adds that the health outcomes of children from disadvantaged backgrounds are up to four times worse than those from more well—off areas. the crown prosecution service is to review its handling of the assault case against caroline flack. the former love island presenter took her own life last month, while awaiting trial on charges that she assaulted her boyfriend. it is understood the outcome of the review will not be made public. at least 25 people have died after tornados tore through the us state of tennessee yesterday. in nashville, buildings have collapsed and tens of thousands of people are without power. at least 150 people were taken to hospital. working with young children can be a challenge at the best of times, but staff at one nursery school in stockport could be forgiven for seeing double at the end of the day. stockport village nursery has nine sets of twins on their register, including two pairs of identical girls. and the double trouble doesn't stop there. they're preparing to welcome another two sets of twins in a few weeks' time. good luck to them! that is a summary of the news. back to you, victoria. hospitals are to examine more patients via video link rather than in person to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus. so far, 53 people have been diagnosed in the uk, but that number is expected to go up, a lot. meanwhile, ministers are being urged to make sure that millions of workers who don't qualify for statutory sick pay can still claim money if they develop coronavirus symptoms. the trades union congress says otherwise, people might go to work even though they might be infected. with me is sarah chilton, who's an employment lawyer at the law firm cm murray. in winchester, roger walker runs an independent ski holiday company that operates predominantly in northern italy. julie dugan is co—owner of all you knead, a wholesale bakery and coffee shop which employs 11 people in chorley and wigan. and ryan godwin owns a care home in rossendale in lancashire with his wife. welcome, all of you, let me begin with you, sarah chilton, what are your rights to sick pay if you are ill? you may be entitled to sick pay if you are unwell and cannot attend work. people most of the time identify that as if you are actual sick. it could be that you are entitled to contractual sick pay, where your employer will usually pay your normal pay during the period your normal pay during the period you are absent because of ill—health and some sort of illness. but it may also mean that you are entitled to statutory sick pay. statutory sick pay is a bit more complicated, it is not your normal rate of pay, it is capped at £91; a week, irrespective of how much you earn. you only qualify for it if you earn over £118 per week, and it only kicks in after three days, so you start to get it on day four. how do you actually get the statutory sick pay, does your employer pay it to you or do you have to go to...? employer pay it to you or do you have to go to. . . ? your employer should pay it directly. it used to be that the employer then claimed it back from the government, that doesn't happen anymore, businesses actually pay it. the entitlement comes from government legislation but it is the employer who the bill. what about if you are on zero hours contract, self—employed, working in the gig economy? that is where i think this issue becomes particularly pertinent. people on different types of contracts may not have the same kinds of entitlements. in theory zero hours contract people are entitled to claim statutory sick pay from their employer, but the lower earnings limit of £118 could catch a lot of people out, meaning they would not qualify. people in they would not qualify. people in the gig economy who are genuinely self—employed, and this will apply toa self—employed, and this will apply to a lot of people, taxidrivers, people like that, they will not get sick pay because they are not entitled to it, nobody is paying down their salary. sure, for most self—employed people, if you don't work, you don't get paid. there are also people saying, i can't afford to live on statutory sick pay, £91; a week, so i'm afraid i am just going to keep to work. yeah, that is a problem, it is about a quarter of the minimum wage, if you work it out. the minimum wage is therefore a reason. i think this is going to be an issue, that people will be tempted to go to work, rather than not. it is different if your employer instructs you to stay—at—home, then you should get your normal pay. the difficulty is in people who have been ordered to stay—at—home by a doctor or public health official or people who choose to stay—at—home because they consider themselves to be a risk, those people may not be entitled to their normal pay and they would be incentivised to go to work, i think. let me bring in ryan godwin, you own a care home, vulnerable, elderly people, relying on you and your staff, what is the potential impact of coronavirus on your staffing arrangements and also your clients are? well, we look after a vulnerable client group so of course we are mindful that the coronavirus could have a possible impact on their health a great deal. and we also need to support our staff and enable them to maintain their own well—being. we enable them to maintain their own well— being. we can enable them to maintain their own well—being. we can implement various isolation procedures, if that needs to happen, within the care home, but we are constantly reacting to advice from the government and the local health initiatives. julie dugan, you runa health initiatives. julie dugan, you run a bakery and coffee shop, you employ 11 people, if any of them go sick, what does that mean for you? exactly, yes, we run quite a tight ship, so, if we can cover holidays, my husband and i would cover that, we don't have a lot of spare hours around, but we're conscious that they are talking about may be one in five employees being ill. realistically, we think that would be more the case, it would be more the case, that people would be contaminated at a similar time, maybe, one customer could come in and infect the whole place, really. so, it could be that you have three or four staff down quite easily at one time. and would you be able to pay statutory sick pay to their staff, or their normal salary level? we do pay the statutory sick pay, obviously, and i do agree that people who are at home self—isolating should be paid that. it would obviously be quite a financial burden to us but if it means that it slows down the spread of the disease, then obviously it is something that we would have to do. i don't know if you heard, and this is to all of you, let me bring in you, roger walker, the government last night told the bbc that it is registering coronavirus as a notifiable disease, which will help companies seek compensation through their insurance policies, did you hear that, roger, is their insurance policies, did you hearthat, roger, is it their insurance policies, did you hear that, roger, is it going to help you? i think it will help us all, anyone running a small business is certainly concerned about the whole situation. from our part, it is probably more of the influence of coronavirus on our customers, who are travelling out, as you said earlier, to northern italy on holiday, and we are finding that people are having to cancel not because they feel unsafe travelling to italy, but their employers are basically putting restrictions on their travel, unfortunately. you have a small team, do you worry about the impact on them?” have a small team, do you worry about the impact on them? i think we're lucky enough that actually, we could all work from home, so, if we needed to self—isolate, then the tea m needed to self—isolate, then the team here would go and work from home and be able to access our network here. but i appreciate in different businesses, we are less customer facing at the uk end of our operation so it's not like we need a tea m operation so it's not like we need a team of people here serving inquiries, most of our inquiries come in by phone or e—mail these days. ryan godwin, what would happen if one or two members of your staff got sick? well, we employ about 150 people in the care industry in greater manchester, in lancashire, for example. but what we would do, we would seek a dispensation from our regulator, probably, to reallocate staff from one service to another, to ensure that, for example, we were able to provide cover consta ntly, example, we were able to provide cover constantly, because, of course, cover constantly, because, of course , we cannot cover constantly, because, of course, we cannot not operate, our service is a vital service. because, of course, people's lives and welfare a re of course, people's lives and welfare are dependent upon it, victoria. julie dugan, regarding your coffee shop and bakery, have your coffee shop and bakery, have you seen an impact on business thus far? no, we haven't, we are not in an area that is affected at the moment. in a team meeting about a week ago, it was hardly mentioned, it wasn't really on the radar. that has certainly changed in the last couple of days, i know the prime minister made an address yesterday and he was talking about i think it was a battle plan and the tone has changed and we are looking at health updates now. so, we have hand sanitiser out for customers to use, so we are taking precautions and we're hoping there is no panic, that would be the worst thing. but we are conscious that this is probably the beginning of something and it could go on for quite some time and would affect small businesses like us in a massive way. thank you all of you very much. appreciate your time. if you're watching this and have young children, primary school—aged children or teenagers, you'll know that many of them are asking a lot of questions about the coronavirus. at ranelagh primary school in east london, a class of year 4 pupils aged 8 or 9 years of age are learning about it and finding out how to protect themselves. we've been talking about it a lot, but sometimes we are, like, sad about it, so we just try to not think about it, and think everything is fine. someone might have the coronavirus and they don't know it, and then they might sneeze or cough on me, and then they might give me the coronavirus and i won't know. hi, my name is orian and i want to know if it is true that someone ate bat soup and started the coronavirus and spread it around countries. hi, my name is ashleigh, and i would like to know, when will we be safe from the threat of the coronavirus? i've heard a lot, because usually my mum gives me her phone and i look under "news". no, mum and dad don't really worry about it, but i'm quite scared if one of my family members are sick and then they die from it. hi, my name is ismail. hi, my name is shay. i want to know if there's any tips or advice you would give us to not catch the coronavirus. is there already a cure for the coronavirus? if you, like, touch someone, when you have the coronavirus, or cough on them, will the other person get the coronavirus? hi, my name is adele. i would like to know if it is safe to use a mask to protect ourselves from the virus? hi, my name is sasha and my question is, will you be taken away from your family if you have the coronavirus? if you were sick and you got the virus, how likely would you be to die? me and my mum sometimes talk about it, and we are both kind of worried about it, because, like, my family might get the coronavirus and, like, they might have to go to the hospital or something, so... they have bought me a lot of hand sanitiser, they have told me, "everywhere you go, you have to use it, you have to wash your hands. and just cough into a tissue or cough into a hand, don't cough near anyone". with us now is gp dr faye kirkland, on how to talk to your your children about coronavirus. i suppose they are just as concerned as us? absolutely, over the last few days we have seen a huge amount of media about coronavirus and everybody is talking about it at home, at work, at school. what is the best way to talk to, particularly primary school age children? i think the key thing is to talk simply, accurately, to try to talk simply, accurately, to try to give really good advice. we know that there is lots of misinformation on social media. if you're not sure, go away and look it up, not that a good source. we don't have all the a nswe rs good source. we don't have all the a nswers yet good source. we don't have all the answers yet and i think that is ok to say. this person wanted to know how the coronavirus started? good question, we're still looking at that but we think that it started in what is called a wet market in china, where there are live animals and dead animals close together. we are still not sure exactly how it started but potentially it could have started in bats. yes, my kids keep going on about bats and pangolins. one of the kids wanted to know, did it start from somebody eating bat suit, but we do not know yet specifically? that's right. it really started, this particular thing, there was a video that came out on social media soon after we started hearing about the coronavirus, and that was of a woman eating a bat. it turned out that that video was from 2016, it wasn't even from china. but that gave rise to the anxiety about eating bat suit. next, one of them asked about if there are any tips or advice which you can give to people to prevent spreading it? -- bat soup. the keep key thing that we keep repeating is wash your hands, soap and water, 20 seconds, if you do sneeze or cough, make sure you catch it in sneeze or cough, make sure you catch itina sneeze or cough, make sure you catch it in a tissue, throw that away, wash your hands, try not to touch your eyes or your mouth after you have been out touching services. and when you come home again, wash your hands. this one wants to know, is there a cure? with all viruses we have got a natural immunity to be able to fight them off, and for the vast majority of people, you will get over it. is there a cure as such? no, but we are working on medications that we already have to see if they help, and also looking ata see if they help, and also looking at a vaccine. which could take some months. absolutely. the masks, people continually ask about the masks and two mask adverts have been banned today by the asa, the advertising standards authority, one of them claimed one of the best ways to protect yourself is to get a high—quality facemask that can protect you from viruses, bacteria and otherair protect you from viruses, bacteria and other air pollutants. that has been banned because it is misleading. i del wants to know, is it safe to use a mask? it is safe to use one but you don't need to use one, is the key thing. i have seen people wearing those paper masks, there is absolutely no evidence that you need to do that. people used to use it because they thought that if they were unwell, they could stop they were unwell, they could stop the spread to others. but if you are unwell, you should be staying at home, so you don't need to use them. how likely is it that you would die if you get coronavirus? kids, straight to the heart of it. for young people, u20s, it is incredibly rare. they normally get a very mild illness, it is the elderly who are more at risk. and we are still unsure about the rate of death or mortality but we think it is about 196 mortality but we think it is about 1% or 296, mortality but we think it is about 1% or 2%, but for children, incredibly, incredibly rare. and this one asks a question which many are asking, when will it be that we will be safe from coronavirus?‘ really good question and at the moment we are still trying to understand the virus, when it will reach a peak, the patterns of the virus, so we simply don't know. the department of health, public health england, will be keeping us regularly updated. and some parents are buying hand sanitiserfor their children, but it has got to have a particular ingredient in it for it to kill viruses? that's right. actually, soap and water is absolutely fine but if you are going to buy a hand sanitiser, it needs to have alcohol in it. thank you very much for coming on the programme. coming up later in the programme. it's reported today that women in labour are being refused epidurals. let us know if that's happened to you. and we'll hear an inspiring story from this young woman — who escpaed a life of poverty, violence and drugs and ended up winning an honourfrom barack obama. the crown prosecution service is to review its handling of the assault case against the love island host caroline flack. she took her own life last month while awaiting trial for allegedly assaulting her boyfriend. our home affairs correspondent danny shaw is here. why is this review happening? the review is happening because i think questions have been raised about the crown prosecution service's decision to pursue this case, even though caroline flack's partner, lewis burton, did not want it to go ahead and apparently withdrew his support. so, some questions have been raised about that. there were also allegations made by caroline flack's management team afterwards that this was going to be a show trial, that the cps was doing this, it wasn't in the cps was doing this, it wasn't in the public interest, she was a vulnerable woman, and so on. the cps has made this decision to assure itself that it has made the correct decisions to charge, and if there are decisions to charge, and if there a re lessons decisions to charge, and if there are lessons to be learned about how it handled the case, about whether it handled the case, about whether it could have done things slightly differently, then it wants to learn those lessons. that's why they're doing this internal review, they're calling it a post—case review panel. it will be led by a deputy crown prosecutor, a senior prosecutor within the service. there is some suggestion, i am trying to clear it up, as to whether this review might have already happened, and we are just hearing about it, but i have not managed to bottomed that out. just hearing about it, but i have not managed to bottomed that outm it unusual for the cps to review how it unusual for the cps to review how it has handled a case like this? it unusual for the cps to review how it has handled a case like this7m is not unusual, it does happen i think in high—profile cases where someone dies or something goes seriously wrong for an internal review to take place. there is a case you might remember back in 2013, a violinist called frances andrade, killed herself a week after giving evidence against a former music teacher, colin brewer, who was later convicted. that led to an internal review by the crown prosecution service as well. so i think a case like this where the cps has been involved in lots of decisions and reviews, it is obviously high—profile, i think it is normal that you would expect them to have a look and review it. nothing saying they had to but it is probably good practice. thank you, danny shaw, our home affairs correspondent. thank you for your message about whether or not you are able to get access to an epidural when you were giving birth. —— messages. holly says... i got to 35 hours into my labour and my midwife recommended an epidural. whilst having the epidural, a surgeon came in and started shouting at my midwife as to why i was having an epidural, when there was only one left for that day. this led me to believe that they only have a certain amount set for a 24—hour period. i was disgusted, i certain amount set for a 24—hour period. iwas disgusted, i had certain amount set for a 24—hour period. i was disgusted, i had a needle hanging out of my back and i was in excruciating pain. it has put me off having another child which is really sad considering i am only 24. samantha's says... when i was in labour they told me that i probably should have an epidural as it was going on for ages and i was getting exhausted. they gave me the option without any pressure, they were incredible and i am grateful everyday for them and for our wonderful nhs. and that was the h hospital in bath. this one says... i have been a midwife for many years and at all times in the best interests of the women in my care. i have refused, in inverted commas, to get them epidurals but only in the specific circumstance that delivery is very close, and they are demanding an epidural as the pressure builds. besides not being in her best interest, there is a practical consideration, i cannot leave the room at that point to call the anaesthetist as she may deliver alone. the distressed woman may be on the birth centre and risk delivering during the transfer to the delivery sweet. there are also times where i know the situation in the department and the any statistic is simply not available, he may be in theatre, and the second encore may already be in and doing an epidural elsewhere. in that case it is my role to support and offer her other options such as gas and air untilan other options such as gas and air until an anaesthetist is available. i have delayed inductions until an epidural is available when that is in the best interests of the woman. i have got more, there are many of you. i will read some more before 11 o'clock. i will talk about the guidelines around epidurals in the latter half of the programme. by the timejamira burley was 15, both of her parents and ten of her 15 siblings had served time in prison. her earliest memory is sitting in court at the age of four, as two of her teenage brothers stood trialfor murder. she left home at 15, and since then, has worked to improve the lives of people who grow up in dire situations like hers, and was named a white house champion of change by president obama. and we are going to talk to chameera right now. thanks for having me. thank you for coming on, really appreciate it. —— jamira. thank you for coming on, really appreciate it. ——jamira. tell us what it was like growing up in philadelphia in the ‘90s. philadelphia in the ‘90s. philadelphia in the ‘90s. philadelphia in the ‘90s was very much a reflection and a cause and effect of the war on drugs in the united states where many folks were directly impacted by gun violence, directly impacted by gun violence, directly impacted by overdose and addiction. i grew up in a very specific neighbourhood in west philadelphia, where there was a sense of hopelessness, where people did not think that they could do better than their predecessors, people did not have access to opportunities, and it shaped the way i viewed the world. what was your view of the world, then? my view of the world is that the things that we re the world is that the things that were happening, whether it was violence or crime, was just a were happening, whether it was violence or crime, wasjust a normal reflection of society. i had no idea ofa reflection of society. i had no idea of a world outside my radius, until i got older and realised that there we re i got older and realised that there were opportunities that i did not have to settle for the conditions that were settled for by my community, and that i could change the trajectory of my life. what is your earliest childhood memory?m was when i was four or five years old, i was in was when i was four or five years old, iwas in a was when i was four or five years old, i was in a courtroom as my two old est old, i was in a courtroom as my two oldest brothers, who were 15 and 14, we re oldest brothers, who were 15 and 14, were on trialfor oldest brothers, who were 15 and 14, were on trial for murder. they had been present the course of a murder and they didn't tell the police what had happened and unfortunately they we re had happened and unfortunately they were also held accountable. i think through that and experiencing that first hand and watching both my pa rents first hand and watching both my parents in and out of incarceration, i thought that was going to be my path. i assumed that those things we re path. i assumed that those things were going to happen to me, that i was going to fall victim to the commonjustice system. was going to fall victim to the common justice system. but instead was going to fall victim to the commonjustice system. but instead i have tried to look at how we have shaped both victims and perpetrators. why were your mum and dad in and out ofjail? my mum had her first dad in and out ofjail? my mum had herfirst child when dad in and out ofjail? my mum had her first child when she was 15 yea rs her first child when she was 15 years old, my eldest brother, and she didn't have much education and she didn't have much education and she didn't have much education and she didn't have much of a career prospect for herself and so she was selling drugs as a way to bring in an income to the family. and my father, who was in and out of my life in my early early years, i later found out that he committed murder in the act of rage in virginia. and so i set out a very peculiar place of knowing both victims and perpetrators, and i think that fuelled my understanding that i needed to do something as a young person to transform my community. we will ask you about that first project in a moment. but you said you knew victims as well as perpetrators, you've mentioned your father, who was convicted of murder, and that happened in the same year that you lost one of your brothers, andre, a 20—year—old, he was murdered? he was, he was one of the most giving people you would ever meet, he would give you a dollar if you asked, he taught me how to ride a bike. at 20 years old, he took in one of his friends he was homeless, and in the course of giving this person shelter, he decided to rob him and shoot him in the head while he slept. that took off the blinders for me and made me realise that while oftentimes we see these circumstances in our community as just normal, i started to realise that normal didn't make it right and iasa that normal didn't make it right and i as a young person could do something to prevent that from happening to another family. what did you do? i prevented an anti—violence programme in my high school where we trained young people to be violence mediators. we wanted to be violence mediators. we wanted to help young people to use other methods to prevent violence instead of easing guns on their fists. we reduce violence by nearly 30% in my high school. i was given a grant to implement it into the top ten dangerous high schools in the city of philadelphia. how old are you? 16 or 17. how of philadelphia. how old are you? 16 or17. how do of philadelphia. how old are you? 16 or 17. how do you interrupt violence, what is a violence interrupted do in practical terms? assess the entire situation, don't assume that those who committed the crime is automatically the person who is at fault, oftentimes hurt people hurt people. they also look at what restorative justice looks like, and that doesn't always mean punishing the perpetrator. we taught young people had to have those better conversations and advocate for the rights of students. and more importantly how to influence their peers that it wasn't cool to get in the fight and there were other things they could do with their time, that helped transform the culture of violence especially among young people who came from violent communities. it interesting that you say hurt people hurt people. from your experience, is always an exhalation for violence? -- explanation for violence? i think there is. what i look at my community of west philadelphia, it's no coincidence that a city that had resources and input them into —— did not put them into these communities that were overflowing with violence, they instead put in a police presence which led to an overload of hostility. there are other things which do notjust involve locking people away, we can help inspire passion in community stop there will be many people agreeing with you watching, also many people watching who may have grown up with nothing. having a difficult childhood for all sorts of reasons, no money, poverty, truancy, and did not go down the path of criminality. made a choice to stay on the right side of the law. it's a choice as well, isn't it? ifully agree. i definitely think there are choices to be made by people have to be made aware that there are choices and given the ability to make them at the right time. i'm not saying that those who commit violence is off the hook, there is accountability but it is not just with the there is accountability but it is notjust with the of individuals, it is with us in society and how we have cultivated communities where violence is the only answer. our people perceiving that to be the only answer. throwing people away and locking them up has never worked long term, so we have to employ other ways and methods to cultivate a community where people feel celebrated and welcomed and they feel there are opportunities in their communities. aged 15, after their communities. aged 15, after the death of andre, you left your family and moved in with your aunt, why? i was the oldest girl, i had five younger siblings who are most of my childhood i took care of. i was the motherfigure. when my brother was murdered, i realised that i could not help my family until i helped myself. i had never before seen an opportunity of education is a priority but when my brother was killed, i knew i needed to do something different so i moved in with my aunt and that gave me an opportunity to be a child. ofte nti mes opportunity to be a child. oftentimes young people grow up in communities where being a child, experiencing childhood is so far off ofa experiencing childhood is so far off of a concept, so i wasjust able experiencing childhood is so far off of a concept, so i was just able to focus on myself and through that i learned i had a role to play in changing make unity for a better. —— making my community for a better. you have talked about the education there, and you believe, as so many people believe, it's not a controversial opinion, but it doesn't always happen, that access to education is absolutely key to absolutely everybody?” to education is absolutely key to absolutely everybody? i started to realise through my advocacy around gun violence that there are systematic problems, one of them being young people's access to education. education allows people to transform their lives so i get the opportunity to work with a global charity which believes in equality education for every young person wherever they are in the world, and our goal is to ensure that the priorities of the administrations, wherever they are in the world, that it matches the dollars that are actually going to public education and ensuring that quality schooling is being given to young people said that they can transform their communities and get jobs, and that they can put themselves on a pathway to success. what is your family think of you moving out, moving away from them as a teenager? i think there was a level of resentment. i grew up in a very close—knit family which is still very close but at first, by family didn't understand my passion for wanting to give back and they thought me telling my story was an act of rebellion. over the years they realised that i don't do it because i'm ashamed of where i come from, because i'm actually proud that people have been able to find resilience in moments of tragedy. i use my story is a way to tell other young people that there are other options and pathways. i didn't go to prison like my brothers, i made a decision, to your point earlier, but i realised i still had a level of privilege, and my privilege has to be sharing my story and perspective and using my privilege to be able to direct resources to those who are most in need, the young people. you will know that knife crime has been an issue in some cities under the pa rt an issue in some cities under the part of the country —— and other parts of this country for the last two or three years. what do you say to anybody who is carrying a knife, what's your message to them?” understand your fear, first. what's your message to them?” understand yourfear, first. i understand yourfear, first. i understand the fear that you feel like it is a kill or be killed type of environment. in the same time i wa nt of environment. in the same time i want people to recognise that violence is never the answer and we have to find better ways to deal with our own emotions and also deal with our own emotions and also deal with conflict. if you are in a position where you can influence your peers to do the same, hopefully it will stop one person or encourage one person to put down the night, and that will create a domino effect that many other people see options for themselves. you make it sound very simple. i don't think it's simple at all. we place young people are very harsh conditions to make very adult decisions so my goal is to continue to provide examples where people have been able to do something different with their lives. have you ever thought about going into politics?” lives. have you ever thought about going into politics? i have worked the politicians, i think there is just as much power as working not in politics as there is. my dream is to get politicians to look at the status quo and change it and put young people first. really lovely to meet you,jamira, young people first. really lovely to meet you, jamira, thank you for talking to us. women in labour are being refused epidurals despite official guidelines saying all women should have that option, according to reports this morning. it's claimed some are being told its "too early" or "too late" and some aren't being kept fully informed that if they choose to give birth at home, or in a midwife—led unit, they'll have to be transferred if they want an epidural. clare murphy is from the charity the british pregnancy advisory service. we're also going to speak to kim mcallister, a mum of two, and a freelance journalist and presenter on bbc radio scotland, and dr david bogod from the royal college of anaethestists joins us on the phone. first though, let's speak to angela spiridis, who gave birth we will talk to some of you first, hannah in 2015, when i had my first child i had to be induced because my pregnancy extended beyond due date andi pregnancy extended beyond due date and i was concerned about the pain of being induced but i was reassured by midwife a few days beforehand that an epidural was part of the package. this didn't happen, when i was in the throes of labour in extreme pain when contracting every 30 seconds, i was at the mercy of midwives who said that epidural was not necessary, and i should deal with the pain using breathing techniques and gas and air. only when a new midwife realise i was in extreme distress, she summoned the anaesthetist, by this time i was ten centimetres violated so it was almost too late but thankfully i was given one. are you hearing these kind of experiences? frequently, this kind of evidence that women is putting forward, there seems to be a common theme that for some women at least, access to epidural in childbirth is problematic and some women are left profoundly traumatised as a result of not being able to access this very effective pain relief in labour. so what is supposed to happen and what should happen? what should happen all the way through pregnancy and childbirth is women are given good information about their pain relief options in childbirth. so they know for example, if they want an epidural, they should be on an obstetric unit, they should be on an obstetric unit, they should be informed... what does that mean? not in a midwife led unit? or they will be aware that they have to transfer from that, maybe that is an issue, women are not always being told that if they are on a midwife led unit, they have to transfer. i think there is not necessarily the time and space to have good information and conversation about pain relief options in labour so sometimes women are not completely across what is available and offer. what should be available and offer. what should be available to them during childbirth, if they request an epidural, at whatever stage they are at, even if it's very early in very late, this isa it's very early in very late, this is a very important point because lots of women gets told in labour, less tha n lots of women gets told in labour, less than four centimetres in labour, that an epidural is not appropriate but that is not what the nice guidance says. some women have very painful early labours and they should be able to access epidurals within 30 minutes even if they request it in an early stage. let me bring in someone else. angela who watches our programme, who contacted us, what happened with you? my waters had been broken for 48 hours, i was waters had been broken for 48 hours, iwas in waters had been broken for 48 hours, i was in active labour for 12 hours, having active labour contractions for 12 hours but i was dilating very slowly so i was induced. six hours into the induction, i was very tired and in pain, and asking for an epidural. they outright refused. at 1.i epidural. they outright refused. at 1.1 was arguing with four medical professionals, one being the midwife and one being that doctor, and they said, no. you're not in labour, we know what a woman in labour looks like and that's not you. they refused to check how far dilate it i was, that's how much they didn't believe how far along i was. they left me in the labour room for several hours and i could tell that i was pushing, my husband was able to call the midwife injust in time. however a required ecclesiology and had second degree tearing after the birth, i wasjust offered a paracetamol after the birth. how did you feel about that? i felt very disempowered, because they didn't trust me as a woman to know my own body, and i felt i had very little control over my choices in labour. i didn't think they would have as much power to refuse their choices to me. stay there. kim, thank you for coming on the programme. during one of your pregnancies you screamed, i gather, for an epidural, did it work? i didn't get one. i was halfway through active labour and it was my first so i had no idea what to expect until i was in the level of pain. i was in the pool which is what i wanted but i was fully overwhelmed by the pain and the gas and airwasa overwhelmed by the pain and the gas and air was a make much difference, and air was a make much difference, andl and air was a make much difference, and i screamed, i want an epidural, and i screamed, i want an epidural, and the midwife said, no, you are too foreign, keep going. there are no information, no discussion with my husband, i wasn't in a position to argue with anyone because i was busy having a baby but i felt there was a zero information.” busy having a baby but i felt there was a zero information. i had an e—mailfrom a was a zero information. i had an e—mail from a midwife which was a zero information. i had an e—mailfrom a midwife which i read where she said she would always do what was in the best interests of the women she is looking up and sometimes it is too late.” the women she is looking up and sometimes it is too late. i accept that now. i think at the time you're just so scared, especially your first one, you don't know if the pain you are feeling is normal, you don't know if there may be is ok and you're not in a position to really speak to yourself. it's really scary to be completely dismissed like that so to be completely dismissed like that soi to be completely dismissed like that so ijust went, 0k, to be completely dismissed like that so ijust went, ok, let's get on with it. you raise arise a -- a wiser question, we will talk to a doctor from the royal college of anaesthetists in the moment. —— a wider question. when you first become pregnant, barely anybody talks about pain, barely anybody says what it actually really like when you give birth and sometimes it's really painful. thank you for talking to us. hello. so whose job is it, you havejust come out talking to us. hello. so whose job is it, you have just come out of theatre, i understand, is it, you have just come out of theatre, iunderstand, i'm is it, you have just come out of theatre, i understand, i'm really grateful for you giving theatre, i understand, i'm really gratefulfor you giving us a bit of time. thank you. so, who's responsibility is it when a woman says, i really want an epidural? whose responsibility is it then to either confirm that or not? it must be said, the midwife is the prime practitioner looking after a wobbly in labourso practitioner looking after a wobbly in labour so communication is always done through the midwife. midwives don't deliver epidural pain relief so they have to contact the anaesthetist who is the person who does an epidural. and there are anaesthetists dedicated to labour wards in the vast majority of hospitals in the united kingdom. they may not be available straightaway to do an epidural, they might be tied up looking after another lady for some reason. the midwife's role is the person to discuss an epidural with. but if the patient wants to discuss it in death, me or one of my colleagues should be the person, and a woman should be the person, and a woman should have access to that discussion. —— if she wants to discussion. —— if she wants to discuss it in depth. an epidural very late in labour, it's up to her, it's not a decision for a midwife to make in the mother's best interest, it's for the mother to make.” wonder, as we have you, can you explain your own epidural works?m course. it's an injection into the lower pa rt course. it's an injection into the lower part of the back, which allows the introduction of a fine plastic tube which lies around the membranes which surrounds the spinal—cord. we administer a picture of local anaesthetic and painkilling drugs which reduces sensation in the areas where labour pain happens, so we can diminish sensation or we can even get rid of the pain completely. and we can continue it all the way through labour until the baby is delivered. ok. i will let through labour until the baby is delivered. ok. iwill let you through labour until the baby is delivered. ok. i will let you go, thank you so much for your time, really appreciate it. let me read some more messages from you. olivia says, i had my first baby nine days ago, congratulations first of all. olivia says, when i wrote my birth plan i didn't want an epidural but i stated i were deciding the moment. after enduring a slow early labour and my baby being back to back which left me in constant pain, i decided ifi left me in constant pain, i decided if i was going to give birth naturally, i would need an epidural because the pain was becoming excruciating and i was exhausted. i asked repeatedly for an epidural for no avail. i ended up being fully dilated and ready to push by the timei dilated and ready to push by the time i was checked to see if an epidural was possible, five hours into active labour. i wouldn't say i was refused but they were not forthcoming and made a lot of excuses as to why the anaesthetist wasn't available. nine days post—birth, i still can't believe i was given one. i am amazed i did it myself only on gas and air, but it was a traumatic experience which i wish had been avoided. this one says, i was told i did not need to lift your, i requested one from the moment my contractions began but i was told repeatedly there was no one available to administer it. i was vulnerable because i suffered from postnatal depression after my first baby. the prospect of childbirth without any pain relief brought on huge anxiety for me, i had my son without any pain relief and i went on to have postnatal depression, postpa rtu m on to have postnatal depression, postpartum anxiety and postnatal —— and post—traumatic stress. that's so terrible. this person may not have had postnatal depression if they had not had the pain relief. oh, yes, and we have had people who have said they cannot have another baby because of what they have experience in another delivery. this is a really important issue. one of the aspects we need to understand is why this is happening. i think it's important to recognise some of the nuances and complexities of the situation, midwives are genuinely trying to do their best by the women they are caring for, they have lots of experience of seeing women in labour. and i think it's about finding that balance between the midwife's experience and also respecting what the woman in front of you is saying, and she what she wa nts. of you is saying, and she what she wants. and this has to be about woman centred ca re. wants. and this has to be about woman centred care. if an anaesthetist isn't available, an anaesthetist isn't available, an anaesthetist isn't available, an anaesthetist isn't available. there isa anaesthetist isn't available. there is a way of passing on the information, it's the tone. absolutely, it's how it's done. if anaesthetist isn't available and there is genuinely an issue with resource and, in our maternity hospitals, that's something that needs to be looked into. that's something that needs to be part of this inquiry and the department of health is looking at it, where this problem is coming from, is it a resourcing issue or a focus on more natural birth? what do you think about that, is it resources or this idea that somehow a natural birth is better for everybody? in my experience, i think that there was definitely a stigma and an opinion attached to it in that they personally felt against the epidural, and they felt a natural birth and natural birth is preferable so it was not a resource if it was a resource issue. but i did feel i was being judged asking for one. let me put this to you, from maria, who says, why should women expect and epidural to be part of routine child—bearing ? women expect and epidural to be part of routine child—bearing? they should only be offered in cases where it will benefit the mother medically not as an avoidance of normal labour pain. i can see that pain, —— that point, in the moment, you are not the most logical thinker. i certainly never planned to have an epidural so i never really found out very much about it. i think the upsetting thing was to be made to feel so powerless at a time when you are so vulnerable anyway. if the midwife had just said, i'm sorry, it's going to take too long and involved leaving you, i'm sure you can do that, and —— do this, and being encouraged, it would have been great but i wasjust felt like i was left to my own devices andl like i was left to my own devices and i didn't know what i was doing. amanda text and says, i had my baby on friday, again, congratulations. when arriving on labour suite, i was askedif when arriving on labour suite, i was asked if i wanted an epidural, i said yes, four hours later, no epidural pain relief. when the anaesthetist did arrive to administer the epidural, my baby because my head was crowning. following the birth i have been unable to sleep and i keep replaying the birth over my head. i i'm extremely traumatised by the pain i experience, the any pain relief i had was gas and air. women who are reliving the birth over and over, they need to talk to someone, don't they? they do, and maternity hospital boards, midwifes, they of a debriefing service. like for amanda, this is clearly an issue for her and she needs to get in touch with midwives. they are there to support her. this is obviously an important issue which means a lot to women. it has profound consequences and i think it's really important that we focus not just on think it's really important that we focus notjust on the delivery of a healthy baby, which is what all women want, but that women's experience of birth matters. the consequences when women have poor experiences can be long lasting for themselves, theirfamilies experiences can be long lasting for themselves, their families and experiences can be long lasting for themselves, theirfamilies and it can themselves, theirfamilies and it ca n ofte n themselves, theirfamilies and it can often mean they will go on to limit, go on to make decisions about not having further children as a result. we need to make sure we take what these women are saying to this very seriously. angela, finally, your birth lastjuly was your first birth, would your experience stop you from having another child? no, ultimately i don't think so. i do think that every individual birth is unique. so it's difficult to predict what the next birth may be like. thank you so much for getting in touch, appreciated. thank you for coming on the programme, everyone. royal college of midwvies says, "what the rcm, our midwife members and our maternity services are focused on is ensuring women have the best possible experience of pregnancy and birth. this includes supporting women to have the birth, and pain relief that is right for them. unfortunately, due to stretched resources anaesthetists are not always available, which poses real challenges for midwives seeking the best experience for women in labour. safety — both for the woman and her baby — is paramount. every woman who wants an epidural should be given one if it is safe for her to do so." the department of health says it's already been investigating claims that women were being denied pain relief during birth. health secretary matt hancock said: "i want all expectant mothers to be able to make an informed choice that's right for them, to know this choice will be fully respected and to have the freedom to change their mind. keep those messages coming in. we've got a clearer picture this morning of who might challenge donald trump to become the next president of the united states. 14 states across the us have been voting to pick a democratic candidate to take on president trump, who is a republican. 77—year—old joe biden, whose dad worked as a used car salesman, was vice—president when barack obama was in charge. he won nine of the states overnight, which is a big turnaround. but 78—year—old bernie sanders, who's running for president for the second time, is projected to win california, the biggest prize of the night, as well as three other states. whoever wins support in the most states byjuly wins the race to represent the democrats and take on donald trump, who's 73, for the presidency. here's what the two frontrunners had to say overnight. i'm here to report we are very much alive! cheering. and make no mistake about it, this campaign will send donald trump packing! cheering. people are talking about a revolution. we started a movement, we've increased turnout! cheering. and the turnout‘s turned out for us! cheering. that can deliver us to a moment where we can do extraordinary, extraordinary things. but we are not only taking on the corporate establishment, we are taking on the political establishment. cheering but we're going to win, because the people understand it is our campaign, our movement, which is best positioned to defeat trump. cheering we can speak now to filmaker and lgbt activist dustin lance black, who has knownjoe biden for over a decade, and ramesh srinivasan, who is campaigning for bernie sanders. tell our british audience whatjoe biden is like. ijust find him to be incredibly sincere. and particularly, the work that i did he was involved in was around marriage equality, and there was a moment about a decade ago... this is important to you, you are married to tom daley, you asked him about marriage equality, what did he say? this is before president obama had come out about marriage equality, and he was silent for about a minute after we asked him about marriage equity, this was in a room full of 93v equity, this was in a room full of gay people, in a couple household with kids, and when he spoke, he saidi with kids, and when he spoke, he said i think you should have all the rights and protections that all other couples have. he knew that would not be good for him politically but he did the right thing. let me ask about bernie sanders, people question whether he really is electable, what do you say? there's no question he is electable. bernie sanders has the highest head—to—head poll ratings against donald trump, he's ahead in battle ground states, he has record numbers of donors and volunteers, and he just won the largest state in the states, california, right here i am right now. what we have in bernie sanders is a candidate with massive contrasts with joe biden. joe sanders is a candidate with massive contrasts withjoe biden. joe biden has a supported cutting social security for decades, bernie sounded has always voted to protect that. free trade agreements which wrecked jobs, joe biden has supported those, many other things, the iraq war, even in1996, many other things, the iraq war, even in 1996, joe biden was against marriage equality. i have to stop you, i'm so sorry, i got the time wrong, my fault, please forgive me. you can see the rainfall radar, the rain is spreading in from the west, further east, northern ireland, north—east england, sunny spells and we will keep those sunny spells into the afternoon. we will see this rain moving its way through wales, north—east england, showers affecting north—western parts of england. maximum temperature is eight to 10 degrees. through tonight, the area of rain will spread in the east, it will clear away and another weather system will bring in rain to the far south of england. the cloud and southern areas will keep temperatures above freezing. further north, clear spells, as temperatures go below freezing. the rain will clear away from the south—east tomorrow morning. you're watching bbc newsroom live — it's eleven am and these are the main stories this morning: wash your hands regularly — that's the government's key advice in a new campaign to fight against coronavirus. another two people have tested positive for the coronavirus in scotland — taking the total number of confirmed uk cases to 53. we will release more information later, so that takes our total number of cases now in scotland, to three. super tuesday — a key point in the process to pick a democratic white house candidate — seesjoe biden and bernie sanders as the front runners. the home secretary, priti patel denies a third bullying claim as conservative sources suggest "dark forces" are working against her.

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