Martial law fractured South Korea. Can this election heal the nation?

44 minutes ago Share Save Jean Mackenzie Seoul correspondent Share Save

Watch: Lee Jae-myung speaks behind bulletproof glass at a campaign rally

The striking feature of this election has been the leading opposition candidate, Lee Jae-myung, campaigning in a bullet-proof vest. At a recent rally, he was escorted to the podium by close protection officers, ready to shield him with their ballistic briefcases. He then addressed the crowd from behind bullet-proof glass, under the gaze of rooftop watchers. This is not South Korean politics as usual. But South Korea has not been itself lately. It is still recovering from the martial law crisis last December, when the president, Yoon Suk Yeol, tried to orchestrate a military takeover. He failed, because of resistance from the public and politicians, and was impeached, triggering this snap election to choose his successor. But the chaos Yoon unleashed that night has festered. While stuck in limbo, without a president, the country has become more polarised and its politics more violent. At street protests earlier this year it became commonplace to chant for various political leaders to be executed. And since launching his presidential bid, Lee has been receiving death threats, and his team say they have even uncovered a credible plot to assassinate him. This election is an opportunity to steer South Korea back onto safer, more stable ground, and heal these fractures.

Getty Images Martial law shocked South Koreans, sparking mass protests

Given this, the ruling party was always going to struggle, marred by President Yoon's self-defeating coup. But rather than break away from the disgraced former president, the conservative People Power Party (PPP) has chosen a candidate who repeatedly defended Yoon and his actions. Kim Moon-soo, Yoon's former labour minister, was the only cabinet member who refused to stand and apologise during a parliamentary hearing into martial law. He said sorry only well into his campaign, after he had won Yoon's public endorsement. This has turned the election into more of a referendum on martial law than anything else. Given most of the public overwhelmingly rejected the move, it has also virtually gilded the path for the opposition leader Lee, who famously livestreamed himself scaling the walls of the parliament complex, to get inside and vote down the president's order. Now the Democratic Party politician portrays himself as the only candidate who can ensure this never happens again. He has said he will change the constitution to make it more difficult for future presidents to declare martial law. "We must prevent the return of the rebellion forces," Lee urged voters at his recent rally from behind fortified glass. Such promises have pulled in people from across the political spectrum. "I didn't like Lee before, but since martial law I now trust and depend on him," said 59-year-old Park Suh-jung, who admitted this was the first time she had attended a political event.

BBC/ Hosu Lee Park Suh-jung has never attended a political rally - until now

One man in his 50s said he was a member of another smaller political party, but had decided to back Lee this time: "He is the only person who can end Yoon's martial law insurrection. We need to stop those who destroyed our democracy." Most recent polls put Lee about 10 points ahead of his rival Kim, but he was not always so popular. This is his second time running for president, having lost out to Yoon three years ago. He is a divisive character, who has been embroiled in a series of court cases and political scandals. There are many who do not trust him, who loathe him even. Kim, hoping to capitalise on this, has branded himself "the fair and just candidate". It is a slogan his supporters have adopted, many seemingly backing him not for his policies, but because he is not Lee. "I don't like Kim but at this point there's no real choice. The other candidate has too many issues," said one elderly woman who is planning to vote for him. Kim has charted an unusual political path. As a student who campaigned for workers' rights, he was tortured and imprisoned under South Korea's right-wing dictatorship in the 1980s but then moved sharply to the right himself. He was picked by the party base, many of whom are still loyal to Yoon. The party leadership, realising he was not the best choice, tried to replace him at the last minute with a more moderate, experienced politician, only to be blocked by furious members. This has left the party weak and divided, with many suspecting it will splinter into rival factions after voting day. "Haven't we already imploded?" one party insider said to me recently, their face crumpled in their hands. "This is a miserable campaign." "Choosing Kim is the biggest mistake the conservative party have made in this election, and they do know that. They will have to be held accountable for this decision," said Jeongmin Kim, the executive director of Korea Pro, a Seoul-based news and analysis service.

Getty Images Kim Moon-soo did not speak out against martial law until after launching his campaign

Lee has seized this opportunity to hoover up centrist votes. He has shifted his policies to the right, and even claimed his left-leaning party is, in fact, conservative. This, despite his reputation as a staunch leftist. He grew up in a slum outside Seoul, working in factories rather than attending school, and is someone who has previously quoted US senator Bernie Sanders. But gone are his previous pledges to introduce a universal basic income. This time, he is courting South Korea's powerful conglomerate businesses, the chaebols. He has even incorporated the conservative colour red into his own blue logo, and hits the campaign trail wearing red and blue trainers. He has rebranded his foreign policy too. Typically, his Democratic Party is cautious about Korea's security alliance with the US, preferring to prioritise relations with China and North Korea. But Lee is casting himself as a "pragmatist" who can adapt to a changing security environment. "The US-Korea alliance is the backbone of our national security. It should be strengthened and deepened," he said in a recent televised debate. All this has left voters and diplomats here unsure of what he really stands for, and what he will do if elected - though this seems to be the point. Ms Kim, Korea Pro's analyst, believes his makeover is more genuine than might appear. "He was already high up in the polls, so he didn't need to work hard to win votes," she said. "I think he is playing a longer game. He wants to be a popular leader, someone who can be trusted by more than half of the country."

Watch: To vote or not to vote? South Korea’s ‘dilemma’ election

Lockerbie: Remembering the victims of Flight 103

21 minutes ago Share Save Craig Williams BBC Scotland News Share Save

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Almost 40 years on, it seems surprising there are still new stories to tell about the Lockerbie disaster. The destruction of Pan Am 103 in the skies above the small Dumfries and Galloway town on 21 December 1988 is one of the most chronicled events in recent British history. A bomb exploded in the plane's cargo hold, causing the Boeing 747 to break up at 31,000ft as it flew from Heathrow to New York. All 259 passengers and crew on board were killed, along with 11 people in Lockerbie who died when the plane fell on their homes. It remains the biggest terror attack to have taken place on British soil. Coverage tends to focus on anniversaries, but the past six months have brought two big-budget television dramas and later this year a play about the town's response to the disaster will debut at Glasgow's Citizens Theatre. Now, a BBC Scotland documentary aims to tell some of the less well-known stories about those who died on the flight, and about those they left behind.

Two Rivers Media Rose Grant and Tim Burman - who had studied in Cambridge - met in Australia

Among the victims on the plane was Tim Burman, a 24-year-old banker who was flying to New York to spend Christmas with his girlfriend, Rose Grant. Tim was the youngest of four and the only boy. His three sisters - Rachel, Tanya and Fiona - remember him as an "arty, sporty" brother who was keen on the environment and loved running in the Scottish hills. Tanya says: "He genuinely was easy-going and fun, really good fun". Rose, who Tim met while he was on a gap year in Australia, says: "I enjoyed his sense of humour, his style, sense of adventure, ability to get on with everyone. They all mourn his lost potential. His sister Tanya says: "He's both the brother we had, but also a victim of Pan Am 103." Rose believes Tim and his death created a huge bond between them all. "Tim is everywhere in the conversation and the mannerisms of Rachel, Tanya and Fiona," she says. "Our connection is held together by him still."

Two Rivers Media After 37 years, Rose feels bonded to Tim's family by his untimely death

Olive Gordon was 25 and a hairdresser from Birmingham. She had bought a last-minute ticket on Pan Am 103 and was planning on enjoying some shopping in New York in the run up to Christmas. "She was just yapping. She said 'I'm going to America tomorrow. Going to buy stuff'. She loved shopping," her sister Donna says. Donna describes Olive as "very bubbly, very full on. You just would not forget her if you knew her". Olive was one of nine siblings.

Two Rivers Media Olive Gordon was a hairdresser described as "bubbly" by her family

"I have always asked 'why her? why my sister?'" her brother Colyn says. "And it's something that you sort of battle with. And I'm still battling with it, a little bit. Well, not a little bit, a lot." Her family believe she would have been in business now, something involving hair and beauty. "She would probably be an influencer right now," Donna says.

Two Rivers Media Colyn Gordon still struggles to understand why his sister died on Pan Am 103

William MacAllister, known as Billy, was a 26-year-old professional golfer from Mull. He was heading to the USA for a romantic break with his girlfriend Terri. Her friends say Terri was hoping Billy was about to propose. Fellow golf pro Stewart Smith worked with Billy at a course in London and remembers his friend as a natural comic with a zest for life. "He was a very funny guy. Great sense of humour, great sense of fun," he says. "He had moved to Richmond Park, so I went across and worked with Billy. Imagine living in London in the mid-80s when you're mid-20s, both of you. "We had some great times." Back in Mull, family friends have put a memorial bench on the course at Tobermory, where they say Billy played every day after school and every weekend from the age of 12. They remember him as "some guy". Family friend Olive Brown says: "Every December I do have a wee sad moment, thinking he's not here. All that potential, enthusiasm and ability got caught short."

Two Rivers Media Billy MacAllister was a professional golfer who was travelling with his girlfriend

Two Rivers Media Stewart Smith mourns the fact his friend Billy was unable to fulfil his potential

Colyn and other members of Olive Gordon's family visited Lockerbie in the days after the disaster. It was a shocking scene. "I remember the crater, this huge hole, and these little bits all over the place. It just had this smell. My God, my sister was found here. Somewhere here," he says. In the weeks that followed, members of the local community came together to wash, press and package up the belongings of those who had died on the plane. The Lockerbie laundry has become a symbol of the kindness shown by the people of the town. They treated the dead and their families with love and care while coping with their own immeasurable trauma. Colyn says: "Just thinking about it now makes me emotional. Because these people, they don't know you, they've never met you. But the way they treated you is as if they were family. "The people of Lockerbie showed how humanity works. How to display compassion, to display love. I'll never forget them. "I don't know if it's quite macabre to say this but I've always said I am glad that's the place that my sister's life was ended. Because of the type of people that live in this place."

Getty Images Parts of Lockerbie were devastated by the debris from flight 103

The events of the night of 21 December 1988 have resonated across the decades. In 2001, a Libyan intelligence officer, Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi, was convicted of the bombing and 270 counts of murder, following a trial in front of three Scottish judges sitting in a special court at Camp Zeist in the Netherlands. His co-accused, Al Amin Khalifa Fhimah, was found not guilty. Suffering from terminal prostate cancer, Megrahi was released from prison in Scotland on compassionate grounds in 2009. He was returned to Libya and spent the next three years living in a villa in Tripoli before finally succumbing to his illness in 2012. Ten years later, Libyan Abu Agila Mas'ud Kheir Al-Marimi, known as Masud, was taken into American custody after being removed from his home in Tripoli. He is awaiting trial in the USA, accused of building the bomb that destroyed Pan Am 103.

Getty Images Lockerbie continues to remember the victims of the air disaster

Unpacking the South African land law that so inflames Trump

9 minutes ago Share Save Farouk Chothia BBC News Share Save

Getty Images Many South Africans are deeply attached to their land

South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa is at the centre of a political firestorm after he approved a law that gives the state the power to expropriate some privately owned land without compensation for owners. The law, which is yet to be implemented, has drawn the ire of US President Donald Trump, who sees it as discriminating against white farmers. Centre-right political parties and lobby groups in South Africa have also opposed it, saying they will challenge the Expropriation Act – as the law is named – in court on the grounds that it threatens property rights. Ramaphosa's government says the law provides for compensation to be paid in the vast majority of cases – and the changes are needed to increase black ownership of land. Most private farmland is still owned by white people. When Nelson Mandela came to power more than 30 years ago, ending the racist system of apartheid, it was promised that this would be rectified through a willing-buyer, willing-seller land reform programme – but critics say this has proved too slow and too costly.

So what exactly can be expropriated without compensation?

In rare circumstances it would be land that was needed for the "public interest", legal experts told the BBC. According to South African law firm Werksmans Attorneys, this suggested it would mainly, or perhaps only, happen in relation to the land reform programme. Although it could also be used to access natural resources such as minerals and water, the firm added, in an opinion written by its experts in the field, Bulelwa Mabasa and Thomas Karberg. Mabasa and Karberg told the BBC that in their view, productive agricultural land could not be expropriated without compensation. They said any expropriation without compensation – known as EWC – could take place only in a few circumstances: For example, when an owner was not using the land and was holding it for "speculative purposes"

Or when an owner "abandoned the land by failing to exercise control over it despite being reasonably capable of doing so". Owners would probably still get compensation for the buildings on the land and for the natural resources, the lawyers said. Mabasa and Karberg added that EWC was "not aimed at rural land or farmland specifically, and could include land in urban areas". However, in cases where compensation is paid, the rules are set to change, with owners likely to get less money.

Why will less money be paid in compensation?

The plan is for owners to receive "just-and-equitable" compensation – a departure from the higher "market value" they have been getting up to now, Mabasa and Karberg said. The government had been paying market-value compensation despite the fact that this was "at odds" with the constitution, adopted after white-minority rule ended in 1994, they added. The lawyers said that all expropriations had "extensive procedural fairness requirements", including the owner's right to go to court if they were not happy. The move away from market-value compensation will also apply to land expropriated for a "public purpose" – like building state schools or railways. This has not been a major point of controversy, possibly because it is "hardly a novel concept" – a point made by JURISTnews, a legal website run by law students from around the world. "The US Constitution, for instance, provides that the government can seize private property for public use so long as 'just compensation' is provided," it added.

Will it make it easier for the government to acquire land?

The government hopes so. University of Western Cape land expert Prof Ruth Hall told the BBC that more than 80,000 land claims remain unsettled. In the eastern regions of South Africa, many black people work on farms for free – in exchange they are allowed to live there and keep their livestock on a portion of the owners' land, she said. The government wants to transfer ownership of this land to the workers, and it was "unfair" to expect it to pay the market value, Prof Hall added. Over the last three decades, the government has used existing powers to expropriate property–- with less than market-value compensation – in fewer than 20 cases, she said. The new law was aimed at making it easier and cheaper to restore land to black people who were "dispossessed" of it during white-minority rule or were forced to be "long-term tenants" as they could not own land, Prof Hall added. "It's a bargaining chip," she said. But she doubts that the government will press ahead with implementing the law in the foreseeable future as the "political cost" has become too high.

EPA The government denies that it has discriminated against white farmers

The academic was referring to the fact that Trump has opposed the law, saying it discriminates against white farmers and their land was being "seized" – a charge the government denies. In February, Trump cut aid to South Africa, and in April he announced a 30% tariff on South African goods and agricultural products, although this was later paused for 90 days. This was followed by last month's infamous Oval Office showdown when Trump ambushed Ramaphosa with a video and printouts of stories alleging white people were being persecuted – much of his dossier has been discredited. Fact-checking Trump's Oval Office confrontation with Ramaphosa

What has been the reaction in South Africa?

Like Trump, the second-biggest party in Ramaphosa's coalition government, the Democratic Alliance (DA), is opposed to the legislation. In a statement on 26 May, the party said that its top leadership body had rejected the notion of "nil compensation". However, it has agreed with the concept of just-and-equitable compensation rather than market-value compensation, adding it should be "adjudicated by a court of law". Surprisingly, Jaco Kleynhans of the Solidarity Movement, an influential Afrikaner lobby group, said that while the new law could "destroy" some businesses and he was opposed to it, he did not believe it would lead to the "large-scale expropriation of farmland". "I don't see within the wording of this text that that will happen," he said in a recent panel discussion at an agricultural exhibition held in South Africa's Free State province – where a large number of conservative Afrikaner farmers live. The South African Property Owners Association said it was "irrational" to give "nil compensation" to an owner who held land for speculative purposes. "There are many landowners whose sole purpose of business is to speculate in land. They do not get the land for free and they have significant holding costs," the association said, adding it had no doubt the law would be "abundantly tested" in the courts. Mabasa and Karberg said one view was that the concept of EWC was a "legal absurdity" because "intrinsic in the legal definition of expropriation, is a requirement for compensation to be paid". However, the lawyers pointed out the alternative view was that South Africa's constitution "implicitly recognises that it would in some circumstances be just and equitable for compensation to be nil".

What does the government say?

South Africa's Public Works Minister Dean Macpherson has defended the legislation, breaking ranks with his party, the DA. In fact he is in charge of the new legalisation and, on a discussion panel, he explained that while he had some concerns about the law, it was a "dramatic improvement" on the previous Expropriation Act, with greater safeguards for land-owners. He said the law could also help end extortionist demands on the state, and in some cases "nil compensation" could be justified. He gave as an example the problems being faced by the state-owned power utility Eskom. It plans to roll out a transmission network over about 4,500km (28,000 miles) of land to boost electricity supplies to end the power crisis in the country. Ahead of the roll-out, some individuals colluded with Eskom officials to buy land for 1m rand ($56,000; £41,000), and then demanded R20m for it, he said.

Getty Images Public Works Minister Dean Macpherson says plans to expand Eskom's transmission network are being held to ransom

"Is it just and equitable to give them what they want? I don't think that's in the interest of the broader community or the state," Macpherson said. Giving another example, Macpherson said that some of South Africa's inner cities were in a "disastrous" condition. After owners left, buildings were "over-run" and "hijacked" for illegal occupation. The cost to the state to rebuild them could exceed their value, and in such cases the courts could rule that an owner qualified for "nil compensation", he said. "Nil is a form of compensation," Macpherson added, while ruling it out for farms. Johannesburg mayor Dada Morero told South Africa's Mail & Guardian newspaper that he wanted to use the buildings for the "public good", like accommodating around 300,000 people on the housing waiting list. He added the owners of nearly 100 buildings could not be located. "They have abandoned the buildings," he said, adding some of the owners were from the UK and Germany. But Mabasa and Karberg told the BBC that in such cases compensation would probably still have to be paid for the buildings, though not the land. If the state could not locate the owners, it "must deposit the compensation with the Master of the High Court" in case they returned or could be traced later, they said.

What next?

The law is in limbo, as Ramaphosa – about four months after giving his assent to it – has still not set a date for its implementation. Nor is he likely to do so anytime soon, as he would not want to further antagonise Trump while South Africa was trying to negotiate a trade deal with the US. And on the domestic front, the DA is spearheading opposition to the legislation. It said it wanted a "judicial review" of it, while at the same time it was pressing ahead with court action to challenge the law's constitutionality. The DA's tough line is in contrast with that of Macpherson, who, a few weeks ago, warned that if the law was struck down in its entirety: "I don't know what's going to come after that. "In politics, sometimes you must be careful what you wish for because often you can get it," he said. His comments highlight the deep fissures in South African politics, with some parties, such as Julius Malema's Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), believing that the legislation did not go far enough to tackle racial inequality in land ownership. With land such an emotive issue, there is no easy solution to the dispute – and it is likely to continue to cause tensions within South Africa, as well as with the US president.

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Mormon wives on swinging scandals, friendship fallouts and religious backlash

8 minutes ago Share Save Yasmin Rufo BBC News Share Save

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From allegations of infidelity to swinging scandals, The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives offers a look into a version of Mormon life far removed from traditional public perception. Set in suburban Utah, the TV series follows a group of Mormon women – most of whom rose to fame on TikTok and became MomTok influencers – as they manage scandals, confront marital breakdowns and clash over everything from business ventures to party invitations. But beneath the sensational plotlines is a more complex story about the evolving dynamics within a tight-knit community. The group of Mormon mothers have been making content online for the past five years but say the concept of reality TV still feels very new to them. "I've heard that eventually people learn how to play the reality TV game but that's not us yet, we're still trying to figure it out," Jessi Ngatikaura tells the BBC. "So you're getting to see the real us."

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What started off as a hobby has now become a job and the women speak openly on the show about the amount of money they make from reality TV and brand deals. "It is totally our job now but we chose this and we could all walk away any time if we didn't want to be part of it," Jessi says. Whitney Leavitt explains that "naturally dynamics will change when there's more money and family involved and definitely some people get competitive" but reassures me the group are still friends off camera. Across the two seasons of the show, Jessi and Whitney have had challenging storylines play out - Whitney is presented as the villain in season one and at the end of season two it is alleged Jessi has had an affair. The pair speak candidly about the impact having your life watched and commented on by millions of people worldwide has had on them.

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"It's been hard coming to terms with the fact we have no control over the narrative and you don't ever really get over it," Whitney explains. "But you have to accept that and let it go." As the show follows the lives of nine friends, it's easy to see how some of them may create more drama for themselves in order to guarantee some screen time but Jessi insists that's not the case and no one "plays up but naturally emotions are heightened". "We're actually recording four or five days a week so we don't know what will make the final edit." Jessi says her explosive Halloween party was not manufactured by producers and there is just "naturally so much drama that we don't need to create more just for the show".

'Lots of resentment'

Given the intensity of drama and filming demands, the presence of strong aftercare is essential and both women praise the production for its duty of care standards. "There are always therapists on hand and at first I was like why are Taylor and Jen having therapy all the time and now I'm having five or six hours of it a week," Jessi confesses. "I've found it's useful even if you're not going through a hard time." Whitney also accessed some aftercare in season one after being presented as the villain of the show. "It totally sucked being the villain and I was angry, had a lot of resentment and was really sad. There were so many overwhelming emotions for me but I was proud that instead of running away I stayed and had those hard conversations I didn't want to have," Whitney says. Whitney was one of the members of the MomTok group that Taylor Frankie Paul publicly revealed was involved in "soft swinging", something she denies and caused a rift to form in their friendship.

Getty Images There was some backlash to the reality TV show from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

Students warned of subject cold spots as universities cut courses

A government review of how higher education will be funded in the long term is under way in England, and is expected to be published later this year.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it wanted to support collaboration where possible in a "very challenging" financial situation for the sector.

The review by Universities UK, which represents 141 institutions, found universities were reluctant to collaborate because of concerns around breaking business laws designed to promote healthy competition between them.

Students could face subject "cold spots" if universities are not allowed to work together more to deliver courses, according to a new report.

In 2018, he trained as a pharmacy technician at a nearby college, because there was no local university course available to become a pharmacist.

"It's everything for me", he says, adding that being able to study and qualify locally "is the difference between me having this career, and not having this career".

Mature student Joe Vincent, 33, lives at home in Devon with his partner and baby while studying in Plymouth for a masters degree in pharmacy from the University of Bath, over 130 miles away.

Some universities are already delivering courses this way, to the benefit of students.

The Universities UK report said greater collaboration between universities could be a solution for institutions who are struggling to cut costs and become more efficient.

Joe says being able to stay at home while studying means "everything" to him

This close collaboration between universities is also intended to meet a shortage of community pharmacists in the South West.

Sir Nigel Carrington, who led the review for Universities UK, said more clarity was needed to prevent universities having to make decisions about which courses to close, or merge, in isolation from one another.

He told the BBC there was a risk of "cold spots emerging in which there will be no opportunity for prospective students to study the subjects they want to study in their home cities or their home regions".

He said neighbouring universities should be allowed to look at which subjects they recruit the fewest students for and agree that only one of them should teach that course, "divvying up other courses between them" and working out where delivering a subject would be most cost effective.

After the University of Cardiff announced job losses earlier this year, vice-chancellor Prof Wendy Larner told The Times newspaper she was "deeply frustrated" by legal advice not to consult other universities on the impact of course closures, adding the system was "set up to enhance competition, not collaboration".

The CMA enforces the existing law, which applies across different sectors to protect consumers, in this case students.

In a blog post published on Friday, it said it recognised the financial problems facing universities and that it wanted to support collaboration where possible.

The CMA said ideas such as sharing back-office functions, or discussing possible mergers with other universities, were unlikely to raise competition law concerns.

Juliette Enser, executive director of competition enforcement at the CMA, said: "We know universities are interested in collaborating on courses they offer and we are working to understand how this fits with overall plans for higher education reform."

It would be for the government to change the law, or how universities are regulated, to allow up-front conversations to be had about whether some subjects need a different kind of collaboration in different regions.

University budgets have been strained by a 16% drop in international students - who pay higher fees than domestic students - after changes to visa rules came into force last January.

University income in the form of fees has also failed to keep up with inflation, rising for the first time in eight years this autumn from £9,250 to £9,535.

The higher education regulator in England, the Office for Students, has said four in 10 universities are heading for a financial deficit by this summer, despite thousands of job losses already having been announced.

Course cutbacks or closure announcements have also followed one after the other this year, from the University of East Anglia to Sheffield, Durham, Bournemouth and many more.

It has become a patchwork of individual institutional decisions, largely driven by market forces, including how many students want to sign up for individual subjects.

The government said it had been clear that universities needed to increase opportunities for students and contribute more to growth in the economy.

In response to the review, Jacqui Smith, the Skills Minister, said: "I am pleased to see the sector taking steps to grip this issue as we restore our universities as engines of opportunity, aspiration and growth."

A review of the longer term future of higher education in England is expected to be published before the summer.

'I spent half-term looking for somewhere for my family to live'

38 minutes ago Share Save Meghan Owen Work & Money Correspondent, BBC London Share Save

Lauren Stanley BBC London

BBC Shanice Aird, 29, will soon be homeless after rejecting a flat an hour away from her children's school

"I spent all of half-term looking for somewhere to live," says mother-of-three Shanice Aird. The 29-year-old from west London rejected her council's most recent temporary accommodation offer "an hour away" from her children's school. The Shared Health Foundation is urging the government to put in measures to stop children in temporary accommodation going "missing" from schools and GPs after widespread displacement of families across the country. The charity's new report calls for a notification system so that all authorities are aware when a child moves into temporary accommodation. The government says it is investing £1bn in homelessness services this year to help families trapped in temporary accommodation.

'My family will soon be homeless'

Ms Aird was living in a secure tenancy flat in Ealing with her three children, aged three, five and seven, but was moved to temporary accommodation in Hounslow in 2021 after witnessing a stabbing. She is now being evicted from the two-bedroom property by the landlord, but says Ealing Council has only offered her unsuitable alternative accommodation, including one flat an hour away from her children's school. Ms Aird says she will soon be homeless and will have to "sofa surf with friends" after the council discharged her from their housing duty. "We haven't been able to do anything this half-term because I'm constantly on the phone to councils, emailing, trying to get as much help as I can," she says. She admits her children's attendance at school is "awful" as they do not have a permanent home. "It's really horrible because as a mum you want to try and provide as much safety and happiness as you can."

Ms Aird says her children's education is suffering because they are living in temporary accommodation

Ms Aird says she needs to be close to family and friends to help with her mental health. "I have bipolar type 2 and tend to go into depressive episodes, if it's a really bad episode it leads to me not being aware of what I'm doing," she says. "I'm happy to move to another borough, as long as I've got some kind of family support network." Ealing Council said Ms Aird was recently made offers of "suitable properties both in and out of the borough within easy reach of her support networks", which she refused. "Because of her refusal of these property offers, the council have discharged her main housing duty, and we have made a referral to children services at Hounslow Council who may be able to support her under the Children's Act," it added.

'Normal childhood'

More than 164,000 homeless children are currently living in temporary accommodation across England, the highest number on record, figures show. Analysis of government data by homeless charity Shelter suggests there are almost 94,000 children in London living in temporary accommodation. As a result, families are being displaced with some Londoners being moved miles away due to a lack of permanent affordable housing in the capital, according to Alicia Walker, Shelter's assistant director for activism and advocacy. "We're sending children and families from London to Manchester, but Manchester has the very same problem, then the children and families in Manchester might be moved to Durham...it means we've got a country of displaced people," she says. Dr Laura Neilson, founder of the Shared Health Foundation which co-chairs the All-Party Parliamentary Group on temporary accommodation, says they want to see children "still have access to education and healthcare" so they "get to live a much more normal childhood than these children are experiencing". "We are asking the government to be more curious about how many children are missing from education because of temporary accommodation," she adds.

Felicity Afriyie, 53, has lived in temporary accommodation with her three children for 21 years

Felicity Afriyie has lived in temporary accommodation for 21 years with her three children aged 16, 19, and 20. In that time they have lived in more than 10 houses. Currently, they are living in a one-bedroom hostel in Lambeth, south London. In previous temporary accommodation, she says her children's journeys to school took two hours. The 53-year-old says it took so long to do the school run she "spent the whole day" waiting for her children to finish school. "Sometimes you see schoolchildren on the bus sleeping because they come from very far," she says.

'It's not a level playing field'

Her daughter Grace, 20, says: "One of our school journeys was two hours. "Doing that distance to school every day was awful. It's had a massive impact on our education. "You can't expect a 16 year old... that's moved houses more times than they can count to sit a set of exams that will change their life and expect them to perform as well as their more stable affluent counterparts. "It's not fair and it's not a level playing field." Grace says she has dropped out of university due to the stress of temporary accommodation. "Some of us are actually trying to get out of the system," she says. "We've grown up like this and we don't want the generation after us to be in the same position. We're never going to get out of the system when it's stacked against us." Lambeth Council says it had made a direct offer of suitable permanent accommodation to Ms Afriyie but she turned it down and requested a review. The review found that the permanent property proposed was suitable.

There are almost 94,000 children in London living in temporary accommodation, figures show

Local authorities have a legal duty to provide temporary accommodation to anyone who qualifies as homeless. Adam Hug, housing spokesperson for the Local Government Association, is calling on the government to urgently increase the temporary accommodation subsidy in the upcoming Spending Review. "Frozen temporary accommodation subsidy rates have left councils to pick up more than £700m in temporary accommodation costs that they are unable to claim back from government." The government says the forthcoming Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill aims to introduce better protections for all children and better join-up between children's social care, schools and other local services. Through the children not in school registers, there will be a single unique identifier for every child and a requirement for every council to have multi-agency child protection team. "Protecting vulnerable children falling through the cracks are at the heart of the forthcoming Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill, which represents the single biggest piece of child protection legislation in a generation," a government spokesperson said. "We are also investing £1bn in homelessness services this year to help families trapped in temporary accommodation, driving up housing standards and delivering on our commitment to build more social and affordable homes."

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