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Woman's Hour

Belle Burden, Controversy at the Civil Service, Women in Sudan, Pelvic mesh

Woman's Hour

BBC

Society & Culture

4.13K Ratings

🗓️ 18 February 2026

⏱️ 59 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

The woman tipped to be the next head of the UK Civil Service has faced multiple bullying complaints according to reports this morning. The Times newspaper says "there is more than a whiff of misogyny" in the briefings against her. Nuala McGovern hears more about the debate over the possible appointment of Dame Antonia Romeo with Kitty Donaldson, the Chief Political Commentator for the i Newspaper, and Caroline Slocock. Caroline was the first female private secretary to a British Prime Minister when she served alongside Margaret Thatcher.

Belle Burden is a former corporate lawyer, a pro bono immigration lawyer, a Harvard graduate and a mother of three, born into American high society. When she got married in 1999, her wedding was announced in the New York Times. Two decades later she broke with convention and published her candid essay on the marriage’s sudden rupture, in the long-running New York Times Modern Love series. Now her book Strangers: A Memoir of a Marriage has become a New York Times bestseller. Belle Burden joins Nuala live from New York to discuss ghosting, grieving and getting on with life on her own terms.

Tomorrow, the Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper will speak about the plight of women and girls in Sudan at the United Nations Security Council. Stories from the war-torn country are harrowing. Sudan’s conflict began in April 2023 between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces or RSF. More than 150,000 people have died in the conflict across the country, and about 12 million have fled their homes in what the UN has called the world's largest humanitarian crisis. Nuala is joined BBC’s Africa Correspondent, Barbara Plett Usher.

Two years ago, Dr Henrietta Hughes, England’s first Patient Safety Commissioner, published a report laying out a plan for compensation for women harmed by pelvic mesh implants. The Hughes report set a deadline for the government, which has just passed without action. Dr Hughes tell Nuala what action she wants to see from the government, and Kath Sansom, the founder of the Sling The Mesh campaign group, tells us how women’s lives have been affected.

Presenter: Nuala McGovern Producer: Helen Fitzhenry

Transcript

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0:00.0

BBC Sounds, Music, Radio Podcasts.

0:05.6

Oh, hello. You have chosen a BBC podcast, but before you listen to it, we thought you might like our podcast too.

0:12.1

You might. You might. It is called Sightraught with me, Nick Grimshaw.

0:15.2

And me, Annie Mack. And we talk about the week in music.

0:18.2

All the news, all the cultural happenings in the UK and beyond.

0:22.2

And great guests.

0:23.3

And it's on BBC Sounds.

0:24.7

Yes, where you can also enjoy lots of playlists, music mixes and live radio.

0:29.9

Everything from my six music breakfast show to Radio 3 Unwind.

0:34.5

But obviously start with our podcast, sidetrack.

0:36.3

Obviously.

0:36.7

Obviously.

0:38.2

So if you like music, listen on BBC Sounds.

0:40.3

Hello, this is Neula McGovern, and you're listening to The Woman's Hour podcast.

0:45.1

Hello and welcome to the programme.

0:47.2

Well, the woman tipped to be the next head of the UK Civil Service has faced multiple bullying complaints, according to reports this morning. The Times newspaper,

0:55.8

however, says there is more than a whiff of misogyny in the campaign against her. We're going to

1:00.8

hear more about the debate over the possible appointment of Dame Antonia Romero. Dr. Henrietta Hughes

1:07.1

is England's first patient safety commissioner. She will also be with us. It's two years

1:12.5

since her report called for compensation for those affected by pelvic mesh implants. Dr. Hughes

1:18.5

has now pledged to take the matter of financial redress directly to the Prime Minister.

1:24.0

We have the author Bell Burden. Her book is Strangers, a Memoir of Marriage. After 21 years,

...

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