this is bbc news. i'm simon mccoy. the headlines at 2pm. the chancellor defends rising national insurance on the self—employed — as he says the government is facing new spending challenges. this is not the time to do it, when consumer spending isjust this is not the time to do it, when consumer spending is just getting and the front line of the effect of that will be sole traders, the self—employed. jeremy hunt says the nhs has to reach its target for waiting times —— now that health and social care is being given an extra two billion pounds and i'm maxine mawhinney. remembering those who served in iraq afghanistan and in the gulf war.

made this memorial commemorates the lives and service of all who took pa rt lives and service of all who took part in the operations in iraq and afghanistan. the queen unveils a memorial, dedicated to both soldiers and civilians, at a special service in central london an australian man alleged to have posed asjustin bieber online is charged with more than 900 and one of the most improbable comebacks in european football history — barcelona produce a stunning victory in the champions league to knock out paris st germain to reach the quarterfinals. good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. the chancellor philip hammond has defended his plan to raise national insurance contributions

for the self—employed, saying the government faces "new challenges." mr hammond is facing criticism of the budget announcement for apparently going against a 2015 manifesto pledge on tax rises. the change, due to come in next year, will mean 1.6 million self—employed people paying on average £240 more every year. labour has accused the government of breaking its promise. here's our political correspondent eleanor garnier. learning to solve technical problems ata learning to solve technical problems at a college in dudley in the west midlands this morning. and after yesterday's budget the chancellor's the one looking for answers after criticism over his plans to hike up national insurance. i think the decision we made is a fair decision, to ask self—employed

people to pay just decision, to ask self—employed people to payjust a little more contribution for the services they receive. this is not in any way an attack on business, it's usually supportive of business, i want people to have choices about the way they work, but i want them to make those choices on the basis of what is right, not on the basis of what tax advantages they bring. but this is the row he woke up to, accusations the tories had broken a ma nifesto accusations the tories had broken a manifesto promise made by mr cameron in 2015. if you elect me as your prime minister there will be no increase in vat, no increase in national insurance, no increase in income tax. and there is criticism, too, from some conservative mps.m i put leaflets through people's doors, the people who voted for me said we will not put up vat, income tax, national insurance contributions, it didn't have any brackets or anything, it didn't say that. that was what we put out, that was what people believed in. the government insists the policy will make the system fairer. the new

changes plus others already planned means 2.6 million people will gain around £150 per year. 1.6 million will have to pay more. on average, £240 a will have to pay more. on average, £2110 a yea r. will have to pay more. on average, £2110 a year. labour's hoping tory rebels will make them oppose the plans. i represent a constituency with a large number of self—employed. at the moment they are on the edge, on the edge because of the dip in consumer spending. what's happening in the economy at the moment. this is not a time to be penalising them, we want a foot fair system, let's plan their system so those self—employed are treated fairly. let's end this mode of self—employment that is exploiting so self—employment that is exploiting so many people. 4596 of the increasing climate in the last years has been driven by self—employment. he's looking at his tax take and realising the more people are self—employed and the blessed taxi get in because they pay significantly less tax than employees. he is right to try and address that. it said philip hammond is privately bullish about the

changes. they admit privately the initial explanation of the measures may have fallen short. the government insists its plans are fair, but philip hammond said no chancellor can rule out future tax changes. adding, that's a golden rule. 0ur assistant political editor norman smith is in westminster — how much pressure is philip hammond under? mr hammond is under huge pressure, no disguising that. within the treasury they are still confident they can pull this off. why? they acknowledge they made a bit of a hash of selling the policy yesterday. surely they can do better over the coming weeks and months. added to which group they think the fairness argument that those self—employed should pay the same tax as those who work for bosses,

they think it will begin to gain traction. they are beginning to put stick about suggesting if tory mps don't like this tax rise they might not be able to get that £2 billion for social care. significantly, we are beginning to see tory backbenchers breaking cover to come out and defend the tax rise. among them conservative richard graham.“ them conservative richard graham.“ the changes weren't to go through for example, your fiscal position is not going to be as good. we respect the fact the chancellor has made some pretty tough decisions, a very sensible, steady as she goes budget. that's good for the country, living within our means, we assuring creditors so interest rates don't go up creditors so interest rates don't go up and the rest of it. this is part ofa up and the rest of it. this is part of a balanced budget and there are going to be some pain for some entrepreneurs but i think they can live with it. mr graham is a bit of a rare beast on the tory backbenches at the moment because many tory mps are frankly up in arms over this policy change. not because they view it as an inconvenient tweaker policy, they view it as a fundamental breach of tory

principles. they object to a tory government putting up taxes on people's basic income. more than that, say things this is a move which hits their people, that is people who take a risk, go out on their own, start a business and grow a company. when you listen to mps like stephen mcpartland, you can see the sort of difficulties mr hammond is really facing. i think they need to drop this, it won't have the support from people like myself. we need to support those entrepreneurs. they are the backbone of this economy. they are out there taking risks, giving young people a chance, we have to get behind them. we have done for the last seven years and i'm going to make sure we continue doing so. how does the chancellor get himself out of this hole? i'm not sure he's going to get himself out of the hole, i think time will significantly help. though there will have to be legislation to implement changes,

maybe he can push it back to the end of the year, maybe we'll calm down and be looking at other things. the other thing that help is brexit. at a time the government is having to navigate through treacherous rapids of brexit, many tory mps may take the view, do i want to cause the government more grief by giving him a bloody nose over taxes? that may inhibit tory mps from rebelling against mr hammond. there is the possibility he can find his way out of it. what we may get in the end is maybe there could be some sort of review. moved off into a particular clump of long grass where someone can think about it for an awfully long time before coming back with a policy that wasn't quite mr hammond's, but went some way to meet the concerns of

critics, either by raising the threshold at which this rise in national insurance contributions kicks in or perhaps putting some additionalfunds kicks in or perhaps putting some additional funds around to phase kicks in or perhaps putting some additionalfunds around to phase in some transitional arrangements. mr hammond under pressure, might not have to go for a complete climb—down, maybe a review down the road is a way out of it. thank you very much. the independent economics think tank the institute of fiscal studies has been looking through the chancellor's budget and has been giving its initial analysis of it to our economics correspondent andy verity who's in central london. bigger than the political row we've just been hearing about is what happened to the economy over the last ten years. i ran under you and i'm reporting missing 2008 when the crash was actually happening, and in 2012. some very gloomy people talked about the risk of a lost decade of economic growth where we hardly grew at all for a decade. they were

pooh—poohed as thoroughly pessimistic. now it's official we've had the worst decade for economic growth in a century and going with that, the worst decade for rises in earnings in more than 100 years. the last decade is a decade without precedent in modern times as paul johnson told me. what really struck me is we've got confirmation that we're in the middle of the worst decade for earnings growth in more than 100 years. than a hundred years, and yet the office for budget responsibility still thinks the economy is above trend, in other words doing better than it can continue to do into the future, so all of that earnings growth and income growth that we've lost over the last few years we're not going to get back again. what are they saying about the chancellor's controversial move on insurance for the self—employed ? funnily enough they are the a nalysts, funnily enough they are the analysts, they are the economists, they give its support. the institute for fiscal studies tries to make tax policy rational and it points out

the irrationality in the existing system, where you pay much less tax if you are self—employed. let's ta ke less tax if you are self—employed. let's take someone, i have numbers from them, earning 40 grand. if you are an employee, you pay £12,146 in tax altogether. if you are self—employed it's not 12 grand, but less tha n self—employed it's not 12 grand, but less than nine grand. if you own your own company it's less than that, only 7400 or so. what the government is doing is not even equalising the amount of tax being paid per worker, they arejust making it a slightly less unequal. the institute for fiscal studies says it's a move in the right direction. they point out its progressive. that means it hits people on higher incomes more than it hits people down the income scale. if white van man earns less

than £16,000 a year, another measure, which is scrapping a flat rate of national insurance contributions, which costs £150 a year, will more than make up for the extra 2% he will play on his class to national insurance contributions. they say is essentially what the chancellor has done hasn't been unfair, because the differences at the moment aren'tjustified and closing the gap a little, to them, isa closing the gap a little, to them, is a step in the right direction. you can send your questions about the budget and how it affects you, we'll put them to personal finance experts at 3:30pm this afternoon. you can text 61124, email askthis@bbc. co. uk and tweet using the hashtag bbcaskthis. the health secretaryjeremy hunt has said it is essential that a and e departments in england hit their target for waiting times now that extra money has been put into social care, as announced in yesterday's budget. if we are leaving people too long in a&e departments, not getting the flow right through hospitals, it is

bad for patient safety. that's why it's absolutely essential that we do get back to the 95% target. this one is critical for patient safety. and that's why yesterday you saw the chancellor announcing a £2 billion short—term package of social care. the queen has unveiled a memorial in london in honour of all those from the uk who served in iraq and afghanistan between 1990 and 2015. the monument — on the banks of the thames — is dedicated to civilians as well as servicemen and women. before the unveiling, a special service took place in horse guards parade, as robert hall reports. there have been many accounts of individual sacrifice during the longest continuous period of combat operations since the second world war, but today's ceremonies had at their heart stories that weren't told, stories of the duty and service shown by thousands, in and out of uniform. mark stonelake and his wife donna

had travelled here from cornwall. mark rebuilt his life after losing a leg to a roadside bomb. he was here to remember all of those who serve. it symbolises the hard work that the british forces have done in the gulf region, in iraq and afghanistan. everyone has their own unique take on the war and what happened, but it is nice to share with people that been through similar situations to myself. we meet in the presence of god to commemorate and give thanks for all those civilians and members of the military who have served on operations in the gulf region, iraq and afghanistan. the operations being commemorated today divided public opinion as to their merit. no one ever doubted the dedication of every man and every woman who travelled

to that troubled region. tony o'donnell lost her husband gary in afghanistan. it is definitely not just about widows. i am happy to be here and i have seen some of the other widows, so there are a few of us here. it is a pity we couldn't all come, but this is about everybody, notjust those who died. this unveiling might not have been possible without the generosity of the public. the queen was the first to inspect a structure which captures the complexity of the events spanning a quarter of a century. the memorial itself is left, and in a way, there is an unfinished side to it, which is a nod to the fact that we live in an ongoing situation in both of those countries. one day, sergeant mark lunn

and his wife will pass on their iraq experiences to their son, alfie, not on his best behaviour this morning. now, he and generations to come will have a permanent reminder of a chapter in our history that remains unfinished business. these are the headlines this afternoon: the chancellor has promised to listen to conservative backbenchers concerns about changes to national insurance contributions for the self—employed. the health secretary says it's essential that a&e departments in england hit their target for waiting times. the queen has unveiled a new war memorial in london to honour the british personnel who served in iraq and afghanistan. in sport england fly half 0wen farrell failed to make it the end of today's training session ahead of saturday's calcutta cup match. eddiejones ahead of saturday's calcutta cup match. eddie jones admits ahead of saturday's calcutta cup match. eddiejones admits he could bea match. eddiejones admits he could be a doubt for that game but has

made light of the incident, saying farrell ran into his dog. arsene wenger says the opinion of arsenal fa ns wenger says the opinion of arsenal fans will influence his decision over whether to remain in charge next season but he hasn't yet made his mind at all told the players his plan. england cricketers are batting first in barbados as they go into a 3-0 first in barbados as they go into a 3—0 series whitewash against the west indies. england currently 45—1 in the 11th over. john lewis has cut its staff bonus to 6% this year, the lowest level since the 1950s. despite rising profits, the partnership — which also owns waitrose — is warning of an "increasingly uncertain market". it comes afterjohn lewis announced it was cutting hundreds ofjobs injanuary. our business correspondent emma simpson reports. three, two, one... these were the good old days, a stonking double—digit reward. john lewis is owned by its staff, and they cherish their annual bonus. this year, a different story — just 6%, the lowest for 63

years, despite reporting healthy pre—tax profits. the reason we've done that is because it gives us more firepower to accelerate our plans for the future. it basically means we can maintain our investment this year and absorb the cost of change, even if the market gets tougher in the year ahead, and that's very important to the long—term success of the business. a revolution in shopping habits is underway. nearly half of alljohn lewis's sales are now online, but they still have to pay the costs of all the stores. how to make money and give the customers what they want — it's something all retailers are trying to figure out. no matter how good a retailer you are, you are not immune to the challenges that all retailers face now. costs are rising in the supply chain because of the weak pound. you also have higher costs for staff because wages are rising, and then of course there's business rates on top of that.

and then you have to invest heavily in the business to keep yourself competitive. but as the spring season gets underway, what the chairman of this business is worried about is the impact of the falling pound, and how that could affect prices and profits. the main uncertainty in the market this year is what happens with inflation. i said injanuary that it was the dog that hadn't barked. and i think what we can now see is, here, the sort of low rumble of a bit of a growl. and will consumers start to rein back as a result? john lewis is preparing itself for a tough year ahead. emma simpson, bbc news. the founder of a charity which supports people who as children were forcibly sent abroad without their parents has been giving evidence at the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse. margaret humphreys said the deportation of thousands of children was the "most catastrophic child abuse legacy within our living memory." here's our home affairs correspondent, tom symonds.

margaret humphreys has worked most of her life for the british child migrants. her offices are covered with the pictures of those she's helped. today, 30 years after founding the child migrants trust, she finally got to give evidence to a british public inquiry, and she didn't hold back. without doubt this is the most catastrophic child—abuse legacy within our living memory. kidnapping, sexual abuse in the uk before they were sent — before they were sent! between 1945 and 1974 britain accelerated the migration of poor children, in particular to australia. the idea — to reduce the impact on british social services, and bring what was called "good white stock" to the commonwealth. this man in a suit, he came to see me, and he says, "your mother's dead, you know, so how'd

you like to go to australia?" the sun shines everyday... the story of margaret humphreys' fight for the migrants was made into a feature film in 2011. she was particularly horrified about the way it stripped them of their identities, and their families. it is a chilling fact of the scandal that many were told they were orphans when that wasn't true. that was in my view i think the greatest betrayal of all, because it took so much hope from them. the inquiry has heard seven days of evidence, from migrants in their later years, remembering their lives. deprived of good education, love and support. even their shoes were taken away. once in australia i walked with no shoes, and dare i say it, no underwear, and belive me — you need to do that walk to know how it feels to be nobody. when your feet hurt and they bleed, and nobody, but nobody, to go home to that night. the british government

has apologised for what happened, but this inquiry is looking at the legacy it has left, and former child migrants have told me they want more compensation to ease the impact it is still having so late in their lives. tom symonds, bbc news, at the child—abuse inquiry. a man who allegedly posed online asjustin bieber to solicit explicit images from children has been charged with more than 900 sex offences by australian police. gordon chalmers — a 42 year old university law lecturer — faces charges dating back a decade, including rape. 20 of the 157 victims are thought to have been british. 0ur correspondent anisa kadri reports. an idol to millions, justin bieber, the pop star with an adoring young fan base across the globe. but now, a 42—year—old law professor in brisbane is accused of sexually abusing children by pretending to be the canadian star. gordon douglas chalmers allegedly used social media

to win the trust of bieber fans, including up to 20 in the uk, and got them to send him explicit images. he was already facing charges of grooming children, but after police went through his computer, more than 900 new charges have been added. they include three of rape, five of indecent treatment of children, and hundreds of making child exploitation material. justin bieber is touring australia, and some of his teenage fans, like priscilla hadad, say they can understand why young people may be tempted to speak with a fake celebrity online. sometimes, maybe their excitement might get them like, oh, wow, this is so amazing. i'm going to go with it and i'm going to keep talking. queensland police say the arrest was made after tip—offs from the us and german authorities, and they are warning parents to protect their children online and know what they're up to. it's my rules, it's my house

and there's a lot out there. and for me, i really, really want to be on top of it. chalmers is due in court next month. anisa kadri, bbc news. theresa may is in brussels to attend what's expected to be herfinal eu summit, before triggering the uk's departure from the european union. 0n the agenda is whether to extend the term of donald tusk as president of the european council. 0ur political correspondent ben wright is there. their brexit isn't on the agenda it certainly will be at some stage. donald tusk you don't normally have the sort of opposition he's facing. normally it's a formality, if the sitting council president wants to continue its normally a rubber—stamp decision and they get on with business whereas this has hit a hump because poland is trying to force a vote on

extending his time as eu council president by another two and a half yea rs, president by another two and a half years, they want to put their own candidate on the table and ask for eu leaders to vote on him instead. there is a real political row between the governing party in poland, the law and justice party, and president donald tusk, who as polish prime minister represented a different political party. it has its root in polish domestic politics. when she arrived in the last hour or so the polish prime minister once again made it clear she will be raising this this afternoon and will be seeking a vote on who becomes the nick next eu council president. theresa may is there at a dinner tonight, then she leaves. then the eu leaders talk about unity once she has gone? yes, you're right, they'll be talking about their plans to get together on

rome on march 25 when they will be marking ina rome on march 25 when they will be marking in a big ceremony 60 years since the signing of the treaty of rome. the timing of one of this is very awkward because they know the dominant issue this year for the european union is britain leaving the eu. they have requested, the italians, that when theresa may does trigger article 50 and begins formally the brexit process which number ten formally the brexit process which numberten in formally the brexit process which number ten in cysts will happen by the end of march, they are asking for that not to be immediately before or immediately after that meeting in rome. it's that roam the meeting in rome. it's that roam the meeting they will be discussing tomorrow here in brussels. theresa may will have gone, she's clearing off after dinner because britain doesn't have a say or voice or stake in where the eu goes next. the issue of donald tusk is important because he will have a role during the brexit negotiations. yes, a vital role, his role is to coordinate all the heads of government, heads of state, from the remaining 27 eu countries, as well as britain. he'll

perform the same sort of role as he did during the renegotiation david cameron lead just a year ago. clearly number ten want him to continue in the role. so does germany, angela merkel said today she wants to see donald tusk serve another term, that seems to be the french view. it seems pretty impossible to imagine he would lose his position as president of the european council despite objections from poland. even wrecked it comes toa from poland. even wrecked it comes to a vote it is a qualified majority vote. poland doesn't have the strength to get its own candidate into the ring. a crucially important role donald tusk will have over the next couple of years. he, perhaps jean—claude juncker, are the next couple of years. he, perhaps jean—claudejuncker, are the key brussels people. ben wright, thank you very much. thomas is standing by on the balcony with a weather forecast. —— tomasz it's very warm. look at these

temperatures in the last hour or so, up temperatures in the last hour or so, up to 17 in london. not far off 18 for most of us. we're talking about 12, 13 degrees. a lot of sunshine out there, a cracking day apart from cornwall and devon. particularly cornwall, the tip, cloudy and gloomy. these are the temperatures around 6pm, dropping into single figures in the north, just about nudging 12 degrees in london. this evening the temperatures will continue to dip away quite sharply because we have clear skies, probably a touch of frost from eastern scotland, northern england, east anglia. the western areas of cloud

rolling off the atlantic, milder with slight spots of drizzle coming and going. friday is going to be a lot cloudier compared to what we have right now. as a result not going to feel as mild particularly in the south. the weekend summary, looking mixed. some sunshine but a lot of the time there will be a fair bit of cloud. in the hello, this is bbc news. the headlines: the chancellor has defended his decision to increase national insurance contributions for the self—employed. he says the move — announced in yesterday's budget — will address unfairness in the current system. the health secretary says a&e departments in england should hit their waiting time targets by this time next year — now that health and social care are being given extra money. the queen has unveiled a new war memorial in london to honour those who have served in iraq and afghanistan. the monument is dedicated to civilians as well as servicemen and women. and an australian man alleged to have posed asjustin bieber online has been charged with more than 900 child sex offences. more than 20 of his victims are believed to be in the uk. time for a sports round—up. we can

go to the bbc sports centre. will perry has the latest. good afternoon. england fly half 0wen farrell failed to make it to the end of today's training session ahead of saturday's calcutta cup match against scotland in the six nations. farrell left the field session with england's medics looking at his left knee before he walked away. england head coach eddiejones admits he could be a doubt but has made light of the incident saying farrell ran into his dog. england number 8, billy vunipola is back in the matchday squad but starts from the bench. 0ur rugby union reporter chrisjones is at england's training base, pennyhill park. billy vunipola will be unleashed from an incredibly powerful looking replacements bench which also includes the likes of anthony watson and ben te'o as well. eddiejones then leaving: not quite ready to the

game. three changes for england. when young's returns at scrum half. jonathanjoseph when young's returns at scrum half. jonathan joseph and jack nowell as well. scotland have made one change to their side which impressively beat wales. hamish watson starting on the open side flanker. he was outstanding at murrayfield and he has been rewarded with a start in the number seven shirt. england's cricketers are batting first in barbados as they go for a 3—0 series whitewash against the west indies. the hosts have the breakthrough, alzarri joseph got jason roy caught by jason holder at mid—wicket. england had been frustrated up until that point hitting just 27 runs before the loss of roy. joe root has been lucky — he was dropped on1— and was given not out on appeal for lbw with jason holder bowling this time, but root is still at the crease. and this is the very latest from bridgetown. joe root is on 14, partnered at the moment by alex hales who has 23 to his name. england 56—1 in the 13th over. england 65—1 in the 14th over.

you can follow the live text commentary on the bbc sport website, or listen of test match special on 5live sports extra. arsenal manager arsene wenger says he will consider the opinion of fans when he decides on his future at the club, although it's "not the most important factor". talking to the media today, wenger said he hadn't yet made up his mind and certainly hadn't told the players of his plans. unrest is growing amongst supporters following a dismal run in the premier league and that 10—2 thumping by bayern munich over two legs in the champions league. i work very hard for 20 years to make our fans happy i work very hard for 20 years to make ourfans happy and when i work very hard for 20 years to make our fans happy and when you lose a game i understand they are not, and i don't want tojudge lose a game i understand they are not, and i don't want to judge that. iam not not, and i don't want to judge that. i am not capable to. i live in my daily work with my complete commitment after that. i said many times you have to accept different opinions. manchester united manager, face a 5000 mile round trip to russia this evening to play fc rostov in the last 16 of the europa league —

a tie whichjose mourinho has previously described as "bad in every respect". mourinho doesn't think the pitch is fit to play on. uefa have admitted that it isn't perfect but they won't call the match off. mourinho says the state of the surface means team selection is going to be tricky. and heather watson and johanna konta will play each other for the first time on the wta tour, when they meet in the second round of the event at indian wells in california. konta was already through when watson came from a set down to beat the american nicole gibbs. konta will be the strong favourite — at number 11 in the world, she's way ahead of watson, who dropped to 108th this week. that's all sport for now. i'll have more in the next hour. thank you. more on our top story now: and the chancellor, philip hammond, says the rise in national insurance contributions by self—employed people will address the unfairness in the current system. the move will mean many people who work for themselves paying an average of £240 a year more. what i did yesterday was addressed a

continuing unfairness in the system. the benefits available to the self—employed have significantly improved. they have full access to the state pension now. that is worth 1800 pounds a year on average to a self—employed person, and as we go forward with our negotiations with the european union, we need to make this country is and ready for the future. we need to invest in the skills of the next generation. we need to support our public services. and all of that requires us to raise some money and we have to look at where best to do that, in a way that enhances the fairness of the tax system, and this measure enhances the fairness for the 85 the scent of april two are in employment, who pay their national insurance contributions through paye, and the measure itself, changing the way

self—employed national insurance contributions work, at tralee produces more winners than losers among the self—employed —— actively produces more winners. that is the result of these changes. labour urged the government to "think again" on the change. shadow chancellorjohn mcdonnell said his party could join forces with rebel conservatives who say the increase does little to encourage enterprise and risk—taking. we will oppose it, we will oppose it. we hope there will be enough conservative mps to join us to persuade the chancellor to think again, and do what we thought he was going to do to have a proper consultation. invite in organisations like the federation of small businesses, tackle the issue of bogus employment, the people who have been forced to go southern ploy and when they should be employed, and when they should be employed, and then tackle this issue of self—employed people getting the full access to benefits that employed people do. at the moment

what he is proposing isjust unfair. 0n the line is conservative mp david morris, who is chair of the all—party parliamentary group for self—employment and freelancing. thank you forjoining us. isjohn donnell right? does it do little to encourage enterprise and risk—taking? encourage enterprise and risk-taking? know, and if you listen to whatjohn mcdonnell said, we have done some consultation with the industry. i was self—employed for 27 yea rs. industry. i was self—employed for 27 years. i was formally david cameron's self—employment ambassador. whole industry was calling for the system to be reformed so that self—employed can access sick pay and maternity pay. you have had a lot to do with this idea upi you have had a lot to do with this idea up i floated this idea forfive yea rs idea up i floated this idea forfive years ago full up to this day i am now having problems to find out what my state pension will be because the way the payment system works, it means it is literally all over the place. the chancellor is right to

streamline this and it is to the benefit of everyone to do this as soon as benefit of everyone to do this as soon as possible full up all the self implode listening to the headline of this will think they have to pay more money? goal at crow what the headlines are saying is the figures, the baseline will be 60p a week extra and four 60p a week extra, that is real peace of mind knowing you can access maternity pay potentially, that you have got the same rights as paye employees and we are creating a fair system for all. at the moment the government are saying they will consult on all these benefits but when can people expect to see them? the government are consulting. i am doing some of that work to feed back into the chancellor. you should expect to see something soon, an announcement made

in due course. the government has not been listening and the fact that this is supposedly a broken ma nifesto this is supposedly a broken manifesto pledge, this was actually floated three years ago. there is nothing new there. the only thing thatis nothing new there. the only thing that is new is to enact it. why the timing now? you say you mooted it five years ago? takes a long time to do something like this. giving an example i am currently experience with hmrc and the state pension. things don't happen overnight, especially when it comes down to taxation. the fact remains, we are ina taxation. the fact remains, we are in a climate at this moment in time when we look towards the future and the chancellor is taking the necessary precautions to make sure we're going into the future with the funds to face it. thank you for joining us. thank you. the queen has unveiled a memorial in london in honour of all those from the uk who served in iraq and afghanistan between 1990 and 2015.

the monument — on the banks of the thames — is dedicated to civilians as well as servicemen and women. live to ben brown who's been following events for us. simon, thank you. a glorious sunny afternoon here at victoria embankment gardens. you can see there the new memorial which has been unveiled by the queen behind me. two stone monoliths, one representing iraq, the other afghanistan. and the 25 years or so that reduce troops have been involved in conflict. i will talk now to lord stirrup formerly sir jock stirrup who was chief of the defence staff and intimately involved in both iraq and afghan campaigns. how important do you think this memorial is, because it isa think this memorial is, because it is a memorial notjust to those who served and fought but to the civilians who were engaged in helping those countries?” civilians who were engaged in helping those countries? i think it is tremendously important because what is often overlooked is during the two years —— the years of those

campaigns, literally hundreds of thousands of uk civilians contributed. their efforts were unbelievable across the board. some paid the ultimate price and some suffered life changing injuries and they'll was at the forefront of our thoughts. the fallen are movingly commemorated at the national memorial arboretum. this memorial is notjust for them memorial arboretum. this memorial is not just for them but all of them who contributed, civilians, military, men and women across the wide field of endeavour. what this monument embodies is the concept of duty and service which all of those people demonstrated so wonderfully well. both conflicts were politically controversial, the nation was quite divided on both, as a military man, commanding troops in both, how difficult did you find that? of course, it is always a great challenge because the support of the public is crucial to any military endeavour. and what made it

doubly difficult was these particular conflicts had no clear military outcome, they never could have. most wars begin and end in politics. if you don't get that right then any military effort is best than effective. and so getting the right political outcomes in iraq and afghanistan is crucial, and those are still endeavours which are underway. the sculptor of this memorial paul day said the rough edges of the monumental art is symbolised that both are in a sense on completed conflict. they still go on, they still have problems. is that how you see iraq and afghanistan? yes, nothing in life is ever completed and we are never free from problems but we have not reached the kind of elliptical and constitutional settlement in iraq and afghanistan which will help their people enjoy a more peaceful and prosperous 21st century. those

must continue. they are largely political. there was the failure of the 2011 government which created the 2011 government which created the space for isis. isis are being defeated militarily but the government of iraq today has to come up government of iraq today has to come up witha government of iraq today has to come up with a political and constitutional settlement which will allow people in that country to coexist peacefully. you spoke of the sacrifice of the service men and women who lost their lives in iraq and afghanistan, are you confident that was worth it? that is always an impossible question to answer. for the families of those who were lost, how could they ever feel that it was worth it quite but if you are asking me did we achieve anything in iraq or afghanistan, yes we did. what we could never do was live those countries' futures for them. that has to be done by the people but what we could do is give them the opportunity and that did happen. lord stirrup, a pleasure to talk to.

lord stirrup, a pleasure to talk to. lord stirrup, a pleasure to talk to. lord stirrup, formerly sirjock stirrup who was chief of the defence staff. you can see the memorial behind me. this is really a way that future generations will be able to come here to the banks of the thames to think about those who did serve, both civilians and military in both iraq and afghanistan. for now, back to the studio. thank you. officials in guatemala say the death toll after a fire in a children's home has risen to 28. the country is observing three days of mourning. police say the fire started after some of the girls set alight mattresses following an attempt to escape from the overcrowded centre. caroline davies reports. desperate for answers. desperate for their children. families gathered outside the gates of the virgen de asuncion shelter, a care home in guatemala, after teenage girls living there were killed in a fire that

raged through the building. translation: they haven't given us explanation, and they don't let us go in. police were called to a riot here, last night. the blaze started after somebody set fire to a mattress in one of the dormitories. although this is a children's home, it was thought that it was doubling up as a juvenile detention centre. it's caused shock in guatemala. three days of national mourning have been declared. translation: we treasure life. we are the ones most interested in guaranteeing the life of adolescents. unfortunately, today, at about 9am, a tragic accident occurred that we very much lament. as well as those killed, the police department said tens of people were injured, some in a series condition, with severe burns. the care home has a poor reputation in guatemala. reports on exactly how many children were inside vary, but it was thought to be hugely overcrowded.

there were not enough staff, understaffed. and yes, we've heard, and we know, that there were cases of abuse. that is why unicef have been advocating with government officials for the closure of the shelter. as the rubble is cleared an investigation continues, families and a country wait for some explanation. in a moment, a summary of the business news this hour. but first, the headlines on bbc news: the chancellor promises to listen to conservative backbenchers' concerns about changes to national insurance contributions for the self—employed. the health secretary says it's essential that a&e departments in england hit their targets for waiting times. the queen unveils a new war memorial in london to honour the british personnel who served in iraq and afghanistan. hello.

i'm egon cossou with your money update this hour. results from the co—op bank show it lost £477 million last year. believe it or not, that's actually an improvement on the year before, when it lost £610 million. it blamed the latest loss on low interest rates and the cost of buying the britannia building society. good news for morrisons. it's seen its profits jump by around 11.5%. it made £337 million last year — if you strip out one off costs. that's the first rise in profits for five years. workers at the john lewis partnership have been hit in the pocket by what the company is calling "market uncertainty". staff there get an annual bonus — depending on how well the company is doing. this year the bonus will be 6% of their salary — which is down from 10% last year. let's get more onjohn lewis partnership. charlie mayfield is the chairman —

and has been explaining why the bonus had been cut. so we have reduced the bonus this year. it's down to 6%. i think what we have to remember if it is a bonus. it is not about something which automatically happens. the reason we have done that is because it gives us more firepower to accelerate our plans for the future. it basically means we can maintain our investment this year and absorb the cost of change, even if the market gets tougher in the year ahead. that's very important to the long—term success of the business. so, a mixed picture on the high street — bad news from john lewis — and much better news from morrisons. so, what is going on? joining me now is catherine shuttleworth from savvy marketing. thanks forjoining us. thanks for joining us. just thanks forjoining us. just tell us, what is going on on the high street right now? tough times on the high

street. i think we are starting to lose confidence as consumers. what the retailers are trying to do is prepare us for that. the retailers had a great christmas but tougher times ahead forjohn lewis. we are starting to get scared about spending more money on big ticket items. is there a class difference creeping in here to think between the likes of morrisons and the likes ofjohn lewis? i think there is a real difference in the retail market where it is splitting into a very value discount lead end and a higher rent. today both numbers are showing the higher end retailers have to show great value for their shoppers. it isa show great value for their shoppers. it is a really mixed view of the high street and how it is starting to separate. so two separate high streets emerging in this country? possibly. i think there will be a real change this year. digital businesses will find it easier. john lewis only have 50 stores in total and a huge online business. they are

well positioned for the challenges ahead but they have to think about the services they offer in—store and thatis the services they offer in—store and that is why they have been looking at things like carpet fitters. is brexit playing a part in all this? without question. the one thing the retailers need is consumer confidence and there needs to be stability. people are concerned and there needs to be some nervousness on how we spend our money and that is how something the retailers cannot afford. it's a case of good news, bad news for some staff at tesco. the good news is they'll be getting a bit extra in their pay—packet. the bad is, that's because they'd been underpaid in the first place — thanks to a glitch in the payroll system. the company says it will make up the payments by the end of the month —

with most workers getting around £40. not such a great day for the boss of samsung. he's standing trial in south korea on corruption charges. it's part of a scandal which has seen the president of the country impeached. samsung is south korea's biggest company — and the case has been called the trial of the century. lego is more popular than ever, with the company reporting record sales. last year it sold more than £4.5 billion worth of building blocks — to kids and adults alike. that's up by more than 6% on the previous year. let's have a look at how the european markets are doing. it's been pretty subdued on the ftse. strangely morrisons has been a part of that — despite posting its first profit in five years. its shares actually fell around 4% after it said that rising import costs could mean uncertainty in the future. it's also pretty flat across much of europe. energy companies have been losing ground — that's because new figures show that oil reserves in america are increasing. that's led to fears of another glut in supply. that is all the business news this

hour, i will be back next year —— next hour. the national trust is restoring planned in park will be its biggest conservation effort in a generation. graham satchell has the story. april 2015 and fire ripped through clandon park house. it burned all night and much of the next day. a masterpiece of the 1720s, devastated by an electrical fault. piano plays. from the front it looks deceptively unscathed but inside you can see the damage. the roof, floors and ceilings gone, much of its prized collection destroyed. and yet experts say the structure of the building itself is sound. this was state—of—the—art

in its time. built to the highest specification. this was a statement by the onslow family, this politically ambitious family. because of that the building was so resilient and we think that was why it survived the fire. it was built to last. yes, this building is a survivor. despite the obvious damage, a melted lamp, a precariously hanging fireplace, the national trust say the ground floor will be completely restored. this is what it used to look like. one of the most significant palladian homes in britain. it was owned by the onslow family until they gave it to the national trust in 1956. this is the marble hall at clandon. one of the most magnificent rooms in england. wow, so, paul, the marble hall has been completely cleared ?

yeah, that's right, yes. the salvage effort completed in the summer. some of the debris in here was eight feet high. you can imagine the scenes that greeted the salvage team when they came into the room. temperatures would have exceeded 1300 degrees centigrade, so the survival is remarkable. the salvage operation here was painstaking. teams of archaeologists sifted through ash and debris for months. there was nothing like the first day of the archaeology when we were not really expecting to find anything and then suddenly we found this amazing little stoneware duck right inside the door, and it was a great moment for us all, it gave us hope that we would find more precious things in the debris. an architecture competition opens today for designers to come up with plans for clandon. the trust wants to create a national exhibition space

on the upper floors. we have huge collections across the national trust. we can create spaces here that the trust doesn't have elsewhere. it will take five or six years but the national trust is convinced clandon park will rise from the ashes. graham satchell, bbc news. 0k, ok, we are going to show you some pick as we have had in in the past few minutes from the eu summit, the last one to reason may well appear at before she triggers article 54 brexit. that will mean the uk will leave. these formal talks getting underway, then this may well attend dinner tonight before heading home. eu leaders such as francois hollande and angela merkel will be talking about european unity tomorrow. an interesting tweet from our political editor laura kuenssberg saying the prime minister arrived at the summit

without going anywhere near reporters. the official reason if they were late but other leaders followed soon afterwards. little side barfrom laura about what followed soon afterwards. little side bar from laura about what is going on behind the scenes. as you can see, some warm while comes and some not so warm —— warm up welcomes. we will bring you more but now it is time for the weather. tomasz schafernaker is on the balcony of whether for us. it is beautiful outside. i wish i was doing the weather from one of the parks. it is a stunning day. it is not desperately warm for all of us. is not desperately warm for all of us. for some of us it does feel on the chilly side. there is a bit of a breeze out there. not everywhere is it funny. look at this picture, falkirk. --

it funny. look at this picture, falkirk. —— fog. where it is sunny, temperatures in the south have been getting up to 17 degrees. i suspect we are getting close to 18 in london. that is the exception for many of us. it is not as warm as that. it is 11 to 13 degrees. let's have a look at the weather this evening. the sun is setting so we have clear skies across scotland. i think the sun is still up at this stage? i will have to check that. england, 13 degrees in london. some gloom and missed from the tip of cornwall to guernsey and jersey. what will happen this evening and overnight, all the cloud, missed and drizzle waiting in the atlantic will topple over. it will reach a. everywhere eastwards will turn

chilly. i think amy and even a touch of frost around first thing. notice the edge of the cloud. claws itself towards the east. the extreme east may hang on to some brightness but for many of us tomorrow, it will not be the stunning day that we had today. at the weekend, a broad overview, we have weather fronts coming in, no pressure coming in, cooler air coming coming in, no pressure coming in, cooleraircoming in as coming in, no pressure coming in, cooler air coming in as well. quite a mixed weekend on the way. saturday is not looking bad at all. it will be more optimistic across the south. in the north, some sunshine but also some rain. sunday is the not so amazing day. we have the weather fronts moving through. it will be cooler. overall at the weekend,

there will be some sunshine around, especially in the south and the far north, but be prepared for some rain as well. enjoy your afternoon. this is bbc news. i'm simon mccoy. the headlines at 3pm. the chancellor defends the rise in national insurance on the self—employed as he says the government is facing new spending challenges. what i did yesterday was address a basic continuing unfairness in the current system, the benefits available to the self—employed have significantly improved. this is not the time to do it. when consumer spending is just dipping and other front line of the effect of that will be the sole traders, self—employed. theresa may arrives in brussels for what is expected to be herfinal eu summit, before triggering article 50. i'm maxine mawhinney. and in the next hour — remembering those who served

in iraq, afghanistan, and in the gulf war. may this memorial