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 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 as justin bieber online is charged with more than 900 child sex offences. jubilation in the catalan capital as barcelona produced one of the greatest comebacks in football history with a stunning victory over paris saint—germain in the champions league. 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. 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 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 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 income tax. and there is criticism, too, from some conservative mps. my leaflets i put 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. and i don't think we should break that promise. 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. around £115 per year. 1.6 million will have to pay more. on average, £2110 a year. labour's hoping tory rebels will help 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 fair system, let's plan the fair system so those self—employed are treated fairly. let's end this mode of self—employment that is exploiting so many people. but others are clear the changes will make things fairer. he's looking 45% 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. sources say 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. earlier our assistant political editor norman smith told us the chance of the philip hammond is feeling the pressure. 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 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. if 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, reassuring creditors so interest rates don't go 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 ofa 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 think 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 will 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. it could be hoofed 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 additional funds around to phase 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. willjohnson, director of the

institute for fiscal studies, joins me. if we take the politics out of this for a moment, is what the chancellor announced yesterday justifiable on equality terms? does it make things more fair? at the moment self—employed people do pay significantly less tax than people who are in employment earning the same amount of money. if you want to ensure equity between people earning the same amount of money, creating the same amount of money, creating the same amount of money, creating the same amount of wealth in the economy, yes, there is a case for increasing the tax on the self—employed. alternatively, reducing tax on employees. part of the problem for the chancellor is more and more of us are becoming

self—employed. nearly half of the growth in employment or workforce over the last five or six years has been among the self—employed. they are paying less tax, creating a hole in the public finances. are paying less tax, creating a hole in the public financeslj are paying less tax, creating a hole in the public finances. i suppose the political lesson is never make promises about tax changes in future. i think there was a very big political lesson here, remember the last labour government in 2005 promised not to raise basic and higher rates of tax. it raised the top rate to 50% then absolutely the conservatives promised not to raise income tax, national insurance or vat. they are the three biggest tax is by far vat. they are the three biggest tax is byfarand vat. they are the three biggest tax is by far and to tie your hands for five years not to raise the three biggest taxes gets you into exactly the kind of political problems we've seen today. the ifa has spent the 20 hours after a budget going through the details. are there any bodies buried in there by the treasury? not too many, couple of interesting things. an interesting and worrying forecast about what is happening to

earnings. they are still an average below where they were in 2007, they are not even going to hit that level again until the early 20 20s. more than a decade with no earnings growth, all to do with the hangover from the recession we had in is inisa in is a thousand 2009. the office budget responsibility says despite the terrible performance over the last few years the economy is working at capacity, it can't get much better. all of that together is reminding us we're still in the middle of this horrible decade from the point of view of growth, earnings and income. borrowing still about £20 billion in 2020. austerities and going away.“ about £20 billion in 2020. austerities and going away. if mr hammond keeps to his promise to get rid of the deficit by the end of

next parliament it will mean not only did we have the period till the last election as a period of significant austerity. mr osborne wa nted significant austerity. mr osborne wanted to get rid of the deficit initially by now, then said by 2020. best hammond now says he wants to get rid of it by 2025. we could end up with three for parliaments of tax rises and spending cuts to get the deficit down to zero. the chancellor didn't mention the word brexit yesterday, which could change all this, everything could go out of the window couldn't it? one of the things all economic forecasters can tell you at the moment is there is more uncertainty about what is going to happen over the next five or six yea rs to happen over the next five or six years than they can remember at any time in the past. we've got some central forecasts, the 0br, time in the past. we've got some centralforecasts, the 0br, the treasury, saying we should get modest growth over the next few

yea rs, modest growth over the next few years, but things could turn out better. 0r years, but things could turn out better. or they could turn out worse. it's not until we know how the economy will react that we really know what the public finance tax and spending consequences are going to be. pauljohnson from the institute for fiscal studies, thank you very much. you can send us your questions about that budget and how it affects you and we'll put it to personal finance expert at 3:30pm. you've got ten minutes to get those 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. 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. she's arrived, what sort of reception did she get? she did arrive about half an hour ago but seems to be alone among eu leaders in not wanting to walk down the red carpet as you can see on the screen behind me, the new arrival point for eu leaders. she avoided cameras and questions and slipped in a back door so we questions and slipped in a back door so we haven't had a chance to gauge the reaction she is receiving or indeed ask any questions. she's here

along with all other eu leaders. this is the last council meeting she will attend in brussels. before she finally triggers article 50 of the lisbon treaty and begins the brexit negotiations that could last up to two years. it's a momentous moment, a neutered one, because brexit isn't going to be discussed here at all. the eu is clear they won't have any sort of talks before that formal triggering of britain's departure begins. neither doing this afternoon, at dinner tonight, we'll brexit be discussed. theresa may leaves and the eu leaders will continue their own discussions on the future of europe tomorrow. and the future of europe tomorrow. and the future of donald tusk as well. that item number one on the agenda this afternoon. donald tusk, former polish prime minister, has been president of the eu council since 2014, a very big job in brussels, coordinating the work of all eu heads of government and state. he wa nts heads of government and state. he wants his term in office renewed, another two and a half years.

normally this is a bit of a formality but there really is a wrinkle because poland is really kicking up a fuss about this, there isa kicking up a fuss about this, there is a big long—running political dispute between the governing party 110w dispute between the governing party now in poland and mr tusk from a different political party. the polish prime minister is accusing donald tusk of wrongly meddling in polish politics. they are demanding he is given the boot. they are asking for a vote on his position during the afternoon. it doesn't seem there is any support behind poland, but eu politics can be unpredictable. we'll wait and see. it's up to the prime minister of malta to decide what should happen because malta has the current eu presidency. donald tusk will leave the room then there will be discussion on what should happen. france and germany the other big players want to rubber—stamp his re—employment to get on with it but we will see. our headlines this afternoon: the chancellor defends

the rise of national insurance on the rise of national insurance on the self employed as the government faces new spending challenges. theresa may has arrived to what is expected to be herfinal theresa may has arrived to what is expected to be her final eu summit before triggering article 50. the queen unveils a new war memorial in london to an british service personnel who served in iraq and afghanistan. 0wen farrell failed to make it to the end of today's training session ahead of the calcutta cup match against scotla nd the calcutta cup match against scotland in the six nations. eddie jones admits he could be a doubt but has made light of the incident, saying farrell ran into his dog. arsene wenger says the opinion of fa ns arsene wenger says the opinion of fans will influence his decision over whether to remain in charge next season, but says he hasn't made up next season, but says he hasn't made up his mind told his the plan. alex hales hits a half—century for england, who are going for a 3—0 series whitewash against the west indies. more on those stories at

3:30pm. see you then. the artist ‘s howard hodgkin, regarded as one of britain's gritters contemporary painters, has died at the age of 84. he died peacefully in hospital in london. he was known for painting is full of vibrant colours, was known for painting is full of vibra nt colours, shapes was known for painting is full of vibrant colours, shapes and emotions. many of his bold, colourful works were inspired by the landscapes of india, which he often visited. he won the turner prize in 1985 and was knighted in 1992. an exhibition of his portraits will open later this month at london's national portrait gallery. 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. with me is hannah broadbent from childsnet international which shares online safety advice with youngsters. the most surprising, two surprising aspects, the scale of it, the amount of time it went before anybody spotted something was going on. this case underlines how important it is to encourage young people to report any suspicious behaviour they see online because that could be the first step, identifying this behaviour, which could protect other children. the difficulties they

believed it was justin children. the difficulties they believed it wasjustin bieber, what can you do? there are a number of things we can do to make sure children are equipped to deal with this. firstly making sure they understand people might always be who they seem online. there are certain things like verification ticks you can look out for to authentic celebrities online. also to make sure young people don't feel under any pressure whoever they are speaking to online to engage in sexual behaviour. because obviously this could put them at real risk. a lot of parents find it difficult because children guard their phones, their devices, they don't necessarily want to share what they are doing online but there is a problem when that happens? they are doing online but there is a problem when that happens7m they are doing online but there is a problem when that happens? it is a challenge for parents to stay engaged. it's helpful to start on a positive, ask them what they love about using technology. try to use it together to do some fun things. then it gives you opportunities to find out, who is that you are

speaking to? why do you like this particular service? help share some of this advice that is so important to keep them safe online. of this advice that is so important to keep them safe onlinelj of this advice that is so important to keep them safe online. i can imagine some children immediately going, nobody! nothing! what do you do in that case? if you have suspicions of something not going how you would want it to, what do you do? young people are more likely to turn to their friends. a lot of the work we do in schools is helping friends look out for each other and if they are worried about perhaps theirfriend if they are worried about perhaps their friend who has if they are worried about perhaps theirfriend who has meant someone they are speaking to online, to take action, notjust they are speaking to online, to take action, not just ignore they are speaking to online, to take action, notjust ignore that kind of concern and make sure that friend is reported. it's not an easy answer. it will work to protect children. the lesson to everybody is, don't necessarily trust what you see on screen. exactly, it's very easy for things to be misrepresented online.

whether you're pretending to be a celebrity or another young person. it's really important to have that critical thinking and look carefully at everything they see online. anna broadbent, thank you very much. 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. ben brown has been following events for us. he is the iraq afghanistan memorial, unveiled today by the queen. two halves of it. one stone monolith made of portland stone representing iraq, the other afghanistan. in between, a bronze medallion. this site you can see troops in afghanistan and on the other side it is civilians, aid workers and so on. the idea of the memorial is to remember those who served in iraq and afghanistan over the last quarter of a century, both

military and civilians. we're going to talk to lieutenant commander eileen munson, who joins to talk to lieutenant commander eileen munson, whojoins us. she's been a front—line nurse on the front line in iraq and afghanistan. what does this memorial mean to you? it's a great honour to be here today to reflect upon those who gave the ultimate sacrifice and gave their lives. but it's also a reflection, and talking to those that are here today about those who have had life—threatening injuries, and lived with it day in, day out, may it be physical or psychological, it was great here today to see benjamin johnson talked to his new wife of four years. it brought tears to my eyes to see him because i was out there in iraq with him when he was out there. it's been quite an

emotional day meeting up with collea g u es emotional day meeting up with colleagues and friends from afghan and iraq. quite wonderful. as a nurse on the front line you've seen in iraq and afghanistan how difficult, dangerous and costly those conflicts have been. absolutely. i think there are civilians and military, and they have effect as us all. it might be through physical injury, in mental health, through domestic issues that have had an impact on their lives. it affects us all in different ways. this memorial, fantastic. absolutely wonderful. modern. i love the stone. i love the bronze. it depicts it beautiful. it's a place whether you are military or civilian you can come to an look at it and reflect on your part of it. it's just is a place to have those prayers and

remember those we've lost. and remember those we've lost. and remember colleagues and friends as well. the sculptor who created it has just walked in and is standing right there. paul day. this is a memorial to remember not only the military, but the civilians, people involved either in aid work, reconstruction in places like iraq and afghanistan. i, as a reservist, and afghanistan. i, as a reservist, and ultimately a civilian, but i gave my life to the military. i've been serving for 35 years, in and out i am part of hms cambria in wales. as a reservist i have a lot of co nta ct wales. as a reservist i have a lot of contact with civilians out in theatre in iraq and afghanistan. and they really contribute to the whole theatre contingency of making it possible. lieutenant commander eileen munson thank you very much

indeed for being with us. and that is the memorial commute can see it behind me, that was unveiled today by the queen. the queen attended a service of dedication just a short distance away in was guards parade with other members of the royal family, the prime minister was there, and former prime ministers as well, for that service. then the queen came here to unveiled this morning at which will be here for future generations to come, and remember the contribution made by hundreds of thousands of military personnel and civilians in both iraq and afghanistan. now was this the greatest comeback in football history? barcelona produced a stunning victory in the champions league to knock out paris st germain to reach the quarter finals. they secured a 6—1win on the night to overturn a 4—0 deficit — scoring 2 goals, in injury time. 0ur sports correspondent 0lly foster reports. there's nothing extraordinary about

barcelona reaching the quarterfinals of the champions league, but last night's celebrations were the biggest giveaway that something extraordinary had happened at the camp nou. when substitute sergio roberto scooped the ball past the paris saint—germain keeper, their six on the night, with seconds to spare, there was delirious. a comeback to rival any other in the history of european football. it was a joyous riot on the ramblas. those barcelona fans spoiled by success for so many years never saw this coming. they knew they needed at least four goals last night, one from luis suarez in the first couple of minutes gave them a glimmer of hope, a paris saint—germain own goal and a debatable lionel messi and of the early in the second half gave them real belief before this edinson cavani strike silenced them. from one to level the tie, barcelona needed at least three, the odds lengthen. the clock ticking. neymar curled a beauty but only two minutes left. five minutes of injury time,

surely not. neymar was nervous from the spot. seconds left, the referee was looking at his watch, the rest is history. that's the coach, luis enrique, who had actuallyjoked before the game that they could score six. translation: it was a difficult night to explain with words, i think it was the script of a terrorfilm, not words, i think it was the script of a terror film, not one with suspense, but terror. be spectacular ending in the camp nou. the unpredictability and ability of sport to amaze has been seen. the more improbable, the sweeter the victory. europe's ryder cup team had the miracle of my diner. liverpool had tears in istanbul winning the champions league final from three down at half—time. barcelona won no trophy last night,

just the match and a place in the record books. don't tell them it's just like us before the weather! we are so excited! shall i just go?! laughter i'm excited about the weather because it's so beautiful today, it is a stunning afternoon. temperatures have nudged up afternoon. temperatures have nudged up to 18 degrees in the south. some areas are still a bit chilly. we've got the wind blowing out of the north—west. around 10—13. clouds are coming in of the atlantic and these clouds will be invading the uk in the coming hours. this is what it looks like a round about now. then we will see clouds thickening across the west. the east is going to stay

clear. eastern scotland, most of northern england and down into the south—east. pretty nifty, 2—4d. then tomorrow the cloud rolls in, of the atlantic. shrouding the uk. there will be a few glimmers of sunshine but these temperatures will be a few degrees lower. the weekend is looking a bit mixed. the best bet for decent weather will be saturday. sunday looking a bit rainy. 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 prime minister hasjoined european union leaders in brussels for what is expected to be her final eu summit, before triggering article 50. a new war memorial has been unveiled by the queen 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. up to 20 of his victims are believed to be in the uk. now, time for the sport. england's cricketers are batting first in barbados as they go 0wen farrell fail to make it to the end of today's training session. he left the field with england's medics looking at his left knee. england trained in the sunshine earlier. eddiejones trained in the sunshine earlier. eddie jones admits 0wen trained in the sunshine earlier. eddiejones admits 0wen farrell could be a doubt but made light of the incident saying he ran into his dog. he will be unleashed from an

incredibly powerful looking replacement on the bench including mako vunipola. eddie jones replacement on the bench including mako vunipola. eddiejones saying that he's not looking ready to start the game so will start on the bench. three changes for england all in the backline. ben young is returned at scrum—half, jonathan joseph and jack nowell as well. scotland made one change to their site that so impressively beat wales, hamish watson starting on the open side flanker. he was outstanding in that victory at murrayfield and has been awarded with a start. england's cricketers are batting first in barbados as they go for a 3—0 series whitewash against the west indies. the only wicket to fall so far saw alzarri joseph get jason roy caught by jason holder at mid—wicket. joe root has been lucky, he was dropped on one, and was given not out on appeal for lbw, but he's still at the crease. this is the very latest from bridgetown. root is on 33, partnered at the moment by alex hales who has 89 to his name.

england 162—1. you can follow the live text commentary on the bbc sport website, or listen of test match special of 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. when i work very hard for 20 years to make our fans happy. when you i work very hard for 20 years to make ourfans happy. when you lose i work very hard for 20 years to make our fans happy. when you lose a game, i understand they aren't. 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 with my complete commitment after that. isaid many with my complete commitment after that. i said many times you have to

accept different opinions. bournemouth have been fined and warned after admitting breaking the fa's rules on anti—doping. it's for failing to insert their clubs whereabouts were accurate. they fail to provide details of training sessions and player whereabouts. manchester united face a 5,000—mile round trip to russia this evening to play fc rostov in the last 16 of the europa league, a tie managerjose mourinho has previously described as "bad in every aspect". 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. after seeing the playing service, mourinho says "i don't know which team to play." 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 the sport for now.

your questions about the budget and what it means for you have been flowing in to the bbc, not least from people who are self—employed. they've been flooding in! here to provide some answers is jasmine birtles from the personal finance website, moneymagpie.com, and our personal finance correspondent, simon gompertz. welcome. we'll start with this one. iam welcome. we'll start with this one. i am self—employed but don't have to pay national insurance because i earn less than the threshold but i pay a voluntary contribution of £145 to make up the years i need to qualify for a full state pension. it is unclear to me what the budget will mean for these voluntary payments. if i don't have 35 years

of payments of the penalised later by having less pension. as far as i know the budget doesn't cover that. ifa know the budget doesn't cover that. if a different thing. all the budget was talking about was the amount you pay in national insurance contributions. the last chancellor was about to get rid of the class two but we are talking about is the class four payments which is based on your income. it is talking about the amount of that which you pay but he is talking about the number of yea rs. he is talking about the number of years. he does need to keep... or she. or she. he or she does need to keep paying those years. so our viewer doesn't need to worry? keep paying those years. so our viewer doesn't need to worry7m does point out the confusion about different classes of national insurance. the government has fudged this a little because people don't quite understand. there four different sorts of national

insurance. class one which is what 85% of employees pay, then there is class two and class four which self—employed people pay. class two is £4.80 a week and class four is a percentage of your earnings. then there is class three, which is a top up there is class three, which is a top up if you need to pay more in order to get the rights to come along with national insurance if you've missed out payments. the fact some are being getting rid of, some are being put up, they're so much confusion with this increased the government is bringing in. this is why we are here. it's called national insurance contributions you think, 0k, fine, but really it's a tax by another name. they say they aren't increasing taxes, the tory government has said that so few times and then they say they will put a bit extra on national insurance. you think, that is a tax. i think that is a confusion as well.

i think that is a confusion as well. i think also this thing about what benefits people will get. another view says regarding the national insurance charges for these of employed, does it mean when the charge goes up we can claim unemployment benefit when we aren't employed? if you are self-employed you can claim jobseekers' allowance. some people talk about the problems they have, it can take a bit longer or if later on they come back and say, we think you've been putting in a bit of work so we are going to stop paying new jobseekers' allowa nce stop paying new jobseekers' allowance now. along with other benefits such as housing benefit and council tax benefit, you can get those. the sticking points are with the sort of perks and privileges which come with being employed like holiday pay and sick pay. if big one is statutory maternity pay, which is a benefit because if companies —— companies then reclaim that from the government when they pay maternity p5y~ government when they pay maternity pay. as self—employed you can get

something called maternity allowance but for the first six weeks if you are an employee you get 90% of your pay, and you don't get that if you are self—employed. there are a numberof are self—employed. there are a number of ways are self—employed. there are a numberof ways in are self—employed. there are a number of ways in which self—employed people miss out and that's why there is this grievance about having to pay more national insurance. another viewer has a grievance on this point, if the government wants to make the self—employed pay the same tax as an employee, why aren't they providing holiday pay and sick pay, what is the point of being self—employed? absolutely. i've always worked for myself, that's exactly what i say. my myself, that's exactly what i say. my irritation when he was saying we are going to make it fairer because people who are employed pay more tax than those who are self—employed, he didn't mention any of the benefits you've mentioned. also there is pension. if you are employed you'll probably going to some extra money put in by your employer. this question is exactly what most people

who work for themselves are saying. where is the fairness there? having said that, he did mention looking at help with maternity pay. what about pa rental leave for help with maternity pay. what about parental leave for instance? absolutely. that's another thing he needs to look at. simon, more and more people are self—employed and thatis more people are self—employed and that is what philip hammond is trying to address. he is worried about in the long—term the exchequer missing out on tax revenue because national insurance is a tax, because of the increase in the of self—employed. there is yet another sort of national insurance which is the one that the employer pays. it's the one that the employer pays. it's the biggest of all, the employer pays 13.8% of your salary if you are employed to the government in the form of employers national insurance. lots of employers or companies are pushing out theirjobs to people working as self—employed

and they aren't paying that ni. what is absent in this budget is anything about that, anything about the ni that employers are managing to save by making sure that people who who work for them are self—employed. it's been discussed in the courts this whole issue. it's the small self—employed person having to pay more. it does seem to be the issues of benefits exercising people. another viewer says i am a subcontractor and never in full—time work. i don't get sick pay or holiday pay so should i not pay less tax than a person who is full—time employed working for an employer? exactly. a lot of people working for themselves are saying exactly that. this wail of anguish when they heard we had to pay more tax. 0n the other hand, one of the aspects of being self—employed is that you can also offset quite a lot of your expenses

against tax. so you can remind yourself, 0k, against tax. so you can remind yourself, ok, if you're clever, and i would imagine more and more self—employed people will be thinking in that case i'm putting more against tax. but even so, it doesn't necessarily cover a long periods that you can have where you are unemployed, like this person potentially. and also the time you would like to take off with your family to look after them all go on holiday. these benefits i think employed people aren't really as aware as they could be. this viewer epitomises what many people think of as self—employed but self—employed also covers lawyers, partners in legal firms. barristers. also covers lawyers, partners in legalfirms. barristers. ab also covers lawyers, partners in legal firms. barristers. ab de villiers some people who are very well off and will be the biggest losers because it is a percentage tax. it is important to be clear who

the winners and losers. the government was already getting rid of one form of national insurance, class two which is going. it is effectively a tax cut. people on the lowest incomes who are self—employed paying national insurance are saving on that. but the government has calculated is below around £16,000 a year you are better off from this package of changes, above that you are losing, once you get to about £45,000 you are losing £580 a year. that's the sort of spectrum. however, the decision to put up class four national insurance affects everyone earning more than £8,000 a year. we have another question, will be tax rise harm our economy is the 2015 conservative ma nifesto economy is the 2015 conservative manifesto claimed ? economy is the 2015 conservative manifesto claimed? absolutely. it is an interesting one. coming from a tory government which is supposed to be pro—business, pro the small

business person. a lot of business people would say it's the self—employed and those who run small businesses who are really powering our economy. there are more and more self—employed people, they ta ke and more self—employed people, they take up16% of and more self—employed people, they take up 16% of the workforce. you would expect the tory government tick give them a bit of a hand. part of the problem now is because brexit and the uncertainty, and the huge debt we have as a nation, they are looking for wherever they can the money from. and they have decided on the self—employed as a place to get the self—employed as a place to get the cash from. another viewer has said, why no mention of self—employed tax breaks? said, why no mention of self-employed tax breaks? look, you are running a business effectively, and you can charge business expenses. justifiable business expenses. justifiable business expenses. as any business could. if

you are an employee, the business you are an employee, the business you work for does and pays you out of their earnings. you are a mini business and you can charge some things to that. another question has just come in, from a pipe fitter in the construction industry and this is about using agency workers. the use of self—employed agency workers in our industry is the only way of getting employment these days, big companies avoid direct employment to save on pension contributions. should the government be looking to reduce agency work and get more people directly deployed, it would double the purse? they are looking at it. there is a big study going on into this as to whether the world of work can be changed. it's clearly a problem. as i said, they haven't looked in this budget at the national insurance that employers aren't paying because they take

people on and don't class them as employees. one thing that you will notice is that both the threshold at which we pay income tax is gradually going up, and also of course the minimum wage is going up. it's an interesting thing to have seen this over the last few years with the tory government. you would think they wouldn't be very much pro a higher minimum wage but one of the reasons, the main reason i think for both of these things is they realised they don't want the state to keep shoring up business. a lot of businesses have been factoring in state help for their employees or contractors to help them pay that, just to keep going on small wages. so now the state, notjust in this country, are saying we are going to pull away state help, businesses are going to have to pay a living wage. so that we, the state, don't have to help. i think that's probably

another thing they are going to be looking at. they are trying to get business to effectively do what they should do. the fact they are using agencies and making it difficult for people to live, actually, is something the government is going to look at quite hard next. it's very good of you to come and talk to us on bbc ask this. and for more information on the budget and how it affects you then visit our website — bbc.co.uk/budget. there you will find live updates and full analysis from our reporters. according to newly declassified files seen by bbc news, margaret thatcher's government feared a "witch hunt" if a public inquiry was held into the policing of the 1984 miners' strike. the recently released material, which was classified for more than 30 years, show home secretary leon brittan wanted to discourage "any form of enquiry" into the actions of the police. david rhodes has the story. campaigners say mrs thatcher's government ordered military—style

planning in the days running up to the battle of 0rgreave, at the height of the miners' strike in 1984, which ended in baton beatings by the police. the latest release of home office files show no such planning, but they do make clear the government was in no mood to order an enquiry of police behaviour. for these miners who were at the battle of 0rgreave, the tone of the document comes as no surprise. the suspicion is never going to go away that this was orchestrated right from 10 downing street, to defeat the miners and to use the police as a battering ram. i have concluded that there is no case... last 0ctober, home secretary amber rudd rejected calls for a full enquiry into 0rgreave in south yorkshire, home of the same force that were involved in the hillsborough disaster five years later. the home office says there's nothing

to gain from reviewing what happened over 30 years ago, but these former miners say they won't stop pressing for a full investigation. david rhodes, bbc news. ina in a moment we will have a summary of the business news but first the headlines. the chancellor defends the rise in national insurance on the self—employed, as he says the government is facing new spending challenges. theresa may arrives in brussels for what is expected to be herfinal eu summit, before triggering article 50. the queen unveils a new war memorial in london to honour the british personnel who served in iraq and afghanistan. 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. workers atjohn lewis 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. the chancellor has been defending his plans to increase national insurance payments for the self—employed. he announced the move in his budget yesterday. campaigners says this is unfair and goes against a manifesto promise. but philip hammond insists the current system favours the self—employed. a lot of us are still trying to digest what the budget means for us. economic policy as a whole can hit

us economic policy as a whole can hit us in the pocket. but one organisation has been crunching the numbers and working out who the winners and losers are, and breaking it down in terms of gender and race. joining me now to discuss this further is mary—ann stephenson, from the think tank women's budget group. thank you forjoining us. who are the winners and losers? as you said, you can't look at winners and losers in isolation. you can'tjust look at a single policy, you have to look at a single policy, you have to look at a combination of a series of policies. for example you look at the announcements made yesterday about the extra spending for adult social care, £2 billion over three yea rs, social care, £2 billion over three years, which is a huge amount of money. that has to be seen in the context of the cuts to local government funding which have happened since 2010, which is one of the reasons why adult social care is ina the reasons why adult social care is in a crisis in the first place. and the money put in in this budget

won't actually make up for the shortfall in funding, the estimate is we will have a shortfall of between £2.5 billion and £3.8 billion a year. that £2 billion over three years won't go very far.“ it's difficult for you to assess who the winners are according to gender and race... we can the winners are according to gender and race. . . we can assess the winners are according to gender and race... we can assess the winners and losers but you can't do it bya winners and losers but you can't do it by a single item in a budget or a single year. so if you're looking at the cumulative impact since 2010, it's very clear that the biggest losers of changes to tax and benefits but also to cuts and services have been the poorest women and black and asian women in particular. black and asian women are standing to lose, in the poorest income groups, around £2000. they lose more than white women, that

impact for them is bigger than the gender impact for white women or the race impact for black or asian men, put together. thank you. 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 paypacket. 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. breaking news: the eu leaders meeting in brussels have reappointed donald tusk as chairman, this overrides polish objections. poland threatened to derail the summit in brussels in its attempt to block the re—election of donald tusk as president of the european council. the ruling party in poland opposed donald tusk, who is a former prime minister from donald tusk, who is a former prime ministerfrom a rival donald tusk, who is a former prime minister from a rival party. donald tusk, who is a former prime ministerfrom a rival party. now donald tusk, who is a former prime minister from a rival party. now one of his roles as european council president will be playing a major pa rt president will be playing a major part in the uk brexit negotiations. donald tusk retains his role. he says thank you for your support.

that is a very short quote. let's get the weather. it is springlike out there. we've had temperatures of 17.5 celsius. for many of us dry and settled weather for the next few days. a bit of rainfor weather for the next few days. a bit of rain for the weekend. here is how it's looking this afternoon, plenty of sunshine in leeds, cloud moving into western parts of the uk. this is how it looks in st ives at the moment. for many of us there is wall—to—wall sunshine, not everywhere. more of that club creeping in particular across parts of cornwall, devon and the channel islands. this evening most of us stay dry with clear spells, more of that low cloud moving in across western areas. hill fog. western england, wales and northern ireland could see some drizzle. with those

clear skies it will be turning chilly with a touch of frost by friday morning. an improved morning across the northern isles of scotland, plenty of sunshine, if you wish i was compared to today. quite cloudy tomorrow morning without bricks of drizzly rain and a similar picture in northern ireland two. heading across the east of england, sunshine after a fresh start to the morning. further west, sunshine after a fresh start to the morning. furtherwest, cloud heading in so some mist and murk across the south—west, wales, northern ireland. some light drizzle across north—western areas of the uk, most of us staying dry with increasing amounts of cloud. it's in eastern parts that you will hold onto the brightness of the longest. it won't be quite as warm as it is this afternoon. into the weekend, weather fronts moving in from the atlantic, introducing slightly cooler air heading in from the west. certainly not a wash—out. saturday looking

like a decent day. a front sitting across parts of northern england and perhaps wales, bringing some patchy rain. to the north—west, looking bright, 12—13d. where we see the cloud breaking up it could be a few degrees higher. how on sunday there could be some rain perhaps followed by some further showers heading in from the west. saturday pretty good day, mostly dry and some sunshine across many parts of the country. on sunday, some outbreaks of rain which should clear away eastwards and things are starting to feel cooler. they mixed outlook but many of seeing dry weather over the next few days. this is bbc news. i'm simon mccoy. the headlines at 4pm. 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 isjust dipping and other front line of the effect of that will be the sole traders, and at the 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. donald tusk is re—elected as president of the european council. i'm maxine mawhinney. and in the next hour — remembering those who served in iraq, afghanistan, and in the gulf war.