this is bbc news. i'm simon mccoy. the headlines... the bbc reveals how much it pays its top stars. 96 names are on the list — each earning over £150,000 a year. chris evans tops the male—dominated list — with a salary of more than £2 million. the bbc‘s director general defends the figures. what we have managed to do is always pay our talent at a discount to the market, we never pay top whack, people come here because they want to work here. a major clean—up operation in the cornish village of coverack after flash floods, with severe damage to the main road in. no more surcharge payments for using your debit or credit card — new rules come into force next year. also this hour: president trump's previously undisclosed meeting with russian president vladimir putin. they met during a dinner with world leaders at the 620 summit — just hours after the pair held formal talks. the success story of the boy with a double hand transplant who can now cook and play baseball.

to the parents for giving me these hands because they didn't have to do that and they did. the most popular song of all time? it's number one, it's in spanish and it's been downloaded more that four and half billion times. we will have all of those stories at the moment but first to the house of commons because the work and pensions secretary has made a statement on pensions to mps and has

said that the retirement age will rise from 67 to 68. we will see reaction to that announcement. including women, disabled people, black and minority ethnic groups. it is astonishing that today this government chooses to implement their plans to speed up the state pension age and increase it to 68. mr deputy speaker, most pensioners will now spend their retirement battling a toxic cocktail of ill—health with men expected to drift into ill—health at 63, five yea rs drift into ill—health at 63, five years earlier than this proposed quickened state pension age of 68. while women expect to see signs of ill—health 6a. this while women expect to see signs of ill—health 64. this national picture masks even worse regional inequalities, if you live in nottingham men are likely to suffer ill—health from the age of 57, a full 11 years earlier than this

government's shortened plans for punishment —— pension age. the government talks were making britain fairer but the pensions policy whether injustice of 1950s born women or today's proposal to increase to 68 is anything but fair. the government claims it is young people who will bear the burden of the state pension, in fact it is the young people who will have to bear the burden of the cuts they are facing all ready, education, housing, working age social security as well as the endless extensions to the state pension age. sadly, like much of the policy platform, the conservatives approach this matter has changed little since their election manifesto. at that time, they promised to ensure the state pension age reflects increases in the life expectancy while protecting generations fairly. so how does this make the promise made in the ma nifesto make the promise made in the manifesto given the evidence of life expectancy that we have seen over

the last week? what conversation has the last week? what conversation has the minister had with his new friends in the democratic unionist party whose manifesto promised advocating for the interests of older people? perhaps that the pensions minister astonishingly suggested earlier this month the government will force people into their mid—60s to seek out apprenticeships. a constituent of mine suggested visited our localjob centre only to find the adviser had no idea of any apprenticeships support of government employment support of government employment support a available to a woman of her age. the pensions minister's position was not one shared by misty grid in two suggested the social security system support both find themselves under —— unable to work. perhaps he was unaware of the seven yea rs of perhaps he was unaware of the seven years of slash and burn policies on social security system, the so—called safety net is increasingly inadequate driving up pensioner poverty by 300,000. labour wants a

different approach, in our manifesto we committed to leaving the state pension age at 66 while we undertake a review into healthy life expectancy, arduous work and the potential of a flexible state pension age. an evidence —based approach to build a state pension system that brings security for the money not just the system that brings security for the money notjust the privileged few. so we can all enjoy a healthy retirement. even by the standards of the party opposite, their approach to the state pension age is reckless, short—sighted and irresponsible. when the evidence in front of us shows that life expectancy will continue to increase a little over one year every eight yea rs a little over one year every eight years that pass, fixing the state pension age at 66 adds —— as advocated as the party opposite demonstrates a complete failure to

appreciate the situation in front of us. appreciate the situation in front of us. compared to the timetable set out by this government, it will add £250 billion to national debt, let's put that in context, that is almost twice as much as was dispersed into the financial sector following the financial crisis. 0r another way, spending in 2040 under their plans would be on the state pension would be £20 billion a year higher than under the plans we are setting up. that is almost twice the home office budget. where on earth is this money coming from? even the last... order! in fairnessl coming from? even the last... order! in fairness i want to hear both sides in order that we can make a judgment and i'm finding it hard to hear ministerand it judgment and i'm finding it hard to hear minister and it is in fairness in reply so we should be up to hear

the answer. even under the last labour government, not known for its fiscal rectitude, they legislated to increase the state pension age to 68. and yet on top of a long list of unaffordable spending pledges, the labour party happily makes pledges on the state pension that they must know will cause unsustainable damage to the public finances. the facts are based on the most up—to—date evidence and clearly set out in the government actuaries report life expectancy is going up. healthy life expectancy is going up. healthy life expectancy at the age of 65 is also going up and the government has to face up to this long—term challenge and not pretend it doesn't exist. we should celebrate increased life expectancy but it has consequences for fiscal sustainability that cannot be ignored. the review is a

serious piece of work with a clear recommendation in terms of the pensions age, in contrast to the party opposite we will act responsibly and accept that recommendation. i commend his statement, it used to be a case that the labour party worked on a consensual basis on the facts and they now have departed from that. he is aware that we have a proud track re cord is aware that we have a proud track record in reform automatic enrolment, we got rid of the default retirement age will be poorer forced to retire when they did not want to sit on this site that has a proud record. can i say to him that single figure that stands out starkly from this review is that if we do nothing about this it will cost £250 billion more. that is notjust a figure. it isa more. that is notjust a figure. it is a figure that will be borne by

future generations as they have to pay excessive money is considering the labour party at the last election promise to get rid of the student debt and now renege on that, doesn't he think they'll be doing the same very shortly on this one?” thank him for his question, you makes a good point about the work this government has done over the last seven years in terms of full working lives and helping more people to work longer and my right honourable friend has a proud personal record in what he did as secretary of state on that point. but he is right to highlight the irresponsibility of the position the labour party had at the last election, just as they have walked away from the deeply irresponsible position on student debt, i hope they will walk away from a deeply responsible position on the state pension age. studio: will leave that common statement there but the state pension age is due to increase to 68. this will

happen in the year 2037 so if you we re happen in the year 2037 so if you were born before... april the 5th, 1970 it does not affect you but if you were born after that date it will. labour party saying they want more time to consider the original proposal which is that the date should rise after 2044. but the government interesting they do it today but announcing in parliament the state age for the pension should rise to 68 from 2037. more reaction throughout the afternoon. the bbc has disclosed the salaries of its top stars after being compelled to do so by the government. chris evans is the highest paid on the list with a salary of more than £2 million. gary lineker earns over £1.75 million, and graham norton over £850,000 — though that figure doesn't include his tv chat show. the disclosure has divided opinion, with some saying it's

unfair on the corporation, others questioning the bbc‘s use of public money. there's also criticism that only a third of the names on the list are women. the bbc‘s director general defended the salaries, saying the corporation had to work in a very competitive market. 0ur media correspondent david sillito reports. the pay deals of the bbc‘s top stars are no longer a secret. thank you very much! graham norton received more than £850,000. the final day of the premier league... gary lineker‘s deal takes him over £1.75 million. how do you feel about bbc talent salaries being published? but top of the bbc pay list, chris evans. £2.2 million. we are the ultimate public company, i think. and therefore i think it is probably on balance right and proper that people know what we get paid. where is everyone ? the best paid bbc actor is derek thompson, charlie from casualty, with more than £350,000. other actors paid by independent

companies do not appear. also some stars such as graham norton also have deals not on the list with independent firms. but it does give a snapshot of the level of top pay. more than £700,000 forjeremy vine, stephen nolan from bbc ulster, more than £400,000. however, the bbc says it has been cutting top pay, dropping more than 10% over the last 12 months. we are constantly working at ensuring that we get the balance right between our public, who want to have great shows headed by stars and great presenters, and then also wanting to know that their money, and it is their money, public money, is being spent properly. and that is always a balance. and over the last two or three years, yes, some key presenters and others have taken pay cuts. and it is notjust the size of the pay deals that is raising questions.

there's also the issue of balance. the bbc has set itself targets for gender equality and yet, when you look at the list, two thirds of the names are men. tess daly earns more than £350,000. but it is claudia winkleman who is the highest—paid woman for strictly and other programmes, more than £450,000. but many questions will be asked about what appears to be gaps in pay deals between male and female presenters. there is discrimination and unfairness against women. but i think although everyone will think it is very unfair and outrageous, this is now a moment when it can be sorted out. however one argument against revealing the salaries is that some presenters may now think they have a good case for asking for more money. but the former culture secretary who enforced this new openness has no doubts about the process. if you consider that £150,000 represents the licence fee of 1,000 households, then i think the public are entitled to know

that is how their money is being spent. so, 96 pay deals above £150,000. this talent bill has been dropping, but viewers and listeners now have a much clearer picture ofjust who owns what. have a much clearer picture ofjust who earns what. david sillito, bbc news. 0ur correspondent nick higham is outside bbc‘s broadcasting house here in central london. they should have a new sign saying mind the gap! you are talking about the gender gap, yes. the bbc confessed yesterday in advance of the publication of these figures was there was a big gender gap, two thirds of the names on this list are men, one third are women. by and large the men get paid a good deal more, the highest—paid woman claudia winkleman is on £450,000, the highest—paid man is chris evans on to 2p. the bbc has taken that on the

chin and it is inevitable there will be negotiations over the next few months between some of these stars and their agents and the bbc who will want to push up their salaries either because as a woman they feel they have fallen behind a male collea g u es they have fallen behind a male colleagues or because whether male 01’ colleagues or because whether male orfemale colleagues or because whether male or female they look at some of the else they think is doing a similar job and say why they getting paid more than me and that was one reason why the bbc was reluctant to publish these figures because it thought it would be inflationary. on the wider issue, the dilemma the bbc faces which is giving the license payer value from it and operating a competitive market. yes, always a problem for the bbc notjust in how much it pays its staff but almost everything it does it has to be competitive and commercial and the same time distinctive and different public service and save money. it is undoubtedly the case that there will be plenty of viewers and listeners

as them whittingdale were single people who pay the licence fee who will look at this and say how much do these people get? there was a telling moment in jeremy do these people get? there was a telling moment injeremy vine's show on radio 2 earlier today, he is one of the higher paid people, between £700,000 for presenting that show and general election coverage and he was phoned by a former miner in south wales who asked him if he was ashamed of how much she earned when this chap said there were ordinary men and women working their fingers to the bone was nothing to show for it at the end of it and jeremy vine was frankly a bit stumped for an answer. some of the presenters, most of them have refused to comment, one ought to have said things publicly, chris evans says he thinks on balance it is right that those who works for a public organisation the public should know how much is paid. and andrew ma he gets between

£450,000 put out a statement saying he is paid less than he was two yea rs he is paid less than he was two years ago which is some evidence the bbc has been trying to push these talent fees down. thank you very much. let's now speak to the conservative mp damian collins, who chairs the culture and media select committee. your reaction now you have the list because you wanted to see this. the committee called for this to be published last summer and was supported by the government in making sure that happened so i'm pleased to see the list published. 0ne pleased to see the list published. one thing that strikes people is not so much the pay of top earners, we expected people chris evans and gary lineker to have high salaries but it is the number of people on high salaries. if you combine the pay of talent on—screen talent presenters, 96 with executive pay members

published alongside them, 226 people in the organisation who earn over £150,000 and that is just a partial picture because as has been touched on all ready, people who work for production companies commissioned by the bbc do not have to disclose what they get paid which is why david dimbleby is not included on this list because question time although a quintessential bbc programme is made by an independent company therefore they do not have to disclose his pay. so you want this to go further? this is something we need to look at because next year as bbc studios is a separate organisation, will be in a situation the bbc studios are making programmes that the bbc but are treated as an independent production company and will not have to disclose what they pay the talent that appears there for next year we may have even less to show and it means we have to be questioning the director—general about this when he appears in front of the select committee to discuss the report that

although the bbc says in global terms paying for talent is going down, is that the case or was it the case that the pay is being hidden as it is rooted through production companies? the irony in going public is in an effort to control costs, thatis is in an effort to control costs, that is the ultimate aim, we have had this morning it may have the opposite effect with presenters going hang on a minute, if they can have that, so can i? the main principle of publication was to say the bbc is funded by the licensee and it is reasonable they should see how the money is used including on salaries are higher earners. it is interesting about debate we have had about the gender disparity, we would not have that debate if it wasn't the disclosure of the salaries, discover the bbc a chance to speak about that and say how it will address it over the next three years and we are only having a debate because of this disclosure. should they react to that by increasing the pay of women or reduce the pay of men? they need to look at it in the

round. there was a target director—general said the bbc to have parity amongst men and women at high earners in the organisation by 2020 and when the director—general appears in front of the select committee in the autumn will ask you more about how we thinks it will achieve that. on the wider issue, yes, it is licence fee money, but there is a bbc trust organisation thatis there is a bbc trust organisation that is there to represent the licence fee payer, what has this got to do with politicians? it is parliament and the government that have asked for this disclosure to be made as part of the bbc annual report but the licence fee payers who fund the bbc can see how the money is spent. as chris evans alluded to in your film, money is spent. as chris evans alluded to in yourfilm, he can money is spent. as chris evans alluded to in your film, he can see he works for a public body and therefore the right of disclosure is somewhat different than if you work for a wholly commercial organisation raises its money separately and therefore doesn't have the same

scrutiny. except the scrutiny exists across all areas of public life and it is right it is in the bbc, too. is anyone on the list overpaid? the interesting test is whether if they left the bbc could they command the same salary for the same job at another organisation. i think also within the figures you see some people who have been at the bbc a long time who were running high salaries and others who are younger and new in their careers were earning less. thank you for your time. a big clean—up operation is taking place in cornwall, after flash floods swept through the village of coverack on the lizard peninsula. there were three hours of torrential downpours last night, and a number of people had to be rescued from the roofs of their homes by a coastguard helicopter. residents reported hailstones the size of 50 pence pieces, and the village was divided in two — by a four foot torrent of water. 0ur correspondentjon kay has travelled to the village and fishing port to see the extent of the damage. what a mess.

this was the main road into the village of coverack until it was ripped apart. just look at it now. and this is why. heavy rain sent a four—foot torrent of water thundering down the hills into the harbour yesterday afternoon sweeping away everything in its wake. there was so much power it forced down this metal barrier. mary has found her elderly mother's walking frame among the pile of debris. next to it even her kitchen sink. what is it like to see it all here? devastating. it is really devastating. we can't put it back. we've just got to get on and carry on and do what we can and get back to normal. we're cornish, that's what we do! mud and cobbles can be swept up

but major structural repairs are also needed. at this time of year, there would normally be thousands of holiday—makers driving down this road every day to get to the harbour. but it's going to be awhile before anyone can down here. the roads are going to take a while to get back into action properly but we're working with other agencies to make sure that happens as soon as possible. two pensioners had to be winched to safety by the coastguard helicopter as their home filled with floodwater. they couldn't get us out of the window out the backs so they took out the front. the dishwasher was floating around the middle of the kitchen. the washing machine bouncing up and down like a boat and the bookcase with all the cookery books fell over. it was terrible. this stretch of the cornish coast is well used to bad weather

but it was the speed, the intensity and the localised nature of this storm that took many people by surprise. the first official face—to—face meeting between presidents donald trump and vladimir putin at the g20 earlier this month was scrutinised around the world. it's now been revealed they held another, undisclosed meeting later that day. it's understood the pair spoke for up to an hour — but details of their conversation have not been disclosed. this is the public image of the two leaders formally meeting for the first time at the g20 summit. the backdrop ongoing investigations into alleged russian collusion with mr trump's campaign team. there was much media scrutiny. we now know the two lea d e rs much media scrutiny. we now know the two leaders met again just hours

later at a dinnerfor two leaders met again just hours later at a dinner for leaders and their spouses. footage has emerged showing a brief exchange with other world leaders as mr trump takes his seat. he gestures mr putin who is sat diagonally across the table from him. but we now know what followed was an informal meeting between the two men. but why did the white house only acknowledge this article was publicly revealed by this man, ian bremer, the president of the us —based eurasia group. he told clients he saw the men talk for around an hour. never in my life have i seen two countries, major countries, with a constellation of national interests that are as dissonant while the two leaders seem to be doing everything possible to make nice nice and be close to each other. that is what people do not understand. donald trump defended himself on twitter saying fake news story of secret dinner with beauty is sick. 0rgy 20 leaders and spouses

work organised. the press knew. —— all 620 work organised. the press knew. —— all g20 leaders knew. donald trump had hoped to put allegations of collusion behind them at the end the need for more denials and the release of e—mails from his son revealing his enthusiasm for a meeting with the russian government lawyer offering damaging information about hillary clinton. and other key trump campaign figures who attended. he insists it was nothing but that meeting has emerged as a key focus of the investigation of the trump campaign's international interactions with russia. we had from the house of commons from the work and pensions secretary saying the government says britain's state pension age should rise to 68 earlier than previously planned. what is it they are proposing? it

affects anyone born between 1970 and 1978. there will be transitional arrangements but essentially what they are saying is at the moment those born between 71 and the end of 77 can expect to retire at the age of 67, now after this announcement there will have to work on until they are 68. it is as simple as that. the government is planning that. the government is planning that because the bill for the state pension age is growing rapidly, the number who will be in retirement is going to grow even more and the time they'll be drawing a pension down in retirement will grow so it is a difficult policy question how do you tackle that escalating bill? they we re tackle that escalating bill? they were raising the age to 68 but it would happen later so most of those born in the 1970s would not have been affected. this is men and women. do we know what the process is, when will happen, it is a strange time to announce this with other news going on? it is a

significant announcement if you are born between those years because not only will it mean you will work longer before you are able to draw the state pension but it also means you will get less benefit from all of the tax and national insurance contributions you make over your lifetime. 0bviously contributions you make over your lifetime. obviously if you are working a year longer and not drawing a state pension for as long thatis drawing a state pension for as long that is six grand out of pocket, you are getting six grand less to the government says we have to do this, we will save £74 billion in the yea rs we will save £74 billion in the years to 2046 compared with what we would have spent but that £74 billion is coming away from those who will no longer draw as much pension. it is because they living longer. that is the upbeat story, if you are retiring now you can expect to live a lot longer than you used to live a lot longer than you used to and those who are in their early 40s affected here, aged between 40 and 46 can expect to have a much longer retirement and people could win the state pension begun. this

has to be approved in parliament first, is there any indication it might not be? there is opposition from the opposition parties and the labour spokesman has expressed disapproval of the proposals and asked whether need to be done now, it feels like an austerity measure because it is taking money off people to benefit the future finances of the government and the argument used to support it sounds a bit posterity like, we must sort out the finances now so future generations do not have to pay but it is the current working generation between 40 and 46 who will end up paying the cost. the headlines are coming upfor paying the cost. the headlines are coming up for you but now let's look at the weather. perhaps you heard some thunder over the last 24 hours, there have been over 200,000 lightning strikes and run the british isles over the last day or so and some spectacular pictures of the overnight storms. as we go

through the day, further storms breaking out, some heavy ones from northern england, the midlands and wales with some capable of bringing half a months worth of rain in the space of half an hour silica delocalised disruption, flash flooding, standing water and difficult driving conditions. heavy rain in northern ireland could cause issues swinging across into scotland overnight a band of rain pushing eastwards a cross overnight a band of rain pushing eastwards across wales and england. muqqy eastwards across wales and england. muggy in the east with lows of 18 in norwich, fresher conditions in northern ireland with clear skies and clearer sunnier skies working eastwards through thursday, eventually reaching scotland, england and wales but cloudy weather works into northern ireland as a band of rain arrives in the afternoon feeling quite cool in the west. hello, this is bbc news with simon mccoy. good afternoon. the headlines at 2:30pm: the government has just announced

the state pension age will rise from 67 to 68 by 2027, bringing the move forward , 67 to 68 by 2027, bringing the move forward, as set out by the work and pensions secretary david gauke. this isa pensions secretary david gauke. this is a response to growing fiscal pressures . the bbc has revealed how much it pays its top stars for the first time. it's been forced by the government to disclose the salaries of those who earn more than £150,000 a year. chris evans is the biggest earner of the 96 names on the list, receiving a salary of over £2.2 million, followed by gary lineker on more than £1.75 million. two thirds of those named are men. director general tony hall said there was "more to do" on gender and diversity. —— the government has just announced that the state pension age will rise from 67 to 68 in 2037.

this brings the change forward by seven years. and flash flooding has caused extensive damage at a village in southern cornwall. coverack on the lizard peninsula was hit by three hours of torrential downpours, turning roads into rivers. the white house has confirmed that president trump had a second undisclosed meeting with vladimir putin at the g20 summit in germany earlier this month. mr trump has condemned media revelations of the talks, tweeting that they were "fake news" and "sick." it's time for the sport. let's go to the bbc sport centre with hugh ferris. good afternoon, simon. a different competition but some of the same faces. england against scotla nd the same faces. england against scotland again but for the first time, in women's football at least, ina time, in women's football at least, in a major tournament. katie gornall reports from utrecht. england finished third in the last world cup in canada and they come into this tournament ended netherlands being spoken about as one of the

favourites alongside germany and france, an unfamiliar position for england. as such they have prepared for this tournament in a way they have not done before. they may have only arrived here in utrecht a few days ago but really the preparations started months ago. mark sampson named his team three months ago for this, which was unprecedented. they have had four training camps since may and have physically also gone to places they have not been before. this tournament is being talk about —— this team is being talked about by the players and staff as the fittest tea m by the players and staff as the fittest team yet. as for scotland, they will be desperate to achieve an upset here in utrecht. a big occasion for their side. theirfirst major tournament. unfortunately they are here without some of their best players, missing the likes of ken little, the world—class arsenal midfielder, missing through injury, as is gently to the manchester city defender. but they do still have players to trouble england, jane ross, who also plays at manchester

city, who will be familiar to a number of the england players, and caroline wear has also been in great form for liverpool. 0ther scottish players are talking about this as the biggest game of their careers. it is also the biggest game for their coach as well, and a signal, which will be the last game for her with scotland before she leaves to ta ke with scotland before she leaves to take upa with scotland before she leaves to take up a coaching role with finland. they will be desperate to end that on a positive note. there were new signings on show in the first game of the asia trophy in hong kong, which features four premier league teams. west brom and leicester started the pre—season tournament this morning. and england international jay rodriguez got his first goal in a west brom shirt following a £12 million move from southampton this summer — a great strike it was too. that put tony pulis‘ side 1—0 up, but it finished 1—1 and went to a penalty shoot out — which for the first time involving premier league teams... premier league teams used a new format which no longer has them going alternately, but instead in an a—b—b—a order. leicester eventually winning 7—6 thanks to marc albrighton. liverpool against crystal palace in

the same competition in hong kong is goalless at half—time. palace now being managed by frank de boer. and arsenal and bayern munich are currently on penalties in shanghai... yes, i think arsenal have just won that, yes, bayern munich beating on penalties. and usain bolt has said his final event will be in london before hanging up his spikes. he said he would like to win in london and retire on a winning note. the german rider has been forced to pull out of this yea r‘s been forced to pull out of this year's tour de france after picking up year's tour de france after picking upa year's tour de france after picking up a shoulder injury, meanwhile one rider has shown us how much they put their bodies do over the three weeks of the rest. —— three weeks of the

race. these are the legs of pavel poljanski, ta ken after yesterday's stage heading towards the alps. have a look at those. i'lljust give you a few seconds to get used to what you are looking at. the polish rider posted the picture saying, "i think my legs look a little tired." he's currently 75th overall. hugh, thanks very much. that was pretty grim, and we could have done without the sometime as well! —— without the sometime as well! —— without the sometime as well! —— without the suntan. more now on the bbc revealing how much it pays its biggest stars, as part of corporation's annual report. the director general, lord hall, said the corporation had to attract the very best, and warned that making the details public would drive up wages. with me is professorjonathan shalit 0be, chairman of the leading independent talent management company roar global. the prediction was, on the radio this morning, all of yourforums would be buzzing this morning with people asking for more money. did that happen —— all of your phones would be buzzing. yes, the phone has

certainly been ringing, with clients. and the opportunity right now is to get more females in the bbc and get more females paid more money and for that matter get more talent on the bbc and get them more money, for other men. right and as market forces are going in favour of females and being talent. the wider picture, one of the reasons the bbc has given in the past is the money paid by other broadcasters, that this becomes in their words the poacher‘s charter, that other broadcasters want to know how people are being paid at the bbc, they can come in and offer more. well that happen? i certainly think if you're trying to poach talent knowing what they are paid will help you in the process , however they are paid will help you in the process, however i would say 99% of talent go for the best format or the best script, and if you are in a

situation where the bbc offer you one script and a commercial broadcaster offers you another script, you will look at the quality of the royal and choose that, is that the right role and the best role for you? the same in the entertainment format. i think any talent that uses money or the quality of format is very short—sighted. quality of format is very short-sighted. inevitably, the gender pay gap has come under scrutiny today. less so, the diversity issue. and there is one there as well, isn't there?” diversity issue. and there is one there as well, isn't there? i think they are separate issues. i think there is a big challenge in all walks of life with being talent, paying talent, getting important roles in organisations, and i think television is no different to many other kinds of differences. there has been a problem in this country, and it is talent in the broadest sense of the word, but it could be any industry, and it is bigger than just the media. someone watching you know, a licence fee payer, is going to say, this is public money. and thatis to say, this is public money. and that is really what this is all about. it is a huge amount of money,

whether a commercial environment or not, as it is public money is it right that people are getting this much? i don't think people are getting this much in the real context of the word. if you say to someone on an average salary of £27,000 a year, is someone getting £60,000 getting paid too much, the a nswer £60,000 getting paid too much, the answer is yes, but if you want people at the top of their game, you have to pay them a realistic salary. the simply will not come and work for you otherwise. what i would say to the licence payer at home, is people on average at the bbc, as in all civil service departments in fa ct, all civil service departments in fact, if you look at the bbc as a public service paid for by the taxpayer, people who work at the bbc or the civil service except they get lower than the average salary for thejob lower than the average salary for the job they lower than the average salary for thejob they do lower than the average salary for the job they do and that is a fact. —— they accept they get lower than the average salary. i would also say to the licence fee payer, and i am an agent who sells talent all

broadcasters, the bbc is the most amazing value. if i take my family of four to the cinema it may cost me £30 for a 90 minute movie. my family of four at home for 10p a day can watch the bbc and the amazing broad width of programmes the bbc give. poldark, strictly, planet earth, 100 radio stations... yes, and you mention poldark which does not appear on this because it is made by an independent production company and there is criticism that these figures do not reflect that. people dimbleby —— david dimbleby is not on the list because his programme is supported by an independent company. do you feel that if we are going to have transparency, the whole business should open up its bit?” think there is a balance between transparency and an invasion of privacy. why should an independent country or an individual have their privacy intruded upon? if i live in a regular street, £175,000 does not get you a mansion, it gets you a nice terraced house in the suburbs

of. london the consequence of your salary being in the paper today, your next—door neighbour roger sally, your parents, children's friends, they gnaw your salary, and i would suggest that as a privacy issue as well. —— your next—door neighbour knows your salary. but all in his public organisations, government or whatever, it is public. as an alternative you could talk about bad depay, we pay this many people between 200 and 300 and so on, and of course those at the very top should have their salaries made visible to the world but i don't think someone on £175,000 is in reality a massive sell—out. i know it sounds to an average paid person huge and arrogant but the truth is you have to pay for quality. the people at home want quality. the people at home want quality when they are watching television. the reason gary lineker presents football if he is brilliant. not only was he a fantastic footballer himself, he

communicates the ball really well. he talks about football in the wake of your wants to hear, in the same way david dimbleby speaks to the viewer in the way they want to be heard at home. —— in the way that the viewer wants to hear. chris eva ns, the viewer wants to hear. chris evans, a great broadcaster. the two ladies who did strictly, by the way. it has two ladies, although people talk about gender. and a female doctor who now. i have run out of questions, butjonathan shalit, thanks much for coming in. from january, businesses will be banned from charging fees on transactions made by debit and credit card following a directive from the european union to end the charges often imposed by airlines, food delivery companies, and small businesses. the treasury says the fees cost consumers £473 million in 2010 alone. sarah campbell has the details. fa ncy

fancy italy pay takeaway? apps such as hungry has normal mark and just eat will add charges —— apps such as hungry house, and just eat. eat will add charges —— apps such as hungry house, andjust eat. is eat will add charges —— apps such as hungry house, and just eat. is as further than the government had to go so it is great news for consumers. it does cost companies money to process payments. 5.5 p for debit card payments according to 2016 figures, and 16p for credit cards. up until now some companies have passed significantly higher costs on to consumers, including the dvla, which charges to pound 50 per ca rd dvla, which charges to pound 50 per card transaction. 7796 dvla, which charges to pound 50 per card transaction. 77% of all retail sales in the uk are made using card, so it is the predominant way to pay, and therefore it is quite right that consumers should not be charged for the privilege of paying in the way

they want to. surcharges will cease, but it will be open to firms to recoup the costs they incur by other means. sarah campbell, bbc news. with me is gareth shaw, money expert with the consumer magazine which. how have theyjustified in the past adding this money to your bill? retailers and traders in car cost of these payments and it has been in these payments and it has been in the past it at a cost of 50p for processing debit card payments and around about 2% for credit card payments, so they have incurred a cost and they have passed that on to their customers as an explicitly, something you pay at the end of the transaction, and we have all encountered it when we go to book our holiday, big through a travel agent, cinema tickets, when we have agent, cinema tickets, when we have a takeaway on an app, we incur a fee, which has been disproportionate actually to the cost. and this is great news for consumers, that these fees are going to be banned com pletely fees are going to be banned completely from january. so we have

transparency but the cynic will say, well, they will find another way of getting the money out of your pocket? retailers will continue to incur these costs. we don't know how they will react to it. which has campaigned on this topic and in 2012 the government introduced the ban on excessive fees, and what we saw there was many reasons just absorbing the cost of debit card payments, and not increasing prices for consumers. we don't know how retailers and traders will react to the removal of surcharges injanuary next year, but remember those charges will be spread out across all consumers. those paying by cash and debit card as well as credit card, where the highest fees are. the thing is at the moment when you book a holiday online, with whatever company, they don't specify those fees until you come to pay for them, presumably? exactly. that has always been the sting in the tail, and consumers should not be penalised for paying for the services they

wa nt to for paying for the services they want to buy, and how they want to buy them. he will on credit card all the time. they shouldn't have to pay excessive fees to do so. so at least when they come to the end of the transaction, when they book their flights, but in their luggage and they see, that is all they will be paid for. they will not be paying just to pay with credit card. so what is the trick? keep an eye on the costs, look at the prices and look at what a specified in them? that's right. i think also what we will have to see is how this is enforced. the difficulty with the ban introduced in 2012 was it was done to trading standards to enforce that —— done to trading standards to enforce that -- it done to trading standards to enforce that —— it was down to trading standards to enforce that and it has not always been at the top of their list. at least now it will be easier for them to enforce because they should be no surcharges at paul except for policing surcharges. when you are campaigning for all this to happen did you come up against opposition? —— no surcharges at all. we did indeed. the government

charges surcharges on council tax, dvla, although they say they do not make a profit out of it. what we have done in the intervening time, we have worked with companies to get them to reduce their surcharges and we have had great success with that. many have voluntarily reduce the surcharges they pay, but now is the time they go altogether and that is really good news for the consumers. gareth shaw, really good for you to come and speak to us about this. thank you very much. an american boy — who was the youngest in the world to have a double hand transplant — is now able to write, dress himself and even play baseball. zion harvey had the transplant two years ago, after his hands and feet were amputated when he contracted sepsis. doctors say the key to his recovery has been zion himself, and his inspiring determination to succeed, as sara smith reports. he wasjust

he was just two when it began, but it took months of tough rehabilitation. he remains a remarkable young man because here we have out weeks of hospitalisation, a daily request for him to interact, to do therapy. to interface and again there has never been one iota of resistance or, i don't want to today or i don't feel like it. there have been setbacks. his body has tried eight times to reject the new hands. but a mix of immunosuppression drugs and hard work means he is making incredible progress. now i can get myself dressed.

without anybody helping me. now i can get a snack out the fridge without anybody helping me. he has become this independent person that does not need me around all the time. he takes his meds on his own now. like, what am i here for now? that is how i feel. like, oh, my goodness, he's not going to need me next year! it is very bittersweet. here, we have muhammad ali and up here, ray lewis. in the middle of all of them is me. tests have shown his brain is creating pathways for controlling and feeling his hands. there's still a long way to go but zion is nothing if not determined. if any kid is watching this, and you're going through a rough time, never give up on what you're doing. you will get there eventually. sarah smith, bbc news. lets get more under breaking news

you can see on the screen. the government announcing the state pension is to rise from 67 to 68, and the government bringing in these plans seven years earlier, so anyone born between 1970 and 1978 will need to work an extra year before retiring. labour have called this an astonishing live. david gaukejoins me from westminster, the conservative work and pensions minister. why announce this now? we had an independent review undertaken and also one undertaken by the government department. thejohn cridland report recommended we make this move. we are actually under statutory obligation to respond to him. and the reality is that as we have a population where life expectancy is increasing, something

to be celebrated, but we also need a state pension age that reflects that rising life expectancy, and as a consequence we are bringing forward the point at which the state pension age., bringing that are to start in 2037, saving it in through to 2039 —— the state pension age goes up, bringing that forward. after the announcement to change social care, don't you think a risky announcement now? i think it is right we are honest with the british people, that we deal with some of the long—term risks that we have the country. and i don't think we would be doing our duty if we shied away from that. the reality is that the country had to live within its means. we have to make the argument for why that is the case, and if you don't address an issue like this, you know, in good time, give people notice, then you could be faced with sudden increases down the line, you could end up with a crisis. to give you an

example, if we just stuck at 66, which is what the labour party are advocating, by 2040 we would be spending a further £20 billion on the state pension compared to the plans we have set out today. £20 billion is twice the home office budget, you know, it is completely unsustainable, so we have to face up with that and the way we can have a properly funded state pension and a dignified retirement for people who need the state pension is by ensuring that the age at which it is reflect what is happening with life expectancies. the argument we need to face up to this, it is exactly what the conservatives said in the run—up to the general election over social care, and the difficulty with an older population is many will get ill, as they get older, and we will see increased cases of dementia and other things. are you not in some way causing trouble because you have not sorted out how people will pay for that? what the reality is is

that we can afford to have a properly funded state pension as long as we reflect the fact that life expectancy is increasing, and i don't, i really don't think we can't shy away from that particular issue. of course there are many pressures on the public finances over the yea rs on the public finances over the years ahead, but it is important that we address them when we can and i think it is absolutely right we do that today. and, just looking at the competitions of this, because it is men and women from this particular date —— just looking at the complications of this. there is a group of people born after april 1970 and suddenly faced the prospect of losing a state pension worth a lot of money on, they will see, the whim of the government? it is not really suddenly. we are talking about what will happen in 20—years‘

time, and actually that is the case for making the announcement, for getting on with this and being clear with people. and i think, you know, iam one with people. and i think, you know, i am one of those of that generation, and i think the more notice that can be provided the better, and i think there are also a lot of people of my generation who probably assumed that the state pension age was going to be at 68 as well but, you know, we do have to face up to this and we can't pretend that we can stay with the state pension age that does not reflect the fact that life expectancy is improving, as indeed is healthy life expectancy improving, so it is right we face up to it, and i don't think we face up to it, and i don't think we will be doing that right we would be doing any favours to the british people to pretend that we don't have an issue here and ignore the matter. canada cynical question to you just for a moment? this is not a bad day to bury bad news —— can ijust put a cynical question. given the fuss in the newspapers tomorrow about the bbc salaries. was that part of the

process that led to this decision this afternoon? no, this was planned in ourgrid, if this afternoon? no, this was planned in our grid, if you like, certainly before i was even aware there was... that the bbc presenters story was going to be put out there. you know, it didn't feature in our thinking. we had to respond to the cridland review. actually we were supposed to respond back in may but obviously with the general election that was delayed. the new government needed the ability to look at it and we have come forward before the summer recess. i think we would have been open to criticism, open to a judicial review, had we not got this response into the house of commons before the house broke up and the ice breaks up tomorrow, so we had limited time to do this. thank you for your time this afternoon, david gauke —— and the house breaks up tomorrow. now for a change of

gear.. a single in spanish called despacito has become the most—streamed song of all time, just six months after it was released. it's currently at number one in the uk, and has been played 4.6 billion times worldwide, overtaking justin bieber‘s sorry. despacito's singer luis fonsi called its success "insane", saying he just "wants to make people dance." mark savage reports. # despacito. .. in english despacito moves slowly but the rise of this song has been anything but. injust six months it has been played 4.6 billion times on streaming services like spotify and apple music. , youtube and apple music. i love it, i sing it every day. yeah, it's really nice. it is not my cup of tea. but it is very relaxed. 4.6 billion times. are you one of those 4.6 billion people? no! it has become a break—out song for starc luis fonsi giving him a global hit nearly 20 years

into his career. i still do not go to bed saying, hey, i had the biggest song the world — i was just lucky to have that song at the correct time and just break it open. originally released injanuary, despacito really court 0ne when pop starjustin bieber heard it in a nightclub and asked to record a new verse. the head of universal records says the success of the song shows how streaming is changing music. streaming is and will continue to open up music from latin american artists globally. it is also injected new life into the music industry — revenues going up after a 15—year downturn. so in latin america and elsewhere, artists will be hoping to recreate the despacito phenomenon. all the headlines coming up in a couple of minutes but first let's catch up with the weather. a lot has been going on. here is chris forks.

lightning strikes over the last few days and here are some spectacular pictures from canary wharf. through the day we will see further storms breaking out and particularly ones in the midlands and wales, capable of bringing half a month's worth of rain in half an hour, so there could be some localised destruction, some flash flooding, standing water and difficult driving conditions on the roads. heavy rain in northern ireland could cause a few issues as well. it will swing across scotland overnight, band of rain across the for. 18 degrees in norwich and fresher conditions in northern ireland with clearer skies. the sunnier skies will work eastwards on thursday, eventually reaching scotland, england and wales, but then cloudy weather working into northern ireland as a band of rain arrives during the afternoon. it will start to feel quite cool in the west. this is bbc news. i'm simon mccoy.

the headlines at 3pm: six million people will have to wait longer before receiving a state pension. from 2037, the state pension age will rise from 67 to 68 which is seven years sooner than originally planned says the secretary of state. we can't pretend that you know we can stay with a state pension abling that doesn't reflect the fact that life expectancy is improving as indeed is healthy life expectancy. 96 names are on the list each earning over £150,000 a year. chris evans tops the male—dominated list with earnings of more than £2 million. the bbc‘s director general defends the figures. what we have managed to