today at five: raising the state pension to 68 — it means six million people will have to work up to a year longer to retire. the change comes into force in 2037 — seven years earlier than planned. the government says billions of pounds will be saved. the state pension is going to become more expensive for the country whatever happens, but if we don't face up to it then itjust becomes unsustainable. we'll have the latest and we'll be talking to the man who carried out a review into the state pension age, john cridland, in a moment. the other main stories on bbc news at 5: the salaries of the bbc‘s top—earning stars are revealed — about two thirds of those earning more than £150,000 are men. this is an area where i want to get to the point by 2020 where you look at us on tv and radio, we are equal between men and women and on that we have some way to go. a clean—up is in operation under way in the west cornish village of coverack following flash floods,

which caused substantial damage. the story of the boy with a double hand transplant who can now cook and play baseball. if any kid is watching this and you are going through a rough time, never give up on what you're doing. the government has announced that people in their early forties will now have to work a year longer as a result of a change to the stage pension age. the work and pensions secretary david gauke said the plan would help to meet the needs of an ageing population. the planned rise in pension age from 67 to 68 will affect

six million people and will be phased in by 2039, which is seven years earlier than planned. those born between 1970 and 1978 will be affected in a move which the government says will save the taxpayer over £70 billion. speaking to the bbc, mr gauke said the burden should not fall to the younger generation. life expectancy is improving but that has an impact on the cost of the state pension and it is right that the state pension age reflects life expectancy. basically, for any eight years that passes, life expectancy in this country goes up on average by one year so we expectancy in this country goes up on average by one year so we need to reflect that over recent years we have brought forward the point at which a state pension age rises to 66 and 267, but we haven't changed since 2007 the increased to 68.

given the most recent data that we have on this, we had independent reviews by the government and by john criddle and angie has recommended that we bring this forward —— john has recommended that we bring this forward ——john has recommended that they bring this foreword to 2027 and we have accepted that because we accept we have accepted that because we a cce pt we we have accepted that because we accept we need to have a state pension regime fair to both those receiving state pension but also future generations of taxpayers have to pay for it. with me is our economics correspondent andy verity. millions of people affected by this change potentially. explain to us the thinking behind it. it's about tackling an underlying problem which is that we are living longer so if you have a pot of pension money to spend on pensions for the time that you are retired, that part is spent more thinly now, either you have your pension incomes per year you have a much bigger pot and what the government is saying is it is unfair

to ask future generations, children, grandchildren, those who are not born yet, to pay higher burden of taxes to finance over retirements which seem to be getting longer and longer as we live longer. instead, the government believes it is fairer to raise the state pension age so they are drawing a pension for a shorter time and that will be less ofa shorter time and that will be less of a burden on future generations but the generation affected by this, those born between april 1970 and april 1978, might well complain that they are already bearing the burden for example of austerity so they are helping to fix the public finances through cuts to working age benefits west pensioners who are better off income wise than they have ever been not really bearing much of the burden of austerity. this seems like another cut loaded on the middle aged. i'm joined from our westminster studio byjohn cridland, the author of the review which recommended the change to the pension age. 0pponents opponents of this are saying that the government is picking the pockets of millions of people in

their 40s. pockets of millions of people in their 405. those people are going to have on average the blessing of living longer. it's a blessing but it has the consequence that we have to have a fairer deal between the young people of today who will be the middle—aged workers paying their taxes in 20 and 30 years' time and the fortysomethings today who will be living longer and retirement, up toa be living longer and retirement, up to a third of their adult life in retirement. this is a 20 year notice ofa retirement. this is a 20 year notice of a one—year change, but it says the exchequer £70 billion. the alternative was higher taxes. we have to find an ageing society. you see an ageing society but that has been questioned this week —— you say. the former government adviser said the trend towards longer lease was grinding to a halt. 65-year-old man at the end of the second world war getting his pension was going to

live on average another 12 years. today, that same individual will live another 21 years. that is already massive increase in longevity which is baked into the system and the effects of which will last for 30 or 40 years. some experts are saying, yes, you're using figures going back to world war ii, but some are saying that the increase in the ageing population is coming to an end. 6000 people have had a letter from the queen this year celebrating their 100th birthday. in 1917, only 24 people celebrated their hundredth birthday. the costs are already increasing. evenif the costs are already increasing. even if that begins to stop increasing at the same level it will ta ke increasing at the same level it will take 30 or 40 years for those effects to go all the way through the system. the government has said it will do another review as soon as it will do another review as soon as it has the extra evidence but i recommend the changes that the government has accepted because i

felt they were necessary to be fair between the generation of workers who are paying for the current generation of pensioners and the same in the future. you probably have what labour have said about this. it's basically a continuation of austerity that means 30 odd million people will work longer than they should. living longer life, the chance to do more things, more things with the grandchildren, take anotherjob, to things with the grandchildren, take another job, to volunteer, things with the grandchildren, take anotherjob, to volunteer, to do more education, these blessings, but they have consequences. we can't blindly move into the future without ensuring that we have an affordable pension system and one which is fair between the generation of taxpayers and the generation of pensioners. these are unavoidable changes. it would be irresponsible not to take action. thank you very much for being with us. the author of the

review that recommended that pension change. coming up in a few minutes, we'll speak to the shadow work and pensions secretary debbie abrahams so pensions secretary debbie abrahams so stay with us for that. 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 presented by stars and great presenters, and them 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 pay deals is that some presenters may now think they have a good case for asking for a rise. 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. well, one of the presenters named in today's list is radio 2'sjeremy vine,

who received upwards of £700 thousand last year. discussing the story on his programme this lunchtime, he was questioned by a caller from wales. harry in glamorgan, good afternoon. you can say whatever you want. let me first say, i enjoy your programme andl me first say, i enjoy your programme and i enjoy you personally, but i'd like to ask you a direct question. are you embarrassed to pick up your paycheque? do you know, ijust feel very lucky every day is the answer to that. do you think you are overpaid? erm, i don't really want to a nswer overpaid? erm, i don't really want to answer that because i feel it's not the moment for me... you speculating asking people questions, so speculating asking people questions, soiam speculating asking people questions, so i am asking you a direct question. do you think you and the re st of question. do you think you and the rest of the bbc and staff like claudia winkleman and chris evans, do you think they are grossly overpaid? joel some are. i was a

coal minerandl overpaid? joel some are. i was a coal miner and i worked in construction. i see men buckled up from working all their lives doing ha rd from working all their lives doing hard graft and nothing to show for it. how can you people justify the amount of money you are running? 0ur correspondent nick higham is outside bbc‘s broadcasting house here in central london. nick, we got a lot of details but not all of them. graham norton for example, we didn't get the money he earns for his chat show. yes, these figures are not complete and the reason is that anybody who works for the bbc not directly but through an independent production company which is commissioned by the bbc, their figures, their income is not declared as part of this sort that are quitea declared as part of this sort that are quite a number of actors and other stars who are not going to be on this list and some of the people who aren't on this list earn more than the list suggests an graham norton is a very good example of that. according to this years

between 850000 and £900,000 a year but that doesn't include the money he gets for his bbc one chat show which is made by an independent producer. there is a lack of transparency which is not the bbc‘s fault, this is a winner declaration of these figures was ordained by the government, but it does mean that the figures were slightly murky and also it is quite difficult to compare presenters, one presenter with another apparently doing the samejob. then with another apparently doing the same job. then you with another apparently doing the samejob. then you discover that they do otherjobs as well. dan walker, the breakfast presenter, is between 200 and £250,000. louise minchin has —— his co—host isn't even on the list but he says they get the same, he just gets more for presenting football focus. the gender pay gap between men and women, the top male star chris evans gets five times more than the top woman star. that's right, and two thirds of the names are men. i

haven't done the sums but it looks as if, as individuals, men by and large get considerably more than women for doing the same job. the bbc confessed to this yesterday and says it is trying to eliminate the pay gap by 2020. the director—general tony hall was clear about this but there have been a number of women today working for the bbc who have semi—seriously offered to take a pay rise to narrow the gap and that reflects one of the things that worries the bbc about being forced to publish these figures, which is that lots of performers and their agents may suddenly say, hang on a minute, why are they getting paid more for the samejob? are they getting paid more for the same job? they will get on the phone or their agents will get on the phone to the bbc and start trying to negotiate their fees upwards and the bbc says this is potentially inflationary at a time when it is trying with some success. andrew marr says he is £139,000 a year less

than he did two years ago, the bbc has been trying to get their overall talent bill down. this is bbc news at five. the headlines: raising the state pension to 68 — it means six million people will have to work up to a year longer to retire. the change comes into force in 2037. the salaries of the bbc‘s top—earning stars are revealed — about two thirds of those earning more than £150,000 are men. a clean—up is in operation under way in the west cornish village of coverack following flash floods, which caused substantial damage. the oldest of football rivals meet injust over two hours. england take on scotland in the group given in utrecht. chris room increases his lead in the tour de france today. the defending

champion is now 27 seconds ahead of the field. we'll have all the latest news from birkdale on the eve of the 146th open golf championships. i'll be back just after half open golf championships. i'll be backjust after half past. more now on our top story. the government has announced that people in their early forties will now have to work a year longer as a result of a change to the stage pension age. joining me is debbie abrahams, labour's shadow secretary of state for work and pensions. thank you for being with us. this is sensible, isn't it? because as we've heard, people are living longer. actually, only yesterday, i'm not sure if it was on your programme or not, but professor sir michael marmot released figures around the fa ct marmot released figures around the fact that life expectancy is active flat—lining and only last week the

government's own department, public health england, announced that healthy life expectancy was in trouble. we know that, for example, men will live in good health up until 63 and four women it is the 64 and yet even with that state, that evidence, the government is announcing an increase to 68 years. that was only one piece of research, one collection of data. no it wasn't, it was exactly the same data they were using, both the government and sir michael but what the government have done is looked at slightly older data that was included in the cridland review. the work and pensions secretary david gauke has been saying increases in life expectancy has —— means people earn more over their lifetimes and

thatis earn more over their lifetimes and that is true, isn't it? back to the issue, this isn't about putting young people against older people, we need to make different choices. we need to make sure that the economy is working for all parts of the country, which currently is not, and we need to make sure it is working for all groups of people including young people and all the people. we want to take a completely different approach as they have done in other parts of the world and we wa nt to in other parts of the world and we want to make sure that we are understanding and recognising inequality around life expectancy, how different types of work, particularly physical work, can have an impact on how long we are living in good health, but also about how people are contributing to this system for longer in some cases and what we need to recognise around that. what the figures show according to the government is that if we had carried on with the pensions age as it was, government spending would have risen from 5.2%

of gdp to 6.5% in 2039, that's a huge rise. the countries of the cad afford it. on the labour party guilty of making lots of very generous promises like abolishing university tuition fees at wiping out students' debts and so on? your pension is no —— your promise is now on pensions as well but the country can't afford these promises. to repeat what i said a moment ago, we set upa repeat what i said a moment ago, we set up a pensions commitment at the beginning of the year and we want to ta ke beginning of the year and we want to take a different approach based on all the evidence that there is, looking at international evidence, nothing has been said, for example, in terms of what is happening in germany, and very similar approach to what we are looking at some more flexible retirement age that recognises the nature of work and how long people are contributing to the system and that we all live in different levels of good health. that has to be a better way than

continually pushing up the pensions age. i have used examples of where we have people in their mid—60s being told that they should retrain, go on apprenticeships in their mid—60s, it's an absolute nonsense and the government frankly don't know what they're doing. debbie abrahams, thank you very much indeed, shadow secretary for work and pensions. 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 50p 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's it like to see it all here? devastating. it is really devastating. it has happened. 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 a while before anyone can down here. clearly 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 velux window at the back so they took out the front. the dishwasher was floating around the middle of the kitchen. the washing machine was bouncing up and down like a boat and the bookcase with all the cookery books fell over like the titanic sinking. 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 so many people by surprise. president trump has dismissed

as fake news reports of a secret meeting between him and the russian president vladimir putin at the recent g20 summit. but the white house has admitted that the two men had met privately for a brief discussion, with only a translator present. let's go live now to washington and our correspondent gary 0'donoghue. gary, mrtrump has gary, mr trump has described this story as six. yes, one of his favourite words! something he applies to reports that he doesn't like at all —— described it as sick. there was the famous meeting between them that was much reported and they we re them that was much reported and they were fairly substantial lead outs from officials to journalists about how it was discussed and what was discussed, so this was a dinner in

the evening and what seems to have happened is it was a 3.5 hour dinner, this t20 dinner —— g20. donald trump sat with vladimir putin for about an hour, we are told, which hasn't been disputed by the white house and this wasn't a couple of pleasantries, white house and this wasn't a couple of pleasa ntries, this white house and this wasn't a couple of pleasantries, this was a substantial conversation by the look of it and the problem is that no american apart from donald trump was president, there was only a russian translator and nobody has any idea of what was said and what might have been agreed or suggested orfloated or anything like that and i think thatis or anything like that and i think that is what is concerning people here. no one expects these dinners to go off in absolute silence, they're not monks, they don't sit and not speak to each other, but this is more than "please pass the salt." 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. it's the story of extraordinary surgical skill and an extraordinary little boy. i just want to write a letter to the parents for giving me their son's hands because they didn't have to do that if they didn't want to. after losing his hands and feet to infection atjust two, zion harvey was eight when the ten—hour pioneering transplant surgery took place. but it was then that the real work began. months and months of tough rehabilitation. nice! he remains a remarkable young man

because here we have had weeks of hospitalisation, a daily request for him to interact, to do therapy, to undergo testing. 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's 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. yeah, like, what am i here for now? that's how i feel. like, oh, my goodness, he's not going to need me next year?

it's 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. time for a look at the weather. here's chris fawkes. are there more storms under way? yes, the weather is being pretty naughty again. the biggest storms

across north wales. they have brought about an inch of rain fall in the north run. we have had flooded roads and high streets had some flooding as well. concentrating on these storms, they're going to be working into merseyside and also lancashire and particularly around this area which could get torrential rain, we could see flooding in that one spot. 0vernight, we will see the rain pushing northwards into scotland, some wet weather across england but the rain getting lighter as it does so, a few midnight in eastern parts of england, pressure conditions in the west and tomorrow, the fresher air will be sweeping the railway from england, away from scotla nd railway from england, away from scotland with a slice of sunshine coming out then it turns cloudy later. it will start to get cool, this unsettled and cool weather, we better get used to it because it's going to be with us for the end of

the weekend and into next week. this is bbc news at five. the headlines. in this state pension age is to be raised to 68. the government says it will save billions of pounds. the salary of the bbc‘s top stars has been revealed, and it is revealed that those earning around £150,000 are mainly men. a big clean—up is underway after flashflood ing are mainly men. a big clean—up is underway afterflashflood ing in cornwall. flooding in the south of england also caused problems. let scope and get your sport now from the bbc sports centre. just over three hours to go until england and scotland

make their first appearances at the women's european championship and they face each other. the scotland camp say this is the most important match they have ever played. england insist they can win the whole competition. we've put in so much preparation. as in physical work, so much work off the pitch and becoming a more together team. i'd like to say this is probably the most prepared we've felt going into a tournament, so i think that's why there's a lot of belief and a lot of determination around the squad. the biggest thing is to try to enjoy it. try to embrace the experience, and that's been the message the whole journey now, from when we qualified. all the preparations, it has been really about, you know, enjoy every single second. celtic are in pole position when they go into the champions league.

you can't always play forward. we showed over the course of last season, we scored 106 goals, so we showed we are a really aggressive tea m showed we are a really aggressive team and that is how we play, but a backward pass is not a negative pass, it's a way of creating the space. we don't want to turn up and be slow. we want to be positive, the players were great on friday night, celtic didn't conceived the goal for 70 minutes. chris froome's lead in the tour de france is now up to 27 seconds after today's stage 17, which was won by slovenia's primoz roglic. german sprinter marcel kittel, who was leading the greenjersey

competition, was involved in a crash early on and had to abandon the race with a shoulder injury. it was a brilliant effort by roglic, who started the day 37th and is no threat to the leaders. he broke away to win the stage by over a minute. it came down to a sprint for second between froome and his rivals for second place. froome now leads colombia's rigoberto uran and frenchman romann barday by 27 seconds. fabio aroo of italy is down to fourth overall. the 146th 0pen golf championship gets underway the radar in the build—up is former world number one jason day. the australian has dropped to number six in the rankings after a slump in form, perhaps understandable after his mum was diagnosed with lung cancer at the end of last year. day admitted that golf has taken a back seat recently.

i needed to take that time off because i thought i was losing my mum. ididn't because i thought i was losing my mum. i didn't think she would be around any more so i wanted to spend as much time as possible with her, because before, i would only see her once a year. not nearly enough time to spend with your mum. saying that, everything seems like it's coming back into balance the me, and i'm able now to focus on really going after it and working hard. jason day goes outjust after1 o clock tomorrow, with masters champion sergio garcia and the 2015 open winner zachjohnson. and some newsjust in — three matches at this year's wimbledon,

two in the qualifying tournament and one in the main draw, have brought trigger alerts for potential match—fixing, the tennis integrity unit have said in the last few minutes. let's get more on our top story here on the bbc news at five, and some of the bbc‘s highest paid presenters, actors and newsreaders have had their salaries published. it is the first time the pay of stars earning more than £150,000 has been made public. chris evans was at the top of the list of highest earners, making more than £2.2 million pounds in the last financial year. we'll discuss the story in more detail shortly, but what do licence fee payers make of it all? this is what a few people in salford had to say earlier. i'm quite shocked that chris evans is at the top. i wasn't aware he was releva nt a ny is at the top. i wasn't aware he was relevant any more. gary lineker, it's a lot of money. i'm not sure that the public really need to know this kind of information. it may anger them. i know the salaries are higher, but the women are earning a lot less, and they are doing just as good asjob as lot less, and they are doing just as good as job as the men. lot less, and they are doing just as good as job as the menlj lot less, and they are doing just as good as job as the men. i think the bbc should pay competitive rates

because they want people to watch the bbc. it's a national treasure and we want to keep it going but i'm shocked at what chris evans gets paid. with me is a stellar cast, liz howell, director of broadcasting at city university and has worked forthe bbc, itv, channel4 and sky news. also here in the studio is peter fincham, former controller of bbc one and until last year he was director of television for itv before setting up his own independent production company.

joining me from westminster is the conservative mp andrew bridgen, who had called for pay at the bbc to be revealed. do you think this knowledge helps the bbc? there's more than an element of public working for the bbc because it is funded by the taxpayer, therefore there needs to be more transparency with paying conditions than if it was a private, commercial enterprise, which it is not. would you like the salaries of eve ryo ne not. would you like the salaries of everyone in the country who is funded by the public to be published? by name? not necessarily, but we are talking about people being paid more than the prime minister. 3 billion in the budget and that's the transparency that is required at the moment. do you think this weakens all weakens the bbc —— strengthens the bbc?|j this weakens all weakens the bbc —— strengthens the bbc? i think tony hill dealt well with the gender

disparity today by saying that it would be dealt with by 2020. i don't know how, because he didn't say, but i'm impressed that he has given it a timeline. chris evans is paid five times more than the top paid female. it's not surprising, because women are undervalued in society generally. in some cases, the bbc‘s position and see academia. but the bbc is meant to enhance our society and so it should be presenting women. the bbc is doing better on this. you've worked in itv and united industry well. do you think thatis united industry well. do you think that is true? on gender equality specifically, i don't know if i

could say definitively on that. we are ahead in gender equality from 15 yea rs are ahead in gender equality from 15 years ago, but these are issues we cannot stop thinking about. this day was bound to come. when i was working in the bbc ten years ago, theissue working in the bbc ten years ago, the issue was a live on then. probably, in hindsight, having it dragged out is not so good for the bbc, but i agree that this is a good day for the bbc in that it is better that it day for the bbc in that it is better thatitis day for the bbc in that it is better that it is out there. it will cause some short—term shock. i've been told it will lead to talent inflation. i don't necessarily agree. don't you think other broadcasters will want to poach certain individuals? the bbc for obvious reasons will feel quite constrained in writing big paycheques. if you are a commercial

rival and you learn such and such amount, you might not 88 butjust add 5%. having spent eight years at itv, one of the bbc‘s direct rivals, it's a little exaggerated to say that talent is flooded from the commercial sector. a lot of dust has gone up in the air. the dust will settle. fundamentally, life will go on. the bbc may feel more constrained in writing big paycheques. i think gender equality will rise further as it rightly should. having made that commitment, tony hall doesn't want to turn up in 2020 and see he has not followed through with it. i think things will follow from this rather messy date. regarding gender equality, that's caught a headline? i think people

should be paid the right pay, regardless of gender, for that job that they do. highly paid individuals at the bbc, it should hasten that for both men and women andl hasten that for both men and women and i think it will be an excellent situation. when tony hall says he's going to achieve this by 2020, do you believe him ? going to achieve this by 2020, do you believe him? i think every time this report comes out, the pressure will build to pay men and women the jobs —— for the jobs they deserve. is it possible there will be lawsuits? i suppose it's a possibility but i don't think they will. often, people will say that is how it is so let's improve on it. in the united states, they love to

litigate, which they did in the 70s and lead to better pay for women. but i can't see it happening. i think it would be more likely to be quiet pressure. there is something else we should look at and how this —— and that is how this is applied. there was originally a body that looked at this but it was dumped in 2010. there should be monitoring across all broadcasters on how fair b pays. should be supplied to channel 4 as well? you could make that case. it has advertiser funding which the bbc doesn't, and the bbc should take up the fact that will be accountability because they take a big whack of public money. channel 4

isa different, big whack of public money. channel 4 is a different, —— model. you could easily see what is good for the bbc is good for channel 4. if i were channel 4, i would find it hard to say that is not the case, simply based on the fact it has commercial income. the bbc's research shows that they want top talent and the viewers don't mind paying for it. now everything is out in the open and it will be up to the licence fee payers whether they think what is being delivered is good value for money. the bbc should be answerable

and transparent to the people paying. did you think everyone was value for money? some people i watch more than others but that would be my own, personal decision. the only real issue i had is alan yentob who is paid money from the bbc is also paid by talent, and i'm not sure how that works. some of the salaries seemed a little high, some were less thanl seemed a little high, some were less than i would have thought they would be. we saw people talking about chris evans as a radio 2 presenter. what struck you when you saw the list? we now get to the heart of the most difficult area to discuss. when you start using phrases like fairness, and what the job is worth, what do those concepts mean? what is

now revealed is the workings of a whole myriad of negotiations between different pieces of talents and agents over many years to the point where there is no logic to it at all. it's not like the civil service where you would have a grade, which comes with a preordained salary. it is, on one level, a free—market for talent, but you have a publicly— owned, publicly— funded body. so it could look odd. i imagine there will be frantic phone calls from both men and women saying, how come she gets this when i only get that waites the long—term effect is fundamentally however quite a beneficial one and i think it will lead the bbc to be aware that the lights are on now,

and saying, we just need to chase this presenter and chase of hard as we can until we get them, they will need to think a bit harder. thank you to all of you for your time. we are going to be discussing this a little bit more with the bbc director of radio and education, coming up in a few minutes. the time is just coming up in a few minutes. the time isjust gone quarter to coming up in a few minutes. the time is just gone quarter to six. 0ur latest headlines. the state pension age is to be raised to 68. it is to be phased in earlier than planned. as we have been hearing, the bbc salaries of the top stars has revealed that those earning the top salaries of 150,000 are mainly men. major damage was caused to roads in cornwall last night after flash flooding. this is how london and

frankfurt ended the day in the markets. the ftse, nasdaq and dow are allup. from january, businesses will be banned from charging fees on transactions made by debit and credit card. it follows 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. for years consumers have been charged for using their 3% extra on fly bee and 2% extra on ryanair and norwegian. fancy a late night takeaway? applications such as hungry

house and just eat at 50p for card payments. but as of january thanks to european directive, such charges will be banned. it's great, these rules put an end to surcharging on american express and paypal as well as visa and mastercard. that is further than the government had to go so good news for consumers. it costs companies money to process payments, 5.5p for debit card payments according to figures from last year and 16p for credit cards. up until now some companies have passed significantly higher costs on to consumers. including the dvla which charges £2.50 per card transaction. 77% of all retail sales in the uk are made using cards. so it's the predominant way to pay and therefore it is quite right that consumers shouldn't 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. let's get more on that story about

the salaries at the bbc. we are joined by the bbc‘s radio director of education. we were talking about chris evans earnings. is he worth it? it would be less than 1p per person given his audience. 0urjob is to present world—class programmes and that means finding top talent. we have to get the best talent to be able to do ourjob. what has emerged has been this gender gap between men and women, and chris evans earning five times more than the top earning women at the bbc. is that right?

people do very different jobs, and you could go mad comparing people. chris is on the most popular wrecked the show, every single day, and per listener, it's less than 1p per week. he's had offers significantly above this in the past. we need to get the balance right between getting the right stars and paying the right amount. according to gender inequality, when you see people are doing differentjobs, are you saying there is no gender inequality? we have a 10% you saying there is no gender inequality? we have a 1096 gender pay 95p~ inequality? we have a 1096 gender pay gap. we have a more diverse workforce than any other broadcaster but we do have to go further. we are talking about on—air talent? but we do have to go further. we are talking about on-air talent? we said we want to get to 50% by 2020 and

eventually get rid of the pay gap. does that mean a lot of changes? is it realistic? 2096 we see now are women, 20% are from ethnic menorah tees. we should be the best because we are publicly funded and we are determined to be so. the director—general, tony hall, said the bbc is doing better than other broadcasters. is there any evidence? you can go through and that it annual reports, in terms of percentages, we are with channel 4 net and neck but we are better than everyone else in the industry, we have twice as many senior managers who are women, we have more ethnic minority individuals. are you going to be offering pay rise to your

female stars? we go through every person's contract every two years, and the most important thing is to have the right generation coming three. you can see that with our reporters, our presenters. we need the right people to achieve that goal. joan bakewell is saying you are not going fast enough. you could. you could give pay rises to female stars and give them the same level? we are also operating in a world where we had to make hundreds of millions of pounds of cuts. what about cutting the offers for male presenters? we have been reducing the talent bill and part of that is by people taking pay cuts. i hope people can see this as a radical goal. we are owning up to the fact

we have further to go. are you worried about lawsuits from female presenters? when you look at the facts, i don't think that justifies it, it would depend on the individuals involved. it is worth saying that it's not a rate for the job situation. people bring different things to the bbc. it's not like the civil service. therefore, people get rewards on that basis. the bbc did not want to publish this list. it was dragged into it, kicking and screaming! he says what you have done today strengthens your position. do you think that is true? it could be

inflammatory, and it would make it easier to poach talent. we have people being poached by amazon, spotify. .. the odd people being poached by amazon, spotify... the odd thing about this todayis spotify... the odd thing about this today is its focusing on our talent paid, while everything else is going up, and despite what has happened, we have bucked the trend and the tale nt we have bucked the trend and the talent cost is going down. we could have done this without naming individuals. the danger is it will make it harder for us to get talent, to make the best programmes and to reduce our costs. we will absolutely look at this to get the best bbc. why haven't licence fee payers got

the right to know that chris evans makes that kind of money? why don't they had the right to know?m makes that kind of money? why don't they had the right to know? it makes it harder for us to do ourjob and get the best programmes to them. would they rather have transparency or have us make the best programmes possible? thank you for your time. the duke and duchess of cambridge have arrived in berlin, along with their children prince george and princess charlotte. it marks the start of the second leg of their trip to europe. as part of the visit, they visited brandenberg gate and the holocaust memorial. they've also met the german chancellor, angela merkel. 0ur royal correspondent, peter hunt, reports. royal protocol doesn't register when you are george, aged three and keen to get out of warsaw. but few children are princes and the focus

ofa children are princes and the focus of a global interest. this also extends to charlotte, princess arriving in berlin. 0nly extends to charlotte, princess arriving in berlin. only two, she's navigating many firsts including red carpets and flowers. this will become routine one day. george, on the other hand, appeared more than ready to disappear from public view. without the children, william and kate went on to meet angela merkel, the german chancellor, to extend the uk government's hand of friendship at the time of the potentially, msc brexit divorce. the royals, as tourists visited berlin's symbol of unity, the brandenburg gate. however, the couple were the attraction, and not the famous tourist destination. 100 yea rs

years ago, during that war, they had to change their name from the germanic saxe—coburg—gotha to the house of windsor. how is your english? better than our german! the language barrier did not deter this young boy he wanted to show his affection. the royals wants to follow a new path while maintaining old relationships. let's get your weather now. chris,

how is it out there? there's been an inch of rain fall in the space of an hourin inch of rain fall in the space of an hour in wales where there are reports of flashflood inc. abergele and real have reported some flooding problems. rain piling in across lancashire. said adams, cumbria, a risk of flash flooding due to those storms. staying humid and warm across eastern areas. fresh and negative into northern ireland and that's a sign of things to come. there are fresh winds pushing the clouds away. in the sunshine, not feeling too bad. between 17—23dc. cloud and rain coming back into northern ireland later on. that is your weather.

millions of people will now have to work a year longer to get their state pension, as the government brings forward plans to raise the retirement age. six million will be affected by the change in 2037, that's anyone currently aged between 39 and 47. we have to face up the fact that if we live longer, we can't expect the state pension age to be static, otherwise the costs just build up and build up. i wouldn't want to work full—time until i was 68 regardless, you know. and the thought of being forced to.

some people will not be in the luxurious position of having enough cash saved. the government says the change will secure dignified, well—funded retirements. labour says the change is unfair. also on the programme. the bbc reveals the pay of its top stars, and just a third are women.