a pay rise for police and prison officers as the government begins to relax the public sector pay cap. police officers in england and wales — and prison officers will be among the first to see their salaries rise after years of public pay restraint. as unions are calling for the pay freeze to be scrapped for all public sector workers. the motion we agreed yesterday was unanimous and that reflected every part of the public sector, at all levels of work. we'll have the latest from westminster. also this lunchtime. casualty. the cost of living climbs as inflation reaches its highest as they go head—to—head on the royal shakespeare company casualty. and fuel prices. the foreign secretary, borisjohnson, flies to the caribbean amid criticism of britain's response to hurricane irma. almost 400,000 rohingya muslims flee the violence in myanmar — bangladesh's prime minister calls for safe zones to allow

them to return home. i'm live in bangladesh near the border with myanmar, where hundreds of thousands of refugees have come. sir peter hall, one of the most influentialfigures in british theatre, has died at the age of 86. tunnelling under the stones. a plan to ease traffic congestion around stonehenge is given the go—ahead. coming up in the sport later in the hour on bbc news, we'll look ahead to tonight's champions league matches, including celtic‘s task against the world's most expensive player. good afternoon and welcome to the bbc news at one.

for the first time, the government has lifted its pay cap for some for the first time in seven years, the government is partially lifting its pay cap for some public sector workers. prison officers and police in england and wales will see increases over and above the 1% freeze which has been in force since 2013. police will get a bonus on top of their salary award. unions argue that a lifting of the cap for all public sector workers is long overdue, given current levels of inflation, which today hit 2.9%. more on inflation later, but first this report from our political correspondent iain watson at the tuc conference in brighton. police and prison officers are vital parts of the criminaljustice system. , has just parts of the criminaljustice system. , hasjustannounced parts of the criminaljustice system. , hasjust announced that they are getting a pay increase. the

public service unions see themselves as the victims of an injustice, a pay wages for seven years. the government is making a big mistake in thinking it can get away with just lifting the cap. people have waited seven long years. they have had real pay cuts to the tune of thousands of pounds, firefighters, midwives, people across the public services, and they want to make up the ground that they have lost. usually, pay review bodies stick to government advice and do not recommend increases above 1%. but now it has been said that the government should reach its own cap this year. the government has accepted a recommendation to increase the salaries of most police officers by 1% across—the—board followed by a further 1% as a bonus, paid forfrom police reserve budgets. prison officers will get 1.796. budgets. prison officers will get 1.7%. it's simply not budgets. prison officers will get 1.796. it's simply not good enough. anything under the rate of

inflation, which is currently 2.90%, isa inflation, which is currently 2.90%, is a cut in pay for my members, let's be clear about that. so, it's not good enough. and, is advising pay review bodies next year to give some flexibility to the pay cap in parts of the public service which are suffering from skills shortages. the government will hope that easing the pay cap will notjust help with recruitment and retention in the public sector. they will hope it will also ease a sense of frustration amongst the big service workers about falling living standards. but some unions say any increase beneath inflation means there's still a case for strike action. we will carry on balloting out action. we will carry on balloting our members and talking to other unions who will hopefully do the same, so that we can stand united, whether url cleaner, benefit worker ora whether url cleaner, benefit worker or a teacher, we all deserve pay rises. and the labour shadow chancellor shed he would back strikes if that was what was

decided. editor norman smith. the details of this are just becoming clear — explain what it means and what it will mean for other public sector workers? there's no doubt symbolically, this is a big political moment, because the two—year pay freeze and the five—year pay cap was the backbone of the government's austerity agenda. similarly, it reflects how mrs may has had to respond to the dismal election, to listen to voters and take on board that sense of austerity fatigue. but when you get into the details, there is going to be huge controversy. first of all, this announcement only applies to police and prison officers. trade unions are saying it should apply across—the—board to all public sector workers. secondary, the announcement today of an increase of 1.796 announcement today of an increase of 1.7% for prison officers and 1%

increase was a 1% bonus for others come is still well below the rate of inflation and already the prison 0fficers' inflation and already the prison officers' association says it is an effective pay cut. and on top of all that, the money for this is not new money, it seems it is going to come from within existing police and project budgets, so the row over public sector pay seems likely to rumble on, with all the signs that the trade unions are preparing for a co—ordinated campaign of industrial action if they do not see rises above the rate of inflation, with some demanding rises of up to 5%. inflation has hit its highest rate for five years, boosted by rising clothing and fuel prices, putting more pressure on the household budget. figures from the office for national statistics show the consumer price index was 2.9%, higher than predicted. the news led to a sharp rise in the pound. here's our economics correspondent andy verity. with every month, the average wage

buys less of this. for most of the last ten years, food prices kept on dropping, as did the price of many imported goods. but then the pound dropped in value. firms like this ca ke dropped in value. firms like this cake shop now have to spend more pounds to get the dollars or euros they need to get the supplies from abroad. and now, those cost rises are feeding through. big increase in the price of utter, which has gone up the price of utter, which has gone upi the price of utter, which has gone up i 100% over the last 12 months and a big increase in the price of sugar which has gone up by a0%. for us sugar which has gone up by a0%. for us it will definitely not be changing the ingredients or downsizing the size of portions and things like that — so we have put oui’ things like that — so we have put our prices up by about 10% over the last year, which has helped. we've obviously look at our suppliers and done a lot of work to reduce the costs they‘ re done a lot of work to reduce the costs they're passing on to us. companies with rising costs face a dilemma, especially in a competitive

industry like food. raise prices too much and customers might go elsewhere. raise them to little, and those higher costs will start eating into whatever profit you hope to make. at 2.90%, inflation returned toa make. at 2.90%, inflation returned to a four—year high which was first hit last may. among the pressures on the cost of living was petrol, up 5.196, the cost of living was petrol, up 5.1%, and clothing, which also rose by 5.1%. in the city, traders had not expected the cost of living to rise quite this fast. now, the prediction is that interest rates might arise from their record low as $0011 might arise from their record low as soon as possible. that pushed up the value of the pound this morning i nearly sent against the dollar. but some economists still think there is no need to raise rates any time soon. the bank of england has a difficult decision to make on this, because inflation is rising well above wage growth, and that means that household incomes are being squeezed. we think that they will probably keep interest rates unchanged for another couple of

yea rs. unchanged for another couple of years. weather for luxuries or essentials, prices on average continue to rise faster than the average wage. but for now, most of the interest rate setters at the bank of england are sticking to their belief that this latest bout of inflation and the squeeze on living standards hasn't temporarily. the foreign secretary, boris johnson, is heading to the british virgin islands today to see for himself the damage wreaked by hurricane irma at the weekend. the government has been criticised for being slow in its response to the disaster. 700 british troops and 50 police officers have been deployed, and more aid supplies are on their way. hurricane irma, the strongest ever recorded in the atlantic ocean, is now petering out as it passes over the american state of georgia. richard lister reports. a tropical paradise reduced to rubble. this is tortola — the largest of the british virgin islands and the most heavily populated. just imagine trying to live here now. there are 1a other inhabited islands

in the bvi just like this. the people here are british citizens and they are looking to the uk for help. and britain is helping. at raf brize norton, giant transport aircraft have been loaded with hundreds of tonnes of aid for the region. they are taking emergency supplies as well as timber and building equipment. there have been eight such flights in the past few days, and the government rejects criticism that its response has been too slow. we responded very quickly. we had a ship there already, not by chance, we always put a ship into the region for the hurricane season. that ship has been helping since thursday in anguilla and the british virgin islands. we have 900 troops out there now. we have three helicopters out there. the aid effort is under way. hms 0cean sets off from gibraltar today with a crew of 700 who specialise in disaster relief. they won't arrive in the caribbean until late next week, but they'll be

part of what the british government says will be a long—term reconstruction effort. we're just determined to get on scene as quick as we can and maximise the support, because it's notjust about the here and now, this is going to be a long recovery operation and we'll be very well—placed to assist with that reconstruction. the building materials that i've got on board, the timber, will go a long way to assisting in the recovery. the scale of this disaster will be something the foreign secretary, borisjohnson, will see for himself over the next few days when he arrives in the region. 0n tortola, he'll find long lines of people trying to get food and water. and a sense of growing panic about what the future holds. several of the worst—hit caribbean countries are french, and president macron arrived in guadeloupe to see what more was needed. his government has asked for british help with the aid effort. on st martin, mr macron's

next stop, the slow and dirty work of the clean—up continues. the islanders here have been doing this for days. not everyone has the means to clear up, says wilfred. i'm lucky to have gloves but there are many who don't. in florida, the recovery is going to cost tens of billions of dollars. this is 0rlando — at least 5 billion people are still without power in florida. many have been returning to ruined homes. the florida keys, an island chain in the south, were worst hit and are still cut off. irma didn't discriminate as it barrelled through a vast swathe of territory, taking homes, property and livelihoods of anyone in its path. richard lister, bbc news. almost 400,000 people have now fled across the borderfrom myanmar to bangladesh since an upsurge in violence at the end of august. the prime minister of bangladesh has visited one of the refugee camps set up for the rohingya muslims who've

poured into his country seeking shelter. sheikh hasina has called on myanamar to take the refugees back — saying they were their people. the un is holding an urgent meeting tomorrow to discuss the crisis. reeta chakrabati is at one of the refugee camps for us now. well, it's nearly three weeks since this crisis began, and the conditions in which nearly 400,000 people are living remains pitiful. i don't know how much you can see behind me, but in a sense, the people who are just behind me are relatively lucky. they have the money and means to buy themselves some tarpaulin and make themselves a basic shelter. you see other people sitting on bin bags by the side of the road was increased ending under the road was increased ending under the trees in the forest. perhaps they have no money at all, perhaps they're too dazed to build something for themselves. into this misery today came the bangladeshi prime

minister, sheikh hasina, to see for herself the conditions on the ground, and she was openly critical of the myanmar government. justin rowlatt reports. this woman is nine months pregnant. she is expecting any day. but this is where she is living, with 15 other family members and is almost certainly where she will have to give birth. translation: i am worried. there is no help. nobody is getting any food. here there is no rice, no vegetables, nothing. iam starving. she hiked the seven days through hills and jungle to get here, after her village was burned to the ground. we've seen her and her family moved on by the authorities. and driven off the land by fellow refugees. many nights, she has had to sleep under the skies despite the monsoon rain. now, her baby is sick.

and her husband has jaundice. and tens of thousands of other refugees are, like her, living in these filthy makeshift cities that are mushrooming on the muddy hilltops here. they arrive bewildered. if they want a plastic sheet or bamboo to make a shelter, they pat’- they often have to fight just to get food. these guys are well—meaning bangladeshisjust trying to help out. butjust look how chaotic this is. and it is so demeaning for these people to have to beg for food. there is growing criticism of the way bangladesh is handling this crisis. we have to give them shelter so that they can live and they can get some food and medication. all the big international aid bodies and

agencies are here, but the government has put restrictions on what they can do and where they can work. we are doing the best we can with the government. there needs to be more coordination. we need to sit together and plan better. we need to mobilise support. itjust seems as if it's not being organised. there's no kind of organisation here. the airlifts are coming in. we're bringing tents, relief items. what needs to happen next is for us to work closer together, to make sure that the land is allocated, temporary shelter is provided, so things can be a little more organised. and that is what we are discussing with the government, to see how we can provide assistance, notjust unhcr, but other agencies, provide assistance in an equitable way. and while that discussion takes place, just look at this. refugees sit amongst a litter of unwanted clothes. they've been given out

of generosity, but what these people really need is nutritious food. fresh water, sanitation. somewhere clean to live and to sleep. roshida needs medical care and a safe, clean place to have her baby. what she, what all the refugees need, is a home. justin rowlatt, bbc news. iamjoined i am joined now by a representative of the international organisation for migration, a un body. a lot of criticism of the aid operation — how do you answer that? this is an unprecedented situation. nearly 400,000 people have come

across in 17 days since august 25. the contingency plans were for a far smaller number of people over a much longer period and so now when you see these aid agencies kicking in their supply lines and sending in people and the coordination taking place, which will result in more aid being distributed. thank you very much. we have to leave it there. it is hoped that with more aid coming m, is hoped that with more aid coming in, coordination will improve and the aid will get to the people that need it most. it is also hoped that with the visit of the prime minister there will now be a new political will to acknowledge that, whether they like it or not, bangladesh has to help the hundreds of thousands of people who are here. reeta, thank you. our top story this lunchtime... a pay rise for police and prison officers in england and wales as the government begins to relax the public sector pay cap. and still to come...

after decades of debate plans have finally been approved for a road tunnel to ease congestion around stonehenge. and coming up in sport in the next 15 minutes on bbc news... a court appearance for the northern ireland manager michael 0'neill after his arrest in connection with drink—driving. one of the greatest names in british theatre, sir peter hall, has died at the age of 86. he founded the royal shakespeare company at the age of 29 and went on to become the director of the national theatre. 0ur correspondent nick higham looks back at the life of the man who's described as a "colossus". i think she wants to be that side of the camera. give me a stage and three actors and a text and i have the confidence to know instinctively what should be done. he started as britain's most talented young director, charismatic and adventurous. samuel beckett's waiting

for godot was a theatrical bombshell — atjust 24, peter hall directed the uk premiere. at stratford, aged 29, he created the royal shakespeare company. not bad for the working—class son of a railwayman. we are not going to read the play — embarrass each other and ourselves. the rsc was a company of international standard which attracted the very best actors. peggy ashcroft was one, here in an early hall triumph — a reworking of shakespeare's henry vi plays as the wars of the roses. sir peter was a visionary. he was a colossus, striding the world of the british theatre. in a way it would be iniquitous to pick out any individual production. i think his greatest legacy must be the company he formed, the royal shakespeare company. but the wunderkind suffered a nervous breakdown and quit. only to re—emerge as laurence

0livier‘s successor as director of the new national theatre being built on london's southbank. he revelled in his new role. it is a very, very complex, very stimulating job because it is both concerned with management and with art. he combined creative flair with a phenomenal workrate, administrative skill and formidable powers of persuasion. ah, yes. he transferred national productions like amadeus to the commercial stage, and later formed his own company to direct classics and new plays in london, bath and on tour. he loved opera too, and for six years was artistic director at glyndebourne, where he demonstrated that an opera's director can be as important as its conductor. and he also made films like this

nostalgic portrait of rural life in a suffolk village like the one he'd grown up in. he gets to here, somewhere — he trips. you will appreciate we can only do it once. it was shot mainly at weekends, using amateur actors. it was the work of a fine director and talented impresario, who ended his career as the grand old man of british theatre. i'm joined now from london's southbank by the current director of the national theatre, rufus norris. thank you forjoining us. he really was a towering figure, notjust in british theatre but in the arts. he was. there was simply nobody like him. an incredible man and an absolutely astonishing legacy. aside from all his ground—breaking work as

a director and producer, founding the rsc when he was in his 20s, which is an outrageously confident thing to do. he was a wonderful and fervent pioneerfor the thing to do. he was a wonderful and fervent pioneer for the arts, all of the arts, and particularly for state funding of the arts, and in terms of this organisation, the national theatre, it is just impossible to measure his contribution. he oversaw the movement to our permanent home here, he effectively built the ground that i'm standing on now. i think we all stand on the shoulders of giants and peter's shoulders really supported much of what we now know to be british theatre. i think once in every two generations, somebody of his stature comes along in this industry. we are hugely fortu nate to in this industry. we are hugely fortunate to have his dynamic and brilliant example. you talk of confidence. he had such energy and determination. he was the man who really breathed new life back into the national in the 19705, warranty?

he did. he was in charge of this place 1973 to 1988 and if you look at the problems he had building this place, it wasn't very popular when it was first built and there were all kinds of issues on all kinds of levels. many people didn't want it to happen and never thought it would. his ab5olute willpower and indomitable spirit have brought it up indomitable spirit have brought it up from the ground up. an extraordinary man. thank you very much forjoining u5. and there'll be a special tribute to sir peter hall at nine o'clock tonight on bbc four. 28—year—old man is being questioned following the death of a woman in dorset. 25—year—old louella eve fletcher—michie was discovered in a wooded area at the bestival site on monday. she is the daughter of holby city and taggart actorjohn michie. police say the man, who was arrested on suspicion of murder, police say the man was arrested on

5u5picion police say the man was arrested on suspicion of murder and supplying class a drug. three men, including two british soldiers, have appeared in court in london charged with terror offences. they are all accused of membership of the banned neo—nazi group national action. the men, aged between 22 and 32, were allegedly all members of a chat group exchanging racist messages, including plans for a white—only britain and a race war. our home affairs correspondent tom symonds reports. alexander deakin. he's 22 and from birmingham. police believe he is a leading member of a neo—nazi group, actively involved in recruiting other members. next to him in the dock at this morning's hearing, two members of the armed forces. lance corporal mikko vehvilainen is 32. he was arrested in paris. —— powys. and private mark barrett, 24, was detained in cyprus, where he is based. as the charges were read to alexander deakin, he said, "i am a prisoner of conscience and i believe i am innocent of these charges". this is the group they're all said to be members of.

national action protested openly last year in york. its nazi inspiration clear to see. the government banned it in december, making membership of the group an offence. the prosecution says the three defendants are all still active members. but two of the men are facing further charges. mr deakin and mr vehvilainen are accused of possessing computer files likely to be of use in terrorism. and mr vehvilainen of inciting racial hatred by posting on an extremist website. it is thought the men communicated using messaging apps. the royal anglian regiment, based here in lincolnshire, has been working closely with the police on the investigation, which continues. tom symonds, bbc news, at westminster magistrates' court. it has been the source of much debate for decades — how to solve the traffic problems on the major road from london to the west country that passes right by the ancient stone circle stonehenge.

dozens of schemes have been put forward and then rejected. but now the government has finally approved plans to dig a road tunnel near the monument in wiltshire to ease congestion on the a303. but critics are concerned it will damage the archaeology of the site and the wider environment. 0ur correspondent duncan kennedy is there. you are absolutely right. this is a debate that has literally gone on for three decades. it has been the problem of how you get those beautiful stones to live alongside this, the a303. 25,000 cars a day use it. the government's plan, announced today, is to move that road back 50 metres and put two miles of it into a tunnel. it has the support of a lot of heritage groups but there are still some who say this is not yet the perfect solution. from the thunderous blight of this... to the wondrous sight of this. the a303 and stonehenge have long been unhappy partners in this world heritage landscape.

but now there is this. the government's plan to put 1.8 miles of the a303 into a tunnel as it passes the stones. the £1.6 billion project has the support of english heritage and the national trust. but even for them it is a qualified welcome for today's news — so delicate of the archaeological challenges of protecting this unique site. we believe this is a solution that's got real potential to benefit the world heritage site. we will support this scheme as long as and subject to it being designed and delivered in a way that does protect it. proposals for a tunnel past stonehenge were first announced in 1989, but were repeatedly dropped because of rows about the cost and the route. if you stand by the stones you're interested in looking at the stones. and there are still many who fear the new tunnel option may protect stonehenge but not the surrounding countryside —

also rich in neolithic remains. the tunnel will take the road away from the central part of the world heritage site. but as unesco points out, the whole site is important, and for its archaeology. the tunnel cuttings will destroy archaeology. around 25,000 vehicles use the a303 every day. having road next to ruins has been a dilemma — not quite 5000 years in the making — but one that now has a firm if controversial solution in sight. there is another year or so of consultation to go so we are not quite there yet but if this government scheme does get the go—ahead, digging could start around 2020 and that tunnel and the rest of the road infrastructure could be in place by 2026. thank you. a pilot in the us has had a lucky escape after his plane clipped

a tree and crashed into a car park. it happened in connecticut. the 79—year—old pilot was taken to hospital with only minor injuries. local media reports suggest his aircraft suffered a fuel leak which caused it to lose power. let's have a look at the weather with alina jenkins. tabular weather to come over the next 24 hours. some spells of sunshine and fewer showers than yesterday and a very pleasant afternoon across parts of east anglia but changes are already taking place. the cloud is gathering and winds are strengthening this evening. it is all associated with this bank of cloud, which the met 0ffice have named as the first storm of the season, aileen. but ahead of it, for some, some sunshine through the afternoon, showers across western areas and the rain will be gathering across