more than a quarter of a million people are in line for a payout, after the retailer brighthouse, drew up hire purchase agreements, with people who couldn't afford them. £15 million must now be paid in compensation. financial regulators said the firm wasn't acting, as a "responsible lender." they were lending money to people to buy goods at very high rates of interest. and some of those customers probably couldn't afford to pay back the loans. the financial regulator says this is a clear warning to other firms, in the so called "rent to own market". also on the programme: a briton fighting with kurdish forces in syria, against so called islamic state, has been killed. thousands more non emergency operations could be carried out every year in england, if nhs operating theatres were better organised. xijinping consolidates his control of china, as the communist party enshrines his political thinking in the ruling constitution. gina miller, the entrepreneur

who took on the government over brexit, tops the list of this year's most influential black britons. and, he's one of the most significant and influential painters of his time. a collection of portraits by the french master paul cezanne go on display this week in london. and coming up in sportsday on bbc news, 2015 snooker world champion stuart bingham will miss the uk championship and the masters after being suspended for breaching betting rules. good evening and welcome to the bbc news at six. a quarter of a million people are to get compensation from the retailer brighthouse, after financial regulators found the company wasn't acting as a "responsible lender." the firm sells household goods

like washing machines and televisions, on hire purchase agreements, paid for in weekly instalments. but some of those deals were given to people who couldn't afford them, and now the firm must pay out nearly £15 million. the financial conduct authority says its ruling is a warning to other firms in the market. emma simpson has more. sarah schober and has a lot of paperwork school buying a bird. it was a hire purchase deal from brighthouse with payments she says she has struggled to afford. —— a lot of paperwork for buying a bed. they go for people on low incomes. this difficult for people nowadays to afford these products out right and they are exploiting that. imagine owning a state—of—the—art new tv for just £11 per week. imagine owning a state—of—the—art new tv forjust £11 per week. when the actual cost is nearly £800. but here is the thing, the interest rate

is 69.9%. after three years of payments, plus fees for insurance, delivery, and installation, you would end up paying nearly £2000 to own it. it isn't the sky—high interest rates that have spooked the regulator, it is the selling of products to vulnerable people who could not afford to pay. we call that irresponsible lending. and it can lead to harm to consumers. it could even lead to bankruptcy. we decided we needed to do something about it. we worked very hard alongside brighthouse to make sure that they meet our standards for responsible lending and they do now. government confirmed today that people overwhelmed with debt could be given a six week breathing space to help get their finances back on track. with borrowing on the rise, real wages falling, and prices going

up, many are vulnerable when it comes to paying their bills.|j up, many are vulnerable when it comes to paying their bills. i am worried there isn't enough help. i am worried that there isn't enough credit that is really affordable available. it feels like there is a huge gap in the market. payday lending and other solutions all seem to be adding to the problem, not necessarily actually lifting people out of poverty. renting to own is the only way candy can afford big—ticket items, and she is a good customer. i have two televisions. i have a games console. a fridge freezer. a washing machine. sound system. i did have one but i took it back, and two beds. it helps at christmas, things for the kids. brighthouse has apologised, saying it has made significant improvements, and it would be writing to affected customers by the

end of the year to explain what compensation they argue. emma sinton, bbc news. —— they are due. as you heard there, the government is consulting on how to help people struggling with serious debt. 0ur economics editor kamal ahmed is here. individual personal debt, it is becoming a major concern within the wider economy. that's right. figures show what is called unsecured lender, that is like credit cards, personal loans, has now hit £200 billion. that's about the same level as just before the financial crisis. the reasons for that, which emma touched on in her report, arbor supply and demand of economics. supply is cheap, interest rates are low. —— are supply and demand. money is available at the swipe on a mobile phone. it seems cheap initially, as explained. the demand side, people are struggling with falling real incomes, struggling to make ends

meet. in that environment that money out there at relatively cheap interest rates seems attractive. we've heard the treasury is looking ata we've heard the treasury is looking at a scheme, which already exist in scotland, where they give people six weeks forbearance on their loans. people should be concerned about interest rates. next month the bank of england could raise interest rates. that means everybody‘s loans could become more expensive. many thanks. a british man who went to syria, to fight against so called islamic state, has been killed. jack holmes who was 2a, is thought to have died while clearing landmines in the city of raqqa. the former it worker, had first travelled to the middle east two years ago, and had been fighting with kurdish militia groups. quentin sommerville reports. todayis today is the 26th of september. syria was not his country. he wasn't a soldier. but jack holmes from

bournemouth made the battle against the so—called islamic state his own. he said the fight against is was everybody‘s war. i met him just over a month ago before raqqa fell. it was to be his last television interview. is were a threat to the world, he said. they are a barbaric, fascist, terrorist organisation. who essentially want to take over the world. if you don't comply by their rules they will kill you. you worked in it in bournemouth, why is it you will fight? originally i felt like it was something i wanted to do. —— why is it your fight. he commanded a sniper unit of foreign fighters. today his comrades in arms hailed him asa today his comrades in arms hailed him as a hero full of kindness. in the wreckage of raqqa's buildings he would sit for hours waiting for a kill. it was in these streets he

died, attempting to defuse a home—made bomb left by is. it is illegal for britons to fight inside syria, no matter which side they choose. jack holmes spent time in an iraqijail choose. jack holmes spent time in an iraqi jail cell and was then questioned by police back in britain. the fighting here is intense. while foreign volunteers have brought international coverage to the battle, the risks are enormous. many of those who join are inexperienced in warfare and around a dozen westerners have been killed since fighting began. they still need as much help as they can get. we first met jack holmes need as much help as they can get. we first metjack holmes in need as much help as they can get. we first met jack holmes in 2015. need as much help as they can get. we first metjack holmes in 2015. he underwent a transformation in syria. he said he would stay until the caliphate was defeated and then go home. he came close to seeing that but he died before the battle youth end. the foreign office again today warned people not to travel to syria. quentin sommerville, bbc news. a memorial service to remember people killed and injured in the grenfell tower fire is to be held at st paul's

cathederal in london. the event is being organised by grenfell tower survivors, and families of the bereaved. it will be held exactly 6 months after the fire — on the 14th of december, and will be broadcast on the bbc. the labour party says it's investigating the conduct of one of its mps after fresh allegations that he's made abusive comments. jared o'mara had already resigned from the parliamentary women and equalities committee for a series of homophobic and sexist remarks made more than a decade ago. but now one of his constituents is claiming he used sexist language against her seven months ago. mr o'mara denies the accusation. the eu's chief brexit negotiator, says a trade deal with the european union could take three years to complete, if talks begin in december. michel barnier however added that the discussions wouldn't be without risks, because all of the eu's national parliaments must approval any agreement. damian grammaticas is in brussels for us now. how much agreement or consensus is

there with michel barnier‘s comments? this is a clear message that the eu is all united around being sent to the uk today. michel barnier has said in response to suggestions from the uk that everything could be wrapped up in a deal or so, he said no, it would take years. to suggestions that trade talks should move on quickly now, again michel barnier said no, exit issues and the money question as to be settled first. full trade talks can only happen after 2019 when the uk leaves. from donald tusk who chaired the summit here last week, he said it is up to the uk how this now ends ina good it is up to the uk how this now ends in a good deal, no deal, or even know brexit. he suggested that before, he did it again today, suggesting the uk could ultimately decide to reverse course. thanks. more than two hours are wasted per day in every nhs operating theatre, because of inefficiencies.

that's the finding of analysis by one health watchdog. nhs improvement, looked at more than a million and a half routine surgical procedures, carried out in england last year and found that those hospitals could do 280,000 more non—emergency operations a year, with better organisation, of operating theatre schedules. on average, 140 minutes a day was lost, due to to delays, late starts and early finishes. our health editor hugh pym has the story. judy knows all about the pain and distress of a last minute cancelled operation. she spent the night in hospital without eating in preparation for surgery, but after waiting the whole of the next day, she was sent home and told she'd be given another date. i was angry that i'd not been kept informed. i felt disempowered because there was nothing i could do about it and i was also aware that because of the condition i have, i am very restricted now in what i can do until i have the surgery.

so i knew that my life was going to go back on hold. but today, judy and many other patients waiting have discovered that the nhs could be doing a lot more operations. better planning, says the health regulator, would mean more patients being treated. and here's an example of what can be done. thanks to changes proposed by surgeons and other staff, croydon university hospital increased the number of cases seen in operating theatres by 1,200 in a year. the secret, they claim, is simple. by working and starting sharply on time first thing in the morning, by changing the way that we schedule our lunch breaks, by ensuring that we finish at the end of the day and overrun if we need to, we're able to manage that extra patient on the list and fully utilise that list rather than letting it lie fallow. and that's made a huge difference to the number of patients that we've been able to get through our theatre doors. hello, just going to come and do your pre—assessment.

making sure patients are fully prepared for their surgery is a priority. they see a consultant and then have their medical checks all on the same day. croydon‘s reduced the number of cancelled operations by nearly half. we've had patients being cancelled on the day, so on the day cancellations because they're not medically fit and they still need to do more tests on them. because they were pre—assessed too close to the operation date, so now we're doing is assessing them much more earlier so then we can pick up all of the medical problems. there's a big debate going on across the nhs. it has been argued that it could make better use of resources, including operating theatres, but there have been many demands for more money to keep up with rising patient the man. senior surgeons say the real problem is making sure there are beds —— for more money to keep up with rising patient demand.

senior surgeons say the real problem is making sure there are beds for patients after they've had their operations. there's this constant backlog all the way through so that the new patient cannot get into hospital because the last patient is still in the intensive care unit and as yet, cannot get back on the ward because the ward patient cannot go home. croydon has shown that more operations can be done, but it's not clear whether other hospitals can follow or whether there are deeper—rooted problems. our top story this evening. the hire purchase firm brighthouse is to pay out almost £15 million to about a quarter of a million of its customers after financial regulators found the company hadn't been a "responsible lender". still to come: french master paul cezanne's portaits go on display. coming up on sportsday on bbc news... everton interim manager, david unsworth, says he is interested in taking the role full—time after ronald koeman was sacked yesterday. unsworth will lead the side in the league cup fourth round tomorrow. china's communist party has given

president xijinping equal status to the founder of the modern state, chairman mao. mr xi's name and political philosophy have now been written into the constitution, giving him enormous power. rivals won't be able to challenge him without threatening the communist party as a whole. our china editor, carrie gracie, now reports from beijing. "those in favour, raise your hands. and those against. none. unanimous." more than 2,000 communists and not a single vote against. so he's in the party bible. xijinping thought on socialism with chinese characteristics for a new era. it's a third chapter

for communist china. mao united the country, his successor made it rich, xi intends to make it strong. it's all a long way from the caves where he spent his teenage years as a farmer. xijinping had been born into the communist elite, but sent to the countr side when mao purged his father. that was then, this is now. china on the up and xi promising quality of life at home and superpower status abroad. translation: we want our lives to get better and we want a strong country. translation: xi jinping is very tough. compared to other leaders, he's great. xi believes in control — the party's control of the public, his own control of the party and a campaign of fear

to silence rivals. xijinping has acquired more authority and more power and the chinese communist party has taken a step away from collective leadership and towards a one—man rule by a very charismatic and powerful leader. for centuries, china's emperors ruled from behind the walls of the forbidden city. by enshrining his vision, xi hopes to make himself invulnerable. the chinese once called chairman mao "the great helmsman" and foreigners called him "the red emperor", one man who dictated the destinies of more than a billion people. now, china has a new red emperor in xijinping and his party are already called him the helmsman and the saviour of socialism. mao's one—man rule brought only china misery, but this time is different. if xi fails, we're all the poorer

and if he succeeds, his drive for control will reach us all. carrie gracie, bbc news, beijing. northern ireland's strict abortion laws are being challenged in the uk's highest court. abortions there are only allowed where the mother's life or health is in serious danger. among those supporting a change are the campaigner sarah ewart, who you can see here wearing a red jumper. she had to travel to england for a termination after doctors found her unborn child wouldn't survive outside of the womb. chris buckler is in belfast. the debate on abortion laws have been long and emotive? yes, that is certainly true. there may be no government at stormont at the moment because of political disputes. when there was a power—sharing executive they couldn't agree on changes to

northern ireland's abortion laws. campaigners have ta kenlet legal challenge to the supreme court to force change they want women here to have the right to an abortion not just in cases where their life in danger, but where they have been the victims of rape or incest or where their baby will not survive beyond childbirth. this is an emotive subject though. emotive language was used in court today aqc for the northern ireland human rights commission say the laws subject vulnerable women and girls to inhuman and degrading treatment. there are others who strongly disagree and strongly oppose changes including rerig riggious organisations and northern ireland's attorney general they will give submissions to the court over the next two—days of hearings. submissions to the court over the next two-days of hearings. chris buckler there in belfast. let's take a look at some of the day's other top stories: a court has heard how an army fitness instructor accused of attempting to murder his wife caused a gas leak at their home. emile cilliers is also on trial

of trying to kill his wife by sabotaging her parachute. he denies the charges. the trial of a man accused of murdering his adopted daugher has been told she could have been at "high risk" of the bone disease rickets and had "classic signs" of vitamin b deficiency. —— vitamin d. 31—year—old matthew scully—hicks denies inflicting catastrophic injuries on 18—month—old elsie at their cardiff home. elsie died in hospital in may last year. the case continues. police in south lanarkshire say a 36—year—old man has been arrested after armed officers were called to reports that he had barricaded himself inside a house with a crossbow. he was detained shortly after a fire began in the property in blantyre. a woman was also inside the home. this year's list of the 100 most influential black britons has been published. at number one on the powerlist 2018 is gina miller, the entrepreneur who took on the government to give parliament a vote on whether the uk could start the brexit process. elaine dunkley has been to speak to her. like the eu referendum, gene ma

miller divides opinion. among the thank you cards there is hate—mail. these i brought you was because they we re these i brought you was because they were some of the emails. today she received an award hailing her britain most influential black person. you life has changed beyond all recognition. what were the moments when you thought — this is unreal, in a good and bad way? the whole thing has been pretty unreal. when i brought the case i'd already been a campaigner for nearly a decade. i was used to battling against institutions and mind sets that might have been quite fixed. i didn't appreciate that it would become so emotional and that people weren't really listening to what i had to say. it actually became more about branding me as this woman who had no right to speak up. how dare i. that kept going over and over again. how dare i, as a woman of colour. how dare i, you know, speak

up colour. how dare i, you know, speak up to colour. how dare i, you know, speak uptoa colour. how dare i, you know, speak up to a country. i'm supposed to be grateful. that's what i didn't expect. how did you coal cope with the abuse? it's worried me. people think i'm fearless. i'm actually very fearful. there are two levels, there is calling names and all of that. that is completely different. when it's saying that i should be beheaded or my children's throats cut or i should have acid thrown. when it's to my children, that takes ona when it's to my children, that takes on a whole different level. it's thrown into question everything i thought i believed of the society i lived in. but it's also shown me that i've got to fight. today you've topped the poll as the most influential back person in britain. how does that feel? daunting because i don't ever do anything because i wa nt i don't ever do anything because i want people — i tent tend to do something and move on to the next thing. i don't dwell on it or do it for any sort of accolade. as a woman of colour i can stand up, have a voice, have a conscious and use it. some people will say — you wouldn't be able to have a list that celebrates

white achievements without it being deemed as racist, how doo—doo you feel about that? what is important about this is about role models. we're not making enrodes. equality is not happening in the way we thought it was happening. the people with responsibility on this list today have to speak up and show that it's ok to be yourself and succeed because that's important. you have to be who you are. you can't pretend to be who you are. you can't pretend to be who you are. you can't pretend to be something different. it's ok to be something different. it's ok to be something different. it's ok to be who you are because it will make you a success, not in spite of it. gina miller speaking there to elaine dunkley. he's one of the most important figures of 19th century painting, who's revolutionary approach has influenced successive generations of artists. now a major exhibition of paul cezanne's portraits, some never seen before here in the uk, is to go on show at the national portrait gallery in london. our arts editor, will gompertz, has been to see them. a portrait of an artist as a young man. paul cezanne's early selfie,

painted in his 20s, when he was still learning to look like no other artist. he would paint himself throughout his career, making breakthroughs in technique and tone each time. until this final self—portrait when the artist picasso called "the father of us all", revealed a lifetime's knowledge and skill in a single image. cezanne's portraits were radical when he painted them in the second—half of the 19th century and they still feel radical today. not for him idealised versions of the rich and famous and the great and the good, he just wanted to paint ordinary people, in really ordinary settings and thereby create something extraordinary. even though he doesn't seek to represent expressed emotion, obviously his interest in character, and i think he really wanted that sense of the peoplenesses of people regardless of social status, regardless of anything. i mean, when you look back in the history of portraiture, who has done that before,

and you end up with rembrandt. are there pictures in this exhibition, john, where we see cezanne the artist ta ke lea ps forward ? the first big thing is very early, in the mid 1860s, where he makes paintings entirely with a palette knife. portraits had never been painted in that way before. the next big step is in the middle of the ‘70s where, after having worked with impressionists, colour blooms in his pictures. then by the ‘80s, volume is very present with regular hatch brush strokes. and then in the ‘90s, all these different currents really start to come together. cezanne was famously grumpy. sitters could be reprimanded for the slightest fidget. "does an apple move", he'd snap, even though it might have been the 150th session they'd attended for a single portrait. it is fair to say, cezanne was something else.

will gompertz, bbc news. time for a look at the weather, here's chris fawkes. i will put you in the picture of what the weather is up to. mild south—westerly winds bringing air that came from spain to southern parts of the uk. that is why it's been so mild mild today. across central areas of the uk we had a weather front that has brought a strip of thicker cloud and outbreaks of rain as well. to the north of our front we had south—westerly winds. if you trace back where the air has been coming from, it's been coming from closer to iceland. doing a lap around the north atlantic. the south—westerly winds are with us there are temperature contrasts either side of the front. 20 degrees to southern and eastern parts of england, 12 degrees in contrast to parts of scotland today. the temperature contrasts powers weather fronts. we have one of those overnight that will bring bursts of heavier rain to wales, northern england and scotland for a time. the

rain will ease to blustery showers later on. across the south of england low cloud, fog patches around as well. for many of us temperatures stay into double figures. very, very mild night for this late on in october. tomorrow the weather front will work into southern counties of england. a lot of low cloud, fog to start the day over the hills. staying murky in the south west with spots of drizzle on and off. elsewhere across the uk, brighter weather prospects for most with sunny spells. in the sunshine thatis with sunny spells. in the sunshine that is where the cooler, fresher air is. temperatures 13—15 degrees. thursday, dense fog around as we go on through the morning to england and wales. brighter skies will filter their way southwards. a big change in the weather coming up friday and the weekend. high pressure builds to the west of the british isles. what that does is it changes the wind direction. we start to get a north—westerly wind blowing weather fronts out of the way. the cloud will break up. we will see sunshine and the temperatures will ta ke sunshine and the temperatures will take a tumble. it's been 20 degrees

in london today. through friday and the weekend highs of 15 degrees, a drop of five celsius. the temperatures are normal for the time of year. clive. 0k. many thanks. a reminder of our main story: the hire purchase firm brighthouse is to pay out almost £15 million to about 250,000 of its customers after financial regulators found the company hadn't been a "responsible lender." that's it. so it's goodbye from me and now on bbc one let's join our news teams where you are. have a very good evening. and that's made a huge difference to the number of patients we've been able to get through our theatre doors. this is bbc news. the headlines. the outcome of brexit negotiations is "up to london" according to the european council president donald tusk.

he said that the uk would determine whether the outcome would be a "good deal, no deal or no brexit". the labour party has announced its starting an investigation into its mpjared o'mara, following allegations he made sexist and homophobic comments. the rent—to—own retailer brighthouse has been told to pay almost £15 million to customers, after the financial regulator concluded the company had acted as an irresponsible lender. a british man who spent the past two years fighting against the islamic state group has been killed in northern syria. xijinping consolidates his control of china, as the communist party enshrines his name and ideology into its constitution. in the last few minutes, the us president was met with calls saying "trump is treason" along with

leaflets thrown showing the russian