tonight at ten. china's president xijinping becomes the country's most powerful leaderfor a generation. his name and political philosophy have been added to the communist party's constitution, an honour only given to two previous leaders. china has a new red emperor in xijinping and his party comrades are already calling him the helmsman and the saviour of socialism. so what does mr xi's consolidation of power mean for china, and the west? also tonight. the retailer brighthouse is to pay out nearly £15 million in compensation to customers who'd signed hire purchase deals they couldn't afford. a briton who went to syria to fight against the so—called islamic state has been killed. there's trouble on the streets of kenya ahead of a court ruling on whether this week's rerun of the presidential election will go ahead. and gina miller, who took

on the government over brexit, is named the most influential black briton of the year. it's ok to be who you are because it will make you a success, not in spite of it. and coming up on sportsday on bbc news. jesse lingard's on song for manchester united. we'll tell you if they reached the quarterfinals on a big night of league cup action. good evening. president xijinping has consolidated his position at the top of chinese politics, becoming the nation's most powerful leaderfor a generation. his name and his political philosophy, summarised as "socialism with chinese characteristics", have now been added to

the communist party's constitution, a rare honour only given to two other former leaders, chairman mao and deng xiao ping. the announcement came on the final day of the 19th party congress in beijing, and could see the president remain in power beyond the end of his second and supposedly final five—year term in 2022. rivals now won't be able to challenge him without threatening the communist party itself. from beijing, here's our china editor, carrie gracie. translation: 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 countryside 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 comrades are already calling 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. so xijinping has so xi jinping has total control and will we now see a leader who will basically carry on at the top for as long as he likes? so chinese politics is so secretive, clive, that it politics is so secretive, clive, thatitis politics is so secretive, clive, that it is very hard to say for sure. but this will certainly become clear in the next few hours because this political drama in the chinese capital as a last seen to play which is the election of the very top leadership of the party, or i should say, selection because every election in the chinese communist

party co m es election in the chinese communist party comes with a silent s on the front. the focus has been on xi jinping over the past week but what we would normally see if the emergence of a leader in waiting, a man in his mid—50s who would be expected to take over from xi jinping infive expected to take over from xi jinping in five years' time. we don't know whether that will happen and the smart money says it won't. that matters because of course, authoritarian regimes, especially the chinese codina ‘s party, have difficulty with smooth handover of power. —— chinese communist party. after chairman mao's death, they tried to put in rules to handle that and if xijinping bins those rules, the question will be, how long does he intend to go on? not since chairman mao has the fate of china rested so heavily on one man. thank you forjoining us. carrie gracie live in beijing. 250,000 people are to get compensation from the retailer brighthouse, after the financial regulator found the company wasn't acting as a "responsible lender." the firm sells household goods

on a rent—to—own basis, but some of the agreements were drawn up with customers who couldn't afford the terms. emma simpson reports. sasha rhodes has a lot of paperwork for buying a bed. it was a hire purchase dealfrom brighthouse, with payments she said she struggled to afford. they really are exploiting the vulnerable people on low incomes. it is really difficult for people nowadays to be able to afford these products outright and they are exploiting that. so how does it work? imagine owning a state—of—the—art new tv forjust £11 per week, when the actual cost is nearly £800. but here's the thing, the interest rate is 69.9%. after three years of payments, plus fees for insurance, delivery and installation, you'd end up paying nearly £2000 to own it. it's not the sky—high interest rates that have spooked the regulator.

it is the selling of products to vulnerable people that couldn't afford to pay. we call that irresponsible lending and it can lead to harm to consumers. it could even lead to bankruptcy. so we decided we needed to do something about it and we worked very hard alongside brighthouse to make sure that they meet our standards for responsible lending and they do now. there's loads of deals. this former deputy branch managerfrom york left because she did not accept the way the company did business. sometimes you can actually clearly see that these people couldn't afford it but we would lend to them. people would walk into my store to pay and clearly couldn't afford it or they would say they couldn't pay and then, you know, we would be sending people round to get the money from them. for candy, though, renting to own is the only way she can afford big—ticket items. she is a good customer. i've got a telly, two tellies,

an xbox, a fridge freezer, a washing machine. a sound system. i did have a sound system but i took that back, and two beds. it helps me on things for christmas, 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 are due. emma simpson, bbc news. 0ur economics editor kamal ahmed is here. following on from the brighthouse controversy, high and still rising levels of personal debt are becoming a real concern for the wider economy and the government. absolutely right, if we look at the actual amount of unsecured debts like personal loans and credit cards that people are carrying, it is at the level of £200 billion which is about

the same as it was just before the financial crisis. this is the economics of supply and demand. 0n the supply side, beyond companies like brighthouse where it is very expensive, credit more generally is very cheap and interest rates, as we know, are at historic low levels. it is also easy to get credit, just a swipe on your mobile phone on a app and you can borrow money so the supply side is very strong and demand is also strong. we have spoken many times about real income falling, high inflation, people struggling to make ends meet so they cover those issues with borrowing. that is increasing the personal borrowing. the fca is clamping down as we have seen borrowing. the fca is clamping down as we have seen an borrowing. the fca is clamping down as we have seen an brighthouse and expect more action on credit cards as well. the treasury is well this morning announced a scheme very similarto morning announced a scheme very similar to scotland, where they will look at giving people six weeks grace if they are struggling under debt which could help as well but i think one thing for people to keep in mind is that this benign interest rate environment will not last

forever. as soon rate environment will not last forever. as 50011 as rate environment will not last forever. as soon as next month, the bank of england could start raising interest rates which means all of those personal loans could become more expensive. thank you for joining us. , ahmed, though. —— kamal ahmed, there. 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. today is the 26th september and daesh attacked behind our lines in raqqa. syria wasn't his country and 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 everyone'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 and, if you don't comply by their rules, they will kill you. you worked in it, right, in bournemouth? yeah, a long time ago. yeah, a long time ago now, but why is that your fight? 0riginally, ijust feel like it was something that i wanted to do, i had to do it and i knew i could do it, which i think a lot of people can't. he commanded a sniper unit of foreign fighters. 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. and it was in these streets that he died, attempting to defuse a homemade bomb left by is. britons are discouraged from fighting in syria and could face prosecution, no matter which side they choose. jack holmes spent time in an iraqi jail cell and was then questioned by police back in britain. the fighting here is intense

and while foreign volunteers brought international publicity to the battle, the risks are enormous. many of these who joined were inexperienced in warfare, around a dozen westerners have been killed since fighting began. the foreign office again today warned people not to travel to syria and said those who do put themselves in considerable danger. the fight‘s still going on and they still need as much help as they can get. we first met jack 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 it, but he died before the battle's end. quentin sommerville, bbc news. the labour party says it's investigating the conduct of the mpjared 0'mara, who's already had to apologise for homophobic and misogynist remarks he made more than a decade ago. he's now being accused of using offensive language to a constituent earlier this year. he denies the allegation.

northern ireland's strict abortion laws are being challenged in the uk's highest court. the procedure is only allowed where the mother's life or health is in serious danger. among those supporting the change are the campaigner sarah ewart, seen here in a red jumper. she had to travel to england for a termination after doctors found her unborn child wouldn't have survived outside of the womb. a us republican senator says he won't seek re—election, delivering a fierce attack on president trump. jeff flake claims "reckless, outrageous and undignified behaviour" at the top of us government is endangering democracy. mr trump has previously called mr flake "toxic." 0ur north america editorjon sopel is in washington. i think politics has suddenly become

a lot more complicated for donald trump. you know, what limited leveraged the white house had over this particular senator is now gone. he can speak his mind and you gave a little taste of it there. we are used to politicians talking in code. this does not need to go into google translate. he says, "the flagrant disregard the truth of decency by the president, the reckless provocations, most often for the most petty and personal reasons". he's not alone. another republican senate that today who is standing down, bob caulker, said the president seems incapable of telling the truth. why does any of this matter? well, the republicans have the most narrow majority in the senate, 52—48 democrats. we have had these two standing down and speaking out against the president. 0thers are unhappy. it may not be a wholesale stampede against donald trump but it does not really need to be and today might come to be seen as the day when donald trump lost

his majority in the senate and his ability to get legislation passed. john, many thanks. kenya is facing a last minute legal challenge to see if a presidential election re—run on thursday can go ahead. president uhuru kenyatta won the vote in august, but that was annulled by the supreme court, which said there were irregularities in the electoral process. his supporters want the new vote to go ahead. but the opposition led by raila 0dinga, which has its stronghold in the west of the country, claims the vote won't be fair and shouldn't go ahead. 0ur africa editor, fergal keane, has sent us this report. it looks, and, when you're in the midst of it, feels like a boisterous democracy in action. but it's an election with only one side seeking votes. these are president kenyatta's supporters. and they demand that elections take place, whatever the opposition leader, raila 0dinga says. raila 0dinga, he want to come and broke power.

he'sjust taking us backwards whereas we want to go forward. he just want to come and bring war and he can set fire, but he can burn himself. here, the supreme court is seen as having stolen their victory in the last elections. but as we arrived in the opposition stronghold of kisumu in western kenya, it felt like another country. these youths are from the luo ethnic group like raila 0dinga. and believe president kenyatta, from the kikuyu majority, wants to marginalise them. poverty and corruption have deepened ethnic rivalries. we don't want elections that is already rigged. we want a free and fair election. will you allow elections to take place here? no, election in kenya in kisumu is not going to happen.

in this kind of volatile atmosphere, it's hard to imagine free and fair elections taking place in opposition strongholds like this. and if they don't go ahead, there will be a serious doubt over the legitimacy of the result, certainly for those people who support raila 0dinga. this is in part a dynastic struggle. kenya's first post—colonial leader was the current president's father, jomo kenyatta. his first cabinet included raila 0dinga's father. the idea was to banish tribalism, but the dream fell away under decades of one—party rule and cronyism. now recent democratic progress is under threat. what's at stake at these elections on thursday is kenya's democratic future. a lot of blood has been spilled, a lot of labour has been expended by kenyans to achieve the kind of democratic institutions institutions that we have, the kind of constitution that we have,

and that's what is at risk here. it's not just about an election or the repeat of an election. it's about kenya's democratic future. the escalating tension is harming kenya's economy. half the country's manufacturers plan to shed jobs. and for the vulnerable, the fear of violence is palpable. lydia is a widow whose two—year—old daughter, cha ntelle, was wounded by a stray bullet during rioting near their village. she also has a son and since her husband died, she survives on the few pounds she earns washing clothes. translation: life here is very difficult. i wash clothes in order to eat, but now i cannot do that because the baby is upset and i can't leave home. kenya is deeply polarised.

tonight, the bodyguard of a senior judge was shot and wounded, amid a growing sense of crisis. fergal keane, bbc news, nairobi. 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 approve any agreement. here is damian grammaticas. from the eu today, a blunt message. donald tusk is no fan of brexit. how it plays out, he says, is down to the uk, but eu countries must remain united. it is in fact up to london how this will end — with a good deal, no deal or no brexit. but in each of these scenarios, we will protect our common interests only by being together.

mr tusk was responding to the prime minister yesterday. in the commons, she suggested it is up to the eu to move things forward. it is now for them to consider what they want to see from the future of that relationship so that the next stage of those negotiations can indeed begin. and reinforcing the eu's message is the chief negotiator, he said the uk can't expect a trade deal any time soon. michel barnier told european newspapers a transition deal would help because it would give more time to organise future relations, adding trade talks will last several years. this is how the eu sees the timeline. now, exit issues have to be settled, money, citizens‘ rights, we're stuck at this stage. possibly in december things can move to the outlines of a future relationship and a transition to get there. that has to be done by march 2019, brexit day. only after that can a future trading relationship be settled, possibly by 2020. roderick abbott, a former uk

and eu trade negotiator, says it could be into the next decade before a deal is done. i think well into the 20s. before you've really implemented everything and probably into the 20s until you've really got the deal tied up. the trade deal. so this could take some years? hmm. and at each stage, if the uk doesn't satisfy the eu's conditions, talks will remain stuck in the slow lane, as they are now. damian grammaticas, bbc news, brussels. 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 1.5 million routine surgical procedures carried out in england in 2016, 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 delays,

late starts and early finishes. 0ur health editor, hugh pym, has more. 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 a list and fully utilise that list rather than letting it lie fallow. 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 what we're doing is assessing them much more earlier. 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 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 to the ward because the ward patient cannot go home. croydon has shown more operations can be done, but some in the nhs may need more convincing that lasting solutions have been found. hugh pym, bbc news. this year's list of the 100 most influential black britons has been published, and at number one is gina miller. the guyanese—born entrepreneur took on the government to give parliament a vote on whether the uk could start the brexit process. elaine dunkley has been to meet her.

like the eu referendum, gina miller divides opinion, hailed as a hero and a villain. no government can expect to be una nswerable or unchallenged. but what is without question is her influence in britain's biggest political drama for a generation. your life has changed beyond all recognition. what were the moments were you thought — this is unreal, in a good and in a bad way? well, standing on the steps of the supreme court, talking to cameras from probably 30 odd countries in the world, was completely surreal. i realised this was something quite extraordinary that i'd managed to achieved and i with very proud of that, but i didn't appreciate that it would become so emotional. it actually became more about branding me as this traitor, this woman who had no right to speak up. you know, how dare i? that kept going over and over again. there was this idea, how dare i,

as a woman of colour? how dare i, you know, speak up to a country? i'm supposed to be grateful, and that's what i didn't expect. 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 want people... you know, i 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. it's to say that as a woman of colour i can stand up, have a voice, have a conscios and use it. but some people will say, you wouldn't be able to have a list that celebrates white achievements without it being deemed as racist. how do you feel about that? i think what is very important about this list is about role models. we're not making inroads. equality is not happening in the way we thought it was happening like today, have to speak up and show that it's ok to be yourself and succeed. who have been your inspirations, who have been the people that motivate you?

most anybody who cares, who believes that other people matter and are passionate about what they do inspire me. but there have also been incredible role models, like maya angelou. every word that she's said, everything she does. she's acted with such grace. the great michelle 0bama, "when they go low, you go high." these are women that i think have got such inner strength, but such grace as well that i'm hugely in admiration. my father was part of a movement when i was young where i'd have extraordinary people. i mean, i didn't know who he was, but castro and other great politicians from around the world would come and i'd hear them speaking with such passion and such belief and such wanting to help people. people don't have to agree with me for me to admire them, i respect people having different views. what i do respect and admire is integrity of thought and honesty of their argument, not the fact that they agree with me. gina miller there speaking to elaine dunkley.

he's one of the most important figures of 19th century painting, whose revolutionary approach has influenced successive generations of artists. now a major exhibition of paul cezanne's portraits, some never seen before in the uk, is to go on show at the national portrait gallery in london. 0ur 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 the impressionists, colour blooms in his pictures. then by the ‘80s, volume is very present with regular hatch brush strokes.