this is bbc news. i'm ben brown. the headlines at 11.00: two republican senators lash out at donald trump — one calls him a liar, the other declares he will not seek re—election because of the "reckless and undignified behaviour" of the white house. the hire—purchase firm brighthouse is to pay out nearly £15 million to customers, after the financial watchdog says it hadn't acted as a responsible 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 — an honour only given to two previous leaders. and on newsnight. aaron banks is the ukip backer who claims to have

bankrolled brexit. but is he all he seems? we have been investigating. good evening and welcome to bbc news. two republican senators have attacked president trump. in 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." bob corker described him as an utterly untruthful president. our north america editorjon sopel is in washington. we are used to politicians talking

in code. this doesn't need to go into google translate. he says the flag ra nt into google translate. he says the flagrant disregard for truth or decency by the president, most often for the pettiest and most personal reasons. he's not alone. there was another republican senator standing down, senator bob corker, who said the president seems incapable of telling the truth. does this matter? well, the republicans have the most narrow majority in the senate, 52 to 48 democrats. we have had these standing down and speaking out against the president and others are unhappy. it might not be a stampede against donald trump, but it doesn't need to be. today might be seen as the day donald trump lost his majority in the senate and his ability to get legislation passed. 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 it's ruling is a warning to other firms in the market. emma simpson has more. sasha rhodes has a lot of paperwork for buying a bed. it was a hire purchase dealfrom brighthouse with payments she says she has struggled to afford. they really are exploiting the vulnerable people on low incomes. it's difficult for people nowadays to afford these products out right and they are exploiting that. so, how does it work? imagine owning a state—of—the—art new tv for just £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. so, 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. i am worried there isn't enough help wider. 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 the poverty. renting to own is the only way candy can afford big—ticket items, and she is a good customer. i have two televisions. an x—box. a fridge freezer. a washing machine. sound system. i did have a sound system, but i took it 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 sinton, bbc news. a british man who went to syria, to fight against so called islamic state, has been killed. jack holmes who was 24, 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. 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. 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. 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. mr 0'mara 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 a 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. 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. damian grammaticas reports from brussels. 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, where 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, who said the uk can't expect a trade deal any time soon. michel barnier told european newspapers the 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 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 got a 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. now it's time for newsnight with evan davies. the government wants to be remembered for more than just brexit. the problem is that for many, it's only being remembered for botching up the introduction of universal credit. i think if universal credit is unchanged we'll have some real tragedies happening in our society. it is impossible for people to fend off chaos if they have no money at all. it'll roll out to seven million families in the next five years. labour's shadow welfare secretary wants a pause,