this is bbc news. the headlines: an investigation claims hm revenue and customs blocks people from receiving honours if they're found to be avoiding tax. they are going after schemes of this kind and individuals who have benefited from them are being held to account. that should be right. the mother and daughter stabbed outside their own home — a man will appear in court, charged with their murder. more misery for northern rail passengers, as more than two thirds of services are cancelled, in a dispute over driver—only operated trains. the fight to free british—iranian charity worker nazanin zahghari—ratcliffe continues — her fate will be discussed at top—level talks in tehran today. also coming up this hour, a relaunch for thomas the tank engine. he is set to travel the world with a new group of gender balanced trains

as part of a bid to remain relevant. i will be speaking to the series producer. and coming up in the next half hour is the travel show. exploring ireland's growing food scene. good morning. government documents obtained by the times newspaper have shown that prominent figures who use tax avoidance schemes are apparently being blocked from receiving honours. a document, which was drawn up between hm revenue and customs and the cabinet office, is said to feature a system which rates people's tax affairs. in recent years, a number of celebrities who've been involved in lawful tax schemes have seemingly been overlooked for honours. here's more from our political correspondent, susana mendonca. the documents suggest a traffic light system has been used by hmrc to rate whether people nominated for honours are suitable candidates.

a red rating for high—risk nominees, amber for those considered likely to cause adverse comment, and green for low—risk. their suitability, the times says, is based on whether hmrc‘s reputation would be damaged if a knighthood were given to somebody later disclosed as having avoided paying tax through lawful schemes. the newspaper says the names and ratings are sent to the cabinet honours committee and the prime minister via secure email, and a memorandum of understanding between hmrc and the cabinet office says that poor tax behaviour is not consistent with the award of an honour. the documents suggest high profile celebrities may have been overlooked for honours because of their tax practices. last year, leaked emails appeared to reveal david beckham's frustration at missing out on a knighthood. the former england captain was one of a number of celebrities who invested in a tax avoidance scheme which was successfully challenged by hmrc. the cabinet office didn't confirm whether celebrities were being given

a red, amber or green rating, but a spokesperson said it was a long—standing policy that government departments like hmrc were invited to contribute to the honours nomination process in order to protect the system's integrity. sir vince cable is the leader of the liberal democrats. he says he welcomes more transparency in the tax affairs of high profile personalities being considered for honours. i think we already know now that there is a traffic light system for people considered for honours. their tax behaviour is being considered. the government should make a virtue of it. when i was in the government we passed legislation outlawing abusive tax avoidance. in other words, practices that look legal but i clearly designed to frustrate the will of parliament. the law has

known about the toughness about the inland revenue. most people are pretty fed up when rich individuals and companies try to avoid the taxes that ordinary people pay. we should make a virtue of it. vince cable. i'm joined now by richard fitzwilliams, former editor of the international who's who and an expert on the honours system. thank you for being with us. what do you make of these revelations?” think it is important to stress that david beckham and robbie williams, gary lineker and wayne rooney and rio ferdinand, these are legendary figures. not only in their particular fields they have excelled, but also there is the case that they have done a great deal for charity. nobody is condoning tax avoidance. there is nothing unlawful a p pa re ntly avoidance. there is nothing unlawful apparently in what has happened. clearly the honours system ought to ta ke clearly the honours system ought to take this into account, but equally,

there are checks and balances. look at sir ken dodd, for example. there we re at sir ken dodd, for example. there were certainly ambiguities of behaviour at knotty ash. that didn't stop him from getting a knighthood. ido stop him from getting a knighthood. i do think the system should honour those who have done service in these fields in this way. the documents do not mention any names. but loads of people have raised questions about why these people have not received honours in the past for the reasons outlined. one suggestion is that some of them have invested in schemes that are entirely lawful but nonetheless people have said it is an attempt to reduce the amount of tax you pay. what about the argument that it tax you pay. what about the argument thatitis tax you pay. what about the argument that it is right to do this because tax affairs can subsequently become controversial, and that can actually bring the honours system into disrepute? absolutely right, no doubt. equally if the honours system is concerned about it being brought into disrepute, why did we get david

cameron's resignation honours list featuring a lot of controversial figures. sporting honour is really only over the last 20 years have reflected actual merit. virginia wade had to wait. joe perry was never honoured. i do think you have a system which obviously is inconsistent in so many ways. look at david beckham, for example. embarrassing e—mails to be sure but thatis embarrassing e—mails to be sure but that is not the point. look at the number of caps and his charitable work. surely he should be honoured and geta work. surely he should be honoured and get a knighthood? this question might also be raised about the role of hrm -- hmrc. they might also be raised about the role of hrm —— hmrc. they are busy consulted about names put forward because the dummett wants to know if there is something embarrassing that may subsequently come out if the honour is made. rather than putting

a black spot against these names, hmrc should be tough on the schemes themselves and the people who organise the schemes rather than effectively saying, look, you can contribute to this scheme because it is lawful, but we are going to punish you down the line by preventing you from getting an honour? absolutely. also, these individuals may have been ill—advised. the tax system, the way they have lives, is their responsibility. you don't want the top figures to wait until they are 80 like rex harrison or charlie chaplin. sean connery‘s knighthood was held up by donald dewar because he didn't think is snp links work appropriate. obviously they are sensitive to any scandal that may subsequently arise. but rio ferdinand, a household name

if ever there was one. think of the number of goals wayne rooney and gary lineker have kicked. think of robbie williams and what he has achieved given his profile. i mean, nobody would begrudge these figures honours. and also, if ken dodd could be forgiven and given the knighthood, surely this is time sensitive? at what time does the system consider them again and honour them properly as it should? former editor of international news, thank you very much. food for thought. some breaking news. a man has appeared in court this morning charged with the murders of two women in birmingham. he is accused of stabbing to death his former partner and her mother. ina his former partner and her mother. in a brief court appearance lasting less tha n in a brief court appearance lasting less than two minutes, dambuster ream spoke to the —— only to confirm his name, date of birth and address. he will appear before birmingham

crown court on tuesday. the case of the jailed british—iranian charity worker, nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe, will be raised by a foreign office minister today, during a two—day visit to tehran. alistair burt says he will push for a resolution of all cases of british dual nationals detained in iran, as tom burridge reports. the moment nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe was briefly reunited with her daughter last week. she was released from jail in iran forjust three precious days before the regime there locked her up again. and this is nazanin with gabriella a week before she was arrested in the spring of 2016. they have been separated ever since, with iran accusing nazanin of spying — something she strenuously denies. the foreign office minister alistair burt is now in iran. he will meet his counterpart and push for nazanin's release. his boss, the foreign secretary, expressed frustration on twitter, calling iran "an incredibly difficult regime to deal with." jeremy hunt said nazanin's hopes had been raised and then dashed when she was returned to prison. he promised to redouble efforts to get her home.

last week he raised her plight at the united nations. every day that she is in prison is a reminder to the whole world of a gross injustice. nazanin's husband, richard ratcliffe, has praised the foreign secretary for his efforts. she suffered panic attacks after being locked up again. who calls the shots in iran is often not straightforward, and nazanin's predicament is complicated by tehran's deteriorating relationship with our key ally, the united states. let's get more on the story of the court case which has just taken place at birmingham crown court. simonjonesjoins me. place at birmingham crown court. simon jones joins me. this place at birmingham crown court. simonjonesjoins me. this was place at birmingham crown court. simonjones joins me. this was a case that shocked many. what can you tell us about the hearing? we have had a brief court appearance. it

actually lasted for under 90 seconds. janbaz tarin appeared only to confirm his name, his date of birth and also his address. he was told that because the accusations he is basing ourselves serious, those two counts of murder, the case must be transferred to crown court. that will be transferred to birmingham crown court and will take place on tuesday. that will be the next hearing. the bodies of the women we re hearing. the bodies of the women were found outside their home in solihull. that was back on monday. there followed a large police hunt. an arrest was made on thursday and charges followed last night ahead of his brief court appearance today. the family of the two women who died have paid tribute to the police for their investigation. they have also thank the local community and the general public for their support over what has been a very difficult time for them. the police have also issued a statement. they are also

thank the public from what they call a fantastic response to their appeal for information. they say they have kept the family up—to—date throughout with what has been happening in terms of the investigation. simonjones in birmingham. russian forces are beginning a week—long naval exercise in the mediterranean sea. the kremlin says the operation is justified, due to a failure by the west to deal with militants in syria's idlib province. there are signs that the syrian government is preparing an offensive against the last remaining rebel stronghold. a national memorial service celebrating the life of us senatorjohn mccain will take place in washington later today. his body is lying in state at the national cathedral in the city. family, friends, as well as us and international leaders have been invited to attend. former presidents, george w bush and barack obama will give eulogies. president trump has not been invited. the united states is ending all funding for the un's palestinian refugee agency. more than five million refugees are supported by the group, but the us state department says the organisation is

"irredeemably flawed". a spokesperson for the agency said it rejected the criticism and was deeply disappointed. our washington correpondent, chris buckler, explains the reasons behind the decision. the us state department says it is withdrawing the funding because america has shouldered the responsibility of the funding of this agency for too long. and certainly it has been the leading contributor in recent years. however, there is all so another reason. we take it is concerned about how the agency is being run. it believes it is unsustainable and in fact goes to far that smacks of forest to say it has been in crisis mode for many years. there may also bea mode for many years. there may also be a third reason, a political one. relationships between washington and the palestinian leadership have not been good for some time. and certainly there has been an angry

response from the palestinian president, who do bass. he says this isa president, who do bass. he says this is a flagrant attack on the palestinian people. —— matt smuda bass. he says america has no answer to the problems in the region. there has also been a statement from the agency itself in which it attacks america's idea that it is in some way irredeemably flawed. it says, for example, that the world bank and described their activities as a global public good. there has been a statement from the un secretary—general that backs a lot of that up. he says the services offered in terms of health and education, and other support, are essential to those palestinian refugees. he has asked other countries to step in and fill the funding gap. there are indications that some of that could happen. germany, for example, says it is prepared to give more money and has asked other eu countries to do the same. chris buckler. the headlines on bbc news: an investigation says hmrc blocks

people from receiving as if they are found to be avoiding tax. a mother and daughter stabbed outside their own home — a man will appear in court charged with the murder. more than two thirds of northern rail services are being cancelled today ina services are being cancelled today in a dispute over driver only operated trains. there are certain things that signalled the arrival of autumn. one is the nights are drawing in. a second is the rush to buy school uniforms. the third is the return to the bbc is the centre of mike bushell. good to have you you. a couple of weeks camping in dorset. let's talk about cricket. perfect conditions on the south coast in southampton. england will start to try to build the sort of lead that

will not only typed —— wind in the fourth test against india but also the series. yesterday, five wickets from moeen ali helped them to fight their way back into the test after a poor start. they ended the day, on six for no wicket, only 21 runs behind india. adam wild reports from southampton. on the south coast, england knew they had a rescue job to do, having struggled with the bat, now the bowlers' turn to try to reverse fortunes. stuart broad has so often saved his side before. here he got things started. but this would take patience, india fighting to stay in this series. sam curran got the biggest breakthrough of all, virat kohli. things were beginning to turn in england's favour. moeen ali could sense it. two more wickets in two balls for him. the first to dismiss ashwin, and then shami. his fifth topped off a brilliant day for the man recalled to the side. sharma caught by cook, just. and while pujara couldn't be stopped, his 80th century,

the rescue was complete. —— he made his century. india's first innings lead a mere 27 runs. england's openers surviving a nervous last few moments. so, england's batsmen will return on six without loss. the big question now is whether they can do what they couldn't do in the first innings, and build a platform on which england can actually win this game? if they do, they will win the series. england's women have qualified for next year's world cup finals. they beat wales in their winner takes all qualifiying match in newport. after a goalless first half, england's strikers came alive midway through the second with all three goals in a space of 12 minutes — toni duggan opening the scoring. jill scott looping header made it 2, and nikita parris wrapped up the victory. wales now need to hope they can finish qualifying as one of the four best second—placed teams to make it to the finals

in france injune. this england team won a bronze medal. can you go one step further and get to the final? i believe. i don't think the players believe at this moment in time. i think they have a little bit to go. it's time we meet we see more development and more improvement. —— each time. to the us open, and serena won the battle of the williams sisters to progress through to fourth round. the 23—time grand slam champion beat sister venus in straight sets, and said it was the best she'd played since returning to the sport after taking time out to have her daughter rafael nadal‘s also through to the last 16, but was made to work for it by russia's karen khachanov. nadal was a set and a break down at one point, but fought back to win in four sets. the new rugby union season's under way, and newly promoted bristol will be delighted with their start. they took on local rivals bath in their first game back in the premiership.

and this late try from alapati leiua ensured they started with a 17—10 win. you can see how that went down at ashton gate. there were also wins for leinster and ospreys in the pro 14. wigan denied local rivals st helens the chance to secure the league leaders' shield, with a 30—10 win in super league. victory for table—topping saints would have secured the league title with four games to spare, but the warriors ran in six tries to lead throughout, and secure their place in the semi—finals. elsehwere, wakefield trinity beat huddersfield giants. stand by for a big crash. this is sauber‘s magnus ericsson, in second practice for the italian grand prix. thankfully, the swede walked away unharmed. sebastian vettel led a one—two for ferrari with mercedes' lewis hamilton in third place. there it goes like a toy car.

luckily he was ok. that is all the sport. good news. thank you mike. mike bushell. a host of stars including stevie wonder and bill clinton were among the many well wishers saying goodbye to aretha franklin at her funeral in detroit yesterday. the memorial service lasted over seven hours and also featured music from ariana grande and chaka khan. aleem maqbool was there. a public that adored her queued for hours to get inside the church to get a chance to say their final goodbyes to the queen of soul. i could not sit at home and watch it on television. being here really brings in the realfeel of on television. being here really brings in the real feel of things. her message and what he represented the people of african descent in this country is one. two, the music.

it is healing, powerful and joyful. paying their last respects to before she's laid to rest, the stars and dignitaries who reflected the reach of aretha franklin's impact and the legacy that goes far beyond the music industry alone. she lived with power, not without wea kness she lived with power, not without weakness but overcoming her weaknesses. ijust weaknesses. i just loved her. weaknesses. ijust loved her. her voice made you feel something. you felt every word, every note, every emotion in the songs she sang. her voice brought peace. there is no doubt the often tough, troubled life of aretha franklin ultimately yielded such towering achievement, has touched many who came after. a legacy that will continue to inspire long into the future. aleem maqbool, detroit. less than a third of rail services provided by the main train operator in northern england will be running today.

a dispute between bosses at northern, and members of the rmt union, has been going on for more than a year. the union says passenger safety will be put at risk by getting rid of guards and extending driver—only services. fans of britney spears may face difficulties travelling to the singer's concert in blackpool today, which also coincides with the first weekend of the blackpool illuminations. sharon barbour is in blackpool for us. sharon, how big a disruption is this going to be? in a sense commuters have been getting rather used to this. the disruption has gone on for a long time across the country in this dispute between the rmt union and northern and other rail companies over the use ofjust having a driver only operate the train and not have a guard. norv turner are arguing for this card. —— norv turner are arguing for this

guard. a number of strike action is taking place every saturday between now and the end of september. the disruption is absolutely huge for blackpool. it is the biggest weekend on their calendar. they have the illuminations, the light which draw thousands of people, and of course a big concert to tell about that tonight. another big concert from britney spears. that is a huge event for blackpool. so the idea that the railway system has crashed in a senseis railway system has crashed in a sense is a disaster. there are replacement buses. there are some trends. norv turner are running a skeletal service. they want to continue these talks with the rmt union. they are really struggling to get those tourists and others in and out blackpool. from tonight there will be no trend at all running from this station. that will be really difficult for people who have come to the concert, perhaps come to see

britney spears or see the lights, to discover fraud to lead they will not be able to get home. a lovely fresh morning in blackpool for those who can get there and enjoy the events of the next 2a—hours. sharon barbour talking to us 2a—hours. sharon barbour talking to us about the northern rail strike taking place today. all hospital car parks are now free to use in wales, after the last site to charge ditched its fees. the welsh government announced ten years ago that it would end hospital parking charges. a contract with a firm at prince philip hospital in carmarthen ended yesterday, meaning it's free to park there from now on. parking fees at scottish hospitals ended in 2008, except for where the facility is run by a private firm. but you still pay in northern ireland and england. thomas the tank engine, percy, gordon, and, of course, the fat controller. those well known characters have been loved by generations of children and their parents, but they're getting a more inclusive makeover. yes, please. this is so exciting.

wait, i have an idea. your driver could pick some of the long grass over there and use it to guide her away from the tracks. two engines are much better than one, you know. everyone needs help sometimes. we're so lucky she hasjoined the steam team. that was nia, one of several new female characters designed to bring the show up to date and be more multicultural and gender balanced. with me is the producer, ian mcewan. you are engaged in what is a fairly dramatic revamping of the characters and the whole location setting? absolutely. this is the biggest relaunch that thomas has had. it is

a huge revamp. these show has always evolved from its first early publishing through to the live action. in 2010, the cji —— cgi animation started. it has always been evolving but this is the biggest change. it stemmed from some early research we did where we reached out to different countries, pa rents, reached out to different countries, parents, mothers, children, to find out what it is they like about the show. what they feel could be improved. there was once sound bite that came from a little boy that said, trying to go places. thomas is a trained body doesn't go anywhere. we thought, that is a good point. that said up a discussion. let's think about thomas going around the world. the first book that spoke about thomas introduced him to his son and said, i want you to meet thomas the tank engine who wants to see the world. 70 plus years later without, let's take the world!m see the world. 70 plus years later without, let's take the world! it is a great way to freshen the series.

presumably that gives you a proper story based reason for a new characters coming in and for characters coming in and for characters who have very different backgrounds, culturally, to thomas. and yet you are still doing it against the backdrop of this culture of the steam train, which, however much it may be loved, is part of history? it is. it is very iconic. the heritage site is important. we a lwa ys the heritage site is important. we always remember the reverend audrey was writing about working railway. we wa nt was writing about working railway. we want to make it relevant for today's audience. the the gender equality, we think it is very important for the young audience. while we try to retain that modern makeover, we want to retain the world of steam. we wouldn't have the fat controller pull out a mobile phone. we would like the idea of thomas seeing new countries, learning new cultures. he is the eyes and ears of our audience. learning new cultures. he is the

eyes and ears of our audiencem some put in an idea, do you say, no, because that jars with some put in an idea, do you say, no, because thatjars with the setting? i wouldn't say we have arguments. but sometimes people want to push things a little bit further. we wa nted things a little bit further. we wanted to retain some integrity. we are making a lot of changes at the moment. all the changes we chose we re moment. all the changes we chose were things we believed work for thomas. people don't always appreciate the amount of attention to detail that goes into children's programmes is as much, sometimes if not more, than programmes aimed at an adult audience. you have a real sense of responsibility, don't you, for the messages you are putting out tickets? absolutely. we have a railway consultancy works with is to ensure we are doing the right thing. the main goal is to entertain the young audience. make great stories. it started with great storytelling. with the changes we are making we

a lwa ys with the changes we are making we always think about real engines. the cgi designs are based on real engines. so near —— nayar, that engines. so near —— nayar, that engine is based on an aoife —— east african engine. we try to retain that. it is more about keeping some integrity to the show put while making it work for a wider audience. it is a huge global audience thomas has. over 100 countries it plays in. it is dubbed it more than a0 languages. for us there is an element of, if we can ta ke there is an element of, if we can take thomas to india and take thomas to africa and these other wonderful countries, it allows that audience to enjoy it. let's listen to the titles. have we got sand on this? here we go. # let's go, go, explorer.

—— explorer. let's meet new friendly faces. that is some of the new look. when will we see the first episode? the first episode will be monday on channel five. 7am, i believe. iwill have episode will be monday on channel five. 7am, i believe. i will have my recorder ready about everybody else does. as you saw there, we have an amazing new theme song. we thought we can't go with the classic theme song. we have to have a new theme song. we have to have a new theme song that captures thomas' global adventures and the new energy and pace of the show. we want to make it releva nt for pace of the show. we want to make it relevant for today's audience. more fast paced but still the gentle age of stea m ? fast paced but still the gentle age of steam? absolutely. thank you so much. that wonderful, wonderful story of the reverend audrey in water —— wilshire. now the weather.