this is bbc news. the headlines at 11pm. an investigation claims hm revenue & 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 is surely right. a man has appeared in court, charged with the murder of a mother and daughter, who were stabbed outside their home in solihull. 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, all—aboa rd the new look thomas the tank engine. he's set to travel the world with a new group of gender—balanced trains as part of a bid to remain "releva nt". i'll be speaking to the series producer. and on dateline the relevant

discussion of whether a no—deal brexit looks less likely following discussions this week. that's at 11:30am. that's at 11:30am. good morning. welcome to take bbc news. welcome to take bbc news. 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. 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, as a result of the revelations today that there isa of the revelations today that there is a traffic light system. their tax behaviour is being considered. i think the government should make a virtue of it. when i was in government we passed legislation outlawing abusive tax avoidance. that is practices that look legal but were designed to frustrate the will of parliament. the more that is known about the toughness of the inland revenue, the better. i think most people are fed up when individuals and companies avoid taxes that ordinary people pay. we should make a virtue of this toughness. we have more on this now. the documents themselves, effectively, appeared to suggest that bhm rc has a role in at least

offering advice, is that surprising? “ page offering advice, is that surprising? —— page mrc. they have, for some time, giving details online of how the honours system works. after accusations which have been about the process is not being transparent. there is a document available on the government website which says that hmrc has input and would advise the honours committee. they would be a three stage rating system by reference to low, medium oi’ system by reference to low, medium or high about potential nominees. this would minimise the risk, the cabinet office hours, of bringing the system into disrepute. what is new about the document obtained by the times after a seven—month legal battle with the government is the wording and nature of the system. the idea of a traffic light system, green for low risk, an buffer those who's tax behaviour could cause potential offence, and high risk,

those in the red category, whose tax affairs are clearly deemed to be particularly problematic. the potential issue here is that people are, potentially, being blocked from receiving honours on the advice of hmrc for their tax affairs, which may be lawful. they haven't necessarily done anything against the law. but the way that they are avoiding paying tax is, in the eyes of hmrc, not satisfactory. a lot of those systems are challenged in court on a daily basis.” those systems are challenged in court on a daily basis. i suppose thatis court on a daily basis. i suppose that is a criticism that can be made of this, instead of hmrc shutting down the schemes, or constructing tax legislation that makes it impossible to have these schemes, which it doesn't like, instead, it is penalising people after the event. yes, this idea of the taxman getting involved and having a say in who

should be given honours, and who shouldn't, based on their taxes. some have made the point this morning, sir vince cable who you heard from just now, say that many of the high—profile candidates, some celebrities, may not even know they are in these tax avoidance schemes, because they leave their affairs to their accountants and they don't necessarily know what is going on there. they may not have done anything unlawful. just to tell you what the government has said, honours are given to award outstanding service, each nomination is rigourously assessed, they say, and this is a long—standing policy to protect the integrity of the system. nia has a role and are invited to contribute their views during the process. a man has appeared in court charged with the murders of a mother and daughter in solihull. janbaz tarin is accused of stabbing to death his former partner raneem oudeh and her mother khaola saleem. let's get more from simonjones who is

in birmingham for us. well, janbaz tarin appeared in court this morning. he was only in court for around 90 seconds, as is often the case when it is a first appearance. he was asked to confirm his name, date of birth and address. he was remanded in custody having been told that the case against him is so serious the charges of double murder, it must be transferred to the crown court in birmingham, the next hearing will take place on tuesday. there was a large search for him, and he was arrested on thursday. last night he was charged leading to the court appearance today. his former partner, and her mother, were found dead outside their home in solihull on monday morning. the family have issued a statement in which they thank the local community for their support,

particularly people in birmingham, for the help since the deaths. they also thanked the police and have said that members of the family, their lives have been cut short. the police issued a statement in which they thank the public for a fantastic response to their appeal for information. they say they have been keeping the family up to date ina very been keeping the family up to date in a very difficult time. simon jones in birmingham, thank you. 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. 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. the former presidents, george w bush and barack obama, will give eulogies. president trump has not been invited. a giant balloon depicting london mayor sadiq khan wearing a bright yellow bikini is flying over westminster. organisers raised more than £58,000 for the 29 foot blimp as part of a campaign seeking to remove mr khan from his post.

it comes after the london mayor defended the flying of a donald trump ‘blimp' over the capital during the us president's visit last month. i have to say, it's perhaps not quite as like the mayor of london as the president trump blimp was. judge for yourself. 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. our correspondent sharon barbour is in blackpool for us. it's not always the easiest place to get to in terms of transport links,

blackpool. it depends on the trains. it is quite difficult to get to, but many thousands get to it this weekend. mainly two cv blackpool illuminations which were switched on last night. that's an enormous event for the town and brings in a knot of income. it sustains them through the winter. and of course, britney spears is playing tonight. many people will really struggle to get here because of the strike by the union. they will also struggled to get home because there are practically no trains from here after 6pm tells to rebel. i am joined by darren ireland from the rmt union, there is anger here from businesses and commuters, why have you chosen this weekend of all, to hit blackpool? we are having to

strike over these forthcoming weekends, including today, because of the lack of genuine negotiations with the employer, a riva rail north, if you recollect, we suspended previous action on the zist suspended previous action on the 21st ofjuly to allow for a meaningful and genuine negotiation. you must feel some sympathy for the commuters and tourists coming from all over the country, to see the lights and britney. it is unfortunate that they are being disrupted but we have no choice. we don't want safety critical guards removed, to look after those passengers who travel to towns like blackpool on weekends. the passengers who travel want to see guards maintained on our services. i think the vast majority of the travelling public understand... they wa nt travelling public understand... they want a safety critical person on the train, they don't want them

operating without a second person on board. that is your point, isn't it, a second guard for public safety such as anti—social behaviour, an emergency, the trains that are running today, around 30% don't have a guard. they are run by poorly trained managers. what we see time and time again is that the three—month training that it takes is underwritten, we have had a numberof is underwritten, we have had a number of safety incidents already over the course of these poorly trained managers, such as despatching trains against red signals, you know, a number of occasions. i would signals, you know, a number of occasions. iwould have signals, you know, a number of occasions. i would have said that the trains are less safe today. darren, thank you very much. they are trying to carry on with those talks, and an apologetic for the disruption. they say they are doing their best to get as many people to places as they can. that's all for

now, the concert is on a bit late and we have updates throughout the day. 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. our north america correspondent aleem maqbool was there. a culmination of two weeks of tribute since the passing of aretha franklin. 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 real feel. her message and what he represented the people of african descendants in this country, the music, it is healing, it is powerful, it isjoyful. paying their last respects to her before she was laid to rest,

the stars and dignitaries reflected the reach of aretha franklin's impact and a legacy that goes beyond the music industry alone. she lived with power. not without weakness but overcoming her weaknesses. ijust loved her. 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 achievements has touched many who came after her. her legacy will continue to inspire long into the future. the queen is due to open a new highland games centre at the braemar gathering in scotland today. the centre will be

named after her son — the duke of rothesay — which is the title used for prince charles in scotland. well, our correspondent catriona renton is in braemar. good morning. everything is in full swing, the games are getting well and truly under way. all sorts of events a re and truly under way. all sorts of events are taking place. you can hear the bagpipes, there is dancing. and james yang is involved in some of the most exciting things, tell us what you are doing. i'm doing the caber, that's the last event. i didn't get the 12 o'clock, i'm afraid. but we are doing a bar over there. i'm missing that to speak to you guys. tel is about to be caber, it's you guys. tel is about to be caber, its huge. you guys. tel is about to be caber, it's huge. it's about 16 foot long

and 120 pounds. it's very heavy. it's about balance. these events look extremely difficult, in some ways they are the sort of thing you see nowhere else. definitely. we have two struggled to get the equipment to train with. you throw in the summerand equipment to train with. you throw in the summer and train in the winter, to get more power. and speed. that's the key. you are real athletes. it's good fun. we are going to let you get back to your competition, thank you for talking to us. the queen and the duke of rothesay are due later today to open the new pavilion which is for love all sorts of things related to the games. it's quite something. we look forward to talking to you again later. 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. 0h, oh, yes, please. this is so exciting. wait! i have an idea. your driver could pick some of that long grass and use it to guide her away from the track. two engines are much better than one, you know. nia was right, everyone needs help sometimes. we are so lucky nia has joined us. that was nia, one of several new female characters designed to bring the show up to date and be more multi—cultural and gender balanced. i've been discussing the changes with ian mccue, the thomas and friends' series producer. this is the biggest relaunch that

thomas has had. it's a huge revamp. it's always evolved from the early publishing is, through to live action, and then in 2010 the cg! animation. there's always been evolving over the years. this is the biggest change, it stand with early research that we did, we reached out to different countries, parents, mothers and children, to find out what it is they like about the show and what could be improved. one sound bite from a little boy said, trains go places, thomas is a train but he doesn't go anywhere. i thought that's a good point. it set openly discussions, let's think about thomas going around the world. the first reverend aubrey book that spoke about thomas introduced him as thomas the tank engine, wants to come out of the station yard and see

the world. we are 73 years late, but let's ta ke the world. we are 73 years late, but let's take him around the world!m isa let's take him around the world!m is a great way to freshen up the series, it gives you a proper story based reasoning for new characters to come in, characters with very different cultural backgrounds to thomas. yet, you are still doing it against the backdrop of this culture of the steam train, however much it may be loved, it's part of history. yes, it's very iconic, the heritage to thomas is very important to us. we remember that the reverend audrey was working right a routing relay. —— writing about a working relay. we wa nt —— writing about a working relay. we want diversity and gender equality for a young audience, but whilst we retain that modern makeover, we want to retain the world of steam. we wouldn't have the fat controller pulling out a mobile phone, but we like the idea of thomas travelling around the world to see new

countries and learn new cultures. he is the eyes and ears of our audience. that was the series producerfor audience. that was the series producer for thomas audience. that was the series producerfor thomas and audience. that was the series producer for thomas and friends. let's see one of our friends now, it's mike with the sport. we are under way in southampton. england are trailing. it was winner take all...and it's england who can start brushing up on their french, ahead of next year's world cup. . .while, wales must hope they get a chance in their play offs. jo currie was watching for us in newport. qualifying for major tournaments has become a habit for england. now they must plod world cup glory. wales we re must plod world cup glory. wales were the underdogs, but kept themselves in the game. the best they could muster was an

u nsuccessful they could muster was an unsuccessful appeal. the half—time tea m unsuccessful appeal. the half—time team talk brought england to life. the first play of this campaign to find the net against wales. the lioness ‘s smelt blood, jill scott scored again with this lovely header. all smiles. england were dreaming of france, and a trip to paris will seal the wind, breaking welsh hearts. but for england, job done. we showed our class and possession. we showed our class and possession. we showed our class and possession. we showed we are a top team and i'm proud. i'm looking forward to the next 12 months. these girls want to play at the highest level and are capable of it. we've come out to compete tonight, and for 60 minutes we have, we have to be good enough for 90 minutes, and in the future we will be. wales must now wait to see if they have done enough for a play—off

place. england can now look forward to next summer with the knowledge they had to france was one of the favourites. leicester host liverpool in today's early kick off in the premier league. liverpool have started well, three wins from three games so far...and their cause today may be helped by the absense of leicester strikerjamie vardy who's serving the last match he caused out each team problems with his style of play, always on the edge. it's really difficult to defend. so that makes him different to nearly all the other strikers in the premier league. it makes him special. it's good for him, but now we cannot play with that change, a few moments of the game, he is a very good striker as well. one line of transfer news for you, and moussa dembele has completed his move to the french side lyon from celtic. he's moving forjust under 20—million—pounds. 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, last september. 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 underway. . . . .and newly promoted bristol will be delighted with their start.. they took on local rivals bath in their first game back and a late try ensured a 17 ten win. they were also winds for the lei nster they were also winds for the leinster and ospreys in the pro 1a. 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. that's all the sport for now. it's time for the weather. it's the 1st of september, the first day of meteorological autumn. we see something a little bit summary this weekend thanks to high pressure, largely dry with sony ‘s bells. —— sunny spells. these weather friends continue to flirt with parts of scotla nd continue to flirt with parts of scotland and northern ireland, high pressure means we draw up a southerly wind from spain and france. that's why we see temperatures rising. a fairly cloudy afternoon across much of the north and west, the best of the sunny spells across the eastern half of england. at least it is largely dry, light winds, and good sunny spells.

we could make the low to mid 20s. for most, 21 cells is across the west. thicker cloud across western wales may bring spots of light and patchy rain. the same for western scotland. eastern parts of northern ireland and the north—east of scotla nd ireland and the north—east of scotland could see sunny spells, 19 or 20 celsius for aberdeen. overnight, largely dry, a a few spots of rain. a lot of cloud around. we pick up this warmer, southerly breeze. a return to the orange colours overnight, a warm start to sunday, 1a or 15 degrees for many towns and cities. one or two cool spots, because of clear skies overnight. the best of the sunshine on sunday. we should also see more holes appearing in the cloud, further north and west. it could be quite warm across the north—east of scotland. this weather

front arrives across western parts of scotla nd front arrives across western parts of scotland bringing heavy and persistent rain, dry and warm, tem ptress persistent rain, dry and warm, te m ptress 22 persistent rain, dry and warm, temptress 22 or 25 celsius. on monday that weather front sinks further southwards. that band of cloud and showery rain behind it, looking a bit brighter. a bit cooler, mid—to—high teens, and another warm day in the south—east, 23 to 25 degrees. deeper into the week, high—pressure dominates, fairly warm in the south, temperatures near to normal with sunny spells and variable cloud. hello and a warm welcome to dateline london, i'mjane hill. today we discuss whether there is positive news to report about the brexit negotiations, after some striking comments from michel barnier. we ask what is happening inside britain's labour party — and, as autumn campaigning begins

in earnest for the us midterms, look at the state of american politics. with me are: the columnist for the independent yasmin alibhai—brown. long—time correspondent for the new york times john fisher burns, from france's le point, marc roche, who also spent many years at le monde and the guardian columnist nisreen malik. is there a glimmer of a brexit deal on the horizon? the eu's chief negotiator michel barnier suggested this week he was prepared to offer britain a partnership such as there had never been with any third country. the markets got very excited at the prospect. then britain s newish secretary of state for exiting the eu, dominic raab, after talks with m. barnier, said he s stubbornly optimistic that a deal is within reach. marc, your reading of the summers brexit—related activity... that there will be in