this is bbc news, i'm lukwesa burak. the headlines at 2pm: official documents reveal that hm revenue and customs uses a traffic light system to rate the tax arrangements of people nominated for an honour. they are going after schemes of this kind, and individuals who have benefited from them are being held to account, and 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 united states ends its funding for the un's palestinian refugee agency — deeming it irredeemably flawed. also coming up — the funeral of us senator john mccain takes place. former us presidents george w bush and barack obama will deliver

eulogies at the service at washington's national cathedral. and coming up in talking books, kirsty wark talks us race relations with t geronimo johnson. good afternoon. government documents have revealed how hm revenue and customs use a traffic light system to rate the tax arrangements of people who've been nominated for an honour. that's according to an official document seen by the times. it's claimed the system has meant some high profile nominees may not have received awards as a result. jonathan blake reports. a trip to buckingham palace beckons for those who make the annual honours lists.

recognition from the establishment of outstanding service in theirfield. but how much of a say does the taxman have in who receives the highest honours each year? a document obtained by the times sets out a traffic light system used by hmrc to rate those nominated. red for high risk nominees, amber for those whose tax activity is likely to cause adverse comment and green for those who pose a low risk. it is claimed the risk factor is based on whether or not hmrc‘s reputation would be damaged by someone receiving an honour exposed as having avoided paying tax. it's absolutely wrong that the government are trying to conceal what is widely known to exist. i think it is to the credit of the information commissioner and the press that they have now brought this into the light of day. i think it is important that the public understands that the inland revenue is being tough on abuse of tax avoidance. the warnings given are time—limited which may explain why ken dodd was knighted last year

before he died. the comedian was prosecuted and later acquitted for tax evasion in 1989. the system may also shed light on why other celebrities appear to have been overlooked. i think it is only reasonable that every precaution is taken by the honours system that it isn't brought into disrepute, but that should certainly not debar high profile individuals who have achieved an enormous amount in a particularfield, and also for charity, from not being honoured if they have done nothing unlawful. the government said it was a matter of long—standing policy that departments including hmrc were invited to contribute to the honours nomination process to protect the system's integrity. i'm joined now by fiona fernie — a partner at the accounting and tax advisory firm blick rothenberg. these thank you forjoining us. these thank you forjoining us. these arrangements, this particular

arrangement isn't new. why do you think we are talking about it now? simply because the times have been able to get this information under a freedom of information act request. it is the first time it has come to light. there has been suspicion but no actual knowledge. what you make of this arrangement?” no actual knowledge. what you make of this arrangement? i think there isa of this arrangement? i think there is a worry, of course we need to be absolutely clear that people who illegally try to weather taxes should not get honoured by the establishment. —— illegally tried to whether aids taxes. but this is quite a subjective view. the fact is that all of these schemes are illegal. —— trying to invade taxes. are we allowing people a subjective view of other people's morality? i think that is a worry. if we don't like the arrangements than we should legislate against them. the concern

is that if you take it to its ultimate degree, you are saying somebody who has done a huge amount for a charity can't have an over year because he has a nice because that avoids tax as well. you are in the business of advising clients with substantial amounts of money. what advice would you give them now because they may well ask you, tell you you know best and i'm having to pay for this in terms of how i am presented in the public eye?|j pay for this in terms of how i am presented in the public eye? i think you can only do what your conscience tells you is appropriate. i do not see that there is anything wrong with people trying to mitigate their tax liability. i think everybody in the country will do that if they are able to. the example of an isa is an obvious one. i do think that some of

the more abusive schemes, certainly at my firm we have never promoted those kind of very risky schemes, we have always worked on the basis that we expected our clients to behave appropriately and within the law. when other requests about this information have been put forward, the government had held back, were very hesitant to come forward with this. there is a code of conduct in terms of confidentiality when it comes to people's tax affairs. what do you make of this arrangement when there is the door opening somewhat to allow the cabinet office to make a decision of whether to bestow an honour or not? i think that is the other worrying part of it, that are sexually, effectively the confidentiality is not being maintained. hush mac fx surely. i

know there is a suggestion that there is a loophole in relation to confidentiality if doing something breaches confidentiality helps hmrc to fulfil its function of collecting and managing revenue. i'm not sure that i can see how this is helping them to do that. i also worry about them to do that. i also worry about the fact that the number light system they talk about effectively is one where they say a person's tax affairs could promote adverse comment. —— amber light. if confidentiality is maintained, how can anyone tax affairs promote adverse comments? these thank you. 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. simon jones is outside birmingham magistrates court. what took place today? his appearance here this morning was very brief. it lasted for only around 90 seconds. he was asked in court to confirm his name, his age and also his address. after that he was told by the court that his case was told by the court that his case was so was told by the court that his case was so serious, the double murder charge, that it had to be transferred to crown court hearing —— in birmingham so that next appearance will be here at crown courts just down the road from here on tuesday morning. he was arrested on tuesday morning. he was arrested on thursday evening after a large—scale police on thursday evening after a la rge—scale police hunt. on thursday evening after a large—scale police hunt. he was charged late last night and that led to today's court appearance. his former partner and her mother were found stabbed to death outside their home in solihull in the early hours

of monday morning. it was something that really has shocked the community bearer. their family that really has shocked the community bearer. theirfamily had issued a statement in which they have thanked the local community for their support and help over the past few days. they also say that two members of their family have had their lives tragically cut short. there have also been —— they have also been praised by the police who have thanked local people for the way they have responded to appeals for information. the police have described it as a fantastic response and say they will be supporting family members as time goes on in what has been a very, very difficult time. thank you. a national memorial service celebrating the life of us senatorjohn mccain has begun in washington. 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.

the motorcade carrying senator mccain's casket has just departed. the vietnam memorial where his widow, cindy mccain, was there to place a wreath. our correspondent, chris buckler, is in washington. john mccain flew 23 missions over north vietnam before his final mission on the 26th of —— of october, 1967. that honour being paid today by his widow. yes, stopping at the vietnam memorial such an important moment for the family because john mccain such an important moment for the family becausejohn mccain was shot down over hanoi. he was interrogated, captured, tortured for a number of years. that had a lasting impact on the senator. he was someone lasting impact on the senator. he was someone who had lasting injuries. it did have it found

effect on him. although it's worth remembering that he also refused to be released at one stage because he felt his captors were potentially using that as a propaganda attempt to try and use him in some way because his father had become the commander of us troops in vietnam. so he refused to be released. ultimately he did return to america, he was treated as a war hero. ultimately he was someone who entered politics, and that has been the other part of his life that has really been marked today already in this service. clearly the main memorial service will take place at washington national cathedral but yesterday he lay in state at the us capitol building. and of course in congress he served for close to four decades. there were emotional scenes as his body was carried out of the capitol building for a final time. for that journey that will go through washington the city that he served for so long. and stopping, as

you mentioned, at the vietnam memorial before making its way to the memorial service. former presidents barack obama and george w bush will give eulogies. there will be political friends from bush will give eulogies. there will be politicalfriends from both sides. but it is worth remembering that he did have some political enemies and those came from the left and the right. of course, there will specifically be some shadow, i suppose, because the president, donald trump, will not be there. he was a man who wasjohn mccain's political nemesis in recent years and there were people who did not see a lot in each other. —— they we re see a lot in each other. —— they were people. others feel strongly thatjohn mccain should be remembered in the most sincere way possible. i think that will take place today. we can see some of the scenes taking place inside the national memorial. people have already been arriving. over the last

few hours. the ceremony itself is set to start within the next 45 minutes. this is the last, the final public sendoff. his burial to take place tomorrow. yes, there will be a private service tomorrow that takes place just outside of washington. before he is buried. as you mention bearer, this is very much a public events. this is a chance for others to pay tribute to john events. this is a chance for others to pay tribute tojohn mccain. already at them vietnam memorial we have seen people standing watching and applauding. john mccain himself has been very involved in planning all of this. as you look inside the washington national cathedral, it's worth remembering that he decided so much of what is going to take place today. right down to the pallbearers he has chosen to carry his casket into the cathedral. some of them political figures you will recognise. also the actor warren

beattie, a russian dissident, a range of different people. much of it reflects his life in terms of politics. the idea that he reached out to both sides. he could be a divisive political figure, out to both sides. he could be a divisive politicalfigure, he could bea divisive politicalfigure, he could be a maverick, he could be extremely stubborn. at the same time, he was also someone who was able to see through party politics sometimes in order to follow his own true beliefs. he believed ultimately that's what was right was right, it didn't come down to party politics. that did lead to on occasions coming into conflict with the republican party. but i think what you see today will be a service that representsjohn mccain today will be a service that represents john mccain in today will be a service that representsjohn mccain in every way. he has been meticulous in the planning of this because he has had the last couple of years to think about this. he has battled with ill—health, he had surgery for a brain tumourand ill—health, he had surgery for a brain tumour and ultimately his life was claimed by cancer. the idea of his own mortality had played on his

mind in the last year. ultimately the service that is taking place todayis the service that is taking place today is one that he wanted and that has been very important to his widow, cindy, and the rest of his family, to ensure that his wishes are carried out today. thank you. the memorial service itself is set to begin in 45 minutes. those attending the service are already gathering within washington's national cathedral and we will be bringing you that live. senator mccain's casket is en route, it has left the vietnam memorial. a tribute was paid by his widow, and is now heading to the cathedral, the national cathedral in washington. passengers on northern rail are facing problems travelling today — because of a fresh strike in a long—running dispute over the role of train guards. it comes after a summer of problems for people using northern's services — after a new timetable led to widespread cancellations.

our correspondent, sharon barbour, is in blackpool and explained the impact of the disruption. it is a very busy weekend here in blackpool. the busiest of the year. the illuminations were switched on last night, thousands of people coming across today to have a look at those. also coming in to see britney spears but they will be having difficulty getting here because the trains are running intermittently and tonight there will be no trains leaving the station at all. some people may find themselves stranded here in blackpool if they haven't made plans. the strike is over. the strike is over guards on trains, the rmt union sa just having a driver only is unsafe for passengers. they said to have a guards on the train will help if there is any trouble, any sickness and any emergency evacuation. northern saying this weekend their priority is to help people get to where they want to go. but it is affecting right across the north, particularly acutely being felt

here in blackpool. it has just it hasjust gone it has just gone 70 minutes past two. official documents reveal that hm revenue and customs uses a traffic light system to rate the tax arrangements of people nominated for an honour. 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 foreign office is seeking the release of a british—iranian woman imprisoned in iran during a ministerial visit to the country today. nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe is serving a five—year jail sentence after being convicted of spying. she's always denied the charges. she was recently granted a temporary release of three days, but attempts to extend it were rejected by the

iranian authorities. a man has been arrested after a young woman was stabbed during a daylight attack in north london. the victim, who is in her twenties, is believed to have been stabbed in the chest at around ten—twenty this morning. the incident took place on the caledonian road in islington and the suspect is being held on suspicion of attempted murder. 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". the agency's chief spokesman, chris gunness, said he was deeply disappointed. we reject in the strongest possible terms the criticism that unrwa's schools and health care centres are flawed in any way. these programmes have a proven track record in creating one of the most

successful human development processes in the middle east. something the world bank has praised as adding to the public good. on this question of refugees, what perpetuates the crisis, is not unrwa, it's the failure of the political parties to bring political resolution and to resolve the plight of the refugee according to all of the international acceptable paradigms for resolving this conflict. the refugees status is resolved within the context of a political solution. and our middle east correspondent, yolande knell, has been explaining why this end to funding is happening now. we saw at the start of this year that the us was freezing $300 million that it had planned to give to unrwa, passed overjust 60 million back then.

the agency needed to make and specified reforms, also that it was trying to press the palestinians to return to peace talks with israel. at the end of last year, after the us announced that it was recognising jerusalem as israel's capital, the palestinian leadership have cut off relations with the us. so this is really confirming what many had suspected for quite awhile, because this unrwa issue had not been resolved through the year, it has been battling to this gap in finances because the us was the largest donor. it supports around 700 schools in this region. there are about half a million palestinian refugee children who attend these schools. it was in doubt, just a few weeks ago, whether the new school term would start, we have seen pupils going back to school in recent days.

unrwa are still saying that it is not sure if it will be able to keep schools open beyond the end of the month. and on top of that, a lot of other services to in terms of health care and food aid. for example, many of the 1.3 million palestinian refugees in gaza, the majority of the 2 million population is reliant on food aid and other assistance. the queen and other members of the royal family are expected to attend the braemar gathering this afternoon — the biggest event in the highland games calendar. the queen will officially open a new highland games centre, named after the prince of wales. catriona renton reports. the braemar gathering has been taking place since 1832, the oldest highland games in scotland, with all the traditional heavy events — tossing the caber, throwing

the hammer, dancing, piping and the tug of war. people come from all over the world to take part and watch. it is a must on the royal programme... prince charles has been coming to the gathering since he was a child. it is fitting that the queen and the duke of rothesay, his scottish title, will open the new pavilion in his name. it is a heritage centre full of all things highland games, so people can experience them all year round. the gathering is expected to attract 15,000 people — more than 15 times the population of the village of braemar. it takes a lot of planning. this is about 18 months' worth of work for me, to bring this together, with the team that i have, so that we have one day a year, the first saturday in september, where people come along from all over the globe to enjoy traditional highland games and sport. the royal family attend every year. the queen started coming when she was just seven years old, a traditional games that continues

to be passed on through the generations. catriona renton, bbc news, braemar. russian forces are beginning a week—long naval exercise we are going to cross like now to the national cathedral. you can see there all the press that had gathered for the memorial service for the us senatorjohn mccain. that service itself will begin in just over half an hour. the motorcade there are just over half an hour. the motorcade there arejust coming over half an hour. the motorcade there are just coming over the brow of the road there. you can see the flashing lights and the hearse carrying his casket is just behind. that's motorcade did stop earlier at the vietnam memorial. and his widow, cindy mccain, placed a wreath, the family grief, at the memorial to honour all military personnel. hugh

gave their lives in the war. senator mccain of course served during the vietnam war. he flew around 23 missions. over north vietnam before his final mission on the 26th of october in 1967 when his plane was shot down and of course he entered the infamous prison in hanoi. that was called the hanoi hilton. at the memorial service today, we will be hearing from former us presidents barack obama and george w bush. both of course you came up against mr mccain ina of course you came up against mr mccain in a presidential campaigns. but he has requested that both former presidents of the united states give eulogies at the memorial service. we will also be hearing from the mccain children, megan,

syd ney from the mccain children, megan, sydney and is jimmy. from the mccain children, megan, sydney and isjimmy. you can see the hearse there are just pulling in at the national cathedral. the motorcade began its journey the national cathedral. the motorcade began itsjourney around half an hour ago from the us capitol, where senator mccain was lying in state, allowing the public to pay their respects. today is the final public service that will be taking place. before senator mccain is laid to rest tomorrow in a privates burial. a private family burial which will take place on sunday. you can just burial which will take place on sunday. you canjust see burial which will take place on sunday. you can just see the hearse pulling in the air. the funeral itself was planned to the smallest detail by senator mccain. he of

course passed away aged 81. last saturday, from brain cancer. he had suffered from skin cancer in the past but it was brain cancer that he finally succumbed to. in a family statement, the family said that senatorjohn sidney mccain the third died at 4:28pm on august 25, 2018. with the senator, when he passed —— when he party was with his wife and theirfamily. at when he party was with his wife and their family. at his death when he party was with his wife and theirfamily. at his death he had served the united states of america faithfully for 60 years. that was the statement that was announced by the statement that was announced by the family on saturday. he was of course a republican in the state of arizona. and very much described as an american original. a true icon. as we were saying, as a navy pilot who survived five years at the hanoi

hilton. it was known as the hanoi hilton. it was known as the hanoi hilton by american soldiers. the correct name for its... but five yea rs correct name for its... but five years he was incarcerated. his cancer was diagnosed back injuly of last year. in july, cancer was diagnosed back injuly of last year. injuly, 2017. it was on the 24th of this month that the mccain family actually formed the public —— informs the public via a statement announcing that the senator would no longer be undergoing medical treatment. in effect telling the country and the world that his fight with the disease was coming to an end. if you are joining disease was coming to an end. if you arejoining us here on bbc news, thatis arejoining us here on bbc news, that is the hearse carrying the casket, the costing of senatorjohn mccain. for its final public

sendoff, taking place at the washington national cathedral. he has been travelling with close family, of course. his wife, cindy, travelled with senator mccain from capitol hill where he had been lying in state from yesterday. there was a brief pause at the vietnam memorial where mrs mccain laid a family grief at the memorial itself. very significant of course for the mccain family. and senatorjohn mccain himself who served in the vietnam war. we arejust himself who served in the vietnam war. we are just taking you inside the national cathedral. you can see there are those attending the service have already arrived. i suspect in the next half an hour, although be seated. so these are the chosen pallbearers. you can see them

on the screen here. all chosen by senator mccain himself to the smallest detail. he arranged his funeral service. and arranging also under questioning that former presidents barack obama and george w bush attends his funeral and give eulogies. he has been described as one of america's elder —— elder statesman and very much an independent voice. when his death was announced, it was said that the country has been left without a single voice that rose above the party. many people referring back to his act of defiance against the republicans attempt to scrap the affordable care assistant. at this point he had already started receiving treatment for the brain

cancer. as a final act of what has been described as the maverick, he signalled in a late—night vote that he was against the republican attem pts he was against the republican attempts with a simple thumbs down. a few weeks later, the republicans tried yet again. there was a lot of lobbying at senator mccain but no, he did not budge. and again voted against the republicans. more coverage of the memorial service taking place for senator john mccain in washington right here on bbc news. meantime, we will catch up on bbc news. meantime, we will catch up with the