this is bbc news. the headlines at 3pm: the memorial service of us senator, presidential candidate and vietnam war veteran, john mccain, takes place in washington. former us presidents george w bush and barack obama will deliver eulogies at the national cathedral. president trump has not been invited. official documents reveal that hm revenue and customs uses a traffic light system to rate the tax arrangements of people nominated for an honour. the united states ends its funding for the un's palestinian refugee agency — deeming it irredeemably flawed. more misery for northern rail passengers as more than two—thirds of services are cancelled — in a dispute over driver—only operated trains. a memorial service

for the american senator and vietnam war veteran john mccain isjust getting under way at washington's national cathedral. the former presidents barack obama and george w bush will lead the mourners during the ceremony. todayis today is a day full of ceremony and thatis today is a day full of ceremony and that is obvious even when you take a look at the washington national cathedral. all of this funeral was planned byjohn mccain himself. he had of course been suffering from brain cancer and he was very aware of his own mortality. and each of these moments that you will see over these moments that you will see over the next hour and a half or so are

moments that he wanted in the remembrance of his life. already today we have seen his body being carried out of the capitol building, a place where he served for more than four decades. to be carried through washington for a final time. as you look at the faces inside the cathedral, you will find politicians from both sides of america's political divide. individuals who john mccain came to be friends with even though on some occasions he was certainly their opponent. are goodbye—mac, george w bush, the two presidents are both expected to give tributes. —— ba rack presidents are both expected to give tributes. —— barack obama. there is a real sense that this event is one in which people will be remembered that you have just seen theirjared kushner and donald trump's torture, asi kushner and donald trump's torture, as i could trump, there is a shadow left by the fact that the president has not been invited. —— donald trump's daughter. and indeed sarah

pailin, john mccain's former running mate, has also been left off the guest list. an idea thatjohn mccain himself, a man who was a maverick, a politician who could be stubborn and certainly knew his own mind. he was determined to have those who were imported to him at this event. rather than those who were important inside washington. —— important to him. as you watch the family have accompanied his coughing through this journey accompanied his coughing through thisjourney in accompanied his coughing through this journey in washington. —— accompanied his coughing through thisjourney in washington. —— his casket. they will teach —— take their seats inside the cathedral. or a service which is expected to be touching and also give you a real sense of who the man was. john mccain of course was someone who served during the vietnam war. earlier a wreath was laid at the memorial inside washington, dc by

his widow, cindy. to remember not just his political service but also the military service he gave during his life. and you get a real idea from those who knewjohn mccain well that he was someone who really remembered that time with a certain amount of trepidation. he was of course shot down over hanoi on a captured, interrogated and that left him with lasting injuries. you could probably also argued that it gave him a real sense of duty. you will see in those who had gathered inside the cathedral many in military uniform. during the service you will hearin uniform. during the service you will hear in the united states navy bands play, because each of those things

we re play, because each of those things were deeply important tojohn mccain himself. you can see those who have gathered prepared to begin this service which has been meticulously planned. it is going to reflect all of those different senses and moments that we re different senses and moments that were important in john different senses and moments that were important injohn mccain's life. and that casket has been lying

in state for the last 2a hours or so at the us capitol building. in itself that gives you a sense of how important the senator was regarded in terms of washington, dc. it is an extremely rare honour to lie in state. as it is carried into this the more real service now, once again you will hear about the life ofa man again you will hear about the life of a man who in some respects could be difficult, i think, some political opponents would say. perhaps even some political friends would say this. but he certainly was in every sense a huge character. throughout the morning the bells

have been ringing from the cathedral. and there is a sense that this city has fallen quite silent at times. certainly as the wreath was laid at the vietnam memorial. and inside the cathedral it is fallen, too. extremely silent as the body is carried in.

iam i am resurrection and i am life. says the lord. whoever has faith in me shall have life even though he die. and everyone who has life and has committed himself to me in faith shall not die forever. as for me, i know that my redeemer lives. and

that at the last he will stand upon the earth. after my awaking, he will raise me up. and in my body, i shall see god. i myself shall see and behold him who is my friends and not a stranger. for none of us has life in himself and none becomes his own master when he dies. for if we have life, we are alive in the lords. and if we die, we die in the lord. so then whether we live or die, we are

at the lord's possession. happy from now on are those who die in the lord. so it is says the spirit. for they rest from their labours. organ plays hymn. this is just this isjust one this is just one of a number of services that have been taking place to rememberjohn mccain. of course there have also been services that have been held in arizona, the state he represented inside congress for so he represented inside congress for so many years. there will also be a private service tomorrow ahead of his funeral. in their lives just outside washington. —— in maryland. this is very much the public focus,

the moment where people have a chance to see how importantjohn mccain was to many inside washington. but also i think you will get a real sense of how important he was to his family as well. his io6—year—old mother is one of those who is mourning today. and of those who is mourning today. and of course his widow, cindy, has been someone of course his widow, cindy, has been someone who has been at times of vocal much defending john mccain on occasions whenever he has been attacked by some of those from the left and some of those from the right. the thing aboutjohn mccain is he was a politician who was able to bridge differences in terms of politics. but in some ways it meant he was attacked from both those sites. i suspect that is part of the reason that we don't see donald trump here today. as i mentioned, the republican presidents george w bush and the democrats resident barack obama will both give tributes

during this service. a sense ofjust whyjohn mccain himself was able to ca ptu re whyjohn mccain himself was able to capture the attention but the aberration as well of people who held very different political views. -- -- the held very different political views. —— —— the aberration as well. it will also strike people as they look at this scene inside washington's national cathedral that there is a real military elements to this funeral. john mccain was very proud of his service as a young navy pilots. as an individual who gave to his country and adds tremendous cost to himself. the beatings he suffered when he was interrogated and ca ptu red when he was interrogated and captured in vietnam, they left him with really dreadful lasting injuries. he was never able to raise

his arms above his head again. as a result of the torture that he suffered. but at the same time, he was very grateful for his life. when you listened to what he had to say, particularly in his last months of life, he was determined that you would see something like this of political enemies coming together. he believes america had become too divided. and that this was pretension —— potentially one of those opportunities when they could —— you could bring the country back together. he has plans this whole event down to meticulous detail. even the pallbearers have been selected by john mccain himself. he wanted

friends and political colleagues to be there today. please be seated. good morning, my name is randy howard. iam good morning, my name is randy howard. i am dean of washington national cathedral. on behalf of marianne buddy, the episcopal bishop of the diocese of washington, and all of us who served our lord at this cathedral, welcome. welcome to this cathedral, welcome. welcome to this house of prayer for all people. it is an honour to post this service for senator mccain. —— to host this service. to his wife, cindy, and his mother, roberto, and the entire mccain family. our hearts are with you and with all those across our country. —— roberta.

today we give john today we givejohn mccain back to the god of love who gave him to us. while we mourn his death, ourfaith tells us that beyond this life there is indeed more life. and god never let us go. so as the old prayer is says, we gather to give thanks for all the goodness and courage that have passed. from john mccain's life into the lives of others. and have left the world a richer and better place. for his life's task fatefully and honourably discharged, for good humour, gracious affection, kindly generosity. for sadness met without surrender, and weakness injuries without defeat. may the lord bless

him and keep him this day and always. thank you. the world is a fine place and are worth fighting for. and i hate very much to leave it. when ernest hemingway's robert jordan at the close of whom the bell tolls lies wounded and waiting for his last fight, these are among his final thoughts. my father had every reason to think the world was an awful place. my father had every reason to think the world was not worth fighting for. my father had every reason to think the world was worth leaving. he did not think any of those things. like the hero of his favourite books, john mccain took the opposite view. you have to have a lot of luck to have had such a good life. i am here before you

today saying the words i have never wanted said. even in this speech i have never wanted to give. feeling the loss i have never wanted to feel. my father is gone. john sidney mccain the third was many things. he was a sailor, he was an aviator. he was a sailor, he was an aviator. he was a sailor, he was an aviator. he was a husband, he was a warrior. he was a husband, he was a warrior. he was a husband, he was a warrior. he was a prisoner, he was a hero. he was a prisoner, he was a hero. he was a prisoner, he was a hero. he was a congressman, he was a senator. he was a nominee for president of the united states. these are all the titles and the roles of a life that has been well lived. they are not the greatest of his title. nor the most important of his roles. he was a great man. we gather here to mourn the passing of american greatness. the real thing not cheap rhetoric from men who will never come near the sacrifice he gave so willingly.

nor the opportunistic appropriation of those whose lives lives of comfort and privilege while he suffered and served. he was a great fire who burned bright. in the past few days my family and i have heard from so many of those americans who stood in the warmth and light of his fire and found it illuminated what is best about them. we are grateful to them because they are grateful to him. if you have resented that fire, for that lighted cast upon them, for the treated revealed about their character, but my father never carries what they thought. and even that small numbers still have the opportunity as long as they draw breath to live up to the example of john mccain. my father was a great man. he was a great warrior. he was a great american. i admired him for

all the these things. but i love him because he was a great father. my father knew what it was like to grow up father knew what it was like to grow up in the shadow of greatness. he did just as his father had done before him. he was the son of a great admiral was also the son of a great admiral was also the son of a great camera. when it came time for the third john sidney mccain to become a man, he had no choice. to what can those exact same paths. he had to become a sailor. he had to go to war. he had to have his shot at becoming a great admiral as they also have done. the path of his father and grandfather led my father directly to the harrowing howl of the hanoi hilton. this is the public legend that is john the hanoi hilton. this is the public legend that isjohn mccain. this is where all the biographies, legend that isjohn mccain. this is where allthe biographies, campaign literature and public remembrances day he showed his character, is patriotism, his faith and his enduring cinder worst possible circumstances. this is where we

learn tojohn mccain circumstances. this is where we learn to john mccain truly was. and a lot that is very true. except for the last parts. today i want to share with you where i found out to john mccain truly was. it wasn't in the hanoi hilton. it wasn't in the cockpit of a class and lethal fighterjets. it wasn't on the high seas or the campaign trail. john mccain was in all of those places but the best of him was somewhere else. the best ofjohn mccain, the greatest of his titles and the most important of his roles was as a father. imagine the warrior, the night of the skies, gently carrying his little girl too bad. imagine the dashing aviator who took his aircraft bristling of pitching backs in the south china sea is kissing the hurt when i fell and skinned my knee. imagine the distinguished statesman who counselled presidents

and the powerful singing with his little girl during a rainstorm. imagine the senator... the fierce conscience of the nation's best self sticking his 14—year—old daughter out of school because he believed that i would learn more about america at the town halls he held across the country. the elderly guttering or a government whose wisdom and courage were sought by the most distinguished men of our time with his eyes shining with happiness as he gave his blessing for his granddaughter's marriage. you will have to imagine that, i don't have to because i lived it all. i know who he was. i know what to find him. i got to see it every single day. of my placid life. john mccain was not defined by prison. —— of my blessed life. by the senate, by the republican party or by every

single one of the deeds in his extraordinary life. john mccain was defined by love. several of you out there in the pews who crossed swords with him were —— or founder sells on the receiving end of his famous temperand work at the receiving end of his famous temper and work at a cross —— doing your best to stay stonefaced. you know full well that isjohn your best to stay stonefaced. you know full well that is john mccain we re know full well that is john mccain were in your shoes here today, he would be using some salty bertie london and a deep well my mother jackson in embarrassing. he would look back at her and grumble and maybe stop talking but he would keep grinning. she was the only one who could do that. on their first date, when he still did not know what sort of woman she was, he recited a poem to her called the cremation of sam mcgee. about an asking prospect who welcomes his cremation as the only way to get warm in the icy north. there are strange things done in the midnight sun by the man who... the

arctic trails have secret tales that would make your blood run cold. he had learned it in hanoi. a prisoner in the next cell had ranted out in code over and over during the long years of captivity. my father appreciated the dark humour... she just might sit through a lifetime with him as well. and she did. john mccain was defined by love will stop this love of my father from my mother was the most serious and lasting of them all, mum. that's me tell you what love meant to john mccain. and to me. his love was the love of a father who meant that argument is as much as the comforts. he was endlessly present for us. bash mac who mentors as much as he comforts. he was he didn't expect us to be like him.

his ambitions for us unmoored from any his ambitions for us unmoored from a ny worldly his ambitions for us unmoored from any worldly achievement was to be better than him. armed with his wisdom and in formed by his experiences, long before we were old enough to have assembled our own. as a girli enough to have assembled our own. as a girl i did not fully appreciate what i most fully appreciate now, how he suffered and how he or it with his stoic silence. that was once the mark of an american man. i came to appreciate it first when he demanded of me. i was a small girl thrown from a horse and crying from a busted collar bone. i doubt picked me up, it took me to the doctor and got me fixed up. he immediately got —— took me back home and made me get back on the same course. i was furious at him as a child. but howl love him for it now. my father knew pain and suffering with an intimacy and immediacy that most of us are blessed never to have endured. he

was shot down, crippled, beaten, starved, tortured and humiliated. that pain never left him. the cruelty of his communist captors ensured that he would never raise his arms above his head for the rest of his life. yet he survived, yet he endured, yet he triumphed. and there was this man who had been through all that with a little girls who simply didn't want to get back on her horse. he could have sat me down and told me all of that and make me feel small because my complaint and fear was nothing next to his pain of memory. instead he made me feel loved. —— pain and memory. get back on the horse, he says. i did. because i was a little girl i resented it. now that i am a woman i look back across that time and see the expression on his face when i

climb back up and road again. i see the pride and love in his eyes as he said, nothing is going to break you. for the rest of my life, whenever rifle down i get back up whenever i am hurt drive on. whenever i am slow, i rise. that is not because i am uniquely virtuous. or strong resilient. it isn't only because my father, john mccain, was. when he got six, when i asked him what he wanted me to do with this eulogy, he said, show them how tough you are. —— when my father got six. that is what love meant to john mccain. love for my father also met caring for the nation and —— entrusted to him.

my father the true son of his father and grandfather was born into an injuring sense of the hard—won character of american greatness. and was convinced of the need to defend it with ferocity and says. john mccain was born in a distant and vanquished outpost of american power. but he understood america as a sacred trust. he understood our public demands responsibilities even before it defends its rights. he knew navigating the line between good and evil was often difficult but always simple. he grasped that our purpose and our meaning was rooted in a missionary responsibility stretching back centuries. just as the first americans looked upona just as the first americans looked upon a place of potential, so their descendants have a responsibility to defend the old world from its worst self. the america ofjohn mccain is the america of the revolution,

fighters with no stomach for the sunshine patriot, making the world anew with the bells of liberty, it is the america of abraham lincoln, fulfilling the promise of the declaration of independence that all men are created equal and suffering greatly to see it through. the america john mccain is the america the boys who rushed to the colours in every war across the centuries knowing that in them is the life of the republic and in