tonight at 10, counting the immense economic cost of the pandemic, as the chancellor delivers his budget. in the red box, a series of measures that will take the uk's overall tax burden to its highest level since the 1960s. mr chancellor of the exchequer. hear, hear! he said the furlough scheme, and support for the sel—employed would be extended, but he needed to raise more in tax to help pay for it all. just as it would be irresponsible to withdraw support too soon, it would also be irresponsible to allow our future borrowing and debt to rise untracked. he warned it would take a long time for the economy to recoverfrom the pandemic, labour said the budget barely papered over the cracks.

this is a budget that didn't even attempt to rebuild the foundations of our economy, or to secure the country's long—term prosperity. we'll be looking at the measures in detail, and the tax implications for individuals and for business. also tonight... scotland's first minister defends her handling of allegations of harrassment against her predecessor and former friend alex salmond. i must rebut the absurd suggestion that anyone acted with malice or as part of a plot against alex salmond. and, buckingham palace say they'll investigate claims, that the duchess of sussex bullied some members of her staff. and coming up in sport, on bbc news, rangers move within four points of the scottish premiership title as alfredo morelos leaves it late to beat livingston.

good evening. the enormous cost of shoring up the economy because of the pandemic has been spelled out by the chancellor in today's budget. mr sunak revealed a series of measures that will take the uk's overall tax burden to its highest level since the 1960s. and he insisted that without corrective action the national debt would go on rising indefinitely. the furlough scheme for workers and support for the self—employed will be extended to september, as will the £20 a week uplift in universal credit. for the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors, the business rates holiday will continue untiljune. there's an extra £65 billion being spent on the whole range of support measures. paying for all this will take a long time, says the chancellor. income tax allowances will be frozen from april 2022 for four years.

this means more than a million people will start to pay income tax and a million more will start to pay the higher rate. corporation tax, paid by companies on their profits, will rise from 19% to 25% by 2023. all that will only make a dent in the record amounts the government is borrowing, more than £355 billion this year alone. we'll be looking at the measures in detail. let's start with our political editor, laura kuenssberg. the virus has clouded everything, making the future hard to see. but the economic alert has been flashing red all the while. lockdown�*s cut income, busted the country's bank balance. when are we going to start paying for it, sir? - and the red box�*s firstjob — to extend emergency lifelines. but, repeatedly, the chancellor promised us hard truths, too.

what was originally thought to be a temporary disruption to our way of life has fundamentally altered it. so emergency measures brought in during the scramble at the start of the pandemic will go on for months to come. the furlough scheme will be extended until the end of september. for employees, there will be no change to the terms. they will continue to receive 80% of their salary for hours not worked, until the scheme ends. billions more will be spent during this strange lockdown era, a long list of props under the economy, six months more of £20 extra on universal credit, lower vat and cheaper stamp duty. but for this chancellor, for his party, that simply can't last forever. the amount we've borrowed is comparable only with the amount we borrowed during the two world wars. it's going to be the work of many governments, over many decades, to pay it back.

just as it would be irresponsible to withdraw support too soon, it would also be irresponsible to allow our future borrowing and debt to rise unchecked. no surprise he took a big gulp before what came next. big new taxes, a million people will move into the higher rate of income tax, and 1.3 million who don't earn much will start to pay. our first step is to freeze personal tax thresholds. this policy does remove the incremental benefit created, had thresholds continued to increase with inflation. we are not hiding it. business will cheer a chunky new tax break to get them investing — the so—called super deduction. with the super deduction, they can now reduce their tax bill by 130% of the cost. but from 2023, in a real about turn, some companies will pay a lot

more tax on profits. the rate of corporation tax paid on company profits will increase to 25%. these are significant decisions to have taken — decisions no chancellor wants to make. i recognise they might not be popular but they are honest. big spending, in tune with the boss, perhaps. but extraordinary measures, some in his own party might think, in extraordinary times. an important moment is upon us. a moment of challenge and of change. of difficulties, yes, but of possibilities, too. this is a budget that meets that moment and i commend it to the house. despite all the billions, public spending overall will actually go down. but with huge numbers and big

taxes from the tories, how would labour cuts through the gloom? one day we will all be able to take our masks off, and so will the chancellor. and then you will see who he really is. this is a budget that didn't even attempt to rebuild the foundations of our economy or to secure the country's long—term prosperity. instead, it did the job the chancellor always intended — a quick fix, papering over the cracks. the party— opposite spent a decade weakening the foundations of our economy. now they pretend they can rebuild it. but the truth is, they won't confront what went wrong in the past, and they have no plan for the future. though rishi sunak was conscience of spreading spending to new tory constituencies and across the uk, too. the chancellor stood up today- and doubled down on exactly the same mistake he has been making through this pandemic. - temporary extensions and temporary

support can only ever mean - a temporary reprieve for those i millions who have been crippled by uncertainty for months. there will be millions of people out there and tens of thousands of businesses, the self—employed, he will be very, very disappointed. liberal democrats have been particularly calling on more help for small businesses, micro businesses and the self—employed. and there was just nowhere near enough. the chancellor chose notjust to tinker, but to make big decisions, but they could have to shift with a tiny flicker to the cost of all his borrowing, or an even more prolonged pandemic. this budget, the way the country earns a living, is deeply vulnerable to what comes next. the pain of the last 12 months has changed our assumptions about the economy. we saw a conservative

chancellor pumping up the airbags, to extend the emergency support that has got many businesses and families through the pandemic. second of all, he set out and chose to give a plan for very chunky tax rises that will hit businesses and millions of taxpayers in the years to come, not just the wealthy. and, despite all the big sums that have been spent, and all of the big sums that are there in the years to come, the amount of money that will be available for day—to—day spending is actually still set to shrink. and rishi sunak today has also perhaps, in contradiction with some of his own instincts, ended tory dreams of a return to a low tax, lean economy anytime soon. but you know, in the last few months, there has so much give. in the years to come, there is no question that there will be a lot of take. laura kuenssberg, with her analysis at westminster. let's turn to the likely economic impact, of the range of measures

announced by the chancellor today, including the rise in corporation tax, the tax paid on company profits, which represents a notable reversal of the conservative policy of recent decades. the office for budget responsibility says the overall budget package will lead to the highest tax burden on the uk economy, for more than half a century. 0ur economics editor faisal islam explains more. there's never been a real world budget backdrop like this. and nor has there been a budget like it, either. it contains a message that the vaccine is getting us through to a reopening, so it's worth one more push, pumping tens of billions more in immediate support to carry on saving jobs. the real story of the decisions is in the budget book chart and what's known as the scorecard, adding up the impact of all the new policies today by year. in this coming year, the government will be pumping significantly more into the economy, nearly £60 billion extra, in furlough, self—employment grants and the massive incentive to get businesses to invest.

but significantly higher corporation tax and the freeze on personal tax allowances claws back much of that, but only substantially after three years. that extension of support and progress on the vaccine all leads to this. the latest official forecasts are that unemployment will peak at 6.5%, up from now, but far lower than the expected peak of 8%, and above 10% in last year's pessimistic scenario. basically, this means far more people than expected returning straight to theirjobs from furlough. the flip side of that is the amount the government has borrowed to pay for these support schemes has been at record peacetime levels, multiples of previous years. that had been expected to fall relatively fast. instead, in the coming year, as a result of today's spending, that stays above 10% of the size of the economy before falling back. the reason he's raising taxes over the next few years is not to pay back the debt we've accumulated over the last couple of years, rather it's to deal with the fact the economy will be smaller

and therefore the ongoing deficit will be bigger. but what's happened over this year, that's something we will pay back over a very long time. the core calculation in this budget is to let near—record levels of borrowing continue in order to sustain ongoing crisis support for workers, and also a novel attempt to kick businesses to invest. the bill comes a couple of years later, mainly for big corporations, but also some income taxpayers. the end result, the pandemic having a permanent impact on the size of our government. has the pandemic fundamentally changed the conservatives�* approach to big business, big borrowing, big taxation and big spending? obviously, the pandemic has dealt us pretty bad damage to the public finances and the economy. and i think i and the government have a responsibility to put those back in a strong position over time,

but to do that in a way that is supportive of our economic recovery in the short term, but also do so in a way that is fair. the chancellor says the economy can be green, with wind power investments, and spread around the country with eight new freeports. but he needs big business to invest huge sums to power this recovery before they pick up a large bill. faisal islam, bbc news. when he delivered his budget, the chancellor acknowledged that consumers were going through a tough time because of the covid restrictions. so mrsunak said he was cancelling planned alcohol and fuel duty increases. there'll be a mortgage guarantee to help people get 95% mortgages, the government says it will help generation rent, become generation buy. the national living wage will increase to £8.91 an hour from next month, benefitting around two million of the lowest—paid workers. and the extension

to support for the self—employed will help an extra 600,000 people. so what's the reaction from those who are meant to benefit? 0ur correspondent sarah corker has been talking to business people in liverpool. liverpool knows how to come back from an economic shock. former industrial areas have become creative, colourful spaces, and culture is likely to be at the heart of the city's covid recovery. it has created huge challenges for our public finances... andy's live events company has already taken out loans to keep going that will total £4 million. the extension of support schemes will be a huge help. furlough will be fantastic, the business rates will be fantastic. whether it is enough, time will tell but ultimately for me, at this moment in time, too much of it has been around loans. the grants that are in place, the grant that has been allocated, it's imperative that goes to the right place.

it takes some of the pressure off but until we are back in to places like this being 100% full, consistently, then our sector truly isn't back. the furlough scheme has helped to keep unemployment down. it'll now run until september. for this bar and brewery, it's been a lifeline. furlough has been absolutely fundamental in keeping jobs. absolutely. and it's been great to keep people on. how long do you think it will take for the hospitality sector, and your business, to recover from this? certainly think we are talking years. i think as a sector it has taken such a massive hit, we've lost a lot of businesses in the city of liverpool and across the country. it will take a long time for confidence for businesses to reinvest the money into growing again. and, as lockdown eases, there will be new grants for high—street shops, pubs and restaurants to reopen. for hospitality businesses, vat will remain at 5%

for another six months. this is a budget about saving and creating jobs. there will be an expansion of youth training programmes and extra grants, but business leaders here in liverpool say the chancellor could have gone further and done more to level up and tackle regional inequalities. the boss of this robotics firm believes liverpool could have a high—tech future, but felt the budget fell short. for me it wasn't big enough, it wasn't bold enough, and yes, it does address some of the challenges we have today as businesses, but it is more than that. if we don't concentrate on the bigger picture, then that will be a problem tomorrow. the chancellor's warned repairing the long—term damage to the economy will take time. and businesses say as long as social distancing restrictions remain, they will need some level of government help. sarah corker, bbc news, in liverpool. our business editor

simonjack is here. we heard laura talking about the give and take aspects of budget, what do business make of that? there is a lot for business _ what do business make of that? there is a lot for business in _ what do business make of that? there is a lot for business in that. _ what do business make of that? there is a lot for business in that. the - is a lot for business in that. the first half was well received, the extension of furlough, business rate discounts, all very good and well received. then came the moment where one business boss said he spat out his tea, we had the biggest single tax rise on business for nearly 50 years when it comes from 19 to 26%. there was some quid pro quo, businesses that invest will get tax relief. but i think in a stroke what's happened is that ten years of conservative thinking about having to have a simple, a low tax rate, that seems to have been put in the

bin. when you add the taxes, the tax burden on businesses will be one of the highest in europe. so it puts in the highest in europe. so it puts in the bin the idea of the low tax, low regulation, free—wheeling singapore—like economy, blahly in a post—brexit world. —— particularly in a post brecht world. brexit world. people will say what change. thank you. the first minister of scotland, nicola sturgeon, has given a robust defence of her conduct in connection with allegations of harassment made against her predecessor alex salmond. she was giving evidence to a parliamentary inquiry at holyrood, which is looking at the scottish government's mishandling of the case. ms sturgeon said that although she'd considered mr salmond a close friend, she had refused to intervene on his behalf. she also denied the claims that she'd broken the ministerial code, as our scotland editor sarah smith reports.

the stakes could not be higher, but nicola sturgeon says she is relieved to finally get the chance to answer all the charges made against her. i solemnly, sincerely and truly declare... and apologise to the women who made complaints and were let down by government mistakes. in sorrow and anger, she denied there was ever a plot to destroy alex salmond. alex salmond has been for most of my life, since i was about 20, 21 years old, notjust a very close political colleague, a friend — in my younger days, somebody i looked up to and revered. you know, i had no motive, intention, desire to get alex salmond. nicola sturgeon originally told parliament the first she knew of complaints against alex salmond was on the 2nd of april, when he told her about it in a meeting at her home. she later had to admit she'd forgotten about a meeting of the 29th of march with salmond's former chief of staff in which he

says the complaints were discussed. i would've been so shocked and appalled by news like that that i probably wouldn't have slept a wink that night. it wouldn't have just gone out of my mind. so i think you'll understand why we're struggling to believe the story that you just forgot about this meeting. people can be sceptical about that but i hadn't remembered the 29th as being the big, significant factor in this. and, in many ways, i really wish i had because if i had, i wouldn't be sitting here. i would be sitting here answering a lot of these questions but i wouldn't be sitting here trying to explain that to you, and i'm trying to explain it to the best of my ability and the best my recollection. alex salmond won a court battle with the scottish government over how they mishandled the investigation of complaints against him. the legal advice given to the government in that case was made public last night, and shows its external lawyers were very concerned. the charge that has been made against me is that i wilfully

allowed a judicial review to proceed, against the legal advice, and therefore i broke the ministerial code. with respect, as you now know, i was acting in accordance with the views of the law officers, not acting against the views of the law officers. was alex salmond's former chief of staff, geoff aberdein, given the name of one of the women who had complained by a senior government official? it's a serious charge. mr salmond's lodged a formal complaint today but nicola sturgeon doesn't accept that is what happened. why would geoff aberdein, a very senior person in the history of the snp, pursuing a career now in financial services as you're aware, why would he give evidence that was untrue? there are differing recollections and differing accounts. i can think of why the name of a complainant might have been known at that time. that does not mean it was revealed

or identified in the way that has been said and i'm not going to repeat everything i've said about the 2nd of april, but mr salmond knew the identity of both complainers — in one case because, as he told me, he had apologised to her. that's my recollection of how he knew that complainer, and the other, because he'd done his own investigations to find out. last week, alex salmond sat here accusing ms sturgeon and her allies of turning against him. i don't know whether he ever reflects on the fact that many of us including me feel very let down by him, and that's a matter of deep personal pain and regret for me. i, erm... i think i probably should stop there. nicola sturgeon is under intense political pressure. facing the prospect of a vote of no confidence in the scottish parliament, today she laid out in great detail the case for her defence.

her team are very happy with nicola sturgeon�*s performance today and they say there was no smoking gun discovered, but after eight hours of evidence, the tories say there are questions she has not satisfactorily answered. how could she have forgotten that meeting and was it the case that one of alex salmond's team was told the name of one of women who made a complaint by a senior government official? that would be very serious. those are the questions the tories say she still has to answer. thank you. now for a look at the latest coronavirus figures and there were 6,385 new infections recorded in the latest 24—hour period.

on average, 7,173 new cases were recorded per day in the past week. in the past 2a hours, 315 deaths have been recorded — that's people who died within 28 days of a positive covid test. on average, 266 deaths were announced every day in the past week. the total number of deaths so far across the uk is 123,783. on to vaccinations now and nearly 225,000 people had their first dose of a vaccine in the latest 24—hour period. in total, 20.7 million people have now had theirfirstjab. that is 39% of the uk adult population. buckingham palace says it's "very concerned" by reports that the duchess of sussex was accused of bullying her staff during her time at kensington palace.

the claims were made by former staff of harry and meghan and the palace says it will investigate the circumstances. for her part, the duchess was said to be "saddened" by reports of a bullying complaint, which was seen as the "latest attack on her character". 0ur royal correspondent nicholas witchell has more. what is the truth? is meghan, the woman who was warmly welcomed when she married prince harry, now the victim of a calculated smear campaign by the establishment? or was it the case that, as the duchess of sussex, her behaviour became unreasonable and that her staff were driven to distraction? there were strains within the sussex household. it's a matter of record that staff members left, and now a highly revealing e—mail has been obtained by the times. it was written in late 2018 by jason knauf, the couple's communication secretary to simon case.

he's now the cabinet secretary, no less. in it, knauf is reported to have written: in response the duchess' spokesman has said: buckingham palace has said it's very concerned about the allegations. it's setting up an inquiry. former members of staff will be invited to participate. the palace statement concluded: so, why have these allegations emerged just four days before the sussexes�* interview with oprah winfrey is broadcast in america? apparently it's because former members of staff, some of whom i'm told feel very bruised, believe that an incomplete picture

of the duchess is being presented. her supporters of course will continue to believe that she is the real victim. nicholas witchell, bbc news, buckingham palace. the united nations says 38 people have been killed during protests in myanmar, in the worst day of violence since the military coup last month. security forces opened fire on large crowds in several cities across the country, despite growing international condemnation. viewers may be upset by parts of this report by our south east asia correspondent jonathan head. the conflict in myanmar is now a battle for control of individual neighbourhoods. residents and protesters barricading themselves in. police and soldiers sweeping through to get people off the streets. and sometimes shooting at those brave enough to film from their apartments. gunshot.

here, the protest organisers use fire extinguishers to obscure the view, to try to avoid being shot. because that is what the military government is prepared to do to reassert its control. this was 19—year—old ginsen today, in mandalay. her t—shirt reads, "everything will be ok," but she also carried a label with her blood group, in case she was hurt. she was killed when a bullet struck her head. here in the city of monywa, the police were filmed as they dragged away another victim. the security forces are also arresting large numbers of people. in this neighbourhood, it seemed, arresting every resident they caught. and they exercise little restraint. this security camera video shows three medical volunteers being savagely beaten.

if there is a strategy in these shocking scenes, it is perhaps to crush what's now a nationwide rebellion with brute force, in the hope that the rest of the world will in time accept the reality of military rule once more in myanmar. jonathan head, bbc news. the european union has warned the uk that it risks breaking international law in relation to northern ireland —— to northern ireland if it moves to delay the implementation of full import checks and procedures — which are meant to come into force at the end of this month. the uk wants the current grace period extended until october. 0ur correspondent emma vardy is in belfast. what is the implication of this? well, look, it means we have another row over the irish sea, barely two months since it was agreed.

supermarkets particularly have been saying, we are not going to be ready to comply with all these new requirements when they're supposed to come in on 1st april. they have been warning there could be disruption to food supplies. so the uk has been pushing for the eu to show flexibility. but in the absence of any agreement, today the uk government decided to take matters into its own hand and the northern ireland secretary brandon lewis said the uk government would push back the uk government would push back the need for that new documentation until october. it has not gone down with the eu, saying it violates the brexit deal. with the eu, saying it violates the brexit deal-— let's return to our main story, today's budget, which is meant to shore up the economy at huge cost to help it emerge from the effects of the pandemic. 0ur political corrrespondent alex forsyth has been to grimsby, which returned a conservative mp for the first time in more than 70