says she's opening a formal investigation into war crimes in the palestinian territories which will examine both sides of the conflict. the palestinian authority has called the move a long awaited step towards justice. the israeli prime minister described it as the essence of anti—semitism and hypocrisy. police in washington say they have intelligence showing a possible plot by a militia to breach the capitol building, again, on thursday. extra security measures are being put in place and the house of representatives will not meet. united nations officials say 38 people have been killed in myanmar on wednesday, in the worst day of violence since protests began against the military coup on february 1st. deaths are reported in several cities, just a day after asean, the official group of the region's foreign ministers, called on all sides to show restraint.

now on bbc news, wednesday in parliament. hello and welcome to wednesday in parliament, where the chancellor sets out his budget to repair the nation's finances after coronavirus. rishi sunak announces an extension to furlough and higher universal credit, but a freeze on tax thresholds and a tax increase for big business. i recognise they might not be popular, but they are honest. but labour reckons the plans fall short of what's needed. what we got was a budget that papered over the cracks rather than rebuilding the foundations. and in holyrood, nicola sturgeon responds to alex salmond's accusations about her handling of sexual assault complaints against him.

many of us, including me, feel very let down by him, and that's a matter of deep, personal pain and regret. i but first, the chancellor rishi sunak has promised to "protect the jobs and livelihoods of the british people" as the uk emerges from the coronavirus crisis. he was unveiling the contents of his budget, much of which had been widely trailed ahead of the day's announcements. rishi sunak said he'd extended the furlough scheme, paying a large part of millions of workers' wages until september and a temporary increase of 20 pounds a week to universal credit would stay for another six months. but he also announced plans to increase taxes on large company profits, and while national insurance and vat rates wouldn't go up, a threshold freeze would mean more people being pushed into the top income tax bracket. the furlough extended to september. self—employed grants

extended to september. universal credit uplift extended to september. more money to tackle domestic violence, bigger incentives to hire apprentices, higher grants to struggling businesses, extra funds for culture, arts and sport, new loan schemes to finance businesses, kick—start, restart a lifetime skills guarantee. business rates cut, vat cut, stamp duty cut and a new mortgage guarantee, the first part of a budget that protects the jobs and livelihoods of the british people. but it had all come at a cost. total fiscal support from this government over this year and next amounts to £407 billion. coronavirus has caused one of the largest, most comprehensive and sustained economic shocks this country has ever faced.

and by any objective analysis, this government has delivered one of the largest, most comprehensive and sustained responses this country has ever seen. the amount we 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. so, there'd be a rise in corporation tax to 25% for larger firms. these are significant decisions to have taken, decisions no chancellor wants to make. i recognise they might not be popular, but they are honest. he announced a so—called "super deduction" to encourage firms to invest and new freeports for goods passing in and out

of england in eight areas. our freeports will have simpler planning to allow businesses to build, infrastructure funding to improve transport links, cheaper customs with favourable tariffs, vat or duties and lower taxes with tax breaks to encourage construction, private investment and job creation. an unprecedented economic boost across the united kingdom. and he concluded... 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. rishi sunak there.

it's the tradition that the leader of the opposition, not the shadow chancellor, responds to the budget debate. sir keir starmer said this was a budget which papered over the cracks and there was no plan to rebuild a "shattered economy". after 11 months in thisjob, it's nice finally to be standing opposite the person actually making decisions in this government. the trouble is... the trouble is, it's those decisions that have left us with the mess we find today. i'm sure this budget will look better on instagram. in fact, this week's pr video cost the taxpayer so much, i was half expecting to see a line in the obr but even the chancellor's film crew will struggle to put a positive spin on this. after the decisions up to last year and the decade of neglect, we needed a budget to fix the foundations of our economy, to reward our key workers, to protect the nhs and to build a more secure and prosperous economy for the future.

instead, what we got was a budget that papered over the cracks rather than rebuilding the foundations. it's clear the chancellor is now betting on recovery fuelled by a consumer spending bit. in fairness, if my next—door neighbour was spending tens of thousands of pounds redecorating their flat, i'd probably do the same. but the central problem in our economy is a deep—rooted insecurity and inequality. if this was a budget for a long term, it would have had a plan to protect our nhs, a plan to fix social care. i can tell you this, a labour budget would have had the nhs and care homes front and centre, but this budget is almost silent on those questions. if this had been a budget to rebuild the foundations, it would would have fixed our broken social security system. instead, the chancellor has been dragged kicking and screaming to extend the £20

uplift in universal credit. for the chancellor, levelling up seems to mean moving some parts of the treasury to darlington, creating a few freeports and reannouncing funding. that isn't leveling up, it's giving up. he said it was right that corporation tax went up in the long run. but no taxes should have been raised in the teeth of this economic crisis. so it's extraordinary that the chancellor is ploughing ahead with a £2 billion council tax rise affecting households across the country. so why is he doing that? why is he doing that when every economist would tell him not to do it? perhaps we find the answer in this week's sunday times. rishi's argument, "let's do all this now, far away from the election as possible." or the telegraph on

the 27th ofjanuary. "'raising taxes now means they can be reduced ahead of the next election,�* sunak tells mps." or the mail in september. "sunak to hype taxes and lower them before the election." let me be crystal clear — the proper basis for making tax decisions is the economic cycle, not the electoral cycle. well, after that, it was over to other mps to have their say, starting with the conservative who chairs the treasury committee. one of the big tests i set| in my mind from my right honourable friend's budget - was to what degree he navigated successfully the requirement not to drop taxes too early . and choke off growth, j but at the same time, making it very clear - to the markets that he and the government are serious. about dealing with the deficit and debt in the more medium term. - i have to say, once again, i i've been pretty impressed with what i've heard.

it seems to me that the taxj increases and the threshold of freezes that my right - honourable friend has announced did not kick in straightaway, i but he has charted a clear road map of how those taxes i and threshold will be dealt with between now and the end of this parliament. _ but there was a much frostier reaction from the snp�*s westminster leader. just as millions of people are now being injected with the hope of the vaccine, this budget should of injected the economy with the stimulus package that it desperately needs. the ippr advised the government to boost like biden, to generate an investment—led recovery. instead, the chancellor produced a budget that offers people the bare minimum. the conversion of this prime minister to increase public spending was only temporary. today, we have a tory chancellor. he is clearly itching to come off the state spending. this budget is carefully laying

the ground for more tory austerity, a decade more of conservative cuts. i do welcome a bit more support for some of the self—employed people in my constituency. we need to see the detail, but it is late. it is a whole year late, and i like many have constituents who have lived a year without a penny of income. only a day later. lives are being put on hold, future plans shredded, and no prospect of work for many of these people in many sectors for many months. a former chancellor praised his successor, but warned of pressures ahead. to date, the government has already spent more i than £300 billion. every penny of that borrowed. whilst low interest rates are certainly helps, - we cannot expect such - a benign lending environment

to last forever. the faster our economy can bounce back, the easier it. will be to manage our debt in the future. . thankfully, i believe - that our prospect for a sharp, strong recovery look very promising. - thanks to government support, the vast majority of businesses| are ready for the shutters . of the economy to be lifted. the bank of england has short up confidence. - households are sitting| on hundreds of billions of pounds of excess savings. there has been no physical destruction of capital, - and above all, the government is delivering on its _ vaccination programmes. that is the envy of europe, and it will lead this continent out of the lockdown. - the former labour leader said the budget didn't reflect the reality of people's lives, pointing to the furlough scheme that pays 80% of wages.

the scheme includes no... therefore, 80% on minimum wage is a lot last than the money people need to live on. while there are some steps that are welcomed, it is not for me go far enough for the many who have suffered the most. those for example on lower incomes, who the tax threshold will mean towns lost in their income. small businesses, families, self—employed people up and down this country today were watching, hoping for something to repay their commitment, their sacrifice for fighting the pandemic. a fair response from the government. the chancellor at the beginning of his statement promised us a budget to meet the moment. i'm afraid i don't feel he has fulfilled that pledge. but a conservative thought the chancellor had got it right in difficult circumstances.

this chancellor and government know what they're doing. - we get that we couldn't - have a situation where people lost theirjobs, just _ because some bat in china got a nasty cough - a couple years ago. that's not their fault, - it's not your fault and this government has done matches and things quickly to protect. you and your family and your work from the consequencesj of bats and biology. the dup welcomed the budget�*s impact on northern ireland. this budget and indeed the actions that have been taken by the government over the last year give an indication of the value of the union. and i look at the details that have been given in the budget paper itself, where in northern ireland over a quarter of a million people are having their wages paid through the furlough scheme. i was interested listening to the member talking about the value of the union as though no other country in the world was investing

in businesses and people at this very difficult time. of course they are doing it in ireland in a very generous way. but plaid cymru warned that the government's generosity wouldn't replace eu funds for wales. only £220 million is allocated to the pilot to boost the entire uk. wales alone received around £375 millions a year in needs—based funding from the eu schemes and yet now they will be expected to compete for a much smaller pot of money. nothing to help those exporters hit by brexit red tape. just last week a chocolate maker in my constituency told me he has been unable to export a single bar of chocolate to the eu since the 1st ofjanuary. he normally exports a quarter of £1 million worth per year. nothing on building more affordable and social homes, just measures to make homes yet more unaffordable. on this side of the house, j we know that the only way

forward is to create a more. socially and environmentally sustainable economy. a fairer country. and we also know that - despite the gloss in the pr, the chancellor has not grasped this fact, so he cannot- and will not be able to build a society in the future - fit for all. the latest deficit figures published before today were £394 billion a year. that's £14,000 per household, £14,000 per household, that is the size of the black hole we have to fill. just looking at the size of the number tells you that no tax policy can solve it. the idea of imposing £14,000 per household on taxes is a nonsense and it would be designed to destroy any economic recovery. the green party mp sensed

a missed opportunity. the question is whether as a whole, this budget addresses the climate and ecological emergency with anything approaching the ambition or urgency required. and it gives me no pleasure to say that it does not. it is alarming and disappointing to see the chancellor doubling on economic dogma that is fuelling the fires of the climate crisis and making our society more unequal and less resilient. caroline lucas. and that debate on measures announced in the budget will continue into next week. you're watching wednesday in parliament, with me, alicia mccarthy. don't forget you can catch up with this and all our programmes on the bbc iplayer. scotland's first minister, nicola sturgeon, has give a robust defence of her conduct dismissing claims of a plot against her predecessor, alex salmond, as "absurd". she spent the day speaking to the inquiry into her government's unlawful handling of harassment complaints against mr salmond.

when he appeared in front of the committee on friday, alex salmond accused nicola sturgeon of lying and argued he was the victim of a conspiracy. he argued nicola sturgeon had misled parliament over when she first heard of sexual harrassment allegations against him. if the first minister has broken the ministerial code, should she resign? i have no doubt that nicola has broken the ministerial code but it is not for me to suggest what the consequences should be. it is for the people judging that, including this committee. nicola sturgeon originally told parliament the first she knew about the accusations was on the 2nd of april 2018 but later accepted she'd forgotten about a meeting on the 29th of march with alex salmond's former chief of staff when the issue was discussed. the former first minister reckoned that was significant. some people say what difference does four days make. the difference is of course if the meeting of the 29th of march is admitted and indeed

the subject matter is admitted, it makes it very difficult to argue that the meeting of the 2nd of april was not party business as opposed to government business. and if it was a government meeting it should have been recorded. not to do so could be a breach of the ministerial code. mr salmond was cleared of all of the sexual assault allegations against him by a high courtjury. when she appeared in front of msps, nicola sturgeon denied there was a plot to destroy alex salmond. alex hammond has been for most of my life, since i was about 20, 21 years old, notjust a very close political colleague, a friend and in my younger day somebody i looked up to and revered. i had no motive and intention or desire to get alex salmond. but she was questioned about her claim to have

forgotten a meeting where she was first told about the accusations. i would've been so shocked and appalled with news like that. i would not have slept a wink that night. it would not have just gone out of my mind. i think you'll understand why we're struggling to believe that the story that you just forgot the 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 would be sitting here answering questions but not trying to explain that to you and i'm trying to explain it to the best of my ability and the best of my recollection. 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 is a matter of deep personal pain and regret for me. i probably should stop there. nicola sturgeon.

back at westminster at prime minister's questions, borisjohnson said the uk had got its "priorities right" in cutting aid to yemen because of the "tough circumstances" of the coronavirus pandemic. the situation in yemen has been described as the world's worst humanitarian crisis. the government has said it will provide "at least" 87 million pounds in aid this year, down from 164 million pledged last year. a cut of half. the labour leader, sir keir starmer quoted two senior conservatives andrew mitchell, a former international development secretary, and the mp for sutton coldfield, and, tobias ellwood, the chair of the commons defence committee, and a bournemouth mp. just this morning, the conservative mp for bournemouth east said cutting support for starving children is not what global britain should be about. it undermines the very idea of the uk as a nation to be respected on the global stage. and the honourable member for sutton coldfield said this was unconscionable. will the prime minister now do the right thing and reconsider this urgently?

the prime minister said the uk had given a billion pounds since the conflict began in yemen. we're in support of un resolutions and this year we're contributing another £214 million to support the people of yemen. they are very few of the countries in the world that have that kind of record. i think in this straight and tough circumstances, bearing in mind the immense costs of the covid—19 epidemic that is affecting our country, i think the people of this country should be very proud of what we are doing. mr speaker, britain should be a moral force for good in the world. butjust as the us is stepping up, the uk is stepping back. if the prime minister and chancellor are so determined to press ahead with their manifesto breaking cuts to international aid, cutting the budget to 0.5%, they should at least put that to a vote in this house. will he have the courage to do so?

mr speaker, we are going to get on with our agenda of delivering for the people of this country and spending more than virtually every country in the world, and still more than every other country in the g7 on aid. it is a record that i think which this country can be proud of. given the difficulties that this country faces, i think the people of this country will think that we have got our priorities right. he said keir starmer had concentrated on the interests of the people of yemen, rather than asking about coronavirus. we are doing everything we can to support the people of yemen given the constraints that we face. we are getting on with a cautious, but irreversible road map to freedom. the prime minister said he hoped the labour leader would support those plans, to come out of lockdown in england. the westminster leader of the snp returned to the situation in yemen. 100,000 people have been killed. 16.2 million are at

risk of starvation. 2.3 million children, prime minister, at death's door, facing acute malnutrition. the uk governments response isn't one of compassion, instead it is to impose cuts. that is what you are doing, prime minister. a 50% cut to international aid to give, a move the un chief antonio gutierres has described as a death sentence. since the start of the war, the tories have shamefully backed a saudi regime through arm support despite evidence of war crimes and of the targeting of civilians. on monday, we will provide cash support to 1.5 million of the most vulnerable yemeni households, support 400 health clinics and treat 75,000 cases of severe malnutrition. that is the continuing effort of the british people and the british government to help the people of yemen. borisjohnson.

and that reduction in aid to yemen was also roundly condemned in the house of lords. my view is that we shouldn't be cutting the aid to yemen, let alone all the other countries. we really need to look at this again. i have to say that cutting british aid and in particular cutting aid to yemen in the middle of a humanitarian emergency looks less like global britain than little england at its worst. let us hope that it is not too late to reverse it. the minister rightly used i the word "peace" a number of times in referring _ to the government commitment to bringing peace in yyemen. and yet we continue to sell arms to saudi arabia, - which is part of- the violent problem. does this notjust reflect badly on the moral case | for global britian at a time when we cut our aid - to what is acknowledged to be | the poorest and most suffering people in the world?

look at the television - programme the other night on the 9—year—old blind boyl teaching in a derelict school. it is a time when - they need this most. my lords, i align myself to the particular news story that the right reverend relates and indeed we all have been, as i have myself as a parent, i totally understand the issue of children in particular suffering in yemen and elsewhere in the world and that is why we remain very much committed to our programmes on vaccination, but also importantly as noble lords have acknowledged our report to attention again today on humanitarian aid. the foreign office minister, lord ahmad. and that's it from me for another busy day but do join me next time as we round up the week here at westminster and beyond. but for now, from me, alicia mccarthy, goodbye.

hello there. wednesday was a cloudy day and over the next few days, sunshine is going to be at a premium. now, we've still got colder air sitting across the uk. for most of the time, it is going to be dry but there will be a lot of cloud, and the cloud was thick enough on wednesday to give quite a few showers for england and wales, some heavy bursts of rain for a time as well. now at the moment, those showers are becoming confined more to the south east of england and east anglia on that weather front there. at the same time we have another weak weather front moving down into scotland. now, behind that we're going to pick up more of a north—easterly breeze. that will push its way down across the uk and just continue to feed in that chilly airfrom the north. now, there's a lot of cloud around at the moment. misty weather, too. not as much fog, mind you. and temperatures by the morning should be just a few degrees the right side of freezing. but there's some showers to clear away from the south east and east anglia in the morning.

we've got on that weather front in the north some light rain or drizzle. and in scotland, perhaps even a bit of snow over the highest ground. that damp weather moves down into northern england in the afternoon allowing something a bit brighter in scotland, some sunshine in the west. for many parts of the uk, it's going to be cloudy again, particularly dull towards the south west. temperature�*s not quite as high here on thursday. and generally, those temperatures will be around 6—7 degrees. as we head into the evening, a little bit of drizzle for a while for northern ireland moving into wales, the midlands, down towards the south east. as that moves through, so the cloud will tend to break up a little bit more overnight. we've got high pressure moving down — this time, coming down from iceland bringing with it that colder air but bringing with it a lot of dry weather and the winds will be lighter on friday, as well. could start a bit chilly, though, with some clearer skies overnight. so, a risk of frost in the morning and whilst there could be some sunshine at times on friday, we'll tend to find the cloud tending to build and spread out a bit more through the day. that's not going to help the temperatures, of course. and again, those temperatures will be around 6—8 celsius. now, let's head into the weekend and for many, it's more of this quiet, dry,

fairly cloudy sort of weather. we may find temperatures sneaking up a degree or so as the weekend goes on. and by sunday, there's more of a west to south—westerly wind picking up. over the weekend, there's still the chance of seeing some rain across northern ireland and western scotland, particularly on sunday as weather fronts start to come in from the atlantic, and that's a sign of something more unsettled but not quite as cold as we head into next week.

welcome to bbc news. i'm mike embley. our top stories: the international criminal court is opening a formal investigation into war crimes in the palestinian territories. police in washington say they have intelligence of a possible plot by a militia group to breach the capitol building again on thursday. the violence escalates in myanmar — 38 people have been killed on wednesday, the united nations calls it shocking. and buckingham palace says it'll investigate claims that the duchess of sussex bullied some members of her staff.