09/03/2017 BBC News at Six

The Chancellor is forced on to the defensive about his plans

to raise National Insurance for the self employed.

Tory backbenchers call on him to think again and not

abandon a manifesto pledge, but Mr Hammond stands firm.

We have to have a tax system that is fair,

and it's right that we ask people to contribute appropriately,

for the benefits that they're receiving from the state.

What we've got to do is make sure it doesn't get through the net; we've

The Chancellor needs to do a u-turn, he needs to do it quickly.

We'll be looking at the proposed changes in more detail,

and the scale of the backlash against them.

The Prime Minister at what's expected to be her last EU summit

The Queen unveils a memorial to both military and civilians who served

What happened to the baby chimp rescued by a BBC investigation

after being captured by traffickers?

And Britain's first female world champion boxer returns

to her home town of Hull, to encourage girls

And coming up in the sport on BBC News:

How a run in with Eddie Jones' dog has apparently put Owen Farrell

at risk of missing the Six Nations clash with Scotland on Saturday!

Good evening, and welcome to the BBC News at 6.

The Chancellor has been forced to defend his budget

and the controversial changes to increase National Insurance

That's despite a Tory manifesto pledge not

It's angered a number of Conservative backbenchers and been

There has been partial backing for the increase

from the influential think tank the Institute for Fiscal Studies,

but overall it described the Chancellor's plans as a sticking

plaster rather than a fundamental review.

Our chief political correspondent Vicki Young has been

He says he's backing business, but visiting the West Midlands today

the Chancellor had to fend off accusations that he's bashing

the workers who keep the wheels of the economy turning.

Putting up taxes is never popular, and this is going to be a hard sell

We have to have a tax system that is fair,

and it's right that we ask people to contribute appropriately

for the benefits that they're receiving from the state.

Access to the National Health Service, access to state pensions,

available now to self-employed people on the same basis

as the employed, and they have to be prepared to pay a little more,

The Government insists the National Insurance

Yesterday's announcement, plus others already planned,

mean 2.6 million self-employed workers will gain

But 1.6 million will have to pay more - on average ?240 a year.

And for self-employed cab-driver Vince, this is bad news.

It's another dent in my partner and my pocket, as well,

It's a struggle at the moment, so it will be more of

Like last night, as I got in, and that's the first thing

We spoke about it, so it's another thing that we've got to find.

If I don't work, or go on holiday, I don't get paid.

Philip Hammond's first Budget has run into trouble at Westminster too,

with some Tory MPs complaining that he's broken an election promise not

I think Philip's a great Chancellor, I think he's done a really good job.

I think this is just something that slipped through the net.

What we've got to do is make sure it doesn't get through the net,

we've got to make sure it gets stopped, the Chancellor

needs to do a U-turn, needs to do it quickly.

This is not sending out the message which I know every Conservative

Member of Parliament believes in, which is supporting business growth.

These people are making the growth of the future.

And Labour say the change is unfair on self-employed people.

They don't get access to the same benefits,

statutory sick pay, maternity pay, paternity pay, access to industrial

disablement benefits, those sorts of things.

That's what I thought he was going to start consulting about,

but all he's offered them is an increase in National

Insurance and a possible reviewer on later stage.

Treasury sources say the Chancellor is privately bullish

They hope the argument that they make the system fairer

There will have to be a vote on all this in the Commons,

although there is no rush, the changes aren't

For now though, Philip Hammond is under considerable

pressure to ditch the idea, or at least water it down.

Around 15% of all British workers are self-employed.

Under this new tax change, more than half of workers

Higher and middle earners will be hardest hit.

Our Economics Editor Kamal Ahmed has been looking at the numbers.

Hairdressers, builders, minicab drivers, well-paid

The growing 5 million strong army of the self-employed.

They tend to pay less tax and the Treasury

I asked the man charged by Theresa May with investigating

the new world of work whether Phillip Hammond was right

to impose an increase in National Insurance

contributions on those who work for themselves.

Tax rises are never popular but as tax rises go,

It's economically rational and it strengthens the long-term

So if you're going to increase taxes, this

Mr Hammond has talked about fairness.

So what are the differences between being employed

directly by a company and being self-employed?

For employed people, there's the issue of rights at work.

They receive parental leave, sick pay and holiday pay.

If you are self-employed, you receive none of these rights.

At present, an employed person on about ?25,000 a year would pay

For a self-employed person, that insurance payment falls to ?1630.

After this new tax increase, that payment will rise to ?1810.

That means the tax gap between the employed

Self-employed people earning less than 15 or ?16,000 per year

The biggest hit will be about ?580 a year by 2019 for people earning

The self-employed are not the only people facing a tax increase.

This is Kelly Gilmour-Grassam, who runs her own writing business.

She takes some of her income in dividends from her

The Government is going to ask and over 1 million other

investors with shares, to pay more tax.

People that might be thinking of making the leap

to being a freelancer or setting up a small business, it might

This is just one budget and we have already had quite a lot of changes.

If you can imagine what might happen next year or the year

after, you know, it is setting a culture of

But what about the employers of the self-employed?

They also gain by, for example, not making National

The Government is looking at changing the rules for them as well.

This debate about the new world of work and fairness

The Prime Minister has arrived in Brussels to attend what's

expected to be her final EU summit before triggering the UK's departure

Brexit will not be part of the formal discussions

at the summit, but nearer to home Scotland's First Minister Nicola

Sturgeon has given her clearest indication yet that before the UK

leaves the EU, the SNP wants to hold another referendum

Here's our Political Editor, Laura Kuenssberg.

Dizzying, not just the backdrop but the political job at hand. Brussels

working day for the British government no easier than on.

Friendly faces may be, but how much help world to reason May really get?

What advice would you give Theresa May? I wouldn't give her any advice.

Belgian sympathy perhaps. She's had problems in Parliament, he said. The

Portuguese implored, Mrs May can inform us what's her point of

departure. But the PM on the verge of starting the divorce talks, the

Irish leader confirmed she could be asked to pay out billions. So will

Theresa May really get what she wants? Clearly the language on both

sides here will change, in terms of its rhetoric from time to time. I

think we have to have a sense of realism. It sounds like you're

saying she's not being realistic? No, I'm quite sure Independence is

very realistic. But the situation starting office that Prime Minister

and UK want as closer relationship as possible to the European Union.

We have our particular problems on circumstances on their well

understood by Europe and by the British Prime Minister and the

government. No showy entrance the Theresa May, though. That Prime

Minister in a hurry for the talks, chose to go quietly in away from

reporters. At the end of the month she'll have embarked on the process

of leaving the European throng. Britain has always somehow been

awkward in this crowd. This is the first time Theresa May

will meet European leaders in this brand-new building, but it's the

last time the Prime Minister will come here before she pushes a button

on Brexit. But just as she starting to grapple with all the complexities

here in Brussels, the scale of the potential implications of leaving

the EU are coming Everclear at home. Nowhere more so than in Scotland,

where a clear majority voted to stay in the EU. And the prospect of

another independent vote moves ever closer. The First Minister openly

suggesting next year. Some of your colleagues now talk about autumn

2018 as a likely date. When the sort of outline of a UK deal becomes

clear and the UK exiting the EU I think would be the common-sense time

for Scotland have that choice, if that is the road we choose to go

down. Just to be played you're not ruling out autumn 2018? Not ruling

anything out, no one. The Prime Minister's team won't accept that

easily, but I do crush of questions about leaving the EU, they're not

likely to say what they will. It's easy to Kramer on our way but much

harder to do. The funny thing in Brussels tonight

is that even though we are here for the last time before the whole

Brexit process actually begins, we expect Theresa May to push the

button by the end of the month, it's not actually on the official agenda,

even though there is a hugely widely accepted thinking in this town, as

well as Westminster, that it is one of the biggest challenges the EU

faces on the biggest political challenge Britain has faced for

many, many decades and there is a saying in Brussels that if you're

not if you're not on the menu, you end up being the lunch, but to my

Theresa May will be given a press conference and rather than those

tricky questions about Brexit, and there are plenty of them, I think

she'll be forced to defend those changes to national insurance. I

understand Theresa May will be robust, she will be sticking to the

plans the Chancellor has outlined but goodness me, after today there's

a lot of explaining to do. Laura Kuenssberg in Brussels, thank

you. And Laura has a special programme

on BBC Two this evening - That's at 9pm, or you can watch it

on the BBC iPlayer. Staff at John Lewis and Waitrose,

who own the company and receive a yearly bonus,

have seen that bonus cut to to the lowest it's

been since the 1950s. The John Lewis Partnership

chairman said it had been reduced for the fourth year in a row

because of uncertainty about inflation and the impact

of Brexit on the value of the pound. A Church of England bishop has

turned down a promotion after his congregation protested

about his opposition The Right Reverend Philip

North, who is currently the Bishop of Burnley,

was selected as the next Bishop Mr North said it was clear his

appointment would be 'counter productive' to the mission

of the Church. Last month we brought

you the story of Nemley Junior - a baby chimpanzee freed thanks

to a BBC investigation - from Two of the traffickers

are now being prosecuted, And the body responsible for trying

to stop the illegal trade in endangered species has now

tightened up its procedures. But what of Nemley Junior,

the little chimp at David Shukman has been back

to Ivory Coast to find out. A heart-warming story of recovery -

a baby chimpanzee, Nemley Junior, An astonishing turnaround,

given the trauma he's been through. Poachers killed his mother

and the rest of his family and then He's learning to explore;

he was freed as a result But he never liked to get too

far from his keepers, Chimpanzees live in close

families in the wild. Nemley Junior has now

lost his and needs a new one. This is a key moment

for Nemley Junior, meeting another He's never going to make

it back into the wild, so the best hope is to create bonds

with a new family. Just a few months ago, he looked

so much thinner while in the hands We briefed the police

and they moved in. A young dealer called Ibrahima

Traore and his uncle Mohamed. They're now awaiting trial -

the first prosecution for wildlife trafficking that Ivory Coast

has ever seen. And with big money involved,

they're linked to another network The Sidibe family also

sold baby chimpanzees, but two of them have now been

arrested, so this could Once you get one, your arrest them,

you prosecute them, you incarcerate them,

that message starts to get out that crime is no longer high profit,

low risk, there is a risk here, The dealers circulate videos

of the chimps for sale. Wildlife investigators say

the arrests will slow the trade It is just one big step,

but it is a never ending battle, So you've made progress,

but it's not the end? Not the end, it's like a drug,

it's a never ending battle. Back at the zoo Nemley

Junior is playful. A mobile phone keeps him amused

and here's the view from it. After our first report

of his rescue, many of you were keen Well, it's reassuring

to see him thriving, and also to think that with four

traffickers arrested, other chimps in the jungles

may be a little safer. David Shukmman, BBC

News, in Ivory Coast. Our top story this evening:

The Chancellor is forced onto the defensive about his plans

to increase National Insurance And still to come, Arsene Wenger

on his future and whether he'll stay Opener Alex Hales returns

from injury to hit a century for England as they aim

for a whitewash in the one-day A national monument paying tribute

to members of the military and civilians who served and worked

in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan The Queen led the ceremony,

watched by 2,500 invited guests including other members of the Royal

family, politicians There have been many accounts

of individual sacrifice during the longest and most intense

period of combat operations Today was a day to recognise the

stories that have not been told. We meet in the presence of God

to commemorate and give thanks for all those civilians and members

of the military who have served on operations in the Gulf region,

Iraq and Afghanistan. 682 service personnel lost their

lives in Iraq and Afghanistan. The political decisions which put them

in harm's way still divide opinion. No one has ever doubted the courage

and dedication of every man and woman who travelled to a troubled

region. Mavis memorial commemorates allies and serviceable. My son was

called Chris O'Neill and he was killed in Iraq in 2007. At least

they are all being recognised. That is the main thing, that is the main

thing, with all the controversy over the Iraq war, I didn't think we

would even get a memorial but it just shows what people Power can do.

But delight at public recognition was tempered by regret that

invitations were not extended to all bereaved families. A very fitting

service and memorial but very frustrated. Bereaved parents and

family members were not originally invited to this. Those who were

invited sora sculpture which offered a glimpse of the past and the

future. -- saw a sculpture. Today brought a good closure to the events

both of Iraq which was quite traumatic and Afghanistan, which I

went to four times which was very traumatic. There are still people

out there. I leave in June. I'm leaving a team behind that will

continue working. One day, Sergeant Mark Lunn and his wife Michelle will

pass on their Iraq expenses to their son Alfie, not on his best behaviour

this morning. He and generations to come or have a permanent reminder of

a chapter in our history that remains unfinished business. -- will

have a permanent reminder. Robert Hall, BBC News, Westminster.

The man appointed by President Trump to be in charge of America's

environmental policies has said he doesn't believe carbon

dioxide is a primary cause of global warming,

a position that's at odds with most scientific evidence.

Interviewed by an American news channel, Scott Pruitt said more

He also described the Paris climate accord, which seeks to reduce

greenhouse gas emissions, as a bad deal.

The Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt says it is essential A departments

in England hit waiting time targets over the next year, now that extra

money has been earmarked for care and health services.

NHS trusts are meant to see 95% of patients within four hours,

but the latest figures suggest most are currently only reaching 85%.

Our health editor Hugh Pym is with me now.

So the Health Secretary is saying, "I've given you the money,

Yes, Fiona, it was not long ago that Mr Hunt and NHS leaders indicated

that the 95% target might be amended or dropped because of the sheer

volume of patients, with the focus instead on urgent cases. Now he is

saying not only is it essential to keep the 95% but that it will be met

over the next year, by March 20 18. I think there's a message that more

money has been pledged in the budget to the NHS and social care in

England, so it is time for the hospital system to deliver but there

is some way to go. Performance in England is that 85%. The target has

not been hit since mid-2015 so a lot of effort will have to be made to

get back and already, hospital leaders in England and NHS providers

are saying it is simply unrealistic, given record levels of demand. They

don't see where the money is going to come from to make it happen. I

think ministers have set themselves up with something here. Getting back

to that 95% in the year, against which they will be judged.

Sir Howard Hodgkin, one of the most celebrated figures in British

contemporary art, has died aged 84. His works are the abstract but he

said related to memories of people and places. He drew inspiration from

everything from the French Impressionists to the landscapes of

India. His well-known pieces included this Post on the theme of

swimming, commissioned for the 2012 London Olympics.

The Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger says he will take the fans' opinions

into account when he makes up his mind about whether

Arsenal have lost five of their last seven games,

leading to speculation about the future of the Premier

The humiliation at the hands of Bayern Munich this week left Arsenal

divided, the fans in revolt, and their manager facing

But today, Arsene Wenger insisted he'll still wait until the

end of the season before deciding whether to stay.

I love this club, that I'm loyal to this club, and that I make

You're seriously saying you might be here next season?

I do not want to speak about always the same matter,

What I want, what is important for me is football games.

CHANTING: Arsene Wenger, we want you to go!

But some have seen enough and after the protests today came on

admission, the fans will have a bearing on Wenger's future.

It will not be the most important factor,

Tellingly, today the club broke its silence.

Wenger's future is the talk of the game.

This afternoon, football's most powerful figure paying this tribute.

What Arsene Wenger has done at Arsenal,

throughout the histories, is certainly outstanding.

It's a legend, he's a legend, he's one of the football legends.

The Emirates stands as a proud symbol of

This stadium and the club both are built in his own image,

but after the humiliation his team suffered here earlier this week,

there's a growing sense that Arsenal's most successful ever

manager has taken this club as far as he can and the time has come

After two decades of management and many trophies, it's

hard to imagine Arsenal without Arsene Wenger,

but the club is drifting and even with After two decades plenty

but the club is drifting and even with decades plenty

to play for this season, British football's longest partnership

"Battling" Barbara Buttrick was known as the Mighty Atom

and became the first ever female boxing world champion,

She moved to the States, eventually retiring undefeated.

Now, aged 87, she's returned to her home county of Yorkshire,

to meet young boxers and see her pioneering

David Sillito went to Hull to meet her.

Battling Barbara, they used to call me.

Her sparring partner today, former WBC champion Tommy Coyle.

I was what they would call a tomboy, I guess.

She decided, aged 15, to give up football and try boxing.

It was a career choice that was met with more than a little disapproval.

She took on all comers in carnivals and she won a world title.

She has, over the years, faced more than 1000 people

in the ring, a world champion, a pioneer in boxing.

But even in her hometown of Hull, few had heard of the Mighty Atom.

Kat Rose Martin is the star of one of two new plays

I didn't, which is really, really, like, shocking, really,

because it's such an incredible story, how she became

the bantamweight world champion and I'm stood next

I think all this talk about girls not boxing is old-fashioned.

Girls aren't the delicate flowers they used to be.

70 years on, she has been proved right.

Tomorrow's boxers were queueing to meet Barbara.

I know, I did try dance class but that lasted six weeks.

Are you going to be a world champion?

I'm very proud to be back in Hull, now, in a day when boxing

is accepted, my life kind of is accepted, too, you know.

David Sillito speaking to "Battling" Barbara Buttrick being recognised

She was great, wasn't she? Brilliant and it's been a glorious

day across many parts of the country today, things like this one sent in

by one of our Weather Watchers earlier in Oxfordshire. Almost

wall-to-wall sunshine. A bit more clout for some parts of the country,

particularly the south-west, low cloud and hill fog creeping in but

for many parts of the country, we keep clear spells as we head through

the evening. It will turn chilly for a time across parts of eastern

England and Scotland. Further west, cloud moving in over night, bringing

with it some drizzle across parts of Northern Ireland, the West of

Scotland and Wales and hill fog down to the south-west. Clearer skies and

a colder start towards the East with a touch of frost likely across

eastern Scotland for instance. Through tomorrow, a bit more cloud

than today, making its way west to east through the day. The far east

of England, East Anglia and the south-east likely to stay largely

Sunni with some spells of sunshine for the north-east of England, North

Wales and northern parts of Devon, and temperatures touched down on

today. Into the weekend, whether France making their way in from the

Atlantic, eventually introducing cooler air through the second half

of the weekend particularly. Not a bad day on Saturday, with a front

bringing rain across some parts of northern England and Wales. To the

south-east, the cloud should break and temperatures as high as 15,

possibly 17. Bright skies across much of Scotland and Northern

Ireland. Through the second half of the weekend, for Sunday, some brain

working west to east across the country and then a return to

sunshine and a few blustery showers from the West. Temperatures around

9-13. All in all, for the weekend, Saturday looks pretty decent day and

most of us will be dry with some spells of sunshine. By the time we

get to Sunday, rain clearing eastwards and things will start to

feel a bit cooler. But all in all, a relatively settled spell on the

cards. Chancellor Phillip Hammond has been

forced to defend his plans to increase national insurance

contributions for the self-employed. That's all from the BBC News at Six

so it's goodbye from me, and on BBC One, we now join

the BBC's news teams where you are.