:00:04. > :00:07.A budget for working people - the Chancellor insists he plans to help
:00:07. > :00:15.those on low and middle incomes. George Osborne says he'll also
:00:15. > :00:20.crack down on the super rich who avoid paying stamp duty. We're
:00:20. > :00:25.going to come down on that like a tonne of bricks. We are going to be
:00:25. > :00:27.aggressive in dealing with it. Football's messages of support for
:00:27. > :00:32.the Bolton midfielder, Fabrice Muamba, who remains critically ill
:00:32. > :00:34.after suffering a cardiac arrest during an FA Cup tie. Open all
:00:34. > :00:41.hours - how Sunday trading laws could be relaxed during this
:00:41. > :00:43.summer's Olympic Games in a bid to boost the economy. And the girl
:00:43. > :00:53.band of grandmothers - Russia's entry for this year's Eurovision
:00:53. > :01:05.
:01:05. > :01:08.Good evening. The Chancellor, George Osborne, says the priority
:01:08. > :01:10.of next week's Budget is to help those on low and middle incomes.
:01:10. > :01:13.That's despite expectations of a tax cut for Britain's highest
:01:13. > :01:16.earners. Labour accused him of being out of touch with workers who
:01:16. > :01:19.were struggling to pay their bills. There will also be separate
:01:19. > :01:27.measures to tackle rich people who avoid paying stamp duty. Our Deputy
:01:27. > :01:33.Political Editor, James Landale, reports. When George Osborne steps
:01:33. > :01:37.out with his budget box on Wednesday, all eyes will be on what
:01:37. > :01:42.it says about tax. Today he made clear who he want us to think he is
:01:42. > :01:47.going to help. My priority is to help low and middle earners. That
:01:47. > :01:52.is where the bulk of the effort will be. We want to see real
:01:52. > :01:56.progress on lifting low income people out of tax. We have taken a
:01:56. > :02:00.million low income people out of tax and helping working families,
:02:00. > :02:05.the people who go out to work, provide for their family, the
:02:05. > :02:12.people looking for jobs, those are our priorities. So what does that
:02:13. > :02:18.mean? At the the moment no one pays income tax until they earn almost
:02:18. > :02:21.�7,500. The Chancellor could promise to raise it to more than
:02:21. > :02:26.�9,000. Somebody the Liberal Democrats have been demanding. He
:02:26. > :02:34.hinted he may soften plans to cut child benefit for top rate
:02:34. > :02:39.taxpayers. But all this would cost money and me promised to find some
:02:39. > :02:46.with a crackdown on people who avoid tax. Rich people, often
:02:46. > :02:52.foreigners who come to this country, and people from here, who put homes
:02:52. > :02:56.into companies to avoid stamp duty, we're going to come down on that.
:02:56. > :03:02.Behind the smiles, the Chancellor and his Labour shadow disagree not
:03:02. > :03:06.just on the tax cuts, but how they should be paid for. George Osborne
:03:06. > :03:11.would not confirm whether he would cut the top rate of tax.
:03:11. > :03:16.families on middle and low incomes, seeing petrol prices up, fuel bills
:03:16. > :03:23.ub, unemployment rising, the idea that George Osborne is saying that
:03:23. > :03:28.the priority is to cut taxes for people on �150,000, it is out of
:03:28. > :03:33.touch. What planet are they on? Some Conservatives agree and many
:03:33. > :03:37.Liberal Democrats are nervous. But other Tories are putting pressure
:03:37. > :03:41.on the Chancellor to cut the 50 pence rate. I want the rich to pay
:03:41. > :03:46.more and the obvious way is to set a rate that will make them stay and
:03:46. > :03:49.pay. The 50% tax rate is losing us money and we want the rich to make
:03:50. > :03:54.a bigger contribution. The problem for the Chancellor, if he does
:03:54. > :03:58.conclude that cutting the 50 pence rate is good for business, the man
:03:58. > :04:03.next to him will say he is just out to then rich and that is some
:04:03. > :04:09.political risk to take. James is at Downing Street for us now. A will
:04:09. > :04:14.the of rumour, what is your understanding? There is a lot of
:04:14. > :04:19.speculation, no one will confirm anything, was some -- but some
:04:19. > :04:26.straws in the wind. George Osborne used his pre-judge interview to
:04:26. > :04:32.highlight he will take a lot of low and Niddle -- middle income earners
:04:32. > :04:38.out of tax and make rich people pay more tax. So what he has done is
:04:38. > :04:41.given himself enough political space and cover to try and cut the
:04:41. > :04:46.50 pence top rate if that is what he chooses to do. It would be a
:04:46. > :04:51.risk and a lot of people will say that the Tories supporting the rich.
:04:51. > :04:57.But he is giving himself the wriggle room to make that decision.
:04:57. > :04:59.Thank you. BBC News understands that the Government is preparing a
:04:59. > :05:02.move which could bring the privatisation of Royal Mail a step
:05:02. > :05:09.closer. Ministers want to transfer all of Royal Mail's assets and
:05:09. > :05:11.liabilities to the Government's books next month. That includes
:05:12. > :05:14.multi-billion pound liabilities of the company's pension scheme.
:05:14. > :05:16.Unions welcomed the move to protect workers' pensions, but said they
:05:16. > :05:18.opposed privatisation. The Bolton Wanderers midfielder, Fabrice
:05:19. > :05:21.Muamba, remains in a critical condition at a London hospital
:05:21. > :05:23.after suddenly collapsing during his team's FA Cup tie against Spurs
:05:24. > :05:33.yesterday. The 23-year-old suffered a cardiac arrest. Our Correspondent,
:05:34. > :05:34.
:05:34. > :05:39.Ed Thomas, has the latest. They left flowers, shirts and scarfs,
:05:39. > :05:44.fans from all clubs came to show support for Fabrice Muamba. In
:05:44. > :05:50.Bolton, they say he is the player who never gives up. He is always
:05:50. > :05:57.battling and never stops running. That happens, it brings it home to
:05:57. > :06:04.you. Why was it important for you to come here today? As a fan, it is
:06:04. > :06:13.really just to show our support for him and his family and the team.
:06:13. > :06:19.ground around the country there was applause today. This was Stamford
:06:19. > :06:23.bridge where Chelsea's Gary Cahill had this message for his former
:06:23. > :06:31.team mate. It is now 24 hours since he collapsed. But what happened
:06:31. > :06:35.here has left many in disbelief. Fabrice Muamba is in intensive care
:06:35. > :06:38.in hospital. His manager, Owen Coyle, said he is hoping for a
:06:38. > :06:44.happy outcome. We can always continue with those prayers, we're
:06:44. > :06:47.very, I don't want to get ahead of ourselves, if he could pull through
:06:48. > :06:57.it would be marvellous. We know Fabrice Muamba suffered a cardiac
:06:58. > :07:06.
:07:06. > :07:10.arrest. In a statement the hospital Tonight there has been a message
:07:10. > :07:16.from Fabrice Muamba's family to fans. It thanked them for their
:07:16. > :07:25.support, not just here be but across the country. Those at Bolton
:07:25. > :07:29.now have one hope that the player they call Fab will soon get better.
:07:29. > :07:34.Our correspondent Sangita Myska is at the London Chest Hospital. What
:07:34. > :07:36.can you tell us tonight about his condition? It has been an emotional
:07:36. > :07:43.day here at the hospital. There have been a string of visitors
:07:43. > :07:48.coming in and out. Among them Germaine Defoe of Spurs and Fabrice
:07:48. > :07:51.Muamba's brother. Both came and left without saying anything. But
:07:51. > :07:55.both were distraught. Phil Gartside the Bolton chairman was here and
:07:56. > :08:02.made a statement to the cameras in which he thanked the fans for all
:08:02. > :08:06.of their good wishes and said the family and the club had drawn great
:08:06. > :08:10.strength from their words. He was vizibly upset. We know from the
:08:10. > :08:17.hospital it took two hours to get Fabrice Muamba's heartbeating on
:08:17. > :08:20.its own. We expect a further update tonight. Thank you. Sunday trading
:08:20. > :08:22.restrictions in England and Wales could be relaxed during the Olympic
:08:23. > :08:25.and Paralympic Games. The Government thinks it will boost the
:08:25. > :08:28.economy and capitalise on the higher number of tourists expected
:08:28. > :08:30.over the summer. But there's concern from some critics that it
:08:31. > :08:39.may lead to a permanent change, as our Correspondent Philippa Thomas
:08:39. > :08:45.reports. As the Olympics and Paralympics start, hundreds of
:08:45. > :08:50.thousands of visitors are expected to flow through London. Shopping
:08:50. > :09:00.centres like this opening its door last year near the Olympic park
:09:00. > :09:06.will benefit from looser laws. Delighted with the announcement
:09:06. > :09:11.that London businesss can benefit from these extra hours of trading,
:09:11. > :09:15.an extra �1080 million boost. what is the current position on
:09:15. > :09:22.Sunday trading? It was first allowed in England and Wales in
:09:22. > :09:28.1994, today more than 50% of people do some shop on a Sunday. But shops
:09:28. > :09:35.larger than 3,000 square feet are restricted to six hours of opening.
:09:35. > :09:39.So do consumers want more time to shop? I work in a hospital and they
:09:39. > :09:42.work 24/7 frplts as long as people aren't working too many hour.
:09:42. > :09:49.you're working from Monday to Friday or Monday to Saturday,
:09:49. > :09:53.Sunday you need a rest. It is good for the city and good for the UK.
:09:53. > :09:58.If changes are introduced, smaller shops could face more competition.
:09:58. > :10:02.And the shop workers union says further deregulation will have a
:10:02. > :10:07.detrimental impact on millions of workers and they're families. The
:10:07. > :10:12.Church of England is also concerned about happens after the Olympics.
:10:12. > :10:17.We are in favour of the Olympics, if the Olympic torch was Pazing my
:10:17. > :10:22.church, we would cancel services enable people to come out. But what
:10:22. > :10:25.I'm concerned about is the potential it could lead to a longer
:10:25. > :10:29.lasting change and families and communities wouldn't have Sundays
:10:29. > :10:33.as a special time. That is the big question - whatever the intentions
:10:33. > :10:40.of the Government, once we treat Sunday as another shopping day,
:10:40. > :10:44.will that be the norm for the future? Now with the sport here's
:10:44. > :10:46.Karthi Gnanasegaram. The new Formula One season started with a
:10:46. > :10:49.British victory for Mclaren's Jenson Button at the Australian
:10:49. > :10:52.Grand Prix with his team-mate, Lewis Hamilton finishing in third.
:10:52. > :11:02.Button described it as an "amazing way to start the season". Tim
:11:02. > :11:03.
:11:03. > :11:09.Franks reports. Formula One's fear is of becoming too predictable. So
:11:09. > :11:14.there was a measure of relief at the line up of the grid, with the
:11:14. > :11:21.McLarens, not Red Bull, at the front. Come the first corner,
:11:21. > :11:26.Jenson Button overtook Lewis Hamilton and that was that. Last
:11:26. > :11:30.year's champion, Sebastian Vettel, had to make an unusual for him
:11:30. > :11:37.journey through traffic. He showed he could. Sebastian Vettel was
:11:37. > :11:42.helped by some hapless driving by Romain Grosjean. Broken the right
:11:42. > :11:48.front. Then by the safety car which pootled out for some Sunday driving
:11:48. > :11:54.on lap 37, allowing Sebastian Vettel to speak past Lewis Hamilton
:11:54. > :11:59.into second. A frantic final lap followed. But Jenson Button
:11:59. > :12:03.remained serene to claim the first win of the season. I did pinch
:12:03. > :12:07.myself in the race to make sure it wasn't a dream. But a dream start
:12:07. > :12:12.for us as a team. We haven't been here before, well not so strong at
:12:12. > :12:16.the start of the season. This is important us to to get this one in
:12:16. > :12:22.the bank. One thing stays changeless - the drivers remain
:12:22. > :12:25.better at handling cars than drink! Manchester United are four points
:12:25. > :12:28.clear of rivals Manchester City at the top of the Premier League after
:12:28. > :12:31.thrashing 10-man Wolves 5-0. Javier Hernanez scored two second-half
:12:31. > :12:33.goals as United extend their lead at the top. A woeful Wolves
:12:33. > :12:38.performance means they are now bottom of the Premier League. In
:12:38. > :12:41.today's other game Newcastle beat Norwich 1-0. To the FA Cup where
:12:41. > :12:44.Fernando Torres scored his first goal in 152 days to help Chelsea to
:12:44. > :12:48.a 5-2 quarter-final win over Leicester City. Torres scored twice
:12:48. > :12:52.in the second half to bring to an end a goal drought that had lasted
:12:52. > :12:57.for 24 games. So Chelsea are into the semi-finals for the fifth time
:12:57. > :12:59.in seven years. Liverpool are also through after beating Stoke 2-1.
:12:59. > :13:02.There was a big surprise in the Scottish Communities League Cup
:13:02. > :13:06.Final with Kilmarnock beating SPL leaders Celtic 1-0 to lift a trophy
:13:06. > :13:09.for the first time in 15 years. Dieter Van Tornhout scored the
:13:09. > :13:18.winning goal in the 84th minute on his birthday, to deny Celtic the
:13:18. > :13:20.treble, and give Kilmarnock their first ever League Cup. And in the
:13:20. > :13:22.Edinburgh derby, Hearts beat Hibernian 2-0 to continue their
:13:22. > :13:26.domination over their neighbours. Suso Santana sealed the win for
:13:26. > :13:33.Hearts with an excellent solo effort in the 90th minute to add to
:13:33. > :13:36.Craig Beattie's first half goal. That is all the sport for now.
:13:36. > :13:39.Thank you. Englebert Humperdink will tomorrow reveal the song he
:13:39. > :13:42.hopes will end Britain's 15 year drought in the Eurovision Song
:13:42. > :13:45.Contest. At 75, you'd be forgiven for thinking he's the competition's
:13:45. > :13:48.oldest contestant. But there is in fact a 76-year-old who's part of
:13:48. > :13:53.Russia's entry - a girl band of six grandmothers. Our Moscow
:13:53. > :13:57.correspondent Steve Rosenberg went to meet the Boranava Babushkas.
:13:57. > :14:05.Russian villages, have normally havens of peace and tranquility.
:14:05. > :14:10.But not this one. Presenting the Buranovo grannys, their entry for
:14:10. > :14:16.the Eurovision Song Contest. At the village hall, they are rehearsing
:14:16. > :14:20.their song, Party For Everybody. Most of them are in their mid 70s.
:14:20. > :14:25.But they have plenty of boom bang- a-bang. These sing grannys are
:14:25. > :14:32.already topping the leader board, not in terms of points, but
:14:32. > :14:38.pensions, with a combined age of 403, they neighbouring UK entrants,
:14:38. > :14:45.Engelbert Humperdinck, look like a spring chicken. We Dons. They are
:14:45. > :14:50.strugwling the English -- they are struggling with the English. But
:14:50. > :14:57.they say they're determined to prove some contests are not just
:14:57. > :15:01.for young people. There is another reason. A more spiritual one.
:15:01. > :15:05.Buranovo has no church. Stalin knocked it down 70 years ago. The
:15:05. > :15:10.villagers have turned this shop into a prayer house, but they hope
:15:10. > :15:16.the Eurovision Song Contest will help them build a new church. But
:15:16. > :15:25.household chores don't leave too much time for preparations. I bet
:15:25. > :15:30.Aba never had to worry about doing this every morning! At 76, Natasha
:15:30. > :15:35.will be the oldest competitor, but she says her husband is not keen on
:15:35. > :15:43.the idea. She says, if I'm away, who is going to mill it can cow?
:15:43. > :15:47.How do they people -- milk the cow? How do they feel about being up
:15:47. > :15:53.against the most famous Danny Alexander dad. Until recently they