19/07/2017 BBC News at One

The BBC reveals the salaries of its highest paid stars

after being forced to disclose those on more than ?150,000.

Chris Evans tops a male-dominated list with a salary of

The BBC's Director General defended the figures.

What we've managed to do is always pay our talent

People come here because they want to come and work here.

We'll bring you the details and ask what the fallout from these

A major clean-up operation in the Cornish village

of Coverack after flash floods, with severe damage

People here say they are determined to be back to normal as quickly as

possible but there is an awful lot of repair work that has to be done

first. No more surcharge payments

for using your debit or credit card, The success story of the boy

with a double hand transplant So, for giving me their son's hands

because they didn't have It's number one, it's in Spanish

and it's been downloaded more And coming up in the

sport on BBC News. England against Scotland

on a new stage. The two old rivals begin

their Women's European Championship campaigns against each other tonight

in the Netherlands. Good afternoon and welcome

to the BBC News at One. The BBC has disclosed

the salaries of its top stars after being compelled to do

so by the government. Chris Evans is the highest paid

on the list with a salary of more Gary Lineker earns over

?1.75 million, and Graham Norton over 850,000 though

that figure doesn't The disclosure has divided opinion,

with some saying it's unfair on the corporation,

others questioning the BBC's There's also criticism that only

a third of the names The BBC's Director General

justified the salaries, saying the corporation had to work

in a very competitive market. Our Media Correspondent

David Sillito reports. The pay deals of the BBC's top stars

are no longer a secret. Graham Norton received

more than ?850,000. The final day of

the Premier League... Gary Lineker's deal takes him

over ?1.75 million. How do you feel about BBC talent

salaries being published? But top of the BBC pay

list, Chris Evans. We are the ultimate

public company, I think. And therefore I think

it is probably on balance right and proper that people

know what we get paid. The best paid BBC actor

is Derek Thompson, Charlie from Other actors paid by independent

companies do not appear. Also some stars such

as Graham Norton also have deals not on the list

with independent firms. But it does give a snapshot

of the level of top pay. More than ?700,000 for Jeremy Vine,

Stephen Nolan from BBC Ulster, more However, the BBC says it has

been cutting top pay, dropping more than 10%

over the last 12 months. We are constantly working

at ensuring that we get the balance right between our public,

who want to have great shows headed by stars and great presenters,

and then also wanting to know that their money,

and it is their money, public money, And over the last two or three

years, yes, some key presenters and others

have taken pay cuts. And it is not just the size

of the pay deals that The BBC has set itself targets

for gender equality and yet, when you look at the list,

two thirds of the names are men. But it is Claudia

Winkleman who is the highest-paid woman for Strictly

and other programmes, But many questions will be asked

about what appears to be gaps in pay deals between male

and female presenters. There is discrimination

and unfairness against women. But I think although

everyone will think it is very unfair and outrageous,

this is now a moment However one argument

against revealing the salaries is that some presenters may now

think they have a good case But the former culture secretary

who enforced this new openness has no doubts

about the process. If you consider that ?150,000

represents the licence fee of 1,000 households,

then I think the public are entitled to know that is how

their money is being spent. This talent bill has

been dropping, but viewers and listeners now

have a much clearer picture What are the likely consequences

of this disclosure? Well, as the excellent report went

into, this is in essence a list of names and numbers and first of all

people will take these numbers and say, oh my goodness, this person is

paid this much, that's shocking. Then they will question whether this

report is complete because there are lots of people not on this list

because they're paid by independent production companies and some people

on the list like Graham Norton who get lots of money from the BBC

because they are also paid by independent production companies.

The broader issues are about gender equality. Is the BBC in 2017 doing

nearly enough to make sure its top on their and on-screen talent

getting paid the same as men? People said this will cause people to us

the pay rises and other broadcasters will try to sweep in for this

talent. If that doesn't happen, maybe next year's annual report will

get even more numbers and even more transparency.

A big clean-up operation is taking place in Cornwall

after flash floods swept through the village of Coverack

There were three hours of torrential downpours last night,

and a number of people had to be rescued from the roofs of their

Residents reported hailstones the size of 50 pence pieces,

and the village was divided in two by a four foot torrent of water.

Our correspondent Jon Kay has travelled to the village and fishing

port to see the extent of the damage.

What a mess. This was the main road into the village of Coverack until

it was ripped apart. Just look at it now. And this is why. Heavy rain

Centre forefoot torrent of water thundering down the hills into the

harbour yesterday afternoon sweeping away everything in its wake. There

was so much power it forced down this metal barrier. Mary has found

her elderly mother's walking frame among the pile of debris. Next to it

even her kitchen sink. What is it like to see it all here?

Devastating. It is really devastating. We can't put it back.

We've just got to get on and carry on and do what we can and get back

to normal. We're Cornish, that's what we do! Mud and cobbles can be

swept up but major structural repairs are also needed. At this

time of year, there would normally be thousands of holiday-makers

driving down this road every day to get to the harbour. But it's going

to be awhile before anyone can down here. The roads are going to take a

while to get back into action properly but we're working with

other agencies to make sure that happen as soon as possible. Two

pensioners had to be winched to safety by the coastguard helicopter

as their home filled with floodwater. They couldn't get us out

of the window out the backs so they took out the front. The dishwasher

was floating around the middle of the kitchen. The washing machine

bouncing up and down like a boat and the bookcase with all the cookery

books fell over. It was terrible. This stretch of the Cornish coast is

well used to bad weather but it was the speed, the intensity and the

localised nature of this storm that took many people by surprise. How is

the clean-up going, bring us up to date. You've seen the shovels and

brushes and even the big trucks used to clear the debris in the harbour

itself, the showpiece of this village, that is what is on all the

postcards, and that is what they are concentrating on but also clearing

the beach which is a mess and checking the harbour wall. But it is

that road I showed you on the far side of the village, that is the

thing concerning the structural engineers who are trying to assess

it at the moment and local people because it is a lifeblood bringing

in tourists, it is a crucial artery for people. There is another road

but it is narrow and steep and much less easy to use said people here

desperately waiting to find out what is going to be the deal, how long it

is going to take to repair it. There's a care home on the other

side of the village. The older people have suffered a power cut and

the lane to the building has been cut off. They are trying to get a

generator in so they're going to have to get the older people out but

that's another one of the things in this village concerning the

community as they try to work out what happens next. I've seen some

visitors coming down and taking pictures, holiday-makers, not the

kind of tourism this village was hoping to have or would want to have

that might fill the gap for a moment but it seems a cruel start to the

summer season here. Many thanks. Theresa May and the Labour leader

Jeremy Corbyn have clashed over the issue of pay in the last

Prime Minister's Questions before Mr Corbyn said low pay is a "threat

to an already weakening economy," and accused Mrs May

of being "out of touch." The Prime Minister hit back

with an attack on Labour's spending policies, claiming the last

Labour government had Our Assistant political

editor Norman Smith So, it was evidently

a rowdy last session, once again over pay,

how would you assess the mood as Mps You're right. It was a bit of a

rough house today but they always are these end of common sessions

before the summer break as the rival leaders tried to send their MPs home

with a spring in their step. More important for Mrs May because Tory

MPs have been like the glance, down in the dumps, arms folded following

the bad election result. Today much more on the front foot, bellowing

their support for Mrs May which underlines what appears to be a bit

of a backlash among Tory MPs against those big beasts in the Cabinet who

have been manoeuvring against her. In part for selfish reasons they

want to avoid a contest which might mean a general election threatening

their seats. In part they've taken a look at the rival contenders and

taken the view they wouldn't do much better than Mrs May. As for Jeremy

Corbyn, it was those tensions he seized on today's saying the

bickering and backbiting amongst ministers was making it impossible

for them to tackle low pay and poverty.

The Prime Minister's lack of tact with reality goes like this. Low pay

in Britain is holding people back at a time of rising housing costs,

rising food prices and rising transport costs. It threatens

people's living standards and rising consumer debt and falling savings

threatens our economic stability. Why doesn't the Prime Minister

understands that low pay is a threat to an already weakening economy? The

best route out of poverty is through work and what we now see is

hundreds... It is! Order, order! The question has been asked, the pro

minister's answer must, and however long it takes, it will be heard. The

Prime Minister. The best route out of poverty is work, so over the last

seven years we've seen 3 million more jobs being created in our

economy. As for the two leaders, how do they leave for the summer break?

Jeremy Corbyn is on a bit of a role, he will carry on where he left off,

he is going to be on the campaign Trail visiting numerous marginal

seats. Theresa May? I suspect she will just be grateful to crawl over

the finish line, go on a walking holiday with her husband, and hope

when she comes back some of the steam will have gone out of this

leadership speculation. Many thanks. President Trump has dismissed

as fake news reports of a secret meeting between him and the Russian

president Vladimir Putin But the White House has admitted

that the two men had met privately for a brief discussion,

with only a translator present. Let's go live now to Washington and

our correspondent Gary O'Donoghue. How has news of this

meeting gone down? Well, I think with some surprise. It

wasn't exactly a private or secret meeting. It took place at a dinner

at the G20 in Germany and what seems to have happened is that President

Robert was sat next to the Japanese Prime Minister at some point during

the meal he wandered over to sit somewhere near Vladimir Putin who

was actually sitting next to his wife and it seems they had a

discussion which some people put at an hour-long so it wasn't just,

"What do you think of the sorbet? Is quote and the problem people have

here is what was discussed? There was no American translator present,

there is no record of it and they are worried Donald Trump may have

said things, may have been persuaded to do things and believe things by

Vladimir Putin and that there is no record of them in the American

system. That is what is bothering people. They had two hours of formal

discussions earlier on in the same day.

And there's been a hasty invitation to lunch

at the White House for Republican members of the Senate, why?

He's feeding senators quite a lot at the moment. They were there for

lunch and dinner on Monday, too. This is a way to look forward on

health care. The replacement plan for health care has fallen for

Senate. We know Senators are not even prepared to repeal current

system, so the repeal and replace has disappeared. What will they do

now? That is the question they will chew over this lunchtime. Many

thanks. From January, businesses will be

banned from charging fees on transactions made by debit

and credit card. It follows a directive

from the European Union to end the charges often imposed

by airlines, food delivery The Treasury says the fees

cost consumers ?473 For years consumers have been used

for you -- often charge for using their debit or credit card. 3% extra

on flight B and 2% extra on Ryanair and Norwegian. Fancy a late night

takeaway, applications such as hungry house and just eat at 50p for

card payments. But as of January thanks to European directive, such

charges will be banned. It is great, these rules put an end to

surcharging on American Express and PayPal as well as Visa and

MasterCard. That is further than the government had to go so good news

for consumers. It costs companies money to process payments, 5p for

debit card payments according to figures from last year and 16p for

credit cards. Up until now some companies have passed significantly

higher costs on to consumers. Including the DVLA which charges ?2

50 for each card transaction. 77% of all retail sales in the UK are made

using cards. So it is the predominant way to pay and therefore

it is quite right that consumers should not be charged for the

privilege of paying in the way they want to. Surcharges will cease but

it will be open to friends to recoup the costs they incur by other means.

The BBC reveals the salaries of its highest paid stars

after being forced to disclose those on more than ?150,000.

England's manager has high hopes for the women's football team,

ahead of their opener at Euro 2017 in the Netherlands tonight.

It's the Premier League but not as we know it quite yet.

Five teams and their new signings are involved in pre-season

friendlies on the other side of the world.

An American boy who was the youngest in the world

to have a double hand transplant - is now able to write, dress himself

Zion Harvey had the transplant two years ago, after his hands

and feet were amputated when he contracted sepsis.

Doctors say the key to his recovery has been Zion himself,

and his inspiring determination to succeed, as Sara Smith reports.

It's the story of extraordinary surgical skill.

I just want to write a letter to the parents

Because they didn't have to do that if they didn't want to.

After losing his hands and feet to infection at just two years old,

Zion Harvey was eight when the ten hour pioneering transplant

But it was then that the real work began.

Months and months of tough rehabilitation.

He remains a remarkable young man because here we have had

weeks of hospitalisation, a daily request for him to interact,

To interface and again there has never been one

iota of resistance or, I don't want to today

His body has tried eight times to reject the new hands.

But a mix of immunosuppression drugs and hard work means he is making

Now I can get a snack from the fridge without

He has become this independent person that does not need me

Oh my goodness, he's not going to need me next year!

Here we have Muhammad Ali and Ray Lewis.

Tests have shown his brain is creating pathways for controlling

There's still a long way to go but Zion is

If any kid is watching this, and you're going through a rough

time, never give up on what you're doing.

The former Eastenders actor Paul Nicholls is recovering

in hospital after being seriously injured in an accident in Thailand.

Nicholls broke both his legs and smashed one of his kneecaps

after falling down a waterfall on the island of Koh Samui.

He was trapped for three days before being rescued,

after his abandoned motorcycle was spotted nearby.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have arrived

in Germany for the second part of their tour in Europe.

The Royal couple, who are travelling with their children Prince George

and Princess Charlotte, are meeting with the German

Chancellor Angela Merkel, before making a visit to Berlin's

most famous landmark, the Brandenburg Gate.

The charity Mencap says demands to backdate pay for care workers

who sleep at their place of work could bring the sector

It says a change in the pay rules will cost a total

The government says it's considering the issue carefully.

Just explain why the change has come about. It is all about care workers

who sleep in as it is known at the accommodation of someone they are

looking after with serious living to -- disabilities. For years the

government allowed the provider of the carer to pay a basic lump sum

for that overnight of say ?30. A little bit more if the care worker

was disturbed in the night. But after a couple of Employment

Tribunal is the government changed tack and said no they must be paid

at least minimum wage for those hours, which could be double the

basic lump sum. HMRC Revenue and Customs has started to go suit some

of the care providers for back pay going back six years which could

total ?400 million. Mencap one of the largest providers says it will

be absolutely punitive, some will be put in danger of insolvency. The

smaller charities that provide the care of. And the losers will be the

180,000 people with learning disabilities who may struggle to

find the right level of care. The unions support back payment of the

minimum wage, they say it is only what care workers deserve. But they

say is a matter for government which is what Mencap are saying, they said

the government should pay and ?40 million is a lot of money. The

government says it is considering it carefully.

The leading economic research group, the Institute for Fiscal Studies,

says that inequality in the UK has fallen in the decade

The IFS says the gap between the richest and poorest

households has narrowed, with the most noticeable

The group also found wide regional variations in average incomes.

The main reason in recent years of narrowing inequality is due

to the falling earnings, as well as some

Those falling earnings are not a good thing.

Although there have been increases in earnings for lower paid people.

And part of that is a result of the national living wage,

which has increased essentially the minimum wage for

So that is pushing up earnings at least at the moment

Detailed maps of the ocean floor taken during the search for

the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 have been

The plane vanished three years ago en route to Beijing

from Kuala Lumpur, with 239 people on board.

Although the plane has never been found and the Indian Ocean

search ended in January, it's thought the images could help,

as they show the ocean bed in clear detail.

For three years Australian led a multinational search for Flight

MH370, beneath some of the most inhospitable waters on earth.

But the search has produced a trove of high resolution maps that reveal

Never before have some of the secrets of the southern

Indian Ocean been shown in such detail.

There are undersea mountains taller than Mount Everest,

and a valley dotted with volcanoes that runs for hundreds

The data released online by Geoscience Australia

could have many uses for fishermen and researchers.

It could help to increase the knowledge of rich fisheries

and the prehistoric movement of the southern continents.

The way that deep sea mountains help to reduce the destructive power

of tsunamis might also be studied in greater detail.

The mission to find the Malaysian jet that vanished en route

to Beijing with 239 passengers and crew was suspended earlier this

year much to the dismay of relatives of those on board.

Australia says the search would only resume if there

was credible new evidence about the plane's whereabouts.

The women's football Euro 2017 tournament starts

tonight in the Netherlands, with England and Scotland

starting their campaigns playing each other this evening in Utrecht.

Here's our sports correspondent Katie Gornall.

There are certain things you expect from the Netherlands,

But while football is also full of well trodden assumptions,

Scotland are here for a start, while England

For the first time in years, England expects.

We want to use that as a positive, seize an opportunity to exploit

If we did bring this trophy back, a major championship

for an English football team, on the back of what has been a great

summer for all of our junior teams, it would be the icing on the cake.

And for the women's game, allow us to take it to the next level.

England's history at the Euros is a chequered one.

In 2009 they were runners-up to Germany.

But fell apart at the tournaments four years ago in Sweden

That failure led to a change in coach.

Under Mark Sam Samson they finished third at the 2015

and arrive here fitter than ever before.

Scotland have made history just by being here.

This is their first major tournament.

But they are without a number of their key players including

the world-class Arsenal midfielder Kim Little.

They have put so much into the team to help us to this point,

we would just love them to experience this.

But they're not here and that brings us closer together as a team.

Adversity, yeah, but we will face that head on.

While Scotland's players are preparing for the biggest

game of their careers, England's have been brushing up

Everyone knows that rivalry, that battle.

Yesterday we had a meeting, it was kind of a history

Because we all know yes, there is this rivalry,

So we had a sit down and if my history lessons would have

been like that in school, I think I would have

History favours Germany, who have won the past six

But this is a country with its own footballing folklore.

England and Scotland will hope it is also

A single in Spanish called Despacito has become

the most-streamed song of all time, just six months

It's currently at Number One in the UK, and has been played

4.6 billion times worldwide, overtaking Justin Bieber's Sorry.

Despacito's singer Luis Fonsi called its success "insane",

saying he just "wants to make people dance".

# Despacito... In English Despacito moves slowly but the rise of this

song has been anything but. In just six months it has been played 4.6

billion times on streaming services like Spotify and Apple music. I love

it, I sing it every day. It is not my cup of tea. But it is very

relaxed. 4.6 billion times. Are you one of those people? No! It has

become a break-out song for Starc Luis Fonsi giving him a global hit

nearly 20 years into his career. I still do not go to bed saying I had

the biggest on the world, I was just lucky to have that song at the

correct time and just break it open. Originally released in January,

Despacito really Court One when pop star Justin Bieber heard it in a

nightclub and asked to record a new verse. The head of universal records

says the success of the song shows how streaming is changing music.

Streaming is and will continue to open up music from Latin American

artists globally. It is also injecting new life into the music

industry, revenues going up after a 15 year downturn. So in Latin

America and elsewhere artists will be hoping to recreate the Despacito

phenomenon. We had some very lively

thunderstorms last night, these pictures were captured in Essex.

Some great lightning displays. And yesterday we had severe storms

bringing damaging floods to Coverack. Over a month of rain fell

in the space of just three hours creating that four foot wall of

water. But lightning has since been the big talking point. About 200,000

lightning strikes in the past day alone so chances are if you live

across England and Wales you may have heard some of those storms

overnight. Some spectacular pictures being sent to us as well. More

storms on the way today, they could pop up across parts of North Wales,

north-west England, the North Midlands. They could be capable of

bringing around half a month of rain in the space of half an hour or so.

So think about flash flooding, dangerous driving conditions. A lot

of cloud around and things beginning to cool off. Overnight the storms

moved north, rain moving from Northern Ireland into Scotland. Some

damp weather pushing east across Wales and England. Humid across

eastern England, 18 degrees but fresh air into Northern Ireland with

temperatures in Belfast at 11. Tomorrow a different feeling day,

the Atlantic wind pushing in, pushing the rain out of the way from

England and also northern Scotland. A fresher feel following,

temperatures significantly lower than they have been. Rain getting

into Northern Ireland, the breeze picking up, and that is a sign of

what is to come because low pressure like it or not will be with us

through Friday and into the weekend to the early part of next week. And

around that area is rain circulating. So Friday looking

something like this, slow-moving rain, some fairly brisk wind making

it feel quite cool as well. Northern Scotland and eastern England having

some sunshine. A little on the cool side across western areas, 16 for

Belfast, 17 problem. Not exactly the temperatures we would normally see

at this stage of the year. For the weekend low pressure is going

nowhere fast. That means it stays cloudy through the weekend, showers

or lengthy spells of rain and remaining pretty cool for the time

of year. That's all from the BBC News at One

- so it's goodbye from me -