:00:00. > :00:00.The Chancellor is forced on to the defensive about his plans
:00:07. > :00:10.to raise National Insurance for the self employed.
:00:11. > :00:12.Tory backbenchers call on him to think again and not
:00:13. > :00:16.abandon a manifesto pledge, but Mr Hammond stands firm.
:00:17. > :00:19.We have to have a tax system that is fair,
:00:20. > :00:22.and it's right that we ask people to contribute appropriately,
:00:23. > :00:26.for the benefits that they're receiving from the state.
:00:27. > :00:29.What we've got to do is make sure it doesn't get through the net; we've
:00:30. > :00:34.The Chancellor needs to do a u-turn, he needs to do it quickly.
:00:35. > :00:37.We'll be looking at the proposed changes in more detail,
:00:38. > :00:38.and the scale of the backlash against them.
:00:39. > :00:42.The Prime Minister at what's expected to be her last EU summit
:00:43. > :00:46.The Queen unveils a memorial to both military and civilians who served
:00:47. > :00:53.What happened to the baby chimp rescued by a BBC investigation
:00:54. > :00:59.after being captured by traffickers?
:01:00. > :01:00.And Britain's first female world champion boxer returns
:01:01. > :01:02.to her home town of Hull, to encourage girls
:01:03. > :01:08.And coming up in the sport on BBC News:
:01:09. > :01:12.How a run in with Eddie Jones' dog has apparently put Owen Farrell
:01:13. > :01:35.at risk of missing the Six Nations clash with Scotland on Saturday!
:01:36. > :01:38.Good evening, and welcome to the BBC News at 6.
:01:39. > :01:40.The Chancellor has been forced to defend his budget
:01:41. > :01:42.and the controversial changes to increase National Insurance
:01:43. > :01:48.That's despite a Tory manifesto pledge not
:01:49. > :01:53.It's angered a number of Conservative backbenchers and been
:01:54. > :01:56.There has been partial backing for the increase
:01:57. > :01:59.from the influential think tank the Institute for Fiscal Studies,
:02:00. > :02:01.but overall it described the Chancellor's plans as a sticking
:02:02. > :02:05.plaster rather than a fundamental review.
:02:06. > :02:07.Our chief political correspondent Vicki Young has been
:02:08. > :02:16.He says he's backing business, but visiting the West Midlands today
:02:17. > :02:18.the Chancellor had to fend off accusations that he's bashing
:02:19. > :02:21.the workers who keep the wheels of the economy turning.
:02:22. > :02:24.Putting up taxes is never popular, and this is going to be a hard sell
:02:25. > :02:30.We have to have a tax system that is fair,
:02:31. > :02:32.and it's right that we ask people to contribute appropriately
:02:33. > :02:35.for the benefits that they're receiving from the state.
:02:36. > :02:38.Access to the National Health Service, access to state pensions,
:02:39. > :02:41.available now to self-employed people on the same basis
:02:42. > :02:45.as the employed, and they have to be prepared to pay a little more,
:02:46. > :02:49.The Government insists the National Insurance
:02:50. > :02:54.Yesterday's announcement, plus others already planned,
:02:55. > :02:57.mean 2.6 million self-employed workers will gain
:02:58. > :03:07.But 1.6 million will have to pay more - on average ?240 a year.
:03:08. > :03:12.And for self-employed cab-driver Vince, this is bad news.
:03:13. > :03:17.It's another dent in my partner and my pocket, as well,
:03:18. > :03:24.It's a struggle at the moment, so it will be more of
:03:25. > :03:28.Like last night, as I got in, and that's the first thing
:03:29. > :03:32.We spoke about it, so it's another thing that we've got to find.
:03:33. > :03:39.If I don't work, or go on holiday, I don't get paid.
:03:40. > :03:41.Philip Hammond's first Budget has run into trouble at Westminster too,
:03:42. > :03:45.with some Tory MPs complaining that he's broken an election promise not
:03:46. > :03:51.I think Philip's a great Chancellor, I think he's done a really good job.
:03:52. > :03:54.I think this is just something that slipped through the net.
:03:55. > :03:57.What we've got to do is make sure it doesn't get through the net,
:03:58. > :04:00.we've got to make sure it gets stopped, the Chancellor
:04:01. > :04:02.needs to do a U-turn, needs to do it quickly.
:04:03. > :04:05.This is not sending out the message which I know every Conservative
:04:06. > :04:08.Member of Parliament believes in, which is supporting business growth.
:04:09. > :04:13.These people are making the growth of the future.
:04:14. > :04:16.And Labour say the change is unfair on self-employed people.
:04:17. > :04:18.They don't get access to the same benefits,
:04:19. > :04:20.statutory sick pay, maternity pay, paternity pay, access to industrial
:04:21. > :04:21.disablement benefits, those sorts of things.
:04:22. > :04:24.That's what I thought he was going to start consulting about,
:04:25. > :04:26.but all he's offered them is an increase in National
:04:27. > :04:28.Insurance and a possible reviewer on later stage.
:04:29. > :04:31.Treasury sources say the Chancellor is privately bullish
:04:32. > :04:36.They hope the argument that they make the system fairer
:04:37. > :04:41.There will have to be a vote on all this in the Commons,
:04:42. > :04:42.although there is no rush, the changes aren't
:04:43. > :04:48.For now though, Philip Hammond is under considerable
:04:49. > :04:50.pressure to ditch the idea, or at least water it down.
:04:51. > :04:57.Around 15% of all British workers are self-employed.
:04:58. > :04:59.Under this new tax change, more than half of workers
:05:00. > :05:02.Higher and middle earners will be hardest hit.
:05:03. > :05:11.Our Economics Editor Kamal Ahmed has been looking at the numbers.
:05:12. > :05:13.Hairdressers, builders, minicab drivers, well-paid
:05:14. > :05:19.The growing 5 million strong army of the self-employed.
:05:20. > :05:21.They tend to pay less tax and the Treasury
:05:22. > :05:32.I asked the man charged by Theresa May with investigating
:05:33. > :05:38.the new world of work whether Phillip Hammond was right
:05:39. > :05:40.to impose an increase in National Insurance
:05:41. > :05:41.contributions on those who work for themselves.
:05:42. > :05:44.Tax rises are never popular but as tax rises go,
:05:45. > :05:47.It's economically rational and it strengthens the long-term
:05:48. > :05:50.So if you're going to increase taxes, this
:05:51. > :05:53.Mr Hammond has talked about fairness.
:05:54. > :05:55.So what are the differences between being employed
:05:56. > :06:02.directly by a company and being self-employed?
:06:03. > :06:04.For employed people, there's the issue of rights at work.
:06:05. > :06:08.They receive parental leave, sick pay and holiday pay.
:06:09. > :06:11.If you are self-employed, you receive none of these rights.
:06:12. > :06:22.At present, an employed person on about ?25,000 a year would pay
:06:23. > :06:33.For a self-employed person, that insurance payment falls to ?1630.
:06:34. > :06:39.After this new tax increase, that payment will rise to ?1810.
:06:40. > :06:41.That means the tax gap between the employed
:06:42. > :06:49.Self-employed people earning less than 15 or ?16,000 per year
:06:50. > :06:58.The biggest hit will be about ?580 a year by 2019 for people earning
:06:59. > :07:04.The self-employed are not the only people facing a tax increase.
:07:05. > :07:07.This is Kelly Gilmour-Grassam, who runs her own writing business.
:07:08. > :07:09.She takes some of her income in dividends from her
:07:10. > :07:15.The Government is going to ask and over 1 million other
:07:16. > :07:17.investors with shares, to pay more tax.
:07:18. > :07:20.People that might be thinking of making the leap
:07:21. > :07:23.to being a freelancer or setting up a small business, it might
:07:24. > :07:29.This is just one budget and we have already had quite a lot of changes.
:07:30. > :07:33.If you can imagine what might happen next year or the year
:07:34. > :07:36.after, you know, it is setting a culture of
:07:37. > :07:42.But what about the employers of the self-employed?
:07:43. > :07:45.They also gain by, for example, not making National
:07:46. > :07:54.The Government is looking at changing the rules for them as well.
:07:55. > :07:56.This debate about the new world of work and fairness
:07:57. > :08:01.The Prime Minister has arrived in Brussels to attend what's
:08:02. > :08:04.expected to be her final EU summit before triggering the UK's departure
:08:05. > :08:08.Brexit will not be part of the formal discussions
:08:09. > :08:11.at the summit, but nearer to home Scotland's First Minister Nicola
:08:12. > :08:14.Sturgeon has given her clearest indication yet that before the UK
:08:15. > :08:16.leaves the EU, the SNP wants to hold another referendum
:08:17. > :08:24.Here's our Political Editor, Laura Kuenssberg.
:08:25. > :08:31.Dizzying, not just the backdrop but the political job at hand. Brussels
:08:32. > :08:37.working day for the British government no easier than on.
:08:38. > :08:41.Friendly faces may be, but how much help world to reason May really get?
:08:42. > :08:48.What advice would you give Theresa May? I wouldn't give her any advice.
:08:49. > :08:54.Belgian sympathy perhaps. She's had problems in Parliament, he said. The
:08:55. > :08:58.Portuguese implored, Mrs May can inform us what's her point of
:08:59. > :09:03.departure. But the PM on the verge of starting the divorce talks, the
:09:04. > :09:07.Irish leader confirmed she could be asked to pay out billions. So will
:09:08. > :09:13.Theresa May really get what she wants? Clearly the language on both
:09:14. > :09:16.sides here will change, in terms of its rhetoric from time to time. I
:09:17. > :09:21.think we have to have a sense of realism. It sounds like you're
:09:22. > :09:25.saying she's not being realistic? No, I'm quite sure Independence is
:09:26. > :09:29.very realistic. But the situation starting office that Prime Minister
:09:30. > :09:34.and UK want as closer relationship as possible to the European Union.
:09:35. > :09:38.We have our particular problems on circumstances on their well
:09:39. > :09:42.understood by Europe and by the British Prime Minister and the
:09:43. > :09:47.government. No showy entrance the Theresa May, though. That Prime
:09:48. > :09:51.Minister in a hurry for the talks, chose to go quietly in away from
:09:52. > :09:57.reporters. At the end of the month she'll have embarked on the process
:09:58. > :10:00.of leaving the European throng. Britain has always somehow been
:10:01. > :10:04.awkward in this crowd. This is the first time Theresa May
:10:05. > :10:08.will meet European leaders in this brand-new building, but it's the
:10:09. > :10:12.last time the Prime Minister will come here before she pushes a button
:10:13. > :10:18.on Brexit. But just as she starting to grapple with all the complexities
:10:19. > :10:23.here in Brussels, the scale of the potential implications of leaving
:10:24. > :10:28.the EU are coming Everclear at home. Nowhere more so than in Scotland,
:10:29. > :10:33.where a clear majority voted to stay in the EU. And the prospect of
:10:34. > :10:39.another independent vote moves ever closer. The First Minister openly
:10:40. > :10:44.suggesting next year. Some of your colleagues now talk about autumn
:10:45. > :10:52.2018 as a likely date. When the sort of outline of a UK deal becomes
:10:53. > :10:56.clear and the UK exiting the EU I think would be the common-sense time
:10:57. > :11:00.for Scotland have that choice, if that is the road we choose to go
:11:01. > :11:06.down. Just to be played you're not ruling out autumn 2018? Not ruling
:11:07. > :11:09.anything out, no one. The Prime Minister's team won't accept that
:11:10. > :11:12.easily, but I do crush of questions about leaving the EU, they're not
:11:13. > :11:17.likely to say what they will. It's easy to Kramer on our way but much
:11:18. > :11:24.harder to do. The funny thing in Brussels tonight
:11:25. > :11:28.is that even though we are here for the last time before the whole
:11:29. > :11:31.Brexit process actually begins, we expect Theresa May to push the
:11:32. > :11:36.button by the end of the month, it's not actually on the official agenda,
:11:37. > :11:40.even though there is a hugely widely accepted thinking in this town, as
:11:41. > :11:43.well as Westminster, that it is one of the biggest challenges the EU
:11:44. > :11:47.faces on the biggest political challenge Britain has faced for
:11:48. > :11:53.many, many decades and there is a saying in Brussels that if you're
:11:54. > :11:56.not if you're not on the menu, you end up being the lunch, but to my
:11:57. > :12:00.Theresa May will be given a press conference and rather than those
:12:01. > :12:05.tricky questions about Brexit, and there are plenty of them, I think
:12:06. > :12:08.she'll be forced to defend those changes to national insurance. I
:12:09. > :12:13.understand Theresa May will be robust, she will be sticking to the
:12:14. > :12:17.plans the Chancellor has outlined but goodness me, after today there's
:12:18. > :12:18.a lot of explaining to do. Laura Kuenssberg in Brussels, thank
:12:19. > :12:20.you. And Laura has a special programme
:12:21. > :12:23.on BBC Two this evening - That's at 9pm, or you can watch it
:12:24. > :12:27.on the BBC iPlayer. Staff at John Lewis and Waitrose,
:12:28. > :12:29.who own the company and receive a yearly bonus,
:12:30. > :12:31.have seen that bonus cut to to the lowest it's
:12:32. > :12:34.been since the 1950s. The John Lewis Partnership
:12:35. > :12:37.chairman said it had been reduced for the fourth year in a row
:12:38. > :12:39.because of uncertainty about inflation and the impact
:12:40. > :12:43.of Brexit on the value of the pound. A Church of England bishop has
:12:44. > :12:46.turned down a promotion after his congregation protested
:12:47. > :12:48.about his opposition The Right Reverend Philip
:12:49. > :12:54.North, who is currently the Bishop of Burnley,
:12:55. > :12:56.was selected as the next Bishop Mr North said it was clear his
:12:57. > :12:59.appointment would be 'counter productive' to the mission
:13:00. > :13:03.of the Church. Last month we brought
:13:04. > :13:06.you the story of Nemley Junior - a baby chimpanzee freed thanks
:13:07. > :13:08.to a BBC investigation - from Two of the traffickers
:13:09. > :13:14.are now being prosecuted, And the body responsible for trying
:13:15. > :13:21.to stop the illegal trade in endangered species has now
:13:22. > :13:24.tightened up its procedures. But what of Nemley Junior,
:13:25. > :13:26.the little chimp at David Shukman has been back
:13:27. > :13:34.to Ivory Coast to find out. A heart-warming story of recovery -
:13:35. > :13:37.a baby chimpanzee, Nemley Junior, An astonishing turnaround,
:13:38. > :13:44.given the trauma he's been through. Poachers killed his mother
:13:45. > :13:46.and the rest of his family and then He's learning to explore;
:13:47. > :13:53.he was freed as a result But he never liked to get too
:13:54. > :14:01.far from his keepers, Chimpanzees live in close
:14:02. > :14:08.families in the wild. Nemley Junior has now
:14:09. > :14:14.lost his and needs a new one. This is a key moment
:14:15. > :14:17.for Nemley Junior, meeting another He's never going to make
:14:18. > :14:23.it back into the wild, so the best hope is to create bonds
:14:24. > :14:29.with a new family. Just a few months ago, he looked
:14:30. > :14:32.so much thinner while in the hands We briefed the police
:14:33. > :14:43.and they moved in. A young dealer called Ibrahima
:14:44. > :14:51.Traore and his uncle Mohamed. They're now awaiting trial -
:14:52. > :14:53.the first prosecution for wildlife trafficking that Ivory Coast
:14:54. > :15:00.has ever seen. And with big money involved,
:15:01. > :15:02.they're linked to another network The Sidibe family also
:15:03. > :15:05.sold baby chimpanzees, but two of them have now been
:15:06. > :15:08.arrested, so this could Once you get one, your arrest them,
:15:09. > :15:14.you prosecute them, you incarcerate them,
:15:15. > :15:17.that message starts to get out that crime is no longer high profit,
:15:18. > :15:20.low risk, there is a risk here, The dealers circulate videos
:15:21. > :15:26.of the chimps for sale. Wildlife investigators say
:15:27. > :15:29.the arrests will slow the trade It is just one big step,
:15:30. > :15:36.but it is a never ending battle, So you've made progress,
:15:37. > :15:41.but it's not the end? Not the end, it's like a drug,
:15:42. > :15:46.it's a never ending battle. Back at the zoo Nemley
:15:47. > :15:49.Junior is playful. A mobile phone keeps him amused
:15:50. > :15:54.and here's the view from it. After our first report
:15:55. > :15:57.of his rescue, many of you were keen Well, it's reassuring
:15:58. > :16:00.to see him thriving, and also to think that with four
:16:01. > :16:04.traffickers arrested, other chimps in the jungles
:16:05. > :16:06.may be a little safer. David Shukmman, BBC
:16:07. > :16:12.News, in Ivory Coast. Our top story this evening:
:16:13. > :16:17.The Chancellor is forced onto the defensive about his plans
:16:18. > :16:19.to increase National Insurance And still to come, Arsene Wenger
:16:20. > :16:24.on his future and whether he'll stay Opener Alex Hales returns
:16:25. > :16:33.from injury to hit a century for England as they aim
:16:34. > :16:35.for a whitewash in the one-day A national monument paying tribute
:16:36. > :16:52.to members of the military and civilians who served and worked
:16:53. > :16:55.in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan The Queen led the ceremony,
:16:56. > :16:58.watched by 2,500 invited guests including other members of the Royal
:16:59. > :17:04.family, politicians There have been many accounts
:17:05. > :17:22.of individual sacrifice during the longest and most intense
:17:23. > :17:25.period of combat operations Today was a day to recognise the
:17:26. > :17:36.stories that have not been told. We meet in the presence of God
:17:37. > :17:40.to commemorate and give thanks for all those civilians and members
:17:41. > :17:44.of the military who have served on operations in the Gulf region,
:17:45. > :18:00.Iraq and Afghanistan. 682 service personnel lost their
:18:01. > :18:08.lives in Iraq and Afghanistan. The political decisions which put them
:18:09. > :18:12.in harm's way still divide opinion. No one has ever doubted the courage
:18:13. > :18:20.and dedication of every man and woman who travelled to a troubled
:18:21. > :18:23.region. Mavis memorial commemorates allies and serviceable. My son was
:18:24. > :18:28.called Chris O'Neill and he was killed in Iraq in 2007. At least
:18:29. > :18:31.they are all being recognised. That is the main thing, that is the main
:18:32. > :18:34.thing, with all the controversy over the Iraq war, I didn't think we
:18:35. > :18:39.would even get a memorial but it just shows what people Power can do.
:18:40. > :18:44.But delight at public recognition was tempered by regret that
:18:45. > :18:50.invitations were not extended to all bereaved families. A very fitting
:18:51. > :18:54.service and memorial but very frustrated. Bereaved parents and
:18:55. > :18:58.family members were not originally invited to this. Those who were
:18:59. > :19:03.invited sora sculpture which offered a glimpse of the past and the
:19:04. > :19:07.future. -- saw a sculpture. Today brought a good closure to the events
:19:08. > :19:12.both of Iraq which was quite traumatic and Afghanistan, which I
:19:13. > :19:18.went to four times which was very traumatic. There are still people
:19:19. > :19:25.out there. I leave in June. I'm leaving a team behind that will
:19:26. > :19:31.continue working. One day, Sergeant Mark Lunn and his wife Michelle will
:19:32. > :19:34.pass on their Iraq expenses to their son Alfie, not on his best behaviour
:19:35. > :19:37.this morning. He and generations to come or have a permanent reminder of
:19:38. > :19:42.a chapter in our history that remains unfinished business. -- will
:19:43. > :19:45.have a permanent reminder. Robert Hall, BBC News, Westminster.
:19:46. > :19:48.The man appointed by President Trump to be in charge of America's
:19:49. > :19:49.environmental policies has said he doesn't believe carbon
:19:50. > :19:51.dioxide is a primary cause of global warming,
:19:52. > :19:54.a position that's at odds with most scientific evidence.
:19:55. > :19:56.Interviewed by an American news channel, Scott Pruitt said more
:19:57. > :20:02.He also described the Paris climate accord, which seeks to reduce
:20:03. > :20:03.greenhouse gas emissions, as a bad deal.
:20:04. > :20:06.The Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt says it is essential A departments
:20:07. > :20:09.in England hit waiting time targets over the next year, now that extra
:20:10. > :20:13.money has been earmarked for care and health services.
:20:14. > :20:16.NHS trusts are meant to see 95% of patients within four hours,
:20:17. > :20:23.but the latest figures suggest most are currently only reaching 85%.
:20:24. > :20:25.Our health editor Hugh Pym is with me now.
:20:26. > :20:28.So the Health Secretary is saying, "I've given you the money,
:20:29. > :20:38.Yes, Fiona, it was not long ago that Mr Hunt and NHS leaders indicated
:20:39. > :20:42.that the 95% target might be amended or dropped because of the sheer
:20:43. > :20:47.volume of patients, with the focus instead on urgent cases. Now he is
:20:48. > :20:52.saying not only is it essential to keep the 95% but that it will be met
:20:53. > :20:55.over the next year, by March 20 18. I think there's a message that more
:20:56. > :21:05.money has been pledged in the budget to the NHS and social care in
:21:06. > :21:08.England, so it is time for the hospital system to deliver but there
:21:09. > :21:11.is some way to go. Performance in England is that 85%. The target has
:21:12. > :21:14.not been hit since mid-2015 so a lot of effort will have to be made to
:21:15. > :21:16.get back and already, hospital leaders in England and NHS providers
:21:17. > :21:20.are saying it is simply unrealistic, given record levels of demand. They
:21:21. > :21:24.don't see where the money is going to come from to make it happen. I
:21:25. > :21:28.think ministers have set themselves up with something here. Getting back
:21:29. > :21:32.to that 95% in the year, against which they will be judged.
:21:33. > :21:38.Sir Howard Hodgkin, one of the most celebrated figures in British
:21:39. > :21:41.contemporary art, has died aged 84. His works are the abstract but he
:21:42. > :21:45.said related to memories of people and places. He drew inspiration from
:21:46. > :21:49.everything from the French Impressionists to the landscapes of
:21:50. > :21:53.India. His well-known pieces included this Post on the theme of
:21:54. > :21:55.swimming, commissioned for the 2012 London Olympics.
:21:56. > :21:58.The Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger says he will take the fans' opinions
:21:59. > :22:00.into account when he makes up his mind about whether
:22:01. > :22:03.Arsenal have lost five of their last seven games,
:22:04. > :22:08.leading to speculation about the future of the Premier
:22:09. > :22:13.The humiliation at the hands of Bayern Munich this week left Arsenal
:22:14. > :22:17.divided, the fans in revolt, and their manager facing
:22:18. > :22:22.But today, Arsene Wenger insisted he'll still wait until the
:22:23. > :22:28.end of the season before deciding whether to stay.
:22:29. > :22:32.I love this club, that I'm loyal to this club, and that I make
:22:33. > :22:35.You're seriously saying you might be here next season?
:22:36. > :22:38.I do not want to speak about always the same matter,
:22:39. > :22:47.What I want, what is important for me is football games.
:22:48. > :22:49.CHANTING: Arsene Wenger, we want you to go!
:22:50. > :22:52.But some have seen enough and after the protests today came on
:22:53. > :22:55.admission, the fans will have a bearing on Wenger's future.
:22:56. > :22:59.It will not be the most important factor,
:23:00. > :23:04.Tellingly, today the club broke its silence.
:23:05. > :23:23.Wenger's future is the talk of the game.
:23:24. > :23:25.This afternoon, football's most powerful figure paying this tribute.
:23:26. > :23:27.What Arsene Wenger has done at Arsenal,
:23:28. > :23:31.throughout the histories, is certainly outstanding.
:23:32. > :23:36.It's a legend, he's a legend, he's one of the football legends.
:23:37. > :23:38.The Emirates stands as a proud symbol of
:23:39. > :23:43.This stadium and the club both are built in his own image,
:23:44. > :23:46.but after the humiliation his team suffered here earlier this week,
:23:47. > :23:49.there's a growing sense that Arsenal's most successful ever
:23:50. > :23:52.manager has taken this club as far as he can and the time has come
:23:53. > :23:59.After two decades of management and many trophies, it's
:24:00. > :24:01.hard to imagine Arsenal without Arsene Wenger,
:24:02. > :24:05.but the club is drifting and even with After two decades plenty
:24:06. > :24:07.but the club is drifting and even with decades plenty
:24:08. > :24:10.to play for this season, British football's longest partnership
:24:11. > :24:14."Battling" Barbara Buttrick was known as the Mighty Atom
:24:15. > :24:17.and became the first ever female boxing world champion,
:24:18. > :24:26.She moved to the States, eventually retiring undefeated.
:24:27. > :24:29.Now, aged 87, she's returned to her home county of Yorkshire,
:24:30. > :24:31.to meet young boxers and see her pioneering
:24:32. > :24:37.David Sillito went to Hull to meet her.
:24:38. > :24:39.Battling Barbara, they used to call me.
:24:40. > :24:50.Her sparring partner today, former WBC champion Tommy Coyle.
:24:51. > :24:53.I was what they would call a tomboy, I guess.
:24:54. > :25:06.She decided, aged 15, to give up football and try boxing.
:25:07. > :25:09.It was a career choice that was met with more than a little disapproval.
:25:10. > :25:14.She took on all comers in carnivals and she won a world title.
:25:15. > :25:17.She has, over the years, faced more than 1000 people
:25:18. > :25:21.in the ring, a world champion, a pioneer in boxing.
:25:22. > :25:25.But even in her hometown of Hull, few had heard of the Mighty Atom.
:25:26. > :25:32.Kat Rose Martin is the star of one of two new plays
:25:33. > :25:40.I didn't, which is really, really, like, shocking, really,
:25:41. > :25:42.because it's such an incredible story, how she became
:25:43. > :25:44.the bantamweight world champion and I'm stood next
:25:45. > :25:53.I think all this talk about girls not boxing is old-fashioned.
:25:54. > :25:57.Girls aren't the delicate flowers they used to be.
:25:58. > :26:01.70 years on, she has been proved right.
:26:02. > :26:05.Tomorrow's boxers were queueing to meet Barbara.
:26:06. > :26:10.I know, I did try dance class but that lasted six weeks.
:26:11. > :26:13.Are you going to be a world champion?
:26:14. > :26:25.I'm very proud to be back in Hull, now, in a day when boxing
:26:26. > :26:31.is accepted, my life kind of is accepted, too, you know.
:26:32. > :26:34.David Sillito speaking to "Battling" Barbara Buttrick being recognised
:26:35. > :26:50.She was great, wasn't she? Brilliant and it's been a glorious
:26:51. > :26:52.day across many parts of the country today, things like this one sent in
:26:53. > :26:57.by one of our Weather Watchers earlier in Oxfordshire. Almost
:26:58. > :27:01.wall-to-wall sunshine. A bit more clout for some parts of the country,
:27:02. > :27:05.particularly the south-west, low cloud and hill fog creeping in but
:27:06. > :27:08.for many parts of the country, we keep clear spells as we head through
:27:09. > :27:13.the evening. It will turn chilly for a time across parts of eastern
:27:14. > :27:17.England and Scotland. Further west, cloud moving in over night, bringing
:27:18. > :27:21.with it some drizzle across parts of Northern Ireland, the West of
:27:22. > :27:25.Scotland and Wales and hill fog down to the south-west. Clearer skies and
:27:26. > :27:28.a colder start towards the East with a touch of frost likely across
:27:29. > :27:32.eastern Scotland for instance. Through tomorrow, a bit more cloud
:27:33. > :27:37.than today, making its way west to east through the day. The far east
:27:38. > :27:40.of England, East Anglia and the south-east likely to stay largely
:27:41. > :27:44.Sunni with some spells of sunshine for the north-east of England, North
:27:45. > :27:48.Wales and northern parts of Devon, and temperatures touched down on
:27:49. > :27:51.today. Into the weekend, whether France making their way in from the
:27:52. > :27:55.Atlantic, eventually introducing cooler air through the second half
:27:56. > :27:58.of the weekend particularly. Not a bad day on Saturday, with a front
:27:59. > :28:02.bringing rain across some parts of northern England and Wales. To the
:28:03. > :28:06.south-east, the cloud should break and temperatures as high as 15,
:28:07. > :28:10.possibly 17. Bright skies across much of Scotland and Northern
:28:11. > :28:14.Ireland. Through the second half of the weekend, for Sunday, some brain
:28:15. > :28:17.working west to east across the country and then a return to
:28:18. > :28:23.sunshine and a few blustery showers from the West. Temperatures around
:28:24. > :28:26.9-13. All in all, for the weekend, Saturday looks pretty decent day and
:28:27. > :28:30.most of us will be dry with some spells of sunshine. By the time we
:28:31. > :28:34.get to Sunday, rain clearing eastwards and things will start to
:28:35. > :28:35.feel a bit cooler. But all in all, a relatively settled spell on the
:28:36. > :28:45.cards. Chancellor Phillip Hammond has been
:28:46. > :28:46.forced to defend his plans to increase national insurance
:28:47. > :28:47.contributions for the self-employed. That's all from the BBC News at Six
:28:48. > :28:50.so it's goodbye from me, and on BBC One, we now join
:28:51. > :28:52.the BBC's news teams where you are.