Hezbollah at crossroads after blows from war weaken group

11 minutes ago Share Save Hugo Bachega • hugobachega BBC Middle East correspondent Reporting from Southern Lebanon Share Save

Reuters Kfar Kila is one of the border towns in Lebanon that were almost completely destroyed by the Israeli military during last year's war

Last year, on 17 September, at around 15:30, a pager which a nurse called Adam was given at the start of his shift at a hospital in Lebanon received a message. The devices had been distributed by Hezbollah, the Shia Muslim group, to thousands of its members, including Adam, and he said it was how he and his colleagues expected to be alerted of emergencies or a disaster. "The pager started beeping non-stop and, on the screen, it said 'alert'," Adam, who did not want to use his real name for safety reasons, said. The text appeared to have been sent by the group's leadership. To read it, he had to press two buttons, simultaneously, with both hands. Adam did it many times, but the beeps continued. "Then suddenly, as I was sitting at my desk," he said, "the pager exploded". On his phone, Adam showed me a video of the room, filmed by a colleague minutes after he was rescued. There was a trail of blood on the floor. "I tried to crawl to the door because I had locked it while I changed my clothes," he said. The blast had opened a hole in the wood desk. I noticed a beige-like object. "That's my finger," he said. Hezbollah is known for being a powerful militia and is proscribed as a terrorist organisation by countries including the UK and the US. But in Lebanon, it is also a significant political movement with representation in parliament and a social organisation. Here, being a Hezbollah member does not necessarily mean you are a fighter. In fact, many are not. Adam told me he had never been one. People can work in the group's large array of institutions that include hospitals and emergency services, for example. Hezbollah had decided to equip members with low-tech pagers for communicating rather than smartphones which it feared could be used by Israel, its arch-enemy, to gather sensitive information about the group. It turned out, though, that the devices which Hezbollah had distributed were part of a years-long elaborate Israeli plan: an explosive compound had been concealed within the pagers, waiting to be activated – and that is what happened on that day.

Supplied Adam's maimed hand bore a tattooed message which expressed that his wounds were a cheap sacrifice in honour of Hassan Nasrallah, the late Hezbollah leader

In the attack, Adam, who is 38, lost his thumb and two fingers on his left hand, and part of a finger on the other. He was blinded in his right eye, which has been replaced with a glass eye, and has only partial sight in the other. He showed me a picture of him in a hospital bed, taken an hour after the explosion, with his face burned, entirely blooded, covered with bandages. Despite his wounds, Adam remained committed to Hezbollah. I asked him how he felt when he looked at himself like that. "Very good," he said in English. Then, in Arabic, he told me: "Because we believe that the wounds are a kind of medal from God. Honouring what we go through fighting a righteous cause." But the group is no longer the force it was since being dealt a devastating blow in Israel's bombing campaign and invasion of Lebanon, which followed the pager attacks, and faces serious challenges. At home, there is discontent among some supporters over the lack of funds for reconstruction, while the new government has vowed to disarm the group. In neighbouring Syria, the ouster of Bashar al-Assad's regime has disrupted the route used by Iran, its main supporter, for the supply of weapons and money. I visited communities in southern Lebanon that were destroyed by Israel's attacks, and saw that support for Hezbollah appeared undimmed. But, in views rarely expressed to media, others who backed it said the war had been a mistake, and even questioned the group's future as a military force.

AFP Israel rigged thousands of pagers with explosives and detonated them remotely on 17 September

You can listen to more from Hugo in his radio documentary - Crossing Continents: Hezbollah in trouble - here

Hezbollah, or Party of God, was created in the 1980s in response to Israel's occupation of Lebanon during the Lebanese civil war. To this day, the destruction of Israel remains one of its official goals. Their last war had been in 2006, which was followed by years of relative calm. Violence flared up again in 2023 after Hamas attacked Israel on 7 October, killing about 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages. When Israel started bombarding Gaza, Hezbollah began firing rockets in around northern Israel, saying it was acting in support of Palestinians. Israel responded with air strikes on southern Lebanon, and tens of thousands of people were forced to flee on both sides of the border. The pager attacks were a turning point in what had been, until then, an intensifying but relatively contained conflict. The devices exploded as people were working, shopping or at home. About a dozen people, including two children, were killed, and thousands wounded, many of them maimed. The attack caused anger in Lebanon, because of what was seen as its indiscriminate nature. A day later, walkie-talkies used by the group suddenly exploded too. I was at a funeral of some of the victims of the pagers when there was a loud blast. Hezbollah members, desperate, asked us to turn off our cameras or phones, as no-one knew what else could explode. In the following weeks, Israel carried out a relentless bombing campaign and a ground invasion of southern Lebanon. Across the country, around 4,000 people were killed and almost 18,000 others wounded. For Hezbollah, the conflict proved to be catastrophic. The group's top leaders were assassinated, many of its fighters killed and much of its arsenal destroyed. Among the dead was Hassan Nasrallah, who had been the head of Hezbollah for more than 30 years, assassinated in a massive air strike on the group's secret headquarters under apartment blocks in the Dahieh, where Hezbollah is based in Beirut. At the end of November, battered, the group agreed on a ceasefire that was essentially a surrender.

Getty Images Two children were among the dozens of people killed in the surprise pager and walkie-talkie attacks - a turning point in the Israel-Hezbollah conflict

Southern Lebanon is the heartland of Lebanon's Shia Muslim community, which is the bulk of Hezbollah's support base, and one of the regions of the country where the group has traditionally had a significant presence. I travelled to the border town of Kfar Kila, which had a pre-war population of 15,000 and was one of the first to fall when Israel invaded. Israel's stated war goal was to allow the return of residents to its northern communities, which had been emptied because of Hezbollah's attacks. In Kfar Kila, there was almost nothing left standing, and yellow Hezbollah flags dotted the huge piles of broken concrete and twisted metal. A 37-year-old woman called Alia had come with her husband and three daughters, aged 18, 14 and 10. The youngest was wearing a badge with a smiley picture of Nasrallah. "I only knew that this was my house because of the remains of this plant over there, the roses, and this tree," Alia told me. From the street, she pointed at what she could identify in the rubble. "This is the couch. There, the curtains. That was the living room. And that was the bedroom. That's my daughter's bicycle," she said. "There's nothing to recover".

Many of Hezbollah's top leaders, including its long-time chief Hassan Nasrallah, were killed in air strikes in Beirut's southern suburbs

According to the World Bank, costs related to reconstruction and recovery are estimated at $11bn (£8.5bn) across the country. One of Hezbollah's immediate challenges is to give financial help to people affected by the war, which is crucial to keep supporters on board. Those who lost their houses have received $12,000 to cover for a year's rent. But the group has not promised money to rebuild what was destroyed or to give compensation for destroyed businesses. The limited support is already fuelling discontent. Aila's shop had stock worth $20,000, and she was concerned no-one would cover her losses. Iran, Hezbollah's backer, is one of the group's main sources of funds, weapons and training. But Lebanon's international allies want to cut off any financial support from Iran, to put even more pressure on Hezbollah, and say there will be no help if the Lebanese government does not act against Hezbollah. With the group weakened militarily, critics see this as a unique opportunity to disarm it. Alia told me: "We don't want any aid that comes with conditions about our arms... We won't allow them to take our dignity, our honour, take away our arms just for us to build a house. We'll build it ourselves."

Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is seen on posters in Beirut. Iran is Hezbollah's main backer and is likely to decide the group's future.

It is not surprising that Hezbollah's supporters remain defiant. For many, the group is a fundamental part of their lives, essential in their identities. But Hezbollah's power is seen - and felt - beyond its base. Before the war, its military wing was considered to be stronger than the Lebanese national army. A solid parliamentary bloc means that virtually no major decision has been possible without Hezbollah's consent. Because of Lebanon's fractured political system, the group has representation in the government. In short, Hezbollah has had the ability to paralyse the state, and many times has done so. But the war has diminished the group's domestic position too. In January, the Lebanese parliament elected a new president, former army chief Joseph Aoun, after a two-year impasse that critics had blamed on Hezbollah. In the past, its MPs and allies would walk out of the chamber when a vote was scheduled. But Hezbollah, severely wounded and with its communities in need of help, felt it could no longer block the process, which was seen as vital to unlock some international support. In his inauguration speech, Aoun promised to make the Lebanese army the sole carrier of weapons in the country. He did not mention Hezbollah, but everyone understood the message. Ultimately, Hezbollah's future may lie with Iran. One of the reasons for Iran to have a strong Hezbollah in Lebanon was to deter any Israeli attack, especially on its nuclear facilities. This is now gone. Other groups backed by Iran in the region, part of what it calls the Axis of Resistance, have also been significantly weakened, including Hamas in Gaza and the Houthis in Yemen. And the fall of the Assad regime in Syria has interrupted Iran's land corridor to Lebanon - and Hezbollah. Even if Iran decides to rearm Hezbollah, it will not be easy.

AFP Israeli forces withdrew from Kfar Kila in February as part of a ceasefire deal between Israel and Lebanon

Nasrallah has been succeeded by Naim Qassem, his former deputy, who is not seen as charismatic or influential. From time to time, rumours emerge of internal disagreements. And whispers of dissent among the rank and file are spreading. In southern Lebanon, I met a businessman who did not want to have his name published, fearing that he could become a target on social media. On the wall of his office, he had pictures of Hezbollah's leaders. Now, he was critical of the group. "The mistakes have been huge," he said. "Hezbollah decided to engage in a war to support Gaza without proper calculations, without consulting the people or the Lebanese state". (To date, Israel's war in Gaza has killed more than 50,000 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.) He told me a lot of supporters shared his view. "If Hezbollah don't do a proper reassessment of the situation... they will destroy themselves and harm us along the way. We brought this destruction on ourselves, and we're now suffering". As part of the ceasefire deal, Hezbollah agreed to remove its weapons and fighters from southern Lebanon, and a Western diplomatic official told me the group had largely done it. Israel was required to withdraw its troops, but has remained in five positions, saying this is needed for the safety of its border communities. The Israeli military has also carried out air strikes on targets and people it says are linked to Hezbollah. Lebanon says the Israeli permanence in Lebanese territory and its attacks are violations of the deal. Discussions about Hezbollah's disarmament are likely to be difficult and long. A source familiar with the group told me one of the options was for Hezbollah's arsenal, believed to still include long-range missiles, to be put under the control of the state, while its fighters, estimated to be several thousand, could be integrated into the Lebanese army. The businessman told me: "A lot of the families, especially those of wounded and martyred fighters, are totally dependent on Hezbollah. These people won't disengage from Hezbollah immediately… Without a plan, it would be a recipe for internal conflict. It would drive Lebanese to fight against each other". For weeks, I tried to interview a representative from Hezbollah, but no-one was made available.

Reuters Tens of thousands of people attended a funeral service for Hassan Nasrallah and Hashem Safieddine, another top Hezbollah leader, at a stadium in Beirut

Katya Adler: How will EU respond to Donald Trump's tariffs?

17 minutes ago Share Save Katya Adler Europe Editor Share Save

Getty Images Donald Trump has upended global trade with his tariffs announcement

Fundamentally wrong, was how Germany's outgoing chancellor, Olaf Scholz, described the new Trump tariffs. A unilateral attack - that was the view of Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez. French President Emmanuel Macron called them brutal, unfounded and certain to have a "massive impact" on the European economy. He convened an emergency meeting with representatives of French businesses most affected by the newly announced 20% tariffs on EU goods sold to the US and issued a call to arms to European business "not to invest in America for some time until we have clarified things". "What message would we send by having major European players investing billions of euros in the American economy at a time when [the US] is hitting us?" he said. For France it's wine, champagne and the aeronautical industry, for Germany it's cars, and for Italy it's luxury goods. It's well known these sectors sell well abroad and now risk being clobbered by US import taxes. Overall, the chemicals, machinery and equipment industries in the EU are seen as the most vulnerable to the tariffs. But dig a little deeper and there are other EU sectors, reliant on the US market, that could come as a bit of a surprise. French cognac, generally dismissed as an old person's tipple in Europe, is the booze of choice for many American rappers, playing a prominent role in the music and lifestyle of stars like Jay-Z, 50 Cent and Snoop Dogg. More than 40% of French brandy is exported to the US. Spain exports a lot of gas turbines to the US, alongside tonnes of olive oil.

Which EU countries are most exposed?

When we look at which EU countries are most exposed to the US in terms of GDP, the picture is also not quite what you might imagine. Ireland is highly dependent on the US in terms of goods and services. Those exports - a lot linked to the pharmaceutical industry (which is currently exempt from the 20% tariffs, until the US boosts its own production) and also tech - make up a fifth of Ireland's GDP.

Getty Images French cognac is also facing US tariffs

Cyprus, Luxembourg and Malta are more exposed than the EU average in terms of services exports. Belgium, the Netherlands and Slovakia are in a similar position when it comes to goods. Germany has a greater exposure to the US than the other major EU economies, at over 5% of GDP, followed by Italy (about 4%), France (3%) and Spain (just over 2%). These figures were collated in 2024 by CaixaBank research based on Eurostat figures for the previous year.

Will the EU retaliate?

The response to the new US tariffs is being coordinated at EU HQ in Brussels. The European Commission deals with all overarching trade matters for the bloc's members. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen claims they hold "a lot of cards", including the strength to negotiate and the power to push back. The US economy is mighty. It makes up 25% of global GDP. But the EU single market of 450 million people (the biggest single market in the world) stands very close in size at 22% of global GDP. So, yes, the EU can bite - hard - as well as bark when it comes to retaliating against Donald Trump's tariffs. Especially if, as EU figures have suggested, the bloc targets US services like Big Tech, possibly including Apple, Meta, Amazon and even Elon Musk's platform X. But that risks a new backlash by the Trump administration. And the EU wants to avoid upping the ante. If you take politics into account, not just economics, the EU has less room for manoeuvre than you might think. Take energy supplies, the EU has been buying US liquified natural gas (LNG) after it weaned itself off Russian gas following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Tricky to reduce or heavily tax those imports. That would badly impact EU consumers, not only US industry, and it would worsen already dismal relations with the US. Think of all the recent rows over defence spending and Ukraine. Aside from the economic hell the EU sees and hopes to avoid in the new Trump tariffs, the bloc also really wants to sidestep a trade war with the country that used to be Europe's best friend.

Getty Images Europe and the US have had deep rows over defence spending and the war in Ukraine

So, the Brussels plan is: threaten heavy retaliation, hope Donald Trump is persuaded to negotiate, then pray he'll stage a U-turn on tariffs. The EU's trade commissioner, Maros Sefcovic, says he's speaking to his US counterparts on Friday. It's an opening gambit. The EU is in no rush to retaliate.

What could the EU offer the US in a negotiation?

The Trump administration has ruled out any country negotiating its way out of the new tariffs before they become live this weekend. But after that, what could the EU offer the US president to persuade him to back down? Trump is incandescent about the EU's massive trade surplus. It sells far more goods than it buys from the US. The surplus for 2024 was around $200bn (€180bn; $153bn). It's the other way round when it comes to services - the US sells far more to the EU than the other way round. That is why the EU thinks its main retaliatory leverage against the US would lie in services, like banks and big tech.

Getty Images Big tech could be in focus for EU retaliatory tariffs

To redress the goods imbalance, the EU could offer to buy more LNG from the US, or more military equipment, following its pledge to Washington to do more for its own security. But that would break a different EU promise - to boost withering European arms industries by trying to buy EU when re-arming EU countries. It is something the US has already objected to, so that's tricky. Brussels could also cut direct and indirect tariffs on US goods. It could lose quotas on US agricultural produce. It would be hugely reluctant to comply with another US ask: to water down its much-trumpeted digital regulations, aimed at limiting monopolies and placing restrictions on speech and content in the EU.

How bad can this all get?

'I could live 30 years - but want to die': Has assisted dying in Canada gone too far?

10 minutes ago Share Save Fergus Walsh Medical editor Camilla Horrox Global health producer Share Save

BBC

April Hubbard sits on the theatre stage where she plans to die later this year. She is not terminally ill, but the 39-year-old performance and burlesque artist has been approved for assisted dying under Canada's increasingly liberal laws. Warning: This article contains details and descriptions some readers may find disturbing She is speaking to BBC News from the Bus Stop Theatre, an intimate auditorium with a little under 100 seats, in the eastern city of Halifax, Nova Scotia. Illuminated by a single spotlight on a stage she has performed on many times before, she tells me she plans to die here "within months" of her imminent 40th birthday. She'll be joined by a small group of her family and friends. April plans to be in a "big comfy bed" for what she calls a "celebratory" moment when a medical professional will inject a lethal dose into her bloodstream. "I want to be surrounded by the people I love and just have everybody hold me in a giant cuddle puddle and get to take my last breath, surrounded by love and support," she says. April was born with spina bifida and was later diagnosed with tumours at the base of her spine which she says have left her in constant, debilitating pain.

April Hubbard says she doesn't want to continue living in pain

She's been taking strong opioid painkillers for more than 20 years and applied for Medical Assistance in Dying (Maid) in March 2023. While she could yet live for decades with her condition, she qualified to end her life early seven months after applying. For those who are terminally ill it is possible to get approval within 24 hours. "My suffering and pain are increasing and I don't have the quality of life anymore that makes me happy and fulfilled," April says. Every time she moves or breathes, she says it feels like the tissues from the base of her spine "are being pulled like a rubber band that stretches too far", and that her lower limbs leave her in agony. We meet April as, almost 3,000 miles away, MPs are scrutinising proposals to legalise assisted dying in England and Wales. They voted in principle in support of those plans in November 2024, but months of detailed scrutiny have followed - and further votes in the Commons and Lords are required before the bill could possibly become law. This week, the BBC witnessed a man's death in California, where assisted dying laws are far more similar to those being considered in Westminster. Critics say Canada is an example of the "slippery slope", meaning that once you pass an assisted dying law it will inevitably widen its scope and have fewer safeguards. Canada now has one of the most liberal systems of assisted dying in the world, similar to that operating in the Netherlands and Belgium. It introduced Maid in 2016, initially for terminally ill adults with a serious and incurable physical illness, which causes intolerable suffering. In 2021, the need to be terminally ill was removed, and in two years' time, the Canadian government plans to open Maid to adults solely with a mental illness and no physical ailment. Opponents of Maid tell us that death is coming to be seen as a standard treatment option for those with disabilities and complex medical problems. "It is easier in Canada to get medical assistance in dying than it is to get government support to live," says Andrew Gurza, a disability awareness consultant and friend of April's. Andrew, who has cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair, says he respects April's decision, but tells us: "If my disability declines and my care needs got higher, I'd still want to be here. To know there's a law that's saying you could easily end your life - it's just really scary."

Andrew Gurza is worried that getting support to live is too hard in Canada

Before she was approved for Maid, April was assessed by two independent physicians who were required to inform her of ways to alleviate her suffering and offer alternative treatments. "The safeguards are there," she says, when we press her about disabled people who feel threatened by assisted dying, or whether Maid is being used as a shortcut to better quality care. "If it's not right for you and you're not leading the charge and choosing Maid, you're not going to be able to access it unless it's for the right reasons," she adds. There were 15,343 Maid deaths in 2023, representing around one in 20 of all deaths in Canada - a proportion that has increased dramatically since 2016 and is one of the highest in the world. The average age of recipients was 77. In all but a handful of cases, the lethal dose was delivered by a doctor or nurse, which is also known as voluntary euthanasia. One doctor we spoke to, Eric Thomas, said he had helped 577 patients to die.

Dr Konia Trouton, president of the Canadian Association of Maid Assessors and Providers, has also helped hundreds of patients to die since the law was introduced. The procedure is the same each time - she arrives at the home of the person who has been given approval for Maid and asks if they wish to go ahead with it that day. She says the patients always direct the process and then give her the "heads up and ready to go". "That gives me an honour and a duty and a privilege to be able to help them in those last moments with their family around them, with those who love them around them and to know that they've made that decision thoughtfully, carefully and thoroughly," she adds. If the answer is yes, she opens her medical bag. Demonstrating to the BBC what happens next, Dr Trouton briefly puts a tourniquet on my arm. She shows me where the needle would be inserted into a vein in the back of my hand to allow an intravenous infusion of lethal drugs. In her medical bag she also has a stethoscope. "Strangely, these days I use it more to determine if someone has no heartbeat rather than if they do," she tells me. A list of organisations in the UK offering support and information with some of the issues in this story is available at BBC Action Line

Some 96% of Maid provisions are under "track one" where death is "reasonably foreseeable". Dr Trouton says that means patients are on a "trajectory toward death", which might range from someone who has rapidly spreading cancer and only weeks to live or another with Alzheimer's "who might have five to seven years". The other 4% of Maid deaths come under "track two". These are adults, like April, who are not dying but have suffering which is intolerable to them from a "grievous and irremediable medical condition". That is in stark contrast to Labour MP Kim Leadbeater's bill to legalise assisted dying in England and Wales, which says patients must be expected to die within six months. The Westminster bill would not allow doctors to give a lethal dose – rather patients would have to self-administer the drugs, usually by swallowing them. Death via intravenous infusion normally takes just a few minutes, as the lethal drugs go straight into the bloodstream, whereas swallowing the drugs means patients usually take around an hour or two to die, but can take considerably longer, although they are usually unconscious after a few minutes. Dr Trouton told me she regarded the Canadian system as quicker and more effective, as do other Maid providers. "I'm concerned that if some people can't swallow because of their disease process, and if they're not able to take the entire quantity of medication because of breathing difficulties or swallowing difficulties, what will happen?"

'Canada has fallen off a cliff'

But opponents argue it's being used as a cheaper alternative to providing adequate social or medical support. One of them is Dr Ramona Coelho, a GP in London, Ontario, whose practice serves many marginalised groups and those struggling to get medical and social support. She's part of a Maid Death Review Committee, alongside Dr Trouton, which examines cases in the province. Dr Coelho told me that Maid was "out of control". "I wouldn't even call it a slippery slope," she says "Canada has fallen off a cliff."

Dr Ramona Coelho says she wants to help patients to live

"When people have suicidal ideations, we used to meet them with counselling and care, and for people with terminal illness and other diseases we could mitigate that suffering and help them have a better life," she says. "Yet now we are seeing that as an appropriate request to die and ending their lives very quickly." While at Dr Coelho's surgery I was introduced to Vicki Whelan, a retired nurse whose mum Sharon Scribner died in April 2023 of lung cancer, aged 81. Vicki told me that in her mum's final days in hospital she was repeatedly offered the option of Maid by medical staff, describing it as like a "sales pitch". The family, who are Catholic, discharged their mother so she could die at home, where Vicki says her mum had a "beautiful, peaceful death". "It makes us think that we can't endure, and we can't suffer a little bit, and that somehow now they've decided that dying needs to be assisted, where we've been dying for years. "All of a sudden now we're telling people that this is a better option. This is an easy way out and I think it's just robbing people of hope."

'Not a way I want to live'

Lush and Kwik Fit warn tax rise will push up prices

2 hours ago Share Save Tom Espiner & Emma Smith BBC business reporters Share Save

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Cosmetics company Lush and car repair chain Kwik Fit are among firms which have warned they will raise prices due an increase in employers' National Insurance (NI). Other firms have told the BBC they will reduce how much profit they make, freeze hiring or in some cases cut jobs to cover the higher costs. From Sunday, employers will have to pay NI at 15% on salaries above £5,000, instead of 13.8% on salaries above £9,100 currently. The Treasury said the billions raised will be spent on public services, including the NHS.

Lush told the BBC that with 3,600 employees in the UK and Ireland, it would have to find an extra £2.7m per year. Kasey Swithenbank, Lush's retail head for the UK and Ireland, said: "We are going to be taking small incremental price changes. We are taking an approach where we look at certain categories at key points of the year so hopefully our customers don't feel the full burden straight away."

Kwik Fit boss Mark Slade says the National Insurance changes will affect prices and hiring.

Kwik Fit, which employs around 7,000 people, estimates the NICs rises will cost it £6.4m. This will have a knock-on effect on prices, and recruitment, said Mark Slade, its managing director. "We are really careful to make sure KwikFit is always competitive and benchmarked against the people around us - but the reality is that includes increasing prices." He added: "There will be some people who aren't replaced over the coming year and that will be in the senior levels."

What are the changes?

The rate that employers pay in contributions will rise from 13.8% to 15% on a worker's earnings above £175 per week. The government expects about 940,000 firms to pay more, 250,000 companies to pay less, and 820,000 to see no change.

The threshold when employers start paying the tax on each employee's salary will be reduced from £9,100 per year to £5,000.

But Employers Allowance - the amount employers can claim back from their National Insurance bill - has been raised from £5,000 to £10,500.

BBC Breakfast contacted around 200 UK businesses and charities in March, across different industries, from sole traders to large companies to get a sense of the impact of the increase in employer National Insurance Contributions. Some 121 completed the questionnaire and around 100 of these businesses told us they had at least an approximate idea of how much increases in employer NICSs would cost them. The costs ranged from £1,000 to £39m depending the size of the business and the number of employees. Around 60 of the businesses which were planning to increase the staff count before announcement said the Budget had affected these plans.

How will firms manage the rises?

BBC Breakfast's questionnaire asked employers to choose from a list of actions they would take to manage increases in NICs. 77 said they would pass on costs to customers in price rises 68 said they would freeze or reduce hiring 81 said they would reduce their profit margins 39 said they would manage increases through job losses Businesses most frequently told us they would choose a combination of these things.

BT boss Allison Kirkby said tax changes meant BT was speeding up cost cutting it was going to do anyway

Allison Kirkby, chief executive of BT, said the tax changes, which will cost the firm £100m, will mean it speeds up job cuts it was already planning. She added that BT is "delighted" with tax relief on infrastructure investment in the Spring Statement and UK planning reforms. "At the moment, like the country, we are focused on getting BT back to growth," she said. "Predictability on taxation, on regulation and on planning is super helpful for the investment that goes into infrastructure like ours, which is the digital backbone of the country."

Angela Burns says the tax changes are "really challenging".

Angela Burns is the chief executive of the Webb Hotel Group, a group of four hotels based in Sutton Coldfield in the West Midlands. It employs just under 300 people, and she says the NICs rises alone will cost £200,000 a year, with additional minimum wage and pension costs taking that to £600,000. "It's really tough because our labour force is the main expense in our business," she said. "As soon as it was announced in the budget in October, we started to look at restructuring, and as people have left, we haven't re employed. So we've actually cut our workforce down from about 320 to about 280 now to prepare ourselves." She said prices would have to be moved "slightly upwards". "But it's a balancing act as to what customers are prepared to pay," she added.

Greg Strickland, general manager of trampoline activity firm Jump Xtreme in Bolton, said the changes added £30,000 of costs "overnight". He said it had cut 16 hours per week off some 40-hour contracts to cover the cost. Meanwhile Andrew Lane, managing director of Union Industries in Leeds said the firm, which makes industrial doors, shares about half its post-tax profit with employees. "This is going to hit them," he said. "There will be less money to distribute to our employee-owners."