this is bbc news with the latest headlines. what now for a—level and gcse students in england? the exams have been cancelled but more details will be announced on how work will be assessed. the lockdown in england becomes law — the prime minister will address mps this morning ahead of a restrospective vote in the commons tonight. all of the uk is now under strict virus curbs. the measures come with a stark warning to follow the rules, as it's revealed that one in 50 people in england are thought to have the virus. and coming up at 9:30am, i'll put your questions on the lockdown and vaccine roll—out to a virologist and a public health specialist. get in touch with me on twitter, @annita—mcveigh, or using the hashtag bbc your questions. in the us, the democratic party looks to have taken one

of the senate seats in a crucial run—off contest in georgia. the second is still too close to call. dozens of pro—democracy activists and politicians are arrested in hong kong, accused of trying to overthrow the city's government. and coming up this hour, a breakdown for the motor industry, as car sales suffer their biggest slump since world war ii. good morning and welcome to bbc news. our top story. thousands of pupils across england, who've had their gcse and a—levels cancelled, are hoping to get more details today on how their work will be assessed. it comes as england's third national

lockdown comes legally into force, with mps set to vote retrospectively on it later today. all of the uk is now under strict virus curbs, with wales, northern ireland and most of scotland also in lockdown. on schools, the education secretary, gavin williamson, will make a statement to mps and is expected to unveil a support package for young people following the closure of schools and colleges. it comes as fears for the spread of the virus continue. yesterday the number of new daily confirmed cases of covid in the uk topped 60,000 for the first time. and it is thought one in 50 people in england had the virus last week, rising to one in 30 in london. mps will vote retrospectively on new measures to control the virus in england, which include a stay—at—home order and the closure of schools to most pupils. the prime minister will make a ministerial statement in the commons before mps debate.

and, we'll bring you all the latest on the uk vaccine roll—out. some 1.3 million people have now been vaccinated in the uk, including nearly quarter of over 80s in england, according to the government. stay with us for more on all these latest developments. 0urfirst report from sean dilly looks at the impact on schools. gavin williamson is expected to tell mps that education remains a national priority, despite the lockdown and the closure of english schools and colleges to most pupils. he will say that the government will not ask pupils to sit a—levels and gcse exams. in a statement last night, the department for education said it would work alongside the exam regulator 0fqual to consult on how to award all pupils the grades that reflect their hard work. i think it's very important we notice that this is a different timing of lockdown to what it was last year. and, as such, it's vital for students and young people that they have something to aim for. we cannotjust let them feel

that this is something that's going to be decided for them by teachers and advisors and whatever. it needs to be something they have agency in, because otherwise they won't be learning over the next few months. last year, after an algorithm design to award grades was branded unfair, teachers‘ own assessments of their pupils were expected. —— they were accepted. with my year group, we went through the algorithm system that was put in place by the government, and obviously, that was not effective at all. so hopefully, having gone through that, there's a new year group of kids that will hopefully have a bit more of a revised, a bit more of an effective, erm, way to produce these grades. meanwhile, the head of the association of colleges in england has criticised the government for leaving it to schools and colleges to decide whether to proceed with vocational and technical exams, such as btechs, warning that a lack of clear guidance risks more confusion and uncertainty. sean dilly, bbc news. the new lockdown restrictions in

england came into forcejust hours after the chief medical officer, professor chris whitty, warned that the risk posed by covid—i9 was "extraordinarily high". mps will vote later on the curbs, after the emergency recall of parliament. 0ur political correspondent jessica parker reports. the stay—at—home message. 0vernight, england's lockdown legally came into force. it's actually today that the measures will be brought before mps. the prime minister will address the commons before an expected vote after yesterday outlining progress on the vaccine. we have now vaccinated over 1.1 million people in england and over 1.3 million across the uk. and that includes more than 650,000 people over 80, which is 23% of all the over—80s in england. 0n the vaccine, labour says ministers must deliver. the party will back the lockdown today.

borisjohnson said that by mid—february, with hopes for the vaccine roll—out, there was the prospect of beginning the relaxation of some measures but there are warnings, too, that the virus could be with us for some time. if people don't take the stay—at—home seriously, the risk at this point in time, in the middle of winter, with this new variant, is extraordinarily high. what is going to happen over time is the risk level is going to gradually decrease. it's not going to be it's really bad and then suddenly it stops. we'll then get over time to a point when people say this level of risk is one that society is prepared to tolerate and lift right down to almost no restrictions at all. we might have to bring a few in, in the next winter, for example, that is possible. any rebellion by tory mps here today is expected to be smaller than those seen late last year on restrictions, with an acceptance the current health picture is stark. with rules now in force, the government is also urging everyone to follow them. jessica parker, bbc news.

0ur political correspondent jonathan blakejoins me now from westminster. good morning. let's talk about exams first, we remember the mutant algorithm from last year and the broad criticism over the handling of the whole process. today when gavin williamson speaks, how much detail can students, parents and teachers expect? some details i think but certainly not the full picture about how exams will work this summer. we know that those who have gcses and a—level exams scheduled for the summer a—level exams scheduled for the summer will not sit them as normal but we don't yet know how grades will be allocated. as you said, pa rents, will be allocated. as you said, parents, teachers and students will be eagerly awaiting what gavin williamson says. i think today we will hear more of a focus on how stu d e nts will hear more of a focus on how students will be supported through remote learning in the immediate term. gavin williamson has said ahead of his statement it is vital we support our young people at home

including making sure all students have the best possible remote education and those due to take exams can still progress to their next stage. i think the education secretary, and the qualifications regulator, 0fqual, will be keen to avoid a repeat of the situation last summer avoid a repeat of the situation last summer where the algorithm that was deemed unfair bites out when it was scrapped at the last minute and teacher predicted grades were used to allocate student their results and it may be that a similar system is put in place at or one that is slightly different, we will have to wait and see but probably not the full picture today on how exams will work but there is some uncertainty about beat eggs and other vocational qualifications which are due to be happening in the days and weeks ahead and students are facing uncertainty their —— btechs. it seems it is being led down to colleges and educational establishments to decide if they should continue and students are being left not knowing in some cases

when they had exams in the coming days and assessments whether they will go ahead or not. and more broadly on the virus, the vaccine, the prime minister speaking before gavin williamson, of eastleigh mps are going to vote retrospectively on the latest lockdown but is he going to get much kickback from his own mps? some have been unhappy about some measures in the past. there will be some unease i'm sure among conservative mps but we are not expecting anything like the scale of rebellion from tory backbenchers that we have seen in recent votes on the government's plans to control the government's plans to control the spread of coronavirus. there is an acceptance now even among conservative mps who were deeply uncomfortable about any further restrictions i think across the board that there is really no viable alternative for the government at this point than to impose a national lockdown across england which came into force in law overnight of course. but i'm sure we will hit in

the debate, several hours of it in the debate, several hours of it in the house of commons this afternoon, that mps have been recalled for, pressure on the government to explain more about how exactly it plans to meet its ambitious target to offer the vaccine to all obit 70s and those who are deemed to be clinically extremely vulnerable by mid—february —— over 70s. that is seen as mid—february —— over 70s. that is seen as the way out of the lockdown and the way out of restrictions having to be imposed at all on the limitations and on people's lives. there vaccine minister, nadhim zahawi, has there vaccine minister, nadhim za hawi, has been there vaccine minister, nadhim zahawi, has been talking this morning and said he is confident the government can meet that target. i am confident that the nhs has a clear delivery plan to meet that target. there are many, many complexities around it, not least manufacturing and of course supply chain challenges but also we have got to make sure we focus on deployment very clearly, making sure every gp that is vaccinating has the support they need, making sure every hospital has

the support they need and of course the vaccination hubs. and we will meet our targets, that is my absolute focus. that is his focus and you can be sure conservative mps and the opposition labour party will hold the government to that in the days and weeks ahead but with labour support and lib dems as well, the scottish national party will not vote because it's an england only issue, it is all but certain that mps will approve this latest national lockdown for england when they vote probably at around seven o'clock this evening. thank you very much. labour has accused the home secretary, priti patel, of leaving the "nation's doors unlocked" to new coronavirus variants by not introducing tougher measures for people entering the uk. the government says it will bring in testing for people arriving from other countries — a move that labour says it would welcome. if that is what the government wants to introduce, we would be willing

to work with them on it but again, i really do emphasise the urgent nature of this. the government's own figures are showing that the quarantine system is not effective and is not working. in addition to that, we have got the prime minister saying casually that this may be introduced, the minister for the cabinet office, mr gove, saying this. don't just say this — get on and do it and we, as our position, will work with the government to ensure that that is effective because this needs to be done. it's not a matterjust to be spoken about and done at some point in the future — urgent action is needed now. the world health organisation has said it does not recommend following the uk's decision to delay giving the second dose of the pfizer vaccine for 12 weeks. initially, the plan was to offer the follow up jab 21 days after the first one. but the uk government has changed the strategy so more people can be vaccinated quickly. the world health organisation says the second dose should be given three to four weeks after the first.

let's return to exams. gcse and a—level student in england have once again found themselves at the mercy of predicted grades, coursework and teacher assessment to determine whether they will be able to go onto college or university next year. the education secretary has laid out the plans after it was announced that exams due to take place this summer will once again be cancelled because of the pandemic. joining me now is molly davenport who was due to sit her a—level exams this summer. i guess you cannot be entirely surprised by the news that exams have been cancelled 7 surprised by the news that exams have been cancelled? no, it was not surprising. 0bviously have been cancelled? no, it was not surprising. obviously i didn't know ifi surprising. obviously i didn't know if i wanted them to be cancelled or not but it was kind of inevitable and we were waiting for the official announcement on it. what is your biggest worry right now?m announcement on it. what is your biggest worry right now? it is that

half the marks had been cancelled, the end of the year once in the year before, year 12, they were cancelled. we don't have anything to go off there and the one big mark we did in december, that was like a pretend mock and the proper one was in february. it wasjust pretend mock and the proper one was in february. it was just to figure out exam technique and what you could improve on but the mark in february it was the important one that would have a lot of weight put on it. they both were but the february one was, if you didn't do so february one was, if you didn't do so great in the first, you could put it back in february if you did a good job. the practice mock you did in december, do you feel you really gaveit in december, do you feel you really gave it your all or would you do better in the real thing? that's the big question because if you were told that this was not a real lock, ifi told that this was not a real lock, if i can use that phrase just a practice one, i'm guessing that perhaps people didn't quite put as much into that one as they may have

done? they did tell us, try your best but if you don't do the best you can awe as well as you wanted to, that's ok. they didn't say, don't try your hardest, it's just a pretend. it was a real lock but because there was a second a couple months later, there was less weight put on it —— a real mock. i don't know how to work it without getting the right message across but it was one mock and another after and if you didn't do great on the first you could make it up on the second. i did great on politics and pretty good on history and on geography i had an absolute tanker which is never great! i did the classic student think of leaving it too late to get the revision put in which, cambridge, if you're listening, i swear i'm a great student and this is not representative!” swear i'm a great student and this is not representative! i am sure we have all crammed at some point and not quite got everything covered that we wanted to cover! what do you think would be the fairest way of

assessing what happens next? when that you get the grades to go to cambridge or any student listening gets to go where they want to. 0bviously gets to go where they want to. obviously we have the idea of some sort of examination with a lot of options so you can choose to answer the questions on the topics you feel you have covered properly. there are teacher predictions moderated by real people, not an algorithm, a combination of this but what do you think would be best? obviously i'm not a politician this is just from a very student standpoint... speaking from the heart, what would be fa i rest from the heart, what would be fairest for you and your friends?” would say the fairest thing is to let our teachers decide what grades are appropriate because they know what we are capable of and what work we have been doing so they are the only ones... your cat is determined to make an appearance! i love it! he

wa nts to make an appearance! i love it! he wants the spotlight! sorry about that! but only the teachers know what we are capable of because everybody has been teaching us or at least trying to, because school as we moved online, if you're not happy with the grades you are given, you should be given the opportunity to sitan exam. should be given the opportunity to sit an exam. 0bviously should be given the opportunity to sit an exam. obviously there is a lot of room for error unfortunately. at least now they have more time to figure out a more appropriate strategy than last time because last time was a shambles. we all know it was a bit of a disaster. ijust think that for this year, because there is so much time in advance, teachers should get to choose which grades. 0bviously teachers should get to choose which grades. obviously there should be moderation, i'm not saying there is bias but there is the potential for it, we can't know for sure. but i think get the grades you are given by teachers as long as outside moderators think that got a green light and it is appropriate but if you are still not happy you should

be given the opportunity to resit to try to achieve the grades you want to because if you don't come you could just not get into uni which is not quite. really interesting to get your perspective and thank you very much. and no need to apologise for the cap, pets are always welcome in interviews! —— the cat. if you are meant to be taking exams, gcses or a—levels in the summer, if you are a pa rent of a—levels in the summer, if you are a parent of someone due to take exams, if you are a teacher and you want to get in touch or indeed about any of the other stories we are talking about, please do so on twitter and you can also use the hashtag bbc your questions. the headlines on bbc news... what now for a—level and gcse students? the exams have been cancelled but more details will be announced on how work will be assessed.

the lockdown in england becomes law — the prime minister will address mps this morning — ahead of a restrospective vote in the commons tonight. all of the uk is now under strict virus curbs — the measures come with a stark warning to follow the rules, as it's revealed that one in fifty people in england are thought to have the virus. westminster magistrates court is due to consider whether to grant bail to the founder of the wikileaks website, julian assange. it follows a separate decision on monday that he should not be extradited to the united states to face charges over the publication of hundreds of thousands of classified military and diplomatic documents. the us is appealing against that ruling. in america, democratic candidate raphael warnock is projected to win the first of two nail—biting senate races in georgia. the results of both will decide who controls the upper chamber of congress in the first two years

ofjoe biden's presidency. the republican party of outgoing president donald trump needs only to win one in order to retain the senate. if the reverend warnock does win, he'll be the first black man to represent georgia in the senate. in a livestreamed address, reverend raphael warnock thanked his supporters. georgia, i am honoured by the faith that you have shown in me. and i promise you this tonight. i am going to the senate to work for all of georgia. no matter who you cast your vote for in this election. every day i am in the united states senate, i will fight for you. i will fight for your family. to our supporters, our incredible campaign team, and to my family, thank you from the bottom of my heart. the reverend raphael warnock‘s

opponent, republican kelly leffler, has not yet conceded. 0ur correspondent larry madowo is in atlanta, closely watching the developments. 0ne down, i want to go and now at least three major networks take on abc, cnn and nbc are projecting raphael warnock will win that senate seatin raphael warnock will win that senate seat in georgia, becoming the first black senator from georgia to represent this southern state in the us senate. there are very few black senators in the us congress generally so it's a very important moment for raphael warnock who preaches at the same ebony setback church that the reverend martin luther king preached at so a very historic background for him —— at the same church. senator kelly loeffler said there was still a path to victory for her and she is not conceding but democrats are celebrating because for the first time in this election cycle it looks

like they might have control of the senate because they will have a 50 seat against the republicans' 50 and vice president kamala harris can cast their vote that breaks the tie. more on that story in the next hour. police in hong kong have arrested dozens of pro—democracy politicians and activists in a major crackdown. they're accused of breaking a controversial new national security law imposed by beijing. our correspondent danny vincent is in hong kong. what's the latest? this morning we saw several arrests, 53 individuals arrested after the police deployed around a thousand police deployed around a thousand police officers in this investigation, saying these activists and former lawmakers have allegedly broke and the national security law. activists feel this is yet another example of overreach, they think this is an example of the extended crackdown that the city is facing. since the national security

law was introduced last year by beijing, we have seen a small but growing number of activists fleeing. we have seen many arrests and now we have seen more than a doubling of the number of people arrested and the number of people arrested and the national security law. activists feel this is once again an example of the unprecedented crackdown that the city is facing. you mentioned those accusations of overreach, as pa rt those accusations of overreach, as part of this operation, we know also that the offices of a law firm were searched and news agencies were asked to hand over information so how concerned are human rights groups about the use of this security law and what does it mean for the democracy movement? this law is incredibly controversial. it has been described by human rights groups as a draconian. they feel it isa groups as a draconian. they feel it is a political weapon in some ways used to try to silence people that are trying to talk out against

beijing and the authorities here. what we do know is that there has been 53 people who have been arrested today. the activists have spoken out against the arrests and abilities an example of a crackdown and for the pro—democracy movement, it's very difficult to say. when the lot was first introduced the authorities said it would only be a small number of people affected by the law but what we have seen this morning and today is a wide—ranging number of arrests which affect a wide range of people from different parts of society. there is certainly a large amount of concern about the future of the pro—democracy movement here but also concern for the freedoms that hong kong was once promised. thank you very much, danny. prosecutors in the american state of wisconsin say a policeman investigated over the shooting

of the black manjacob blake in the city of kenosha last august will face no charges in connection with the incident. the shooting by the white officer left mr blake paralysed and sparked deadly street clashes. here's our north america correspondent david willis. jacob blake was shot in front of three of his children, leaving him paralysed from the waist down. shots fired. but four months after his violent apprehension, the circumstances surrounding it remain contentious and controversial. the officer who fired seven shots into mr blake's back, rustin chesky, maintained the suspect was wielding a knife and ignored several demands to drop it, prompting him to open fire in self—defence. and i have moved it to my right hand... although the cell phone video does not appear to show evidence of a knife, one was later recovered from the floor of mr blake's car

and the local prosecutor has cleared 0fficer chesky of any wrongdoing. it is absolutely incontrovertible that jacob blake was armed with a knife during this encounter. incontrovertible. most incontrovertible because jacob blake, in all of the times he spoke to dci, admits he possessed a knife. jacob blake's family disputes that version of events and believes the prosecutor's decision will further undermine confidence in the police. i think in 2021 it shows one very important thing and that is that there is three, three justice systems in america. there is one for black and brown people, one for police officers, and one for the rest of america. jacob blake's arrest sparked three days of violent protest in the city of kenosha. among the more than 250 people arrested was a 17—year—old who answered a call to rally behind

property owners and protect their assets. kyle rittenhouse was filmed firing on protesters with a rifle. he has since been charged with killing two of them and injuring a third and, in a teleconference court appearance, he pleaded not guilty to a total of six charges. kenosha is bracing itself for renewed demonstrations in the light of the prosecutor's decision. national guard officers have been drafted in and there is also talk of a curfew if protests get out of hand. david willis, bbc news, los angeles. as we've been hearing, students up and down the country are once again back to remote learning after the prime minister ordered another lockdown across england, starting this week. since the start of the pandemic, the government committed to providing laptops for the students who would normally struggle to access online learning but is there enough support now?

joining me now isjohn skurr who is the headteacher of university academy keighley in west yorkshire. very good to have you with us and thank you for your time. approximately 700 students and 100 teachers but how ready are you for this lockdown and the challenges ahead? we have had a plan in preparation from september that we started and we predicted this could happen. actually immobilising that plan is a challenge and takes a few days but our students will receive a blended approach to learning independent tasks set for them and they have live lessons starting next week and throughout the whole of lockdown. the problem we have is that our community is a very diverse and multicultural community and will not always have the resources available. in the last round, the dfe laptop allocation, we received very few and we are due to receive a great deal more but we don't know when they will arrive. we want to

start this programme straightaway and geta start this programme straightaway and get a student learning and engaged in education that a real dangerfor us at engaged in education that a real danger for us at the moment and put it's something we are having to deal with and we are out and about delivering work packs so everyone who is not affected by the digital disadvantage. you are delivering physical papers to people who don't have access to devices to keep them going while hopefully you get more? could you extend the definition of vulnerable to people who don't have access to remote learning? they are going to be really disadvantaged potentially this. could you bring more children into school if they do not a device? i have written to pa rents not a device? i have written to parents in the last... in yesterday and we will highlight this to pa rents. and we will highlight this to parents. if they don't have access, we will try to increase the opportunities for students to attend school because they are disadvantaged to point that we serve a diverse community and we know that

young people will be disadvantaged by this. we know with the examinations and the mess around that in this morning, we have stu d e nts that in this morning, we have students writing to us saying, we come in for exams or not? we can't access work at home put that we have to do everything we can, to support students. i have a wonderful staff tea m students. i have a wonderful staff team who are going out of their way to make sure we create advantages for these students but it is not fairat for these students but it is not fair at the moment and the lack of information makes it harderfor us. we are having to take that upon ourselves to include young people that are digitally disadvantaged into our vulnerable category. couple of questions on exams point of the association of colleges criticised the government or leaving it to schools and colleges to decide if b—techs exams should go ahead but i believe you are going ahead with them this week for your year 11 students? we are going to go ahead andi students? we are going to go ahead and i are meeting them all online today to explain why. we don't know what the government will replace with exams and i support the

position of the school on it. it's a real challenge. we have had a student e—mailing us saying, thank you for our time at school, we really appreciate everything you have done for us. are struggling to respond to say it is not finished and we have a lot of work to do and we don't know what this looks like. from our point of view we will do the exams. how are you going to make it safe? you're talking about bringing them into the school so how do you make it work? we are quite fortu nate do you make it work? we are quite fortunate because we have been the highest level of lockdown for most of sincejuly in bradford and keighley so we have a significant safety programme in place, all stu d e nts safety programme in place, all students wearing masks, sanitisers everywhere, cigna can spacing them or not talking about large numbers of stu d e nts or not talking about large numbers of students —— significant spacing. we are fortunate to have a big well ventilated building so we can make it as safe as possible and our staff are well trained to adhere to social distancing to make it so although there is a risk, overwhelming our

staff are committed to our young people getting the best possible options and if we don't, we potentially disadvantage them and that's a worry for us. it should not have been left to school leaders to make that decision, should have been a national decision which we all followed. and more broadly, on summer exams and what sort of assessment those exams, clearly we will not hear the full plan from gavin williamson today, we will get perhaps some of it but what you think is the fairest way of assessing students work in the summer? we have to move to assessed grades and rely on education professionals to make sure they are fair and they respect that. some young people had been out of learning for close to a year if this pandemic goes towards easter time, it is a real concern that it could be anything at this stage. what we need is clarity. we need clear decision—making or something we can stick to and then

we can inform our young people. because the mental well—being of our young people has been put in jeopardy, they are in limbo. to receive e—mails to students already saying that is it, we are done, is a real worry and concern because those young people, some of them are from real disadvantaged backgrounds and we won't get them back. we have to work really ha rd we won't get them back. we have to work really hard to keep them on track if there is an expectation it will be ongoing assessments or whatever the government suggests today. teacher assessments with real people moderating those assessments? yes, it has to be fair. schools will a lwa ys yes, it has to be fair. schools will always believe in the young people so always believe in the young people soi always believe in the young people so i think we saw from the assessed grades are sheer, they were about 7% or 8% grades are sheer, they were about 7% or8% up on grades are sheer, they were about 7% or 8% up on what they would be year on yearand or 8% up on what they would be year on year and schools will believe in the young people because young people will also —— will always be borderline if they can get qualifications so there needs to be some moderation. the dfe have known about this and last year and i would have hoped there would have been a plan ready to go so we can act on it

straightaway so we don't risk losing some of our most disadvantaged stu d e nts some of our most disadvantaged students who are the ones most at risk of underachieving. john, thank you so much for speaking to us today from university academy keeper a. we wish you and all of your colleagues and your pupils the very best of luck. and comments coming in about exams. let me read some of those. this is from christopher taylor, as a secondary school teacher, it brea ks a secondary school teacher, it breaks my heart that for the second year, my year 11 children will not have a chance to prove themselves at gcse, the mock exams were disrupted and they are incredibly worried and we can't assume they will be ok. sarah malinger, i hope i pronounce that public 130 students are due to sit btec and other vocational exams, why does the government think it is safe to sit these exams when exams in the summer been cancelled? criticism from the association of colleges that the government has left it to individual schools and

colleges to decide if those vocational exams are going ahead. sally champion, btec exams should go ahead for all or because of all, how cana ahead for all or because of all, how can a benchmark beset when there are inconsistencies in sitting exams and assessed results? jane potter, molly davenport is a lovely bright young lady, good luck to her and the young people taking exams, difficult times for them. yes, good luck to every student due to set major exams this summer. sport, and for a full round—up, from the bbc sport centre, here's katherine downes. good morning. sad news this morning. the former manchester city and england midfielder colin bell has died at the age of 7a from a short, non—covid related illness. widely regarded as one of the finest players of his generation, bell was known as the ‘king of the kippax' — a nod to the most boystrous stand at city's old maine road stadium. he made almost 500 appearances for the club between 1966 and 1979, scored loads of goals, and won the league title as well.

manchester city have said that "few players have left such an indelible mark" on the club. such a humble guy. i mean, this is a man who's known as the king. and for that to be the case is a testament to how loved and respected he was. i mean, looking at a team today that's awash with world—class footballers, and if colin bell was around now, he would be in pep guardiola's team, there's no question. he was known as nijinsky. he had incredible stamina. he could play in any position and he would be better than the players that played in that position. he was incredible. well, manchester city will wear special shirts in tribute to colin bell when they walk out to play manchester united in their league cup semi—final tonight. the winner will take on tottenham in the final, afterjose mourinho's side beat the championship side brentford 2—0 in the other semi—final. spurs are nowjust one game away

from their first trophy in 13 years. i think we have to do better. but great respect for the opponent, for the game, for the responsibility, for the ambition. so, job done. we are in the final. england's cricketers will start training in sri lanka today after all the touring party passed coronavirus tests. they were all re—tested after moeen ali's positive result when they arrived on monday. he's now in a ten—day quarantine, and the whole squad and staff need to have a third test tomorrow. the two—match test series starts a week tomorrow. that's all the sport for now. the european union could authorise a second coronavirus vaccine in the coming hours.

the european medicines agency is considering giving the green light to the us—made moderna vaccine. the pfizer/biontech vaccine was approved for use across the 27—member bloc two weeks ago. the european medicines agency has been criticised for moving more slowly than other regulatory organisations. it's based in the hague, in the netherlands — the last eu country to begin coronavirus vaccinations — and our correspondent anna holligan is there. let's talk about this moderna vaccine, a lot of expectation today. and a huge degree of pressure on the ema to authorise a second vaccine for roll—out across the eu and the attraction with the moderna vaccine is that it doesn't need to be refrigerated at —75 celsius. to be transported. so it makes it easier to distribute. there is a lot of pressure at the moment because countries are struggling to administer these vaccines. there was so administer these vaccines. there was so much hope and expectation when the pfizer vaccine was approved a few weeks ago, but then the rolling

out of the vaccination programmes in the different countries has brought a dose of reality. and there is pressure because pfizer is struggling to cope with the demand. and here in the eu, countries are looking at the uk where now 1.3 million doses have been administered and wondering why here on the continent, they are lacking so far behind. especially here in the netherlands. about two hours ago, a 39—year—old care home nurse became the first person in the netherlands to have the pfizer vaccine, the last country in the eu, ironically of course no home to the ema. and there has been a lot of consternation, given the netherlands is a proudly well—organised country and yet has really struggled to relate these vaccinations. and elsewhere in the eu, tell us about the balance between the roll—out of the vaccine and the willingness of the

population if you like to access that vaccine. i heard you early on the radio talking about france in particular and interesting debate there. really interesting, and it is really highlighting some of the disconnect between the regulatory authorities, so the uk giving the emergency use permission to roll out much sooner than the ema which going with the different regulation which they say is more a —— more comprehensive. then you see different countries struggling in different countries struggling in different ways. in the netherlands, the dutch health ministry told us it was a combination of having to upgrade their it systems and to train call centre staff on the scripts to use with people booking infor scripts to use with people booking in for their vaccinations, that took time and that has caused the delay here. in france, it is interesting because it is one of the well‘s most vaccine sceptic countries and there was a really bureaucratic process in setting up the roll—out —— the world's. it required people to make

an appointment with their doctor days before having the vaccination. and the president emmanuel macron has criticised the way it has been done, saying it is like a stroll, a family stroll, which is inappropriate for something that at the moment is really urgent, given that right across the continent, hospitals are struggling, there is pressure on the healthcare services, the infection rate in many countries including in the netherlands isjust stubbornly high. elsewhere, in germany, home to the pfizer vaccine, again, they have administered a couple of hundred thousand doses. they have many more ready to go. there have again been problems getting the jabs into people because my arms. and in italy, the figure there is about 118,000 had been vaccinated by sunday —— into people's‘s arms. it varies from country to country and italy was the epicentre of the european outbreak.

now right across the eu, countries are watching developments at the ema in amsterdam and the european medicines agency tweeted about 20 minutes ago to say that meeting, which it is hoped will result in the approval of the second vaccine for use in the eu, the us moderna vaccine, is now under way. so we are expecting an announcement at some point later today. anna, thank you very much for that. and a holligan in the hague. let's return now to the lockdown and the vaccine roll—out. many of you have been contacting us so let's look at some of the issues in your questions answered. and joining me to answer your questions are dr bharat pankhani, senior clinical lecturer at the university of exeter medical school.

and also, professor sian griffiths — an epidemic specialist, epidemiologist and emeritus professor of public health at the chinese university of hong kong. you are both very welcome, as ever, and thank you forjoining us again to a nswer and thank you forjoining us again to answer our viewers questions. the first is from dave matthews for you, dr pankhani. can a gp deliver both types of the vaccine safely? talking about presumably the pfizer/biontech and the oxford astrazeneca vaccine. yes, of course they can deliver it safely. having said that, the oxford astrazeneca vaccine is a lot easier to give because of the storage requirements for the pfizer/biontech vaccine to be maintained at —70 celsius. difficult to give, of course it can be given. the easier one to give is the oxford astrazeneca one. which opens at the possibility of it being administered lots of different settings, notjust in hospitals or gp surgeries. indeed, and that is the plan that

the oxford astrazeneca vaccine will be given from many, many different portals, including mass vaccination centres, community pharmacists and of course our gp practices as well. professor griffiths, wayne on twitter asks if the new strain is more transmissible, why has the rule of two metres not been extended? good morning, wayne. the two metre rule is based on the fact that when you cough and the virus is spread through droplets and aerosol, it goes to about within two metres, so you don't need to extend the distance between people. what we need to do is to reinforce the messages about wearing masks, washing hands, keeping surfaces clean & clear and also ventilation, keeping windows open where possible and making sure we are well ventilated in spaces. if we have that package measures, it helps diminish the transmissibility of the virus. and also stick to that rule of two metres, in my personal

experience, ifind a lot of of two metres, in my personal experience, i find a lot of people don't. i am always going way my way to avoid people that don't seem to be doing their bit to keep some distance between me and them. i think that is a common issue, isn't it? if you keep your distance, it is not one metre plus any more, it is two metres. absolutely, dr pankhani again this this is a popular question and we have got one version of it from gary on twitter. did the trials that approved the covid vaccine include intense —— include testing a 12 week gap between the first and second dose and how can we know this method is safe? that is interesting because as we mentioned, the world health organization has said it doesn't recommend following the uk's read this. yes, so in the phase one and two and three trials, it was not tested with the 12 weeks or three months interval. it was tested at a shorter interval. having said that, people like myself have

been immunising for many years, at least three decades, so i do know that we never managed to give the second vaccine or the third vaccine at exactly the precise time. and despite that, it still works. so what would i do as a public health doctor in the middle of the crisis? we have a crisis, we have a rising number of cases, we haven't got a large bulk supply of vaccines in one go in our hands. therefore, the one dose given to many people as fast as possible, as efficiently as possible, as efficiently as possible, creates a number of people who are immune and protected from severe disease. and then we follow it up to three months later, 12 weeks, and give them the top up to boost their immunity. so of course, the who and pfizer will say it is not in our data, understandable. as

a public health measure, the united kingdom government i think i got it right. this for you, sian, pharmacists give the flu jab every year and dispense medicines, so why are they not giving the oxford covid vaccine, this is a story we would do more on in the next hour as pharmaceutical representatives say, we are itching to play our part, but we are itching to play our part, but we haven't heard anything back yet from the government or nhs, so why are pharmacists so far not being involved in this? i think this is a matter of involved in this? i think this is a matterof timing, involved in this? i think this is a matter of timing, because basically, this is a new process and it isjust getting going, there are also many doctors, retired doctors, nurses and others, willing to come onto the front nine to help to vaccinate. and as we have had pointed out, these are early days, there are issues about monitoring the initial doses of the vaccine and ensuring the safety. and i am sure is the supply ramps up and we get better organised to give the vaccine, pharmacists

will be at the front line. i can't imagine they won't because they are such a useful force for giving vaccines under normal circumstances for flu. so i think this is a matter of timing and to ramp up the delivery of the vaccination programme. nick on twitter, dr pankhani, asks, we will be checked for antibodies for the virus before being vaccinated? no, and the check is irrelevant really because it is not going to really inform us very much about to give or not to give. my much about to give or not to give. my advice would be whether you have had your infection, don't go around wasting money on doing antibody tests, we never do those sort of things. just get the vaccine, it will protect you, it will boost your immunity, if you had have —— if you have had prior infection, no need to do antibody tests. i travelled to look after my elderly mum over christmas, now allowed to return to return to my own home, key tasks?” don't know if you are in a formal bubble with your mother and if she

isa bubble with your mother and if she is a single elderly person on her own, you can form a bubble and visit her whenever you need to. and yes you can return home. the difference this time round with lockdown, we have learnt about the need to provide social support particularly to isolated elderly people, to young mums and social support within bubbles. so i think i recommend people look at the guidance on bubbles and work out how they can continue to give support to the vulnerable whilst staying safe. the next question is from —— is another one very popular with our viewers, how do we know which vaccine we will be given and can i choose, dr pankhani? well, i think it is a case of be very grateful we have got vaccines. and i assure you that they all work. and therefore, if i was given a choice, i would take the first one available. it is pointless shopping around. they will do the job, they work. and as i have said

before, the oxford astrazeneca one isa before, the oxford astrazeneca one is a lot easier to give for many people at pace. therefore, don't choose, just take whatever is given, they all work, please be assured.” would be surprised if there was a matter of choice in it in terms of the roll—out of the vaccine anyway. indeed. sian, this is from mike roache who asks, why are we still not using the nightingale hospitals? i think the answer to this is again a logistics issue. we know that many of, many nhs staff also get sick during the winter and to run the nightingale hospitals, you need to fully staffed them and it is not possible. and the nhs is working within itself with very sick patients at the current time. i am sure nightingale hospitals will be used over the coming months, but maybe not for the sickest patients. let's squeeze in a few more. when we receive the vaccine, will we be

given any tangible proof we have done so, asks james mcdonald kane? the short answer is yes, you get a piece of notification that you had been to a vaccination centre, it will also be in your gp records. you can will also be in your gp records. you ca n always will also be in your gp records. you can always ask also for a letter from your gp that you have been immunised. sian, this is from roger in buckinghamshire, we are due to com plete in buckinghamshire, we are due to complete the sale of my late father's house, can we travel two hours to complete the clear out before the sale? yes, how sales can carry on, that is a legitimate reason for travelling. joshua mccready, i am 19 and have no underlying health conditions, when would i be eligible for the vaccine, dr pankhani? it will take a long time, at least be grateful that it will come to you, but it will take a long time. ac sometimes towards the ends of the summer by the time the very young are immunised. —— i see towards. having said that, you never know, if we suddenly get a large supply of vaccines, we can do it at

a mass immunisation centre and it might suddenly become a lot sooner than i thought. two more. sian from alan, cani than i thought. two more. sian from alan, can i take my carfor a service question but lots of questions on car servicing work and devotees ? questions on car servicing work and devotees? garages can stay open, everyone will be very relieved in the winter you can keep your car safe and get your mot and that is a legitimate reason for leaving home. one more, which i know you haven't seen one more, which i know you haven't seen and i hope you can answer so forgive me for doing that. like many people in the uk, i am on statins, is it true statins can prevent the covid vaccination from working properly or is this another piece of misinformation, dr pankhani? yes, happy to take that. really, please be assured these vaccines are very specific and they do a job that is to reduce immunity, your statins are not going to interfere with your vaccine, don't worry about it. always good to come back to misinformation where we can. professor griffiths and dr pankhani,

thank you so much for answering our questions and a big thank you as ever to our viewers to send —— for sending those in and we hope that has helped clear up some of those queries you have. sales of new cars in the uk fell to their lowest level in nearly 30 years last year — according to figures from the industry's trade body. the society of motor manufacturers and traders said it was also the biggest one—year fall since world war two. they also say that the sale of diesel cars fell by around 50%. mike hawes is the ceo of the society of motor manufacturers and traders. thank you for your time, but these numbers into context, presumably the financial uncertainty of the last year is a big factor as well as garages being closed. yes, we lost a number of months of car showrooms being open last year bit which cost

between half a three quarters of a million new car registrations and we just didn't get them back when showroom opened, that was by far the biggest impact on the numbers. but undoubtedly, the evasive nature of the pandemic did undermine consumer confidence, business confidence, and added to that, brexit uncertainty. it was a challenging, challenging year, and we just hope 2021 is a lot better. yet record figures, i believe, for the purchase, or near record figures for the purchase of electric vehicles which we didn't mention an introduction. is this a sign of things to come and, if so, is the sector ready to meet those 2030 targets? absolutely, that was one bright spot in an otherwise gloomy picture. electric sales were up, something like 180%. about one in ten cars sold now can be plugged in and that means pure electric or a plug—in hybrid which combines a combustion engine. this is the

future of the industry and the way it is going. manufacturers have invested billions into getting these ca rs invested billions into getting these cars that last five or ten years and they are now coming to the market in ever greater numbers. they are appealing to a lot more consumers. what we need above all is investment in infrastructure to reassure people they can charge them either at home, wherever they live, or on the journey wherever they are going. you have previously said for the automotive industry, brexit has a lwa ys automotive industry, brexit has always been about damage limitation. soi always been about damage limitation. so i would love to get your thoughts now and prospects now the uk has finished the transition phase and of course given that the pandemic is still ripping through the economy. yes, it is. brexit, obviously, we hope the pandemic will largely be over come this year with the vaccine is being rolled out as we have been hearing previously. brexit and the new arrangements will be here for decades. we always said that this would be about damage limitation. getting the deal and avoiding

ta riffs getting the deal and avoiding tariffs was essential to the industry. without that, our competitiveness would have been hugely undermined in terms of export. but also in terms of the majority of vehicles we buy in the uk come from europe so there would have been a price rise. what matters now is we understand what our future trading conditions will be, we need to make sure we remain competitive and to try and put uk investment back on global headquarters are gender because it is the fundamentals of our industry in the uk which is still very strong. good to talk to you, thank you very much, mike hawes, ceo of the society of motor manufacturers and traders. now it's time for a look at the weather with carol kirkwood. hello again. we have just had the coldest night of this winter so far, with temperatures falling to just below —12 degrees in parts of the highlands. below —12 degrees in it's going to be another cold few days and not really until we get into the weekend and next week that we start to see a return to the less cold air coming our way, as represented by the yellows

on the chart. today, our high pressure slips away, we still have a nose of it around but we are going to see a weather front coming our way later which will introduce thicker cloud and some rain across the north—west of scotland. we still have some showers across the far south—east and the channel islands, a few showers getting in across eastern scotland and eastern england, but they tend to weaken through the day. some of them could still be wintry, but mostly on higher ground. a lot of dry weather, a fair bit of wintry sunshine around, lighter winds, still feeling cold, with temperatures between 1 and 6 degrees. this evening and overnight, here comes this band of rain, but quickly, as it engages with the cold air across scotland and then northern ireland, it will turn to snow, even at lower levels. it will be a cold night across the board, some of us seeing some frost. again, the risk of ice, and the other thing to watch out for is freezing fog.

some of the fog will be dense and some will take its time to clear, particularly in parts of northern england heading into the midlands. some of that will linger and hold back the temperature, but there will be some sunshine around. here is our weather front, still producing some winteriness as it sinks slowly southwards and weakens — and, behind it, we see a return to wintry showers, even at lower levels in parts of northern scotland. thursday night into friday, watch this front. as it bumps into the high pressure, it weakens, but it will continue as a weak feature down into southern areas. that means some parts of the south during the course of friday will see some wintry flurries, but you won't all. we don't expect it to be problematic. and there will still be some wintry flurries too and some showers across parts of northern england and also scotland. a cold day in prospect, temperatures between 2 and 5 degrees. into the weekend, we start to see things change, as we have more of an atlantic influence on our weather. still cold for the first part of the weekend but, by sunday, all of us should be in milder air.

this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. what now for a—level and gcse students in england? the exams have been cancelled but more details will be announced on how work will be assessed. the lockdown in england has become law. the prime minister will address mps this morning ahead of a restrospective vote in the commons tonight. all of the uk is now under strict virus curbs as it's revealed that one in 50 people in england are thought to have the virus. in the us, the final votes are being counted in the crucial senate run—off election in georgia. one race is too close to call but the democratic candidate in the other is claiming victory. let us rise up, greet the morning and meet the challenges of this moment.