this is bbc news — these are the latest headlines in the uk and around the world. borisjohnson prepares to visit scotland amid demands for another independence referendum. scotland's first minister questions whether the trip is essential, but ministers say it's to thank front—line workers. there are 80 new vaccination centres that are opening in scotland as a result of the british army's efforts. i think it's only right the prime minister goes to the front line, learns from those who are responsible for the vaccine roll—out... the eu and astrazeneca pledge to work together to resolve a row over vaccine supply shortages — but the eu is still demanding that somejabs produced in the uk are diverted to europe. if you'd like to get in touch about that or any of the stories we're covering today, you can contact me on twitter @annita—mcveigh #bbcyourquestions.

probing the origins of the pandemic. experts from the world health organization come out of quarantine in china, with a chance to start face—to—face meetings in wuhan. scientists tracking coronavirus infection rates in england say they're concerned the virus is not slowing fast enough — with only a slight decline in the past week. operatic singing. how singing and breathing techniques from opera can help those suffering from long—covid. hello and welcome if you're watching in the uk or around the world.

borisjohnson will visit scotland later, where he's expected to stress the benefits of uk—wide co—operation during the pandemic. it comes amid growing calls in scotland for another independence referendum. scotland's first minister, nicola sturgeon, has criticised the trip in the light of covid, questioning whether it's an essentialjourney. our political correspondent, nick eardley, has the story. booing. this is borisjohnson visiting nicola sturgeon in 2019, just after he became prime minister. but they won't be shaking hands today. with travel banned, miss sturgeon has questioned whether the visit is essential. downing street says it is. good morning... the prime minister intends to make the case for scotland remaining in the uk. he believes the pandemic shows the benefits of cooperation, pointing to funding for public services, the uk wide furlough scheme and the vaccine, bought by the uk government and distributed by the scottish government. the snp, though, say the government

in london is panicking. a series of polls over the last six months suggest support for independence is now higher than support for the uk. when scotland goes to the polls in may, the snp will put independence front and centre. if they win, which looks likely, they'll demand another referendum. london plans to say no, but the debate over independence isn't going away. and some believe that blocking another referendum will only make it more popular. nick eardley, bbc news. and our political correspondent, nick eardley, joins us now. he is in westminster. hello, nick. the government is saying this is about borisjohnson thanking front line workers but any trip by a uk prime minister to scotland at the moment, it is impossible to separate that out from the question of independence, isn't it? absolutely. es - eciall independence, isn't it? absolutely. especially with _ independence, isn't it? absolutely. especially with the _ independence, isn't it? absolutely. especially with the backdrop - independence, isn't it? absolutely. especially with the backdrop of - independence, isn't it? absolutely. especially with the backdrop of 20. especially with the backdrop of 20 polls over six months, which all

suggest that people in scotland prefer the idea of independence over the idea of staying in the uk. although borisjohnson is going to talk about vaccines and about the testing roll—out across the uk, he is also going to none too subtle point that he thinks that it is easier to do and has worked better because of the might of the uk. he will make that case pretty forcefully, saying that being in a union means that the uk is in a better place to beat the pandemic and to bounce back from it. you won't be surprised to hear, though, that the scottish government disagrees. those close to the first minister would say that there are points at which the uk government has held the scottish government back. think back to when the furlough was extended, the scottish and welsh governments were saying for quite a while that they wanted it to be extended for several months. the uk government did it at the last minute. it was claimed at the last minute. it was claimed at the time that they only did it

because large parts of the south england were going into lockdown. look, i mean, the reason the prime minister was to make a big deal of this visit is because you're going to hear more and more from london about the benefits of the union —— wants to make. the numbers speak for themselves. all the suggestions are that at the moment the unionist side is losing that argument. {lila that at the moment the unionist side is losing that argument.— is losing that argument. 0k, nick, thank ou is losing that argument. 0k, nick, thank you very _ is losing that argument. 0k, nick, thank you very much. _ is losing that argument. 0k, nick, thank you very much. let's - is losing that argument. 0k, nick, thank you very much. let's pick. is losing that argument. 0k, nick, thank you very much. let's pick up on that. i'm joined now by professor sirjohn curtice, from the university of strathclyde. good to see you, as ever. there have been quite a few polls about the question of independence, recently. is it possible to say there are any patterns emerging from those polls? yes, some pretty striking patterns. if we were to go back two years, we would still be looking at yes 45%, no, 55%. during the course of the last few years, that is almost reversed at yes 54% endnote 46%. two parts to the story. part one is to

do with brexit. and no. they voted two to one for remain. during 2019, some of those people had voted remain had now changed their minds about independence now that the uk was heading out of the european union. that got support up to the 50% mark for independence on the eve of lockdown. part two, however, this provides the crucial set of logical backdrop to the prime minister's visit, support for independence increased further since the lockdown. two things we know from the polls. 0ne lockdown. two things we know from the polls. one is thatjust over 60% of people in scotland think that nicola sturgeon has handled the pandemic well. equally, just over 60% of people in scotland think that borisjohnson has handled it badly. against that, therefore, perhaps it's not surprising that rather more people, over 40% of people in

scotland, say, rightly or wrongly, that an independent scotland would have handled the pandemic better. just over 20% take the opposite view. many of those who say that the pandemic would have been handled better, yes, they are the people who are already convinced of the merits of independence. however, two polls have now confirmed that around one in five of those people who voted no in five of those people who voted no in 2014 are amongst those who say that maybe scotland would have handled the pandemic better as an independent country. it is also clear from that same polling that at least half of this group, probably slightly more, no longer supporters of no, they are now supporters of yes. it looks as though that a stark differential perception of how the scottish government has handled the pandemic and how the uk government has done has added another notch to the rise in support for independence to the point we are at now. interesting to see the figures around approval ratings of the two big personalities in this, boris

johnson and nicola sturgeon. as we look towards the holyrood elections in may, what sort of daring will that have do you think, on the snp's road map —— what sort of bearing. to another referendum? you road map -- what sort of bearing. to another referendum?— another referendum? you have to understand _ another referendum? you have to understand the _ another referendum? you have to understand the snp _ another referendum? you have to understand the snp support, - another referendum? you have to understand the snp support, it i another referendum? you have to l understand the snp support, it may surprise you to learn that this is relatively new. pretty much everybody who is in favour of independence as they are going to vote for the snp. and pretty much everybody who says they are going to vote for the snp are in favour of independence. in other words, support for the snp is no longer consisting of people who don't really like independence but think the snp can run scotland more effectively. now it looks as though the election in may is, in effect, whatever unionists want, it will be a quasi—referendum. the reason why the snp are above 50% in the polls for the scottish party election in

may is support for independence is above 50%. to that extent at least, it looks as though support for the snp is concerned, it will be very much a register of the level of support for independence north of the border. qm. support for independence north of the border-— support for independence north of the border. 0k, professor sirjohn curtice, interesting _ the border. 0k, professor sirjohn curtice, interesting as _ the border. ok, professor sirjohn curtice, interesting as ever- the border. 0k, professor sirjohn curtice, interesting as ever to - the border. 0k, professor sirjohn curtice, interesting as ever to talk to you. thank you very much for your time. the european union and astrazeneca have promised to work together, following their public falling out over coronavirus vaccine supplies. both sides described a meeting on wednesday as constructive. although the eu said it regrets the continued lack of clarity over the delivery schedule. the row erupted over a shortfall of millions of doses that astrazeneca put down to manufacturing issues. senior eu officials had said the drug company was not honouring its contract — and should do so by supplying vaccines from its british factories. gavin lee is our europe correspondent and a little earlier i asked him where we are now after last night's meeting. i think it's a little more

cordial than it was before. i think some of that disapproval, some of that astonishment and that anger particularly at the interview that pascal soriot, the chief executive of astrazeneca, had done with the italian newspaper, la republica, in saying that we had a best—effort contract, we would do our best, but we never signed a particular contract on exact numbers in the first quarter of the year, which we understand is actually 100 million doses of the vaccine before the end of march... what one eu official told us is that they are expecting about a quarter of that from astrazeneca. we are looking at a shortfall of up to 75 million doses that the eu wants. perhaps these more cordial relations and they are professionally saying they will find a solution together, but that means, in effect, is that astrazeneca has to find, from somewhere else, that shortfall, up to 75 million. the eu are stipulating that in the contract they've got, which they want to be published and made transparent because, again, different views on how the contract works, they say the two primary

sites for production in the eu are in the uk, not here in belgium and the netherlands — they are secondary sites. so that's where the shortfall must be made up from. they also point out that back in december when the uk had problems with astrazeneca and similar teething problems, what happened then was that it was here in the netherlands and belgium where they used 4 million doses to supply uk patients for the covid vaccine virus... virus vaccine. it says that it should be coming the other way, too. they are looking for that quid pro quo for the help earlier. we don't know the exact details of the contract, the eu is still asking astrazeneca to publish the contract and effectively override confidentiality clauses, i suppose. do we know if there was any sort of guarantee in that contract that doses would come from the british factories? yeah, i mean, this is the crux of the... the heart of the whole thing.

this is why the health commissioner, stella kyriakides, yesterday was so angry. it was an impromptu press conference. it was suddenly set up because they were unhappy with that interview, the words that the uk had had this, three months before, the order. so go back to may last year, when the uk order came in, about august last year, when the eu's order came in and what astrazeneca have said to the eu is that it's a lot of time to make up. eu officials wanted the roll out to be the same time, to play catch up. that is why stella kyriakides said this is not a butcher's shop for your local butcher to say, "first come, first served, "we signed a contract and paied 300 million". not only that, they say they paid about 300,000 to improve the uk facilities. therefore, you say you deliver what we paid for. it's theirjob to find it. let's face it, this is still a difficult situation that has not gone away. because if they're going to shift around vaccines now,

somebody has to lose out. gavin lee in brussels. nils torvalds is a finnish mep and a member of the european parliament's enviroment, public health and food safety committee. thank you very much forjoining us on bbc news today, mr torvalds. what is your understanding of the situation as we speak? 0bviously, situation as we speak? obviously, the eu is continuing to ask astrazeneca to publish, to make public, the details of the contract that they have.— public, the details of the contract that the have. ~ . ., , ., that they have. what really made me mad and makes _ that they have. what really made me mad and makes me _ that they have. what really made me mad and makes me mad _ that they have. what really made me mad and makes me mad is _ that they have. what really made me mad and makes me mad is that - that they have. what really made me mad and makes me mad is that also | mad and makes me mad is that also today, everybody should have understood that if you don't go public with the most interesting parts of the agreement, then that will come out in small snippets. and thatis will come out in small snippets. and that is what has happened. and we don't know the context. so, i'm really angry with the way in which the commission handled it and probably also slightly angry with the way in which astrazeneca... handled it. ok, that is making the situation more fraught than it ought to be is what you are saying?- to be is what you are saying? yeah, es. how

to be is what you are saying? yeah, yes- how much _ to be is what you are saying? yeah, yes. how much pressure _ to be is what you are saying? yeah, yes. how much pressure do - to be is what you are saying? yeah, yes. how much pressure do you - to be is what you are saying? yeah, i yes. how much pressure do you think there is on the _ yes. how much pressure do you think there is on the commission _ yes. how much pressure do you think there is on the commission to - yes. how much pressure do you think there is on the commission to get - there is on the commission to get its hands on more supplies of the astrazeneca vaccine, or a guarantee. the eu is looking at six manufacturers. you have only got two really in the bag, so to speak. and there are issues with the production capabilities for the pfizer/biontech vaccine, aren't there? yes. capabilities for the pfizer/biontech vaccine, aren't there?— capabilities for the pfizer/biontech vaccine, aren't there? yes, but the ressure vaccine, aren't there? yes, but the pressure is — vaccine, aren't there? yes, but the pressure is very — vaccine, aren't there? yes, but the pressure is very hard, _ vaccine, aren't there? yes, but the pressure is very hard, actually, - pressure is very hard, actually, tough. so, when the health commissioner was in our group last week, i was slightly impolite. you can't solve this by the rule of the animal farm where you say that all animals are equal but some animals are more equal. if we start to say that, yes, it would be ok if 50

50,000 brits died of covid instead of 50,000 europeans dying from it, that would be totally catastrophic in terms of an argument. we have to see what the contract actually says and we have to follow the contract. and stop haggling about small details and snippets of information. uk government minister michael gove said here a little earlier, they will be no interruption to the uk supply and vaccination schedule —— there will be. now, whether he means by that, we just don't know whether he thinks that none of the production capability in the uk should be used to supply the eu, we simply can't interpret it from that. but, you know, clearly, you see the pressure of different governments and in the eu, the various member states, putting maximum pressure on the manufacturers to get supplies of the manufacturers to get supplies of the vaccines, to get their individual population is vaccinated. how do you see a way out of this

situation? because it is getting more and more fraught than we are seeing a real scramble forjabs and it is going to lead four more rows, unfortunately, isn't it?— unfortunately, isn't it? well, i think pascal _ unfortunately, isn't it? well, i think pascal soriot, _ unfortunately, isn't it? well, i think pascal soriot, the - unfortunately, isn't it? well, i think pascal soriot, the boss i unfortunately, isn't it? well, i| think pascal soriot, the boss of astrazeneca said in an interview with la republica that there was an option with the british government but it wasn't taken. if he is right, i don't know because i haven't seen the contract. if he is right, the discussion ends there. qm. the contract. if he is right, the discussion ends there. ok, but you would like to _ discussion ends there. ok, but you would like to see _ discussion ends there. ok, but you would like to see the _ discussion ends there. ok, but you would like to see the contract - discussion ends there. ok, but you would like to see the contract in i would like to see the contract in full rather than a drip, drip feed of information.— full rather than a drip, drip feed of information. yes. and you think that could be _ of information. yes and you think that could be the of information. 1a; and you think that could be the route to of information. iezs and you think that could be the route to making some progress in the discussions? well, then there is, like you are saying... we have to serve the contracts. that is what it is all about. and to be able to serve the contracts, we have to know what is written in them.—

written in them. 0k, nils torvalds finnish mep, _ written in them. 0k, nils torvalds finnish mep, thank _ written in them. 0k, nils torvalds finnish mep, thank you _ written in them. 0k, nils torvalds finnish mep, thank you very - written in them. 0k, nils torvaldsj finnish mep, thank you very much written in them. 0k, nils torvalds - finnish mep, thank you very much for your time today. finnish mep, thank you very much for your time today-— large scale manufacturing has begun in scotland of the yet—to—be—approved valneva coronavirus vaccine. the workforce at the livingston facility will double as the company begins production in anticipation of receiving regulatory approval. the uk government has pre—ordered 60 million doses with an option to secure a further 130 million if the jab proves safe and effective. the co—chairman of britain's governing conservatives, amanda milling, has said the party "completely condemns" claims by a senior backbencher that the pandemic presents a "manageable risk" to the national health service and that figures "appear to have been manipulated". sir desmond swayne, who's been a frequent critic of coronavirus restrictions, made the comments in november when speaking to anti—lockdown campaigners. the labour opposition's deputy leader, angela rayner, has accused him of spreading "dangerous misinformation". it's understood that the conservative chief whip will ask sir desmond to attend a meeting

with scientific advisers. the headlines on bbc news: borisjohnson prepares to visit scotland amid demands for another independence referendum. scotland's first minister questions whether the trip is essential. the eu and astrazeneca pledge to work together to resolve a row over vaccine supply shortages — but the eu is still demanding that somejabs produced in the uk are diverted. probing the origins of the pandemic. experts from the world health organization come out of quarantine in china, with a chance to start face to face meetings in wuhan. let's stay with that visit to the chinese city of wuhan by a team from the world health organization. they are there to investigate the origins of covid—19. our china correspondent, stephen mcdonell, joins us from wuhan. stephen, i understand the us and china have been trading warnings over the nature of the who visit?

yes, it's obviously a very political thing. i mean, it's science meets politics, that's for sure. what's happened is that the team, though, the team of scientists, have finished their two—week quarantine. they have left the quarantine facility and moved themselves to this location. it is a sort of sprawling hotel — convention complex around a lake. and you can probably see that there are fences that have been put up, there are guards, stopping peskyjournalists from entering the grounds of the hotel complex, to ask the scientists what they plan to do in terms of getting to the bottom of the causes of the coronavirus. some of the things they won't be doing, they will not be looking at the lab leak theory. at the moment, they seem to think this falls into the general sphere of

conspiracy. and they won't be coming out of the end of this visit and saying they know what caused the coronavirus. we are being told it's going to take a long time. it's a very complex matter. and it's not possible that it can be done in the coming weeks. what they will be doe, is reviewing the work done by chinese scientists already. i was wondering _ chinese scientists already. i was wondering what _ chinese scientists already. i was wondering what extent - chinese scientists already. i was wondering what extent they - chinese scientists already. i was wondering what extent they will be able to do their work relatively freely or will people be looking over their shoulders the entire time? ~ ., �* , ., over their shoulders the entire time? ~ ., �*, ., , over their shoulders the entire time? . ., �*, ., , time? well, um, that's a very good cuestion. time? well, um, that's a very good question- it — time? well, um, that's a very good question- it is _ time? well, um, that's a very good question. it is one _ time? well, um, that's a very good question. it is one we _ time? well, um, that's a very good question. it is one we would - time? well, um, that's a very good question. it is one we would like i time? well, um, that's a very good question. it is one we would like to j question. it is one we would like to ask the scientists if we got past the barriers. they are hoping, at least, that they, along with the chinese scientists, can get above the politics. because, really, what they are doing is reviewing the work that chinese scientists have already done, to try to examine where the holes are in the research, to see what else has to take place to try to track down the origin of the

coronavirus. given the political nature of things, sure, i imagine that there will be people watching what's going on. however, the scientists would say they are independent people, they are independently minded. and what they are trying to do is, for example, run the numbers again and see if it comes out with a different result or try and trace back through various locations where this virus might have come from. could it be a bat that has come into an intermediary animal and then into humans? could it have come from another country? all these questions are being asked. yeah, tough to get above the politics, given the fact that we have had washington and beijing trading insults, spreading conspiracy theories over this. and both with very different views as to how even this investigation should be taking place. {lilia how even this investigation should be taking place-—

how even this investigation should be taking place. 0k, thank you very much, be taking place. 0k, thank you very much. stephen _ be taking place. 0k, thank you very much, stephen mcdonald _ be taking place. 0k, thank you very much, stephen mcdonald in i be taking place. 0k, thank you very much, stephen mcdonald in wuhan| be taking place. 0k, thank you very i much, stephen mcdonald in wuhan for us. officials from the tokyo 2020 olympic organising committee have said there are no doubts or objections from any of its partners about japan hosting the summer games, scheduled to begin injuly. the 2020 games have been rescheduled for this summer after being put off due to the coronavirus outbreak. with less than six months to go, officials said they will be focusing on the vaccination of attendees, as well as safety regulations. scientists tracking the spread of coronavirus in england say they are concerned the virus is not slowing fast enough, despite the continued fall in the number of positive lab—confirmed cases. the latest data from imperial college london's react study shows a slight decline in infection levels. swab tests taken from 168,000 volunteers between the 6th and 22nd of january suggest that 1.57% or one in 64 people had covid during the first two weeks of the lockdown. the data shows a varied picture across england — london had the highest proportion of positive tests where 2.8%

of people had the virus. numbers are even higher in younger people across the capital with 4% of people aged between 13—17 and 18—24 testing positive. borisjohnson said yesterday that there is not enough data available yet to decide when it will be possible to end england's lockdown. he promised ministers would lay out a road map for lifting restrictions towards the end of next month. professor paul elliott is the director of the react programme at imperial college london. he told me why positive covid cases are taking much longer to come down than compared with the first lockdown. as you say, in the first ten days of our study, we were actually seeing a very flat picture. it has now started to come down, which is good news, but by no means fast enough and certainly not as fast as it came down in the first lockdown.

are you gathering any data on why, making any suppositions, on why that is the case? we do collect a lot of information from people. so, not only do people produce a swab for us, but we ask them various questions and we see things such as large households, there is a higher prevalence amongst minority ethnic groups. again, a higher prevalence. and also in more deprived areas. so, there are some hints that the sort of people who we know have been more badly affected by the virus, that does come through in our data. but we are also seeing differences in regional patterns. very, very high levels, as you say, in london, which is putting tremendous pressure on the nhs london. on the nhs in london. but it seems to be coming down in london, the south east and the south west. whereas, in other parts of england, it is pretty flat or even going up in some parts.

interesting. talk to us about the prevalence of the virus amongst younger age groups, especially 18—24s. what is going on there? are they less worried about the virus? are they not sticking to the restrictions as much as other age groups? we have seen fairly consistently across our different surveys, we carry out our survey every month, that the rates particularly in the 18—24 year old group have been high and they remain the highest. and then what happens is that we see a spread out to the other age groups. for example, in london, you mentioned 4%, one in 25 younger people are testing positive for the virus. i should stress this is notjust people with symptoms but we go to a random sample of the population, whether they are reporting symptoms. many of these people do not know they have the virus and potentially

could transmit the virus, which is why the public health message is so important. social distancing, wear face covers, hand washing and if you have symptoms, you should get tested and if you test positive, you should isolate. this is incredibly relevant when we look at what the prime minister talked about yesterday, talking about schools beginning to reopen more fully. they already have some children but reopen to more pupils potentially from the 8th of march. no—one wants to be in lockdown, but the prevalence is so high that the pressure on the health service is so high that it is really important we get these rates down as quickly as we possibly can. we got a hint in the last seven days that things are now moving in the right direction, but not fast enough. we just have to do more. as individuals, we have to pay attention to the public health advice about social distancing and so forth. but also, if we don't need to go to work, we should work from

home for example. professor paul elliott, director of the react in london. some comments from you about the visit to scotland. one viewer says this is disgusting and unnecessary. he is undermining the lockdown and people in scotland can't visit a family but he can travel to scotland for this. the government says he's going to do —— thank front line workers. the idea he should be doing it, which nicola sturgeon is questioning the visit. another comment on vaccines. i would like to point out that we are no longer part of europe, well, part of the eu, i thinkjean means. they didn't sign the contract for vaccines for three months, why should they drop to the front? they are three months behind with their contract —— jump to the

front. they were not do this for the uk. keep sending in your comments on the stories we are covering, we like to hear from you. many parents in england this morning are waking up to the prospect of at least another five weeks of home—schooling ahead of them. yesterday, the prime minister said that schools won't fully reopen until at least march the 8th. graham satchell has been getting reaction from a few of those familiesjuggling learning in lockdown. the news that schools in england won't open again until march at the earliest, a bitter blow for sam. her younger daughter in particular has really struggled. my daughter, in her online pshe class, had to review how she was feeling at the moment, and she's six, and her top concerns were, "i worry i'm never going "to see my family again," and her second was, "i feel sad when i hear how "many people die." and for a six—year—old, for those to be the two first things they're thinking about, it's material how much of an impact that's having on her mental health.

we're just sat at the kitchen table working, because we have not done any school work today. working families are really, really, really struggling. it is like that emotional side of it, it is huge, we have got the practical... and once again, vicky is interrupted. vicky is a single mother with four school—age children juggling family, home, and running her own business. it's all getting a bit intense. and now i'm thinking, stop work now, i'll get back to it, at seven or 8, and i'll be working until midnight to get it all done. and now i'm thinking, "stop work now, i'll get back to it, at 7 or 8, and i'll be working until midnight to get it all done." we are all going to reach burn—out, if we carry on like this. i don't know what the answer is, though, i'm not saying open schools, ijust think we need some direction and some hope on the horizon. good afternoon, i thanks forjoining us.

the hope had been that schools in england would open again after the february half term, but with cases still high and the vaccine programme nowhere near complete, this from the prime minister... we hope to begin opening schools on monday the 8th of march. i so what about schools in the rest of the uk? northern ireland is reviewing its plans today. wales will make an announcement on friday. scotland, early next week. but the likelihood is schools in all four nations will remain closed for most students. the headlines on bbc news. uk prime minister borisjohnson prepares to visit scotland amid demands for another independence referendum. scotland's first minister questions whether the trip is essential, but ministers insist it's to thank front—line workers. there are 80 new vaccination centres that are opening in scotland as a result of the british army's efforts. i think it's only right the prime minister goes to the front

line, learns from those who are responsible for the vaccine roll—out. the eu and astrazeneca pledge to work together to resolve a row over vaccine supply shortages — but the eu is still demanding that somejabs produced in the uk are diverted to europe. probing the origins of the pandemic. experts from the world health organization come out of quarantine in china, with a chance to start face to face meetings in wuhan. scientists tracking coronavirus infection rates in england say they're concerned the virus is not slowing fast enough — with only a slight decline in the past week. more now on the ongoing row between the european union and astrazeneca over the delayed roll—out of its coronavirus vaccine. the eu has accused the pharmaceutical giant of not honouring its contractual obligations in delivering all of its vaccines, and said it should do so by diverting supplies

from its two uk factories. astrazeneca said the shortfall was down to production problems in europe. both sides have promised to work together to find a solution. research by the life sciences data company, airfinity has warned the ongoing row between the eu and astrazeneca and the slow roll—out of its vaccine programme means the european union will not achieve herd immunity from covid until 21st october, three months after the uk. let's speak to the chief executive of airfinity, rasmus bech hansen. thank you forjoining us. i'm fascinated to hearfirst thank you forjoining us. i'm fascinated to hear first of all a bit more about this research you have done on when various parts of the world might reach herd immunity. i believe you have based this on what you know of agreed vaccine supply deals and also the latest developments in delayed production. yes, absolutely. we model and risk—adjusted production forecast, take that into account, take into account how many doses each country has purchased and then we based

immunisation forecast on having 75% of the population vaccinated, which means you have two thirds immunised. based on that, we indicated in the introduction, dates for the uk and the eu, but i think it bears hearing those dates again, and what you know about other parts of the world again. about other parts of the world aaain. �* . .. , about other parts of the world aaain. �*, ., , ,~ .., again. it's a very dynamic and fluid situation we _ again. it's a very dynamic and fluid situation we are _ again. it's a very dynamic and fluid situation we are seeing _ again. it's a very dynamic and fluid situation we are seeing at - again. it's a very dynamic and fluid situation we are seeing at the i situation we are seeing at the moment. we are seeing these constant production delays which pushes things back. but so far things look quite promising for the uk with a kind ofjuly estimate from our side, some two or three months later in the eu, the us also looks very promising because they have a lot of production capability, and also bet on the right vaccines, especially pfizer and madonna, so they are around the summer also. but take a

country like japan, it is much further behind —— moderna. big parts of the world are looking at 2022 before getting anywhere near herd immunity of 75% vaccinated. lode immunity of 7596 vaccinated. we talked immunity of 75% vaccinated. we talked quite a bit yesterday about covax and the effort to get vaccines to middle and lower income countries. when you look at the sort of data, you can understand, taking into account the vast pressure from member states of the eu to get their people vaccinated why this row has developed between the eu and astrazeneca, can't you?- developed between the eu and astrazeneca, can't you? yeah, i think it was — astrazeneca, can't you? yeah, i think it was foreseeable, i astrazeneca, can't you? yeah, i think it was foreseeable, and i astrazeneca, can't you? yeah, i think it was foreseeable, and it| astrazeneca, can't you? yeah, i i think it was foreseeable, and it has been for a long time, we have a tremendous mismatch between the demand and supply of vaccines and that was foreseeable. we haven't had a pandemic like this but previous pandemics we have seen a similar pattern. there is a tremendous domestic pressure to get the vaccines out as soon as possible and

drive down hospitalisations, drive down mortality. so i fully understand it. but the situation we are in is that there are just not enough vaccines for everyone and some of the forecast they have based their vaccination programmes on have been too optimistic in some countries and they should have done more due diligence and risk—adjusted production. we are used to seeing delays in complex construction projects which are similar to this end vaccine production is much more complex than anything we have ever donein complex than anything we have ever done in the world before, so i think it is completely natural to have these delays. there was never the intention from any of the producers to overpromise but there is just a lot of unforeseen variables that come into this.— lot of unforeseen variables that come into this. speaking of unseen variables, the _ come into this. speaking of unseen variables, the data _ come into this. speaking of unseen variables, the data and _ come into this. speaking of unseen variables, the data and the - come into this. speaking of unseen| variables, the data and the analysis that you have done, does it take into account the variance of covid that we have seen popping up in

various parts of the world? it does take into account _ various parts of the world? it does take into account some _ various parts of the world? it does take into account some of - various parts of the world? it does take into account some of the i various parts of the world? it does l take into account some of the higher transmissibility. it is very likely there will be variance that have vaccine escape potential. then it is an entirely new situation because then we need to reconfigure the vaccine, we need to have them produced at this scale, so that is a high risk. i think the sooner we get broad parts of the world vaccinated, the less likely this mutation process continues. that's why we are under enormous time pressure. i think in this debate there is a lot of focus on who bought which vaccines when. but i think you have to look at it slightly more broadly from the production, the key challenge is production, and one of the things the uk has done quite well as they started scaling up production already in the spring of last year as sooners the pandemic started and the uk doesn't have a long history of high skill vaccine

production but now actually with the astrazeneca vaccine we are seeing high yields already. i think it's also about being realistic about what we could expect. 50 also about being realistic about what we could expect. so some countries. _ what we could expect. so some countries, you _ what we could expect. so some countries, you think, _ what we could expect. so some countries, you think, have i what we could expect. so some i countries, you think, have waited longer to scale up production and wait perhaps until vaccines have been further down the development track was make is that what the issueis track was make is that what the issue is in some parts of the world? that's a big part of it and also part of the eu's problem. we looked at the funding numbers that went in before any vaccines were approved and the uk has spent seven times more per capita on funding the vaccine programmes than the eu has. this money has gone into clinical trials and scaling up production. part of the issue in the eu is simply that they haven't built that production capability, and also to some extent they bet on some vaccines, especially gsk and sanofi that haven't turned out to be successful, whereas in some ways the uk bets have just turned out slightly better.— uk bets have just turned out sliahtl better. ., , , slightly better. really interesting to talk to you. — slightly better. really interesting to talk to you, rasmus _

slightly better. really interesting to talk to you, rasmus bech i slightly better. really interesting i to talk to you, rasmus bech hansen, chief executive of airfinity. thank you forjoining us. a large study suggests that black people over the age of 80 were half as likely as white people to have been vaccinated against covid by 13 january. that's despite the fact that black people and those from other ethnic minority groups are four times more likely to die with covid—19 than their white counterparts. the study was based on more than 20 million patient records in england and found that of the million of those aged over 80 but not living in a care home. 43% of white people have been given their first dose of the vaccine. 30% of the bangladeshi and pakistani population had their first dose. and only 21% of black people had it. here's our community affairs correspondent adina campbell. carmine reid was 79 when she died in november last year after becoming infected with coronavirus while in hospital in birmingham. her niece says the grief of losing a close family member

was the main reason why she decided to have the vaccine last week. she was somebody that i spoke to on the phone, you know, nearly every two weeks. and within, you know, a week or so, she was just taken. so, that did affect me and it probably affected the family, you realise how... ..fragile life is. people from black, asian and other ethnic minority groups are up to four times more likely to die from coronavirus than white people. despite the risks, research suggests confidence in the vaccine is lower within these communities. there are a number of reasons why some people from black and asian backgrounds seem to be more hesitant about taking the vaccine. but one thing we hear time and time again is about a lack of trust.

campaigners say the government must take more action by looking closely at ethnicity data to understand the vaccine take—up amongst these these groups. the concept of hesitancy, we've alljumped onto it because of a couple of surveys. and it's important that we do address them, but i fear that we may be running ahead of ourselves in coming to conclusions that aren't actually supported by what's really going on. the government says it is working closely with black, asian and ethnic minority communities who have questions about covid—19 vaccines, which includes working with faith and community leaders to give them advice and information about the benefits of vaccination. we understand the fears, the anxiety and confusion. black mps from all parties have now come together in this video, hoping to spread the vaccination message on social media. adina campbell, bbc news.

the budget airline easyjet has seen its shares fall sharply after announcing a sharp drop in revenue and sales. the travel sector continues to be among the worst affected by the pandemic restrictions. our business correspondent vishala sri—pathma joins me now. christmas would have been a key time for easyjet, as with all airlines. obviously it hasn't been able to benefit from any significant sales or travel there either, has it? that's right. to put this into context easyjet is britain's busiest short—haul carrier, so yes, the end of the year is generally quite a busy time for them because of travel restrictions both here and abroad they have seen passenger numbers absolutely plunge, as well as revenues. it's notjust easyjet, we have had that from all the airlines since the beginning of the pandemic. and so they have had to look at their financials and look at making

things work. they have made cuts to jobs, cutbacks of 1400 jobs since the spring. so they have really tried to curtail costs and they have said between now and march they can only operate 10% of scheduled flights. and again, that isjust a way of managing their financials so they can kind of see this through. let's talk about hotels in the uk. we saw last year that hotels benefited from people not going abroad. are we seeing any signs of that? obviously we have to mention that? obviously we have to mention that clearly people are not supposed to be moving around at the moment but in the periods when they could move around, were hotels in the uk benefiting from that? yes. move around, were hotels in the uk benefiting from that?— benefiting from that? yes, we did see that in _ benefiting from that? yes, we did see that in the _ benefiting from that? yes, we did see that in the summer— benefiting from that? yes, we did see that in the summer last i benefiting from that? yes, we did see that in the summer last yearl see that in the summer last year when restrictions were eased. staycations were the new thing, people swapping majorca for the cotswolds, or cornwall, or the lakes. we saw that the domestic hotels and bed and breakfasts were seeing an uptick in their

reservations. and that's what they are reporting at the moment. the bbc has spoken to a few booking sites and seen that enquiries have increased almost threefold because of travel restrictions. we have heard about quarantine period that will happen last summer was that this idea of the quarantine period that people are returning to the uk from abroad from covid hotspots had to quarantine for ten days, for example, the people didn't necessarily have the holiday allowance for that all the money to be able to afford that, so they have opted to travel to mystically. so we are seeing hotels report that increase in interest. however, they have had a tough time too, they are in lockdown and unable to take bookings. so this might go some way to plug that hole in revenues but not a huge amount.— to plug that hole in revenues but not a huge amount. some industries, some businesses _ not a huge amount. some industries, some businesses certainly _ not a huge amount. some industries, some businesses certainly have i some businesses certainly have thrived during lockdown. technology notably. any results out for us, vishala? �* . . notably. any results out for us, vishala? �* , , .,, notably. any results out for us, vishala? �* ,, vishala? apple has recorded record earninus. vishala? apple has recorded record earnings. clearly _ vishala? apple has recorded record earnings. clearly we _ vishala? apple has recorded record earnings. clearly we are _ vishala? apple has recorded record earnings. clearly we are all - vishala? apple has recorded record earnings. clearly we are all in i earnings. clearly we are all in

lockdown stuck at home watching television and a series and films and technology has done really well through this, televisions, laptops, phones, we are using them more in our work as well, people on video conferencing because like zoom. apparently we are buying more technology and apple is very happy about it and reporting record sales and profits for the period. {lilia and profits for the period. 0k, vishala sri-pathma, _ and profits for the period. 0k, vishala sri—pathma, thank you very much for that. the headlines for you now on bbc news. borisjohnson prepares to visit scotland amid demands for another independence referendum. scotland's first minister questions whether the trip is essential. the eu and astrazeneca pledge to work together to resolve a row over vaccine supply shortages — but the eu is still demanding that somejabs produced in the uk are diverted. probing the origins of the pandemic. experts from the world health organization come out of quarantine in china, with a chance to start face to face meetings in wuhan. the total number of people in hospital with covid in england

has started to fall, but the demand from the very sickest is still rising. figures out this morning from nhs england show that critical care beds in england were more than 85% full for the second week in a row, despite laying on more beds. let's speak to our head of statistics, robert cuffe. clearly that demand for critical care is something that's really significant in this latest data. it has been rising steadily. we can show the figures to the audience. you can see that ever since the start of november the height of these bars, the total number of critical care beds for the sickest patients, has been rising steadily and up until last week it wasn't keeping up with demand. those blue bars were catching up with the total amount of beds available. so in the most recent week we have seen that start to balance out because the nhs has laid on about an extra 400 critical care beds. but the

intensive care society say that's not necessarily enough to lay on beds, you need the equipment and staffing and it shows how tight the balance of pressure is on the nhs at the moment but some hospitals, i think about 19, say their critical care beds are completely full, 100% full, not a bed in the hospital at all. ,., full, not a bed in the hospital at all. , ., ., ' ., full, not a bed in the hospital at all. ., ., ., all. going off at a tangent slightly. _ all. going off at a tangent slightly, clearly _ all. going off at a tangent slightly, clearly doctors . all. going off at a tangent l slightly, clearly doctors and all. going off at a tangent - slightly, clearly doctors and nurses know more about how to treat covid patients, yet we are seeing extra demand for critical care given that various therapies have been brought into play and developed since the start of the pandemic last year. so do you think this is linked to the overall rise in cases that we have seen, robert? overall rise in cases that we have seen. robert?— overall rise in cases that we have seen, robert? well, certainly of the demand is linked _ seen, robert? well, certainly of the demand is linked to _ seen, robert? well, certainly of the demand is linked to the _ seen, robert? well, certainly of the demand is linked to the overall i seen, robert? well, certainly of the demand is linked to the overall rise | demand is linked to the overall rise in cases we have seen but remember in cases we have seen but remember in the most recent month we have seen cases fall significantly in london, probably about half, but some of those people ended up in hospital and some of those people end up in critical care, so it takes awhile for the good news on cases

and the good news overall in hospitals to filter through into these very sickest of patients, and as you say, if we are improving the way we treat patients that means they will thankfully, hopefully, survive longer in hospital but the downside is they might take up a bed for a bit longer as well. hopefully this number will turn around, but it just shows the pressure on the nhs won't go away as soon as the hospital number start to turn around. ~ around. when we tie it in with the latest reactor _ around. when we tie it in with the latest reactor study _ around. when we tie it in with the latest reactor study on - around. when we tie it in with the i latest reactor study on coronavirus transmission in england, it matches up transmission in england, it matches up with what we are seeing there. although transmission rates are levelling off, it is at a very high level, so hence the continued pressure on the nhs. —— reactor study. pressure on the nhs. -- reactor stud . . pressure on the nhs. -- reactor stud . , ., . ., , study. higher number of infections, a hither study. higher number of infections, a higher number— study. higher number of infections, a higher number of— study. higher number of infections, a higher number of pressure. i study. higher number of infections, a higher number of pressure. there j a higher number of pressure. there are still roughly a third of beds in england taken up with covid patients. there are other things that need to be taken on. the react study gives us an insight into which

way we are going next and what the direction of travel but the case figures could tell a story and the figures could tell a story and the figures for the office of national statistics do and when you pull those three together it looks like case numbers and infection numbers are coming down, it's a case of how long it will take them to come down to a level to ease the pressure on hospital beds in and critical care beds specifically. ok. hospital beds in and critical care beds specifically.— hospital beds in and critical care beds specifically. 0k, robert, thank ou ve beds specifically. 0k, robert, thank you very much _ beds specifically. 0k, robert, thank you very much for — beds specifically. 0k, robert, thank you very much for that, _ beds specifically. 0k, robert, thank you very much for that, robert i you very much for that, robert cuffe, our head of statistics. social workers are braced for a "tsunami of needs" as the uk recovers from the pandemic, a union has warned. a survey by the british association of social workers suggests that three quarters of its members feel the restrictions have affected their ability to protect vulnerable children and adults. our wales correspondent, tomos morgan, has the story. for the majority of social workers across the uk, caseloads were already close, or already full before the pandemic started. and as restrictions eased, there came a flood of new cases. itjust feels like we are kind of cementing over the cracks but not actually getting to the foundation

of what's really going on. minnyjackson, which isn't her real name, is a social worker that deals with children. she has real concerns that a higher workload coupled with social distancing measures that means that face—to—face visits are few and far between could be having a knock—on effect on her work. i think there is that constant worry that am i missing something? is there something here that i'm not seeing? and how can i actually do the meaningful work through a computer screen or through a mobile phone? a special survey released today by basw union has looked at the effect the pandemic has had on social workers. over two thirds of members working with children said that referrals or their caseload had increased after schools returned after lockdown last year. and the union fears that the workload may increase again after these latest set of restrictions are eased. and over three quarters of members had said that lockdown restrictions

had increased their concerns about social workers' capacity to both safeguard and protect children and adults. our fear is that there is going to be an absolute tsunami of need, which will translate into increased referral and increased demand on the profession. the devolved governments across the four nations have said that social work is a priority for them, that workers have played a crucial role in helping communities in difficult circumstances and that there will be investment for further staffing in the future. but for many other colleagues, the work to help the most vulnerable in our society may take some time to heal. tomos morgan, bbc news. the power of music can help people living with the effects of covid—19. english national opera is now offering a singing therapy programme to some of those suffering from what's known as "long—covid". our arts correspondent, david sillito has been checking it out.

she vocalises. sing it with me. when it comes to zoom meetings, this is as stress—free as it gets. a lullaby, some singing, and a lesson. i am breathing in ten. a lesson in breathing. i am breathing out ten. that was the best thing that happened to me after covid, it was a breath of fresh air. i am breathing in nine. finally i found somebody. who understood a little bit about where i was coming froml and the difficulties i was having. they vocalise and this is what it is all about, these vocal exercises i am being given to do our part of the breathe programme, and taking me through my paces is susie from english national opera who has a vital area of expertise. breathing. it's one of the things that's really hard if you have been

unwell for a long time, is that potentially you have never been particularly conscious of how you breathed when you were well and then it's been a struggle, so getting back to what normal feels like when it isn't something that you are terribly conscious of remembering is already difficult. this was richard stenning in march in intensive care. obviously the worst 36 hours of my life, didn't know- where i was in was having huge problems with hallucinations, i sweats, aching limbs. and since then it has been tough. i've suffered from chronic fatigue, i get completely wiped out. - i'm pretty good in the mornings, 0k in the evenings, _ the afternoons are terrible. it's a familiar story. sheba was hospitalised in march and has since spent months isolated, anxious and breathless. could you have ever imagined that essentially singing teaching could have helped? not in my wildest dreams, not at all. has it helped ?

i would suddenly wake up thinking i'm not getting enough oxygen in my lungs and i didn't know what to do about it. should i call 111? should i call an ambulance? am i going to have a heart attack? that kind of anxiety. but this connected me with my flock of fellow sufferers but in the most positive and musical way. this pilot programme is now being extended to another 1,000 long—covid patients. the evidence so far suggests it is helping people recover faster. with use of the lullabies that calm the patients and use of the exercises that they do in between the classes, we can see that people's breathing patterns are better, they are breathing deeper, using their diaphragms more and they are. absolutely, on the evidence we have so far, we feel this is of benefit to people.

# summertime and the... # but it's also about more than breathing. music can be healing in many ways. i do like to revisit the summertime song. i know i fell in love with as soon as susie made us sing that. # fish arejumping and the cotton... # it reminds you that bad times do not last for ever and there is light at the end of the tunnel. the un's refugee agency has strongly condemned what it called systematic efforts by a growing number of european states to prevent migrants from seeking asylum. the unhcr said there were continuous reports of expulsions and of refugees being turned back at land and sea borders. un officials highlighted such practices in greece, italy, malta and croatia.

the us senator bernie sanders says he's raised $1.8 million for charity over the past five days through the sale of merchandise with his image at president biden's inauguration earlier this month. the picture launched hundreds of memes, and the 79 year—old decided to put the "chairman sanders" merch — including t—shirts, sweatshirts and stickers — on his campaign website last week. the first run sold in half an hour and there is now a long backlog of orders. the money will be distributed to several charities in his home state of vermont, including meals on wheels. most zoos across the world remain closed but a giant panda cub has still won legions of new fans after making his first appearance online. and there he is. xiao qiji was born in washington dc in august last year. during his debut appearance on the smithsonian national zoo's

live web—stream, he played some tug—of—war with his keeper and polished off a plate of sweet potato. i'm not sure if you can hear it but he is making a very satisfied smacking noise, clearly enjoying the sweet potato. you're watching bbc news. now, carol kirkwood has the weather. hello again. many of us have seen some heavy rain as we've gone through the early part of today, and also some hill snow. and that will continue as we go through the rest of the day with the rain and hill snow moving northwards and eastwards. it's been a cold start in the north and we are going to hang onto that cold air over the next few days. meanwhile, in the south and the west, look at the mild air coming in from the atlantic. but as we go through the weekend, eventually the cold air will win through and the temperature will fall. but you can see how we've got all this rain across the north and the east, also some hill snow. the snow level rising in the north pennines through the course of the day. but above 200 metres we are going to see the snow really accumulate

across the highlands and grampians. north of that, some sunshine, just a few showers. south of that, brightening up. again, a little bit of sunshine coming through. it will be breezy for central and northern areas and the english channel and we will have some more rain coming in. but by the end of the afternoon we could have up to 15 centimetres on the tops of the pennines. by tomorrow morning we could have up to 20 centimetres of snow across the highlands and grampians above 200 metres. so, a cold afternoon in prospect in the north, very mild for northern ireland, england and wales. 11—14 degrees. as we go through the evening and overnight, here comes the second band of rain eventuallyjoining forces with this band of rain and snow across scotland, a line of heavy, potentially thundery showers moves in across parts of england and wales. but once again here and northern ireland, it's going to be a mild night, whereas in scotland it's going to be cold, particularly in sheltered glens where there is a risk of ice and also some frost. our two merged fronts tomorrow are going to slowly slip southwards

as the weakening feature. behind them, some sunshine, some wintry showers, and ahead of them we will see some brightness and wintry showers and some sunshine develop again. morning showers will tend to peter out. still mild in the south, still cold as we push further north. on saturday there is a bit of a complication in the northern extent of where this rain is going. so it's moving north—eastwards, we've got cold air coming down and where the twain meet is where we are likely to see some snow. we could see some across northern ireland, north—west england, wales, the midlands, into to the south—east, for example. some significant snow on the welsh hills. but even at lower levels, say, in the midlands, we could see a couple of centimetres on current thinking. look how much colder it's going to be by then.

this is bbc news. iam martine i am martine croxall. the headlines at 11.00: borisjohnson prepares to visit scotland amid demands for another independence referendum. nicola sturgeon says the trip doesn't count as essential travel, but ministers disagree. there are 80 new vaccination centres that are opening in scotland as a result of the british army's efforts. i think it's only right the prime minister goes to the front line, learns from those who are responsible for the vaccine roll—out... scientists tracking coronavirus infection rates in england say they're concerned the virus is not slowing fast enough, with only a slight decline in the past week. the eu and astrazeneca pledge to work together to resolve a row over vaccine supply shortages, but the eu is still demanding that somejabs produced in the uk are diverted to europe. one in three police officers

in england and wales says they have been threatened by someone who they thought had covid—19. probing the origins of the pandemic — experts from the world health organization come out of quarantine in china, with a chance to start face—to—face meetings in wuhan. and coming up this hour, the healing power of music. how singing and breathing techniques from opera can help those suffering from long covid. good morning, welcome to bbc news.

nicola sturgeon has questioned whether borisjohnson's visit to scotland today is essential in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. the prime minister is due to speak about the strength of the united kingdom, amid growing calls for another scottish referendum on independence. the snp have criticised the trip, but the cabinet office minister, michael gove, has defended the decision, arguing that it was "only right" that the prime minister visited front line workers. our political correspondent, nick eardley, reports. booing this is borisjohnson visiting nicola sturgeon in 2019, just after he became prime minister. but they won't be shaking hands today. with travel banned, miss sturgeon has questioned whether the visit is essential. downing street says it is. good morning... the prime minister intends to make the case for scotland remaining in the uk. he believes the pandemic shows the benefits of cooperation, pointing to funding for public services, the uk wide furlough scheme and the vaccine, bought by the uk government and distributed by the scottish government.

the snp, though, say the government in london is panicking. a series of polls over the last six months suggest support for independence is now higher than support for the uk. when scotland goes to the polls in may, the snp will put independence front and centre. if they win, which looks likely, they'll demand another referendum. london plans to say no, but the debate over independence isn't going away. and some believe that blocking another referendum will only make it more popular. nick eardley, bbc news. and our political correspondent, nick eardley, joins us now. nick, how much of this is really about vaccines and covid, rather than worries about the future of the union? is than worries about the future of the union? , ., ,., ,., ., ~ union? is about both, and i think the argument _ union? is about both, and i think the argument that _ union? is about both, and i think the argument that the _ union? is about both, and i think the argument that the prime i union? is about both, and i think- the argument that the prime minister will make today is that by being in the uk, scotland has benefited from uk procurement of vaccines from the mass testing programme, from what he calls the broad shoulders of the

treasury. you won't be surprised to find out that edinburgh disagrees and the argument i am hearing from the scottish government is that actually some of the tactics deployed by the uk government over the pandemic haven't worked for scotland. if you think back to when there were calls for the furlough to be extended, before that was announced there was criticism from scotland and wales and from places like manchester that the government wasn't moving quickly enough to help those areas when they were wanting to lockdown. but borisjohnson, i think, is acknowledging the fact that at the moment, unionists aren't doing very well when it comes to the debate over whether scotland should stay in the uk. there has been a lot of head scratching going on in government over the last few months over what to do, so i think we're to hearfrom the minister a over what to do, so i think we're to hear from the minister a lot more talk about what he sees as the benefits of the uk, things like that vaccine programme, the broad shoulders of the treasury. and the

stakes are pretty high, though, at the moment because those polls that i was talking about in the peace there over the last six months every single pole has been done byjune suggests that support for independence is higher than it is for the union. unionist parties, the tories and labour, have struggled to come up with a coherent narrative to counter that and we are only six months away from, five months away, actually, from a holyrood election, where the independence issue is going to be front and centre. hick. going to be front and centre. nick, for the moment, _ going to be front and centre. nick, for the moment, thank _ going to be front and centre. nick, for the moment, thank you i going to be front and centre. nick, for the moment, thank you very much. nick early. joining us from holyrood now is jackie baillie, the acting leader of the scottish labour party. thank you very much forjoining us. first things first. you should boris johnson be in scotland today? iairui’eilii. johnson be in scotland today? well, ou know, johnson be in scotland today? well, you know. this— johnson be in scotland today? well, you know, this is _ johnson be in scotland today? well, you know, this is a _ johnson be in scotland today? well, you know, this is a matter _ johnson be in scotland today? well, you know, this is a matter for i johnson be in scotland today? -ii you know, this is a matter for the you know, this is a matterfor the prime minister. of course, we all need to be very mindful of following guidelines and those guidelines suggest a limit on all but essential travel. but at the end of the day, he is the prime ministerfor the

whole country. you know, i have to be in edinburgh today. i live in the west coast of scotland and i've had to travel through to the east coast of scotland to do myjob. it is not ideal and, you know, for the public watching they need to follow these restrictions and i would encourage them to continue doing so.- them to continue doing so. where does our them to continue doing so. where does your party — them to continue doing so. where does your party stand _ them to continue doing so. where does your party stand on - them to continue doing so. where does your party stand on the i them to continue doing so. where does your party stand on the idea | them to continue doing so. where i does your party stand on the idea of another referendum on scottish independence?— another referendum on scottish independence? well, we 'ust think that shouldn't i independence? well, we 'ust think that shouldn't be i independence? well, we 'ust think that shouldn't be the i independence? well, wejust think that shouldn't be the priority i independence? well, wejust think that shouldn't be the priorityjust i that shouldn't be the priorityjust now. we are in the middle of a pandemic, our economy has suffered, people have lostjobs and our health service needs to be mobilised, the economy needs to recover, we need to get back to jobs, that is the priority, so the referendum is not the priority now. i really do not understand why there is this constitutional fighting where what we face are people still losing lives in the middle of a pandemic. that really shouldn't be the priority at all.—

priority at all. but the conversation - priority at all. but the conversation is i priority at all. but the i conversation is happening. it priority at all. but the - conversation is happening. it is gathering pace, the pressure from the snp to hold another referendum with... the uk has left the eu now, which scotland, on the whole, didn't want, so where does your party stand on the holding of another referendum at the right time? we on the holding of another referendum at the right time?— at the right time? we have said cuite at the right time? we have said quite clearly — at the right time? we have said quite clearly it _ at the right time? we have said quite clearly it is _ at the right time? we have said quite clearly it is not _ at the right time? we have said quite clearly it is not now, i at the right time? we have said quite clearly it is not now, it - at the right time? we have said quite clearly it is not now, it is| quite clearly it is not now, it is not for the next parliament. the next parliament should be focused on recovery. we go to the polls in may, which if i can correct nick bradley, which if i can correct nick bradley, which i hesitate to do, is only four months away, it is not long —— like nick early. people are focused on the fact that they have lost their jobs and are facing a housing crisis. they were asked in the same polls what their priorities are. independence comes way down the agenda. they care about the economy and jobs, the agenda. they care about the economy andjobs, the nhs, education, the environment. all of these they consider more important and the majority of people, whilst they may

support a referendum, they are very clear it is not for now. the country need to recover first and the labour party's position is exactly that. now was not the time to be talking about a referendum, it is for a future parliament. now we should be focused on the recovery of the economy, jobs and our nhs. imilli focused on the recovery of the economy, jobs and our nhs. economy, “obs and our nhs. with that in mind, economy, jobs and our nhs. with that in mind, of course, _ economy, jobs and our nhs. with that in mind, of course, scottish _ in mind, of course, scottish parliament, the snp, needs the support of opposition parties to just get a budget through. how will labour be voting? with the snp or will you be standing anyway? well. will you be standing anyway? well, to be honest _ will you be standing anyway? well, to be honest we _ will you be standing anyway? well, to be honest we haven't _ will you be standing anyway? well, to be honest we haven't seen - will you be standing anyway? -ii to be honest we haven't seen the budget yet, so i would first like to see the colour of their money and what their priorities are. as i said earlier, what i think the country needsis earlier, what i think the country needs is a very bold and ambitious budget decisions that are about supporting businesses, many of whom are close to going to the wall, that

are close to going to the wall, that are about creating jobs, we have high levels of youth unemployment now, not seen for a while, and we need to offer young people and those unemployed investment in training and skills, and job creation and we need to re—mobilise the nhs. the one thing i want to do and scottish labour wants to do is once and for all to stop having social care staff having to bear the brunt of all of this. they have worked throughout the pandemic selflessly, risking their own health as well, and they are paid the most appalling wagers. some low—paid, £8 or £9 an hour, to labour —— labour is supporting calls to support paying the £15 an hour. if we are not going to end their treatment now, then when are we going to? treatment now, then when are we auoin to? treatment now, then when are we oiiin to? treatment now, then when are we i. going to? jackie baillie, acting leader of scottish _ going to? jackie baillie, acting leader of scottish labour - going to? jackie baillie, acting leader of scottish labour and l going to? jackie baillie, acting i leader of scottish labour and i'm sure nick won't mind you correct him. thank you very much forjoining

us. the european union and astrazeneca have promised to work together, following their public falling out over coronavirus vaccine supplies. both sides described a meeting on wednesday as constructive. although the eu said it regrets the continued lack of clarity over the delivery schedule. the row erupted over a shortfall of millions of doses that astrazeneca put down to manufacturing issues. senior eu officials had said the drug company was not honouring its contract, and should do so by supplying vaccines from its british factories. the cabinet office minister, michael gove, has insisted there will be no interruption in the supply of the vaccine in the uk. gavin lee is our europe correspondent and he explained what the situation is now following last night's meeting. i think it is a little more cordial than it was before. i think some of that disapproval, some of that astonishment and that anger, particularly at the interview that pascal soriot, the chief executive of astrazeneca, had done with the italian newspaper, la repubblica, in saying that we had a best effort

contract, we would do our best, but we never signed a particular contract on exact numbers in the first quarter of the year, which we understand is actually 100 million doses of the vaccine before the end of march. and from what the official has told us, they are expecting now from astrazeneca about a quarter of that, so we are looking at a shortfall of up to 75 million doses that the eu wants. now, perhaps there is more cordial relations, and they are professionally saying they will find a solution together, but what that means, in effect, is astrazeneca has to find from somewhere else that shortfall, up to 75 million, and the eu are stipulating that in the contract that they have got, which they want to be published and made transparent because again different views on how the contract works, they say the two primary sites for production in the eu are in the uk. not here in belgium and the netherlands, they are secondary sites, so that is where the shortfall must be made up from and i also point out that back in december when the uk had problems with astrazeneca and similar teething problems, what happened

then was it was here in the netherlands and in belgium where they used 11 million doses to supply uk patients for the covid virus vaccine. so they are saying, this is how it works, it should be coming the other way as well. rasmus bech hansen is the chief executive of the life science data company, airfinity, which has been tracking the global rollout of the vaccine. he says it is not surprising that the eu is experiencing delays with its vaccine programme. you know, it has been foreseeable for a long time. we have tremendous mix between the demand of an supply of vaccines and previously we haven't had any pandemics like this, but in previous similar pandemics we have seen a similar pattern and because it is a challenge of getting the viruses out —— the vaccines out as soon as possible. i fully

understand it, but the situation we are in is therejust understand it, but the situation we are in is there just aren't enough vaccines to offer everyone and some of the forecasting countries have based the vaccination programmes on have probably been too optimistic, they were like too much of... and they were like too much of... and the probably done a little bit more diligence in terms of risk adjustment, but we are used to seeing delays in complex construction projects and similar to this and actually vaccine production is much more complex than anything we have ever done in the world before, so i think it is completely natural to have these delays. you know, there was never the intention, i think, from any of the producers to overpromise, but there just a lot of unforeseen variables that comes into this. . , , of unforeseen variables that comes into this. ., , �* . of unforeseen variables that comes intothis. m . ., , of unforeseen variables that comes intothis. a . ., , ., into this. rasmus bech hansen from the life science _ into this. rasmus bech hansen from the life science data _ into this. rasmus bech hansen from the life science data company, - the life science data company, airfinity. large—scale manufacturing has begun in scotland of the yet—to—be—approved valneva coronavirus vaccine. the workforce at the livingston facility will double as the company begins production in anticipation of receiving regulatory approval.

the uk government has pre—ordered 60 million doses, with an option to secure a further 130 million if the jab proves safe and effective. the co—chairman of britain's governing conservatives, amanda milling, has said the party "completely condemns" claims by a senior backbencher that the pandemic presents a "manageable risk" to the national health service, and that figures "appear to have been manipulated". of the yet—to—be—approved valneva coronavirus vaccine. sir desmond swayne, who's been a frequent critic of coronavirus restrictions, made the comments in november when speaking to anti—lockdown campaigners. labour's deputy leader, angela rayner, has accused him of spreading "dangerous misinformation". it's understood that the conservative chief whip will ask sir desmond to attend a meeting with scientific advisers. scientists tracking coronavirus in england say they are concerned the spread of the virus is not slowing fast enough, despite the continued fall in the number of positive lab—confirmed cases. the latest data from imperial college london's react

study shows a slight decline in infection levels. swab tests taken from 168,000 volunteers between the 6th and 22nd january suggest that 1.57% or 1 in 64 people had covid during the first two weeks of the lockdown. the data shows a varied picture across england — london had the highest proportion of positive tests — where 2.8% of people had the virus. numbers are even higher in younger people across the capital, with li% of people aged 13—17 and 18—24 testing positive. borisjohnson said yesterday that there is not enough data available yet to decide when it will be possible to end england's lockdown. he promised ministers would lay out a road map for lifting restrictions towards the end of next month. professor paul elliott is the director of the react programme at imperial college london. he's been explaining why positive covid cases are taking much longer to come down compared

to the first lockdown. we do collect a lot of information from people. so not only do people produce a swab for us, but we ask them to various questions and we see things such as large households, so there is a higher prevalence amongst minority ethnic groups, again a higher prevalence and also in more deprived areas, so there are some hints that the sort of people who we know have been more badly affected by the virus, that does come through in our data. but we're also seeing in our data. but we're also seeing in regional patterns, very, very high levels in london, which is putting tremendous pressure on the nhs in london. but it seems to be coming down in london, the south—east and the south—west, whereas in other parts of england it is pretty flat or even going up in some parts. b, is pretty flat or even going up in some pam— some parts. a little bit more on what is happening to infection rates now

because according to the latest test and trace figures, a total of 274,898 people tested positive for covid—19 in england at least once in the week to january the 20th, which is part of that time period we were just talking about. this is down by 17% on the previous week and is the lowest number since the week to december the 23rd, but it is still not coming down as fast a scientist but hope, as we just heard there from professor paul elliott from imperial college london. the uk government is to assess and agree a timetable in implementing tighter quarantine measures for arrivals into england. anyone arriving from 30 countries, including most of south america, southern africa and portugal will be required to quarantine in a hotel for 10 days. it is now also illegal to leave the country for a holiday, and people will have to explain why they are travelling abroad. and we'll have more on this story in around half an hour's time when we'll be speaking to the head

of visit britain, patricia yates. you're watching bbc news. the headlines on bbc news... the prime minister prepares to visit scotland amid demands for another independence referendum. nicola sturgeon questions if the trip is essential. scientists tracking coronavirus infection rates in england say cases are falling, but not fast enough. the eu and astrazeneca pledge to work together to resolve a row over vaccine supply shortages, but the eu is still demanding thatjabs produced in the uk are diverted. one in three police officers has been threatened by someone who they thought had covid—19. a survey of officers in england and wales found 32% said someone they believed to be infected had threatened to breathe or cough on them. let's get more on this with our home affairs correspondent, daniel sandford. tell us more about the findings.

this is a survey of police constables, sergeants and inspectors in england and wales, and i actually managed to survey 10% of all of the serving people from those ranks in england and wales, and among other things, it was looking at people's experiences of policing the covid—19 pandemic and it found that police officers were being both threatened and also attempted to be spat out or coughed at by people who they believed to have covid—19, so 32% of people said that somebody who they thought had covid—19 had attempted to deliberately breathe or coughed on them. 30% said that someone they believed infected had attempted to spit at them. sorry, 21% had attempted to spit at them, 30% had threatened to spit at them and obviously this is very distressing for police officers, who have been very exposed in the front line and it is thought that about 26% of

officers, according to the survey, have had covid since the pandemic began. that is what police officers believe. 3% of them have actually had a positive test, the other 23% have either a strong suspicion or medical advice, obviously in the early days of the pandemic, people didn't always get a positive test. and in terms of mental effect of policing the pandemic, 39% of police officers said that in the six months before the survey, which was done in november and december, a 39% of them had been in the presence of a body of somebody who had died from natural causes, of course including many, many people who died from covid—19. the police federation are saying that this is having a lasting effect on officers who are serving on the front line during the pandemic and of course we would say that this bolsters their argument that this bolsters their argument that sooner rather than later those

people policing the streets of england need to be given the covid—19 vaccine. england need to be given the covid-19 vaccine.— england need to be given the covid-19 vaccine. daniel, for the moment thank _ covid-19 vaccine. daniel, for the moment thank you _ covid-19 vaccine. daniel, for the moment thank you very - covid-19 vaccine. daniel, for the moment thank you very much. l covid-19 vaccine. daniel, for the - moment thank you very much. daniel sanford. parents in england are facing the prospect of at least another five weeks of home—schooling. yesterday the prime minister said that schools won't fully reopen until at least march 8th. graham satchell reports. the news that schools in england won't open again until march at the earliest, a bitter blow for sam. her younger daughter in particular has really struggled. my daughter, in her online pshe class, had to review how she was feeling at the moment, and she's six, and her top concerns were, "i worry i'm never going "to see my family again," and her second was, "i feel sad when i hear how many people die." and for a six—year—old, for those to be the two first things they're thinking about, it's material how much of an impact that's having on her mental health. we're just sat at the kitchen table

working, because we have not done any school work today. working families are really, really, really struggling. it is like that emotional side of it, it is huge, we have got the practical... and once again, vicky is interrupted. vicky is a single mum with four school—age children juggling family, home, and running her own business. it's all getting a bit intense. and now i'm thinking, "stop work now, i'll get back to it, at 7 or 8, and i'll be working until midnight to get it all done." we are all going to reach burn—out, if we carry on like this. i don't know what the answer is, though, i'm not saying open schools, ijust think we need some direction and some hope on the horizon. good afternoon, - thanks forjoining us. the hope had been that schools in england would open again after the february half term, but with cases still high and the vaccine programme nowhere near complete, this from the prime minister...

we hope to begin opening schools on monday the 8th of march. - so what about schools in the rest of the uk? northern ireland is reviewing its plans today. wales will make an announcement on friday. scotland, early next week. the likelihood is schools in all four nations will remain closed for most students. graham satchell reporting there. paul whiteman is the general secretary of the national association of head teachers. thank you forjoining us. how realistic a day do you think march the 8th is to begin a phased return to school? ~ , ., �* ~ ., to school? well, we 'ust don't know, that is in the _ to school? well, we 'ust don't know, that is in the hands _ to school? well, we just don't know, that is in the hands of— to school? well, we just don't know, that is in the hands of the _ to school? well, we just don't know, that is in the hands of the prime - that is in the hands of the prime minister and the government, but i think the government took the responsible line yesterday in killing the speculation that had been raging over the weekend and describing for the first time you way in which it hopes the scientific data would be taking us and when we

might be getting into some serious conversations about schools returning. i think this yo—yo, schools being fully open having restricted access effect of in and out, in and out is not helpful to families and certainly not helpful to schools and organising the learning for children, so this time round we have to make sure that the return is organised properly, is properly supported and are sustainable. we have got a period of time now to begin to make that a reality. i am very pleased that government says that the return to school is a priority. obviously, the first priority is to protect the nhs and we are seeing government through the kitchen sink and making it a reality and it is time to bring that same level of support and confidence to education, so that we can make the next full opening one that lasts. ~ ., the next full opening one that lasts. . ., ., , ., ., ., lasts. what does that mean, though, in terms of the _ lasts. what does that mean, though, in terms of the kind _ lasts. what does that mean, though, in terms of the kind of— lasts. what does that mean, though, in terms of the kind of measures - lasts. what does that mean, though, in terms of the kind of measures you | in terms of the kind of measures you want to see put in place? does it perhaps include prioritising vaccines for teachers? yes, i think vaccination — vaccines for teachers? yes, i think vaccination has _ vaccines for teachers? yes, i think vaccination has to _ vaccines for teachers? yes, i think vaccination has to be _ vaccines for teachers? yes, i think vaccination has to be part - vaccines for teachers? yes, i think vaccination has to be part of - vaccines for teachers? yes, i think vaccination has to be part of the i vaccination has to be part of the mix in this. you need to bring

confidence to communities, to the school community, and to the profession, that when they are asked to continue to work, that they are safe to do so, but also that the transmission will be arrested in the community as well and that we won't have this yo—yo effect of schools in, schools out, but additionally to that we need to keep teachers and the team is healthy because all the time that the teachers and their teams are suffering the disease, as others do, they are not in the classroom teaching, so even then if you have the gates open you are not delivering the quality and quantity of education that is needed without the vaccine. of education that is needed without the vaccine-— the vaccine. what a sympathy, thou t h, the vaccine. what a sympathy, though. do _ the vaccine. what a sympathy, though. do you _ the vaccine. what a sympathy, though, do you have _ the vaccine. what a sympathy, though, do you have for- the vaccine. what a sympathy, l though, do you have for parents the vaccine. what a sympathy, - though, do you have for parents who are now having to take on the role of supporting their children through learning at home? because a lot of them are trying to juggle too many things. them are trying to 'uggle too many thints. , , ~ things. absolutely. and i can tell ou that things. absolutely. and i can tell you that team — things. absolutely. and i can tell you that team members - things. absolutely. and i can tell you that team members in - things. absolutely. and i can tell| you that team members in school teams won children back in school as much as anybody else. it is not easy

teaching children at a distance and actually the quality of education isn't as good as face—to—face education, so we want it to happen quickly and we wanted to be sustainable, and that is the point. i think what government is saying here is that one, we can all work towards emission restraining transmission in the community if that delay that the prime ministers grab yesterday, more importantly when we bring children back, but thatis when we bring children back, but that is sustainable because the damaging effect of in and out, in and out is as damaging as a slightly delayed return, so what we all need to work towards now is a body that return properly, fund it, look after the teams properly and let's make sure this is the last time the children and families have to go through this. children and families have to go through thia— children and families have to go throuth this. ., . ., ., through this. paul whiteman from the national association _ through this. paul whiteman from the national association of _ through this. paul whiteman from the national association of head - national association of head teachers, thank you very much. thank ou. a team of world health organization experts investigating the origins of the pandemic are preparing to begin work in wuhan, after isolating in the chinese city for the last two weeks. the scientists are expected to interview people from research institutes, hospitals and the seafood market linked to the initial outbreak. the probe comes after months

of negotiations between the who and beijing. our correspondent, stephen mcdonell, is in wuhan. he gave us the latest from there. the who investigation team, after having done two weeks of quarantine has left that specialised quarantine facility and now come here to what is a sort of lakeside sprawling hotel and convention centre. as you can probably see, around the outside of it there are these barriers, there are guards there to stop pesky journalists from entering the grounds of the hotel to speak to those scientists and ask them what they plan to do over the coming days, the coming weeks to get to the bottom of the origins of the coronavirus. what they won't be doing is examining the lab leak theory. at the moment, the scientists seem to consider that is in the conspiracy theory type area.

they also won't be coming out after two weeks and saying, "we know what caused the coronavirus and this is it." they're stressing it's going to take a long time, that it's a complex matter, they have to review a lot of data, speak to people. i mean, it could take years. they won't be doing their own independent research either. they are not going to be going to, for example, the market and taking their own scrapings or something like that. what they're doing is talking to chinese scientists, looking at what they've done and trying to identify any gaps in the knowledge to see what else might have to be done in the future, to try and find out what caused this coronavirus. but either way, this is very political, obviously. we've had washington and beijing throwing mud at one another, exchanging conspiracy theories. but the scientists, both

the who team and also the chinese team they are working with, say they can get above the politics, they can rerun the numbers, they can look at the data and seriously go back to the origins of this as best they can because, you know, the world needs to know what caused this virus for the next time we have another outbreak because the fear is there could be many more equally debilitating viruses in the future and if we don't know what caused this one, how are we going to fight them? stephen mcdonell in wuhan. now it's time for a look at the weather with carol kirkwood. hello again. many of us this morning have seen some heavy rain and also some hill snow and all of that is pushing north—eastwards through the rest of the day. so the snow level will rise across northern england above 200 metres and we'll see the snow continue above 200 metres

and accumulate across the highlands and grampians. behind it a lot of bright weather coming in, very mild across england and wales. still cold across scotland. so the rain coming in across northern ireland, england and wales will continue to push northwards through the course of tonight, merging with the other front producing the snow across northern scotland. we'll see some heavy and potentially thundery showers move in across western parts of england and wales too. and it's going to be quite a mild night for northern ireland, england and wales, but cold in scotland. tomorrow our two weather fronts that have merged sink south and weaken all the time. behind them we'll see some sunshine, some wintry showers and ahead of them, there'll also be some sunshine. still hanging on to the mild air in the south, but still remaining cold in the north. hello, this is bbc news with marine croxall. with martine croxall. the headlines: borisjohnson prepares to visit scotland amid demands for another

independence referendum. nicola sturgeon says the trip doesn't count as essential travel, but ministers disagree. there are 80 new vaccination centres that are opening in scotland as a result of the british army's efforts. i think it's only right the prime minister goes to the front line, learns from those who are responsible for the vaccine roll—out... scientists tracking coronavirus infection rates in england say they're concerned the virus is not slowing fast enough — with only a slight decline in the past week. the eu and astrazeneca pledge to work together to resolve a row over vaccine supply shortages — but the eu is still demanding that somejabs produced in the uk are diverted to europe. one in three police officers in england and wales says they have been threatened by someone who they thought had covid—19. probing the origins of the pandemic. experts from the world health organisation come out of quarantine in china, with a chance to start face to face meetings in wuhan.

sport, and for a full round—up from the bbc sport centre, here's chetan. good morning. manchester united have condemned the racial abuse of their players on social media following last night's defeat to sheffield united. defender axel tuanzebe was one of the targets. oliver burke's winning goal was deflected in off him. it stopped ole gunnar solskjaer�*s side from returning to the top of the table. the club have this morning said they are disgusted by the racial abuse and are urging social media platforms and regulatory bodies to strengthen measures to tackle this kind of behaviour. following his first game in charge of chelsea, thomas tuchel says he believes his side can learn his ways of working quickly. he only took the job two days ago following the sacking of frank lampard and his first game last night ended in a frustrating 0—0 draw with wolves. we canjust we can just see one of their chances. didn't go in, of course and

chelsea remain in eighth place. i did not expect it to be on this level right from one training and two meetings. but the guys did and this gives me a very good feeling for the future. from now on we can go and every day will help. i don't want to set myself a target to which time we need to adapt. we have too as quick as possible. if we go on at the speak, it will be very quick. england's paul casey has got off to a flying start at the dubai desert classic this morning. he birdied the first, four holes of his opening round to go straight to the top of the leaderboard. even when he was in trouble, he managed to rescue himself and was five under after seven holes. but, just a birdie and a bogey followed which means he lies third, a shot off the leaders.

england's cricketers are locked down in quarantine in india as they get ready for their test series. they arrived in chennai from sri lanka yesterday and players immediately went into four days of isolating on their own. the first of four tests starts a week on friday so players have been given work—out regimes to do on their own in their hotel rooms. jimmy anderson is using it as an opportunity to improve himself. i really thrive on trying to improve myself as a bowler, try and get fitter. i've done a lot of work on sprinting during the last six months of lockdown in england and leading into the series in shrill anchor. i've actually got quicker, running as fast as i ever have in my whole career. it isjust as fast as i ever have in my whole career. it is just looking to improve and try and be as good as i possibly can be. there is something inside me which thinks i can be a little bit better. double olympic rowing champion, helen glover, has announced she's attempting a comeback for this summer's tokyo games. glover who won gold in london

and rio, in the coxless pairs, would be the first woman to make a british olympic rowing team after having children. the 34—year—old says she got back on a rowing machine during last year's first national lockdown and wants to return after four years away from the elite level. to be able to have the opportunity to get on the plane to tokyo, to be the first mother to step into a boat for gb and two row and represent, i would feel so honoured and that, for me would be a huge part of the achievement. of course, if i get there and i race i want to get the best result i can. but success does look different and when i look at my little girl and i look at her and i think, i want to show you, physically show you you can go and you can be and you can do what you want to do. that really inspires me more than i was inspired for that gold in london and rio.

the vendee globe, round—the—world sailing race, has been won by the man, who finshed third, but was given a bonus of more than ten hours, for his role in rescuing a fellow competitor. yannick bestaven, was declared the winner when he arrived in france this morning. he had gone out of his way to help, a fellow frenchman, whose boat eventually sank off the cape of good hope during the race in november. the leading british sailor pip hare is expected to finish around the 11th february. that's all the sport for now. i'll have more for you in the next hour. a large study suggests that black people over the age of 80 were half as likely as white people to have been vaccinated against covid by 13th january. that's despite the fact that black people and those from other ethnic minority groups are four times more likely to die with covid—19 than their white counterparts. the study was based on more than 20 million patient records in england and found that of the million of those aged over 80

but not living in a care home43% of white people have been but not living in a care home 43% of white people have been given their first dose of the vaccine. 30% of the bangladeshi and pakistani population had theirfirst dose. but only 21% of black people had received it. here's our community affairs correspondent adina campbell. carmine reid was 79 when she died in november last year after becoming infected with coronavirus while in hospital in birmingham. her niece says the grief of losing a close family member was the main reason why she decided to have the vaccine last week. she was somebody that i spoke to on the phone, you know, nearly every two weeks. and within, you know, a week or so, she was just taken. so, that did affect me and it probably affected the family, you realise how... ..fragile life is. people from black, asian and other

ethnic minority groups are up to four times more likely to die from coronavirus than white people. despite the risks, research suggests confidence in the vaccine is lower within these communities. there are a number of reasons why some people from black and asian backgrounds seem to be more hesitant about taking the vaccine. but one thing we hear time and time again is about a lack of trust. campaigners say the government must take more action by looking closely at ethnicity data to understand the vaccine take—up amongst these these groups. the concept of hesitancy, we've alljumped onto it because of a couple of surveys. and it's important that we do address them, but i fear that we may be running ahead of ourselves in coming to conclusions that aren't actually supported by what's really going on.

the government says it is working closely with black, asian and ethnic minority communities who have questions about covid—19 vaccines, which includes working with faith and community leaders to give them advice and information about the benefits of vaccination. we understand the fears, the anxiety and confusion. black mps from all parties have now come together in this video, hoping to spread the vaccination message on social media. adina campbell, bbc news. emmanuel adeseko is a pastor of the new covenant ministries. hejoined as now, thank you he joined as now, thank you for joining us on bbc news. you are involved in an initiative to try to encourage members of the african and caribbean communities where you are to take up the vaccine, what prompted you to get involved? i have been on a mission _

prompted you to get involved? i have been on a mission to _ prompted you to get involved? i have been on a mission to help _ prompted you to get involved? i i:;e: been on a mission to help people make informed decisions. my father passed away, it was covid related and i was invited to a roundtable discussion to share some of the concerns in the community. it is important we address these concerns because we are sincere, intelligent people asking questions. in terms of previous experience with the nhs, experiences of injustice, there are genuine concerns. i have got involved that way and i am ultimately trying to work in partnership with faith leaders, medical professionals to share information so we can demystify some things and help people make informed decisions. , ., ., ., things and help people make informed decisions. , ., ., decisions. sorry to hear about your father, it decisions. sorry to hear about your father. it is — decisions. sorry to hear about your father. it is a _ decisions. sorry to hear about your father, it is a very _ decisions. sorry to hear about your father, it is a very personal - decisions. sorry to hear about your father, it is a very personal reason | father, it is a very personal reason for getting involved, but what are the concerns people are sharing with you? the concerns people are sharing with

ou? . , ., .,. ., you? recently we have racial profiling. _ you? recently we have racial profiling, george _ you? recently we have racial profiling, george floyd, - you? recently we have racial profiling, george floyd, how| you? recently we have racial - profiling, george floyd, how there was more enforcement and justice. queries around racial discrimination in medication as well. in terms of the christian faith, how people interpret crisis and the biblical prophecy. and also people were genuinely fearful and i think they have a right to express that fear. what it would be dangerous to do is demonise those people and offer them a platform to share their concerns and step—by—step, call for more information and also to work with the government to check what message is also being given as well. with mixed messages about lockdown, this has also fed into suspicions as well. we are seeing a real productive move, we have spoken to several significant professionals in

terms of the medication and we have also spoken about the medical after—care and offering things like prayer for those who are taking the vaccine. and being patient, we have a crisis that has also been met with trauma. the intervention goes way beyond the vaccination. what trauma. the intervention goes way beyond the vaccination.— trauma. the intervention goes way beyond the vaccination. what sort of information tends _ beyond the vaccination. what sort of information tends to _ beyond the vaccination. what sort of information tends to be _ beyond the vaccination. what sort of information tends to be the - beyond the vaccination. what sort of information tends to be the most. information tends to be the most persuasive? irate information tends to be the most persuasive?— information tends to be the most tersuasive? . ., ., , , . persuasive? we want to respect the fact tteole persuasive? we want to respect the fact people are _ persuasive? we want to respect the fact people are very _ persuasive? we want to respect the fact people are very intelligent. - persuasive? we want to respect the fact people are very intelligent. we | fact people are very intelligent. we recognise that the public, nhs england have released information regarding ethnicity in their data. when people are aware of the democratic, people who are pregnant, various ages and the side effects, this can help people get a further understanding as to what to expect. it is a very complex issue, but it's

notjust it is a very complex issue, but it's not just a it is a very complex issue, but it's notjust a matter of communicating the information, it is the way you communicate it as well. we don't believe fear or coercion is the best way to share the message about the vaccine, but empowering people to get further understanding, which ultimately leave them to make more effective, clear and wise choices. thank you very much.— effective, clear and wise choices. thank you very much. british residents arriving in england from covid hotspots will have to quarantine in designated hotels. the measures will apply to people coming from most of south america, southern africa and portugal, amid concern over new variants of the virus. most overseas visitors from those countries are already barred from entering the uk. labour says the measures don't go far enought and hotel quarantine should be mandatory for all arrivals we can speak now to the head of visit britain, patricia yates whojoins me now via webcam from kent.

patricia, welcome. what is your organisation's view of the use of quarantine hotels here? it is very limited and _ quarantine hotels here? it is very limited and you _ quarantine hotels here? it is very limited and you can't _ quarantine hotels here? it is very limited and you can't understand | quarantine hotels here? it is very i limited and you can't understand the government wants to make sure that the new variants don't get into the country. tourism has been hugely hit by the pandemic, of course wants to reopen but for that to happen we need to get the rates down and people confident about travelling again. that's not quite where we are at the moment. again. that's not quite where we are at the moment-— again. that's not quite where we are at the moment. how do your members manate to at the moment. how do your members manage to prepare _ at the moment. how do your members manage to prepare for _ at the moment. how do your members manage to prepare for something - at the moment. how do your members manage to prepare for something that | manage to prepare for something that keeps slipping back and back? i think that is a real challenge. if you think business, the event sector hasn't been open since lach mark and it still isn't clear when people will be able to mix without social distancing. there are big challenges for businesses, pubs need to get

beerin for businesses, pubs need to get beer in and we're not sure what the restrictions will be when industry is allowed to reopen. we all understand at the moment, health is the absolute priority. but the prime minister has already said that when we come to the end of february and we come to the end of february and we are looking forward to some update on what the future will be like and we are hoping that domestically, people will be able to start travelling late spring, so we can start welcoming people back. businesses can get back to doing what they are best at doing, welcoming people.— what they are best at doing, welcoming people. how many international— welcoming people. how many international visitors - welcoming people. how many international visitors are - welcoming people. how many international visitors are we i welcoming people. how many - international visitors are we likely to see coming to britain this year? we have cut our forecast hugely and we normally see, in 2019 inbound tourism is worth about £28 billion. we are forecasting £6 billion. we think europe and leisure will come back first, but really that is late

summer and autumn we are realistically looking at and long haul, probably slightly longer. it is going to be a slow rebuild for the industry. international tourists are really important in many areas of the country and many destinations. so those big cities like london, like manchester absolutely depend on the international visitors coming. so long term support for the industry and the understanding that this isn't going to be a quick fix and by the end of the summer things will not be back to normal. to the end of the summer things will not be back to normal.— not be back to normal. to what extent will— not be back to normal. to what extent will the _ not be back to normal. to what extent will the losses - not be back to normal. to what extent will the losses from - extent will the losses from international visitors staying away be offset by people holidaying at home? i be offset by people holidaying at home? ., ., ., , . home? i have to say, the domestic industry was _ home? i have to say, the domestic industry was £57 — home? i have to say, the domestic industry was £57 billion _ home? i have to say, the domestic industry was £57 billion down. - home? i have to say, the domestic industry was £57 billion down. if. industry was £57 billion down. if you were a member we were closed for a lot of the time and the industry opened a bit in the peak of the

summer. but at the peak of the summer, most domestic businesses are full anyway and they lost all the shoulder period. what is it going to be like this year? when are we going to be open? in tier1 and tier 2 you really need to kick—start domestic tourism. i think there is a key message about confidence and reassurance to travellers as well. we are surveying people every other week and we can see there is a real nervousness about travel and what that means is people aren't booking yet and will make short—term decisions. that makes it more difficult for businesses to know what the capacity is going to be and how many staff they need to get back. there is a clear need for confidence when we get through the rest of the pandemic and talking about the industry rebuilding, so we all need to do that. and then when

can the industry start to welcome people back and with what restrictions? domestically, we are thinking about late may, but it isn't going to be the case that businesses have a bumpy year and make up the money that they lost last year, that they lost over the winter and that they lost from international visitors. this is going to take time.- international visitors. this is going to take time. patricia yates, thank ou going to take time. patricia yates, thank you very _ going to take time. patricia yates, thank you very much. _ a scottish man who has been held in an indianjail without conviction for three years has told the bbc he was tortured to sign a blank confession. jagtar sinthohal is accused of conspiring to murder a number of political leaders — charges he denies. our south asia correspondent rajini vaid—ya—nathan reports from delhi. the first dance forjagtar singh johal on his wedding day in 2017. the 33—year—old from dumbarton in scotland had travelled to india for the celebrations.

days later while out shopping with his new wife he was taken away by police in the state of punjab. he's been in detention ever since. seen here at a court hearing, jagtar sinthohal�*s accused of conspiracy to murder. indian authorities allege he was involved in a series of killings of right—wing hindu leaders. officials claim he is a member of the separatist organisation they describe as a terrorist gang. they say mrjohal paid £3000 to the group to help fund the crimes. jagtar sinthohal denies the allegations. his family say he is a peaceful activist who has written about human rights violations against sikhs. i believe he is innocent and he'll be proven innocent through the courts if a trial starts. what's your message to the uk government? he's been subject to torture and mistreatment and you have failed him. please bring my brother back home so he can continue and start his life with his wife. the family sayjagtar sinthohal

wrote this letter detailing allegations of torture. it claims he was stripped and beaten, given electric shocks, and that his legs were pulled apart each time he was questioned. the bbc�*s been unable to independently verify these claims which the authorities deny. jagtar sinthohal claims he was tortured into signing a confession letter and made to record this video leaked to indian media. his lawyer told me the authorities have yet to provide him with any evidence linking mrjohal to the crimes. he fears his client's being framed. translation: i am very worried. our immediate concern is that we get a fair trial which proceeds quickly. until then he is languishing injail. jagtar sinthohal�*s being held here at delhi's maximum security tihar jail. he is one of thousands of people being held in prisons across india without conviction, some for many years.

the human rights charity reprieve, is concerned that some of the charges he is awaiting trial for here carry the death penalty as the maximum punishment. but experts stress that executions in india are extremely rare. reprieve has asked the foreign secretary to call for mrjohal�*s immediate release. the foreign office told the bbc that dominic raab did raise the case with his indian counterpart during his trip to india in december. this is the most recent timejagtar sinthohal was seen at court. british officials also say they are in regular contact with prison staff and his family about his well—being. but his brother remains concerned. in august last year he was joined by dozens who protested outside downing street. jagtar sinthohal pro's case has attracted international attention. his supporters say they won't give up until his back home. rajini vaidyanathan, bbc news, delhi.

the road to recovery from coronavirus can be long, with many experiencing ongoing symptoms. but now a joint venture between the english national opera and imperial college london is trying to help those with long covid. they've been teaching them breathing techniques more commonly used by professional opera singers. david silitto joined a zoom lesson. sing it with me. when it comes to zoom meetings, this is as stress free as it gets. a lullaby, some singing, and a lesson. iam breathing in. a lesson in breathing. i am breathing out ten. that was the best thing that happened to me after covid, it was a breath of fresh air. i am breathing in nine. finally i found somebody. who understood a little bit about where i was coming froml and the difficulties i was having. they vocalise

and this is what it is all about, these vocal exercises i am being given to do our part of the breathe programme, and taking me through my paces is susie from english national opera who has a vital area of expertise. breathing. it's one of the things that's really hard if you have been unwell for a long time, is that potentially you have never been particularly conscious of how you breathed when you were well and then it's been a struggle, so getting back to what normal feels like when it isn't something that you are terribly conscious of remembering is already difficult. sheba was hospitalised in march and has since spent months isolated, anxious and breathless. could you have ever imagined that essentially singing teaching could have helped? not in my wildest dreams, not at all. has it helped ? i would suddenly wake up thinking

i'm not getting enough oxygen in my lungs and i didn't know what to do about it. should i call 111? should i call an ambulance? am i going to have a heart attack? that kind of anxiety. but this connected me with my flock of fellow sufferers but in the most positive and musical way. this pilot programme is now being extended to another 1,000 long—covid patients. the evidence so far suggests it is helping people recover faster. with use of the lullabies that calm the patients and use of the exercises that they do in between the classes, we can see that people's breathing patterns are better, but it's also about more than breathing. music can be healing in many ways. # fish arejumping... #

david sillitoe, bbc news. let's get more on this and speak tojenny mollica — who is the director of baylis, the english national opera's learning and participation branch. it is such a great idea, how did it take off? . ., ., it is such a great idea, how did it take off? .., ., ., ,., take off? the conversation about this started _ take off? the conversation about this started last _ take off? the conversation about this started last june. _ take off? the conversation about this started last june. we - take off? the conversation about this started last june. we were l this started lastjune. we were looking at how, as a company, we could be useful during the pandemic and we were having conversations with gps in the field of social prescribing. at that time long covid was just becoming a phenomenon and conversations around these long covid symptoms, breathlessness and the associated anxiety that come with that, led us to thinking possibly we have something important and useful we can offer, given our skill set in singing and vocal expertise and understanding the

physiology of breeding. haifa expertise and understanding the physiology of breeding. how close are the exercises _ physiology of breeding. how close are the exercises patients - physiology of breeding. how close are the exercises patients are - physiology of breeding. how close l are the exercises patients are given to do to those of a professional opera singer would use? the techniques — opera singer would use? the techniques are _ opera singer would use? iie: techniques are embedded opera singer would use? tie: techniques are embedded within them and the same philosophy that would mirror the training of an opera singer. it is diaphragmatic breathing, making the most of what you have got with your breathing. what is important with eno breathe if you don't need any singing experience to take part, singing is the vehicle you need to get to the intended outcome which will aid you intended outcome which will aid you in your recovery, by helping you to manage your breathlessness. lullabies, gentle, calming and soothing. many people who took part in the pilot programme had no interest or experience in singing before doing it and you certainly don't have to do to take part. mt; don't have to do to take part. my colleagues were rubbing their hands

to together with glee hoping you will put me through my paces, but thankfully you cannot do that. something that came through a lot with the pilot that we did which was independently evaluated, was not only did patients report significantly positive impacts in their breathlessness and a reduction in managing their breathlessness and improved breathlessness, but reductions in anxiety. they also spoke a lot about the emotional support the group offers. i think sharing a space virtually with other people that have been through the same experience as you and that common experience normalises it and that emotional connection people felt in the group has been really, really key. everything about the programme was about working with body and mind. many people spoke about it giving them a lot more

confidence.— about it giving them a lot more confidence. , ., ., ~' ~' , confidence. they looked like they were having _ confidence. they looked like they were having fun. _ confidence. they looked like they were having fun. thank _ confidence. they looked like they were having fun. thank you - confidence. they looked like they were having fun. thank you very l confidence. they looked like they - were having fun. thank you very much forjoining us. were having fun. thank you very much forjoining us— now it's time for a look at the weather with carol kirkwood. hello again. many of us this morning have seen some heavy rain and also some hill snow and all of that is pushing north—eastwards through the rest of the day. so the snow level will rise across northern england above 200 metres and we'll see the snow continue above 200 metres and accumulate across the highlands and grampians. behind it a lot of bright weather coming in, very mild across england and wales. still cold across scotland. so the rain coming in across northern ireland, england and wales will continue to push northwards through the course of tonight, merging with the other front producing the snow across northern scotland. we'll see some heavy and potentially thundery showers move in across western parts of england and wales too. and it's going to be quite a mild night for northern ireland, england and wales, but cold in scotland. tomorrow our two weather fronts that have merged sink south and weaken all the time. behind them we'll see some sunshine,

some wintry showers and ahead of them, there'll also be some sunshine. still hanging on to the mild air in the south, but still remaining cold in the north.

this is bbc news. the headlines: borisjohnson visits scotland amid demands for another independence referendum. nicola sturgeon says the trip doesn't count as essential travel, but ministers disagree. there are 80 new vaccination centres that are opening in scotland as a result of the british army's efforts. i think it's only right the prime minister goes to the front line, learns from those who are responsible for the vaccine roll—out... scientists tracking coronavirus infection rates in england say they're concerned the virus is not slowing fast enough, with only a slight decline in the past week. the eu and astrazeneca pledge to work together to resolve a row over vaccine supply shortages, but the eu is still demanding that somejabs produced in the uk are diverted to europe. one in three police officers in england and wales says they have been threatened by someone

who they thought had covid—19. and manchester united say they're disgusted by the racial abuse faced by two of their players on social media after last night's defeat to sheffield united. good afternoon. welcome to bbc news. borisjohnson has arrived in scotland. he's been at a hospital in glasgow and is expected to use the visit to stress the benefits of uk—wide co—operation during the pandemic. the prime minister has also been to a vaccination centre. the trip comes amid growing calls in scotland for another independence referendum. scotland's first minister, nicola sturgeon, has criticised the decision to travel in the light of covid, questioning whether it's an essential journey.

bbc scotland political reporter david wallace lockhart is in glasgow for us. david, what sort of welcome if the prime minister likely to get under the circumstances?— the circumstances? well, a visit from boris _ the circumstances? well, a visit from boris johnson _ the circumstances? well, a visit from boris johnson in _ the circumstances? well, a visit from boris johnson in scotland i the circumstances? well, a visit i from boris johnson in scotland can from borisjohnson in scotland can elicit quite a lot of emotions and has done in the past, and it is particularly contentious this time because we are in the midst of a national lockdown. now, nicola sturgeon was asked about his visit yesterday and the prime minister is now in scotland. she said she was not ecstatic about him coming, stressing that she wasn't trying to make a political point, that as prime minister of the united kingdom he is of course welcome in scotland, but pointing out that the message by law currently in scotland is stay at home, onlyjourney for essential reasons and she questioned whether this trip from the prime minister was essential. now, the prime minister's spokesperson said it was, it remains a fundamental role of the prime minister to be the physical

representative of the uk government and that means being visible, being accessible. that is a message that is being pressed by cabinet office minister, michael gove, this morning. it has also been agreed with by labour leader, keir starmer, who says he has no problem with the prime minister seeing how things are on the ground. borisjohnson at the moment does not have good approval ratings in scotland, so him coming up ratings in scotland, so him coming up here is always going to elicit a lot of emotions. previously he has received some not so warm welcomes in the past when he has been here, when crowds have been allowed to gather. obviously that is something that can't happen at the moment, but obviously a particularly contentious potentially visit this morning, being in the midst of a national lockdown. �* ., ,., being in the midst of a national lockdown-— lockdown. and also against a backdro- lockdown. and also against a backdrop of _ lockdown. and also against a backdrop of growing - lockdown. and also against a backdrop of growing calls - lockdown. and also against a backdrop of growing calls for| backdrop of growing calls for another independence referendum? another independence referendum ? absolutely, another independence referendum? absolutely, and as much as this visit on paper is about coronavirus, it is about pandemic response, there is the elephant in the room, which is the elephant in the room, which is that now i think we have looked at the past 20 polls in scotland

suggesting a majority for independence, so i suspect when we hear borisjohnson talk about covid response when he is in scotland today, what we will be talking about is things like mass testing, largely undertaken in scotland by the uk government. we will hear about things likejobs government. we will hear about things like jobs that have been supported through furlough, through billions of pounds in extra funding that has come from westminster. we will hear about securing a supply of the vaccine from the uk government level, which is finding its way into scotland. so he is going to be making points, isuspect, about those political arguments, making the point that being part of what he sees as a strong powerhouse united kingdom has helped with the covid response. now, the scottish government will of course say, we are scotland, an independent —— were scotland an independent country, it would have powers around things like borrowing and could therefore set up independent schemes itself. it is a slightly risky tactic from the prime minister because although he can point to do things like extra

funding and things like the vaccine being rolled out, there is a point that scottish voters seem to think that scottish voters seem to think that the prime minister and uk government hasn't handled response to the pandemic as well as nicola sturgeon and the scottish government have. ., ., ., ,, have. david, for the moment thank ou ve have. david, for the moment thank you very much- _ have. david, for the moment thank you very much. david _ have. david, for the moment thank you very much. david wallace - you very much. david wallace lockhart, a correspondent in glasgow. i'm joined by professor ailsa henderson of edinburgh university, who runs the scottish election study and monitors public opinion in scotland. welcome. just talk us through some of the headlines of the latest polls regarding public opinion because borisjohnson doesn't come out so well in quite a few of them? boris johnson doesn't come out so well in quite a few of them? hello, no, well in quite a few of them? hello, no. although _ well in quite a few of them? hello, no, although that _ well in quite a few of them? hello, no, although that is _ well in quite a few of them? hello, no, although that is not _ well in quite a few of them? hello, no, although that is not really - well in quite a few of them? hello, | no, although that is not really new. we knew this before he was elected leader of the conservative party that he was not popular in scotland, and that is not the case ofjust a scottish electorate led by and large didn't vote for the current

conservative governmentjust not liking a conservative prime minister. he was also unpopular among scottish conservative voters and we know that half of those before he was elected said they would abandon the party if he was their leader. so he is not popular, but he hasn't been for a very long time. we do know that a harder brexit and the current handling of the coronavirus pandemic isn't helping his satisfaction figures and so those are the three things that are seen to be driving continued support for independence here. we know that borisjohnson support for independence here. we know that boris johnson wants to know that borisjohnson wants to stress the economic benefits of scotland remaining in the union. how convinced are people by that? because in the last referendum, those who wanted the union to stay together said, those who wanted the union to stay togethersaid, look, scotland can't afford to go it alone. ida. together said, look, scotland can't afford to go it alone.— afford to go it alone. no, you're absolutely _ afford to go it alone. no, you're absolutely right. _

afford to go it alone. no, you're absolutely right. so _ afford to go it alone. no, you're absolutely right. so when - afford to go it alone. no, you're| absolutely right. so when looked afford to go it alone. no, you're - absolutely right. so when looked at all the polling before and after the 2014 referendum, it was clear that economic risk was a key determining factor among those who voted no, and even within that, we know risk mattered, but even within that, economic risk mattered and within that, currency risk mattered. so we are in a difficult situation or an interesting situation if you are interested in polling because on the one hand people appear to want independence more, but on the other the economic conditions that would meet an independent scotland are more complicated or less certain than they were 2014. so there is a push and pull factor acting on people's preferences at the moment. he is visiting on scottish budget day,. the snp would need backing from some opposition parties, the greens notably in the past have been helpful. what kind of message does

return, though, that he has chosen today to turn up? i return, though, that he has chosen today to turn up?— today to turn up? i don't think that is a separate _ today to turn up? i don't think that is a separate message _ today to turn up? i don't think that is a separate message in _ today to turn up? i don't think that is a separate message in and - today to turn up? i don't think that is a separate message in and of. is a separate message in and of itself. i think one thing that we can... one thing that popped out in the polling is that there is frustration in scotland with the conservative government's approach to the union, but i think it is also often forgotten that there is frustration outside scotland of the conservative government's handling of the union. it is routinely reactive and it is lacking a kind of first principles of understanding of what the union is for. that debate has never really occurred, since 1999. sojust has never really occurred, since 1999. so just as there might be concerned with in scotland about the current visit and the current pronouncements, there is also considerable unease, particularly in england, where there is a lack of support for devolving additional powers to scotland and then

proposing some sort of add—on solution, carving england up into scotland sized chunks to achieve some sort of symmetry in the constitution. so it is notjust a satisfaction in scotland that i think we need to look at, it is dissatisfaction throughout britain. but l said anderson, thank you very much. —— professorailsa but l said anderson, thank you very much. —— professor ailsa henderson. scientists tracking coronavirus in england say they are concerned the spread of the virus is not slowing fast enough. that's despite a fall in the number of positive cases. the latest data from imperial college london's react study shows a slight decline in infection levels. swab tests taken from 168,000 volunteers between 6th and 22nd january suggest that 1.57% or 1 in 64 people had covid during the first two weeks of the lockdown. london had the highest proportion of positive tests, where 2.8% of people had the virus. numbers are even higher in younger people across the capital, with 4% of people aged 13—17 and 18—24 testing positive.

the prime minister has said there's still not enough data available to make a decision on when to end england's lockdown. but he's to announce a road map for lifting restrictions towards the end of next month. professor paul elliott is the director of the react programme at imperial college london. he's been explaining why positive covid cases are taking so long to come down compared to the first lockdown. we do collect a lot of information from people. so not only do people produce a swab for us, but we ask them various questions and we see things such as large households, so there is a higher prevalence amongst minority ethnic groups, again a higher prevalence and also in more deprived areas, so there are some hints that the sort of people who we know have been more badly affected by the virus, that does come through in ourdata. but we're also seeing differences in regional patterns, very, very

high levels in london, which is putting tremendous pressure on the nhs in london. but it seems to be coming down in london, the south—east and the south—west, whereas in other parts of england it is pretty flat or even going up in some parts. professor paul elliott from peel couege professor paul elliott from peel college london. the european union and astrazeneca have promised to work together, following their public falling out over coronavirus vaccine supplies. both sides described a meeting on wednesday as constructive. although the eu said it regrets the continued lack of clarity over the delivery schedule. the row erupted over a shortfall of millions of doses that astrazeneca put down to manufacturing issues. senior eu officials had said the drug company was not honouring its contract and should do so by supplying vaccines from its british factories. the cabinet office minister, michael gove, has insisted there will be no interruption in the supply of the vaccine in the uk. we must make sure that we continue with the effective acceleration of the vaccination programme that

relies on the supply schedule has schedule that has been agreed to being honoured. that is the first most important thing. but secondarily, i'm sure that we all want to do everything possible to make sure that as many people in countries which are our friends and neighbours are vaccinated and i think we best achieve that through dialogue and cooperation and friendship. michael gove there. gavin lee is our europe correspondent and he explained what the situation is now following last night's meeting. i think it is a little more cordial thanit i think it is a little more cordial than it was before. i think some of that disapproval, some of that astonishment and anger, particularly at the interview that the chief executive of astrazeneca had done with the italian newspaper, la repubblica, had done with a best interest contract. we will do our best, but we never signed a particular contract for the first quarter of the year, which we

understand exactly 100 million doses of the vaccine before the end of march and watch the official has told us is they are expecting now from astrazeneca about a quarter of that, so we are looking at about a shortfall of up to 75 million doses that the eu wants. now, perhaps these more cordial relations and they are professionally saying they will find a solution together, but what that means in effect is astrazeneca and their ceo, pascal soriot, has defined from somewhere else that shortfall of 75 million and the eu a stability that in the contract they have got, which they want to be published and made transparent because again there are different views on how the contract works, but they say the two primary sites for production in the eu are in the uk, not here in belgium and the netherlands, they are secondary sites, so that is where the shortfall must be made up from. they also point out that back in the december, when the uk had problems with astrazeneca and similar teething problems, what happened then was it was here in the netherlands and belgium where they used 4 million doses to supply uk

patients with the covid virus vaccine, so they are saying this is how it works, we should be coming the other way as well. gavin lee reporting. you're watching bbc news... large—scale manufacturing has begun in scotland of the yet—to—be—approved valneva coronavirus vaccine. the workforce at the livingston facility will double as the company begins production in anticipation of receiving regulatory approval. the uk government has pre—ordered 60 million doses, with an option to secure a further 130 million if the jab proves safe and effective. the co—chairman of the conservatives, amanda milling, has said the party "completely condemns" claims by a senior backbencher that the pandemic presents a "manageable risk" to the national health service, and that figures "appear "to have been manipulated". sir desmond swayne made the comments while speaking to anti—lockdown campaigners in november. it's understood that the conservative chief whip will ask sir desmond to attend a meeting

with scientific advisers. one in three police officers has been threatened by someone who they thought had covid—19. a survey of officers in england and wales found 32% said someone they believed to be infected had threatened to breathe or cough on them. our home affairs correspondent, daniel sandford, has more. this is a survey of police constables, sergeants and inspectors in england and wales, and i actually managed to survey 10% of all of the serving people from those ranks in england and wales, and among other things, it was looking at people's experiences of policing the covid—19 pandemic and it found that police officers were being both threatened and also attempted to be spat at or coughed at by people who they believed to have covid—19. so 32% of people said that somebody who they thought had covid—19 had attempted

to deliberately breathe or coughed on them. 30% said that someone they believed infected had attempted to spit at them. sorry, 21% had attempted to spit at them, 30% had threatened to spit at them and obviously this is very distressing for police officers, who have been very exposed in the front line. it is thought that about 26% of officers, according to the survey, have had covid since the pandemic began. that is what police officers believe. 3% of them have actually had a positive test, the other 23% have either a strong suspicion or medical advice — obviously in the early days of the pandemic, people didn't always get a positive test. and in terms of mental effect of policing the pandemic, 39% of police officers said that in the six months before the survey, which was done in november and december, 39% of them had been in the presence of a body of somebody who had died from

natural causes, of course including many, many people who died from covid—19. the police federation are saying that this is having a lasting effect on officers who are serving on the front line during the pandemic and of course we would say that this bolsters their argument that sooner rather than later those people policing the streets of england need to be given the covid—19 vaccine. daniel sandford, or home affairs correspondent. the headlines on bbc news... borisjohnson visits scotland amid demands for another independence referendum. nicola sturgeon says she doesn't think the trip counts as essential travel. scientists tracking coronavirus infection rates in england say they're concerned the virus is not slowing fast enough — with only a slight decline in the past week. the eu and astrazeneca pledge to work together to resolve a row over vaccine supply shortages, but the eu is still demanding that somejabs produced in the uk are diverted.

manchester united say they're "disgusted" by online racial abuse aimed at two of their players after last night's defeat to sheffield united. both axel tuanzebe and anthony martial were targeted on social media. chetan pathak is in our salford newsroom. as you said, manchester united coming strong words this morning, condemning the racist abuse of two of their players, axel tuanzebe and anthony martial. i wish it was unusual, but unfortunately it is all too common. we are seeing black players targeted like this online, we can and week out, and following that to happen one defeat, abuse aimed at the players' instagram accounts, posting racist symbols and symbols on their profiles. all of the book's winning goal in that game

deflected off him, a shop that had they won they would have gone back into the premier league. axel tuanzebe went on to be substituted in the 83rd minute, after doing his first premier league game. anthony martial play be match. a frustrating night for manchester last night, but the members of the club hitting back at those who resorted to racist abuse online to vent their anger at the players. manchester united have been here before and in the recent past they have had to issue statements on the behalf of marcus rashford, i remember, after he missed a penalty against crystal palace in 2019, paul pope are experiencing the same and other high profile black players like stirling at manchester city, and others. racially abused in their matches. there is a statement saying that...

the same calls for social media companies to do more across the board, antiracism groups, kick them out and they would say they will continue to work with the likes of facebook and twitter and all the relevant authorities to hold those responsible to account. of all the images we see of players taking the knee and being united against racism, this is yet another reminder that there is a long way to go. yes. that there is a long way to go. yes, far too much _ that there is a long way to go. yes, far too much of _ that there is a long way to go. yes, far too much of it _ that there is a long way to go. yes, far too much of it out _ that there is a long way to go. yes, far too much of it out there. - that there is a long way to go. yes,

far too much of it out there. thank you. parents in england are facing the prospect of at least another five weeks of home—schooling. yesterday the prime minister said that schools won't fully reopen until at least march 8th. graham satchell reports. the news that schools in england won't open again until march at the earliest, a bitter blow for sam. her younger daughter in particular has really struggled. my daughter, in her online pshe class, had to review how she was feeling at the moment, and she's six, and her top concerns were, "i worry i'm never going "to see my family again," and her second was, "i feel sad when i hear how many people die." and for a six—year—old, for those to be the two first things they're thinking about, it's material how much of an impact that's having on her mental health. we're just sat at the kitchen table working, because we have not done any school work today. working families are really, really, really struggling. it is like that emotional side of it, it is huge, we have

got the practical... and once again, vicky is interrupted. vicky is a single mum with four school—age children juggling family, home, and running her own business. it's all getting a bit intense. and now i'm thinking, "stop work now, i'll get back to it, at 7.00 or 8.00, and i'll be working until midnight to get it all done." we are all going to reach burn—out, if we carry on like this. i don't know what the answer is, though, i'm not saying open schools, ijust think we need some direction and some hope on the horizon. good afternoon, - thanks forjoining us. the hope had been that schools in england would open again after the february half term, but with cases still high and the vaccine programme nowhere near complete, this from the prime minister... we hope to begin opening schools on monday the 8th of march. - so what about schools

in the rest of the uk? northern ireland is reviewing its plans today. wales will make an announcement on friday. scotland, early next week. the likelihood is schools in all four nations will remain closed for most students. graham satchell reporting there. well, a report out today by the children's commissioner for england has raised concerns about the mental wellbeing of children spending time away from school and the pressure on mental health services. the children's comissioner is anne longfield whojoins me now.(os) thank you very much forjoining us, a very important set of findings here. what broadly has the effect of the lockdown beam on children and is back to home and school again? idrul’ell. back to home and school again? well, it has been a — back to home and school again? well, it has been a huge _ back to home and school again? well, it has been a huge impact _ back to home and school again? -ii it has been a huge impact over the last year on children's' mental health and well—being and i think every family around the country knows this and it is subject of so much discussion between parents.

children have literally had their world is turned upside down. all of the structured routine of life, the access to their friends, the access to their trust in teachers and of course they have not been at the forefront of the health risks, but they have had all of these secondary risks about them. they are worried about their family members, the health of others, but this it is this real sense of isolation as well and disruption, so so many children will say to me that actually they thought they knew what the future would bring and now they don't and thatis would bring and now they don't and that is so concerning for them. so whether it is very young children, under five, whether it is very young children, underfive, but are now being whether it is very young children, under five, but are now being very withdrawn and reticent to talk to other children, primary school children that are struggling online and need lots of support or indeed teenagers, who are at that really crucial stage of development, who would normally be out there and making friends and working out how relationships work and exams as well, which have really been thrown

into a completely different environment that they would normally be in. ., , , ., environment that they would normally be in. .,, , ., , ., be in. there has been an expansion of children's — be in. there has been an expansion of children's mental— be in. there has been an expansion of children's mental health - be in. there has been an expansion of children's mental health services over the past four years, but how adequate is provision despite that? there has been an increased awareness that children's mental health was already under pressure and simon stephens, the head of the nhs called it an epidemic over a year ago. there have been programmes put in place through schools to introduce mental health teams to work with children and that is something that children really do like that model and they like specialists coming to them. but it only as i was to a quarter of all schools by the end of 2023, so i have always thought that needed to be much more ambitious, but now with this real rise in mental health conditions, and we have seen an increase from one in nine children with a probable mental health condition three years ago to now one in six, so prevalence rates

increasing by 50%. then actually the demand is huge, so i want government to look urgently at a recovery programme that will be like a rocket boost these kind of programmes in school and one thing we do know from the pandemic is actually children are quite taken to digital support online for their well—being and mental health, so i really think there is an opportunity there to be able to invest in some of those programmes to fill that gap, until we can get the programmes into schools. , ., , schools. yes, online activities can be a double-edged _ schools. yes, online activities can be a double-edged sword, - schools. yes, online activities can be a double-edged sword, can't l schools. yes, online activities can - be a double-edged sword, can't they? be a double—edged sword, can't they? because social media can also increase anxiety. i have read, though, that there is some thinking that in having to cope with the pandemic and the lockdown is, this generation could actually turn out to be immensely resilient. hope to be immensely resilient. how ho teful to be immensely resilient. how hopeful are _ to be immensely resilient. how hopeful are you _ to be immensely resilient. how hopeful are you that _ to be immensely resilient. flat-o" hopeful are you that that to be immensely resilient. fin" hopeful are you that that is the case? well, you know, children can be resilient and many will bounce back and i think that, you know, sometimes with diversity it does really help children to test their own resilience. what i would say,

though, is that some are going to need much more help than others. there has been such a division of experience between those who have had many more resources during the last year to those who have had few. some are unable to get online to start being able to learn still and it is those children who i think the danger is they have fallen so far behind at this point, if they don't have the support to catch up they can never really get back on their feet and flourish.— can never really get back on their feet and flourish. anne longfield, children's commissioner- feet and flourish. anne longfield, children's commissioner for - feet and flourish. anne longfield, . children's commissioner for england. thank you very much. now, carol kirkwood has the weather. hello again. many of us have seen some heavy rain as we've gone through the early part of today and also some hill snow and that will continue as we go through the rest of the day with the rain and hill snow moving northwards and eastwards. it's been a cold start in the north and we're going to hang onto that

cold air over the next few days. meanwhile, in the south and the west, look at the mild air coming in from the atlantic, but as we go through the weekend, eventually the cold air will win through and the temperature will fall. but you can see how we've got all this rain across the north and the east. also some hill snow, the snow level rising in the north pennines through the course of the day, but above 200 metres we are going to see the snow really accumulate across the highlands and grampians. north of that some sunshine, just a few showers. south of that, brightening up. again, a little bit of sunshine coming through. it will be breezy across central and northern areas and the english channel and we'll have some more rain coming in. but by the end of the afternoon we could have up to 15 centimetres on the tops of the pennines. by tomorrow morning we could have up to 20 centimetres of snow across the highlands and grampians above 200 metres. so a cold afternoon in prospect in the north, very mild for northern ireland, england and wales — 11—14 degrees. as we go through the evening and overnight here comes the second band of rain eventuallyjoining forces with this band of rain and snow across scotland. a line of heavy, potentially

thundery showers moves in across parts of england and wales, but once again here and northern ireland, it's going to be a mild night, whereas in scotland it's going to be cold, particularly in sheltered glens where there's the risk of ice and also some frost. now, our two merged fronts tomorrow are going to slowly slip southwards as a weakening feature. behind them, some sunshine, some wintry showers and ahead of them we'll see some brightness and some sunshine develop as well, with the morning showers tending to peter out. still mild in the south, still cold as we push further north. on saturday, there's a bit of a complication in the northern extent of where this rain is going. so it's moving north eastwards, we've got cold air coming down and where the twain meet is where we're likely to see some snow. so we could see some across northern ireland, north—west england, wales, the midlands into the south—east, for example. some significant snow on the welsh hills, but even at lower levels, say, in the midlands we could see a couple of centimetres on current thinking. but look how much colder it's going to be by then.

hello this is bbc news with martin croxall. the headlines: let's go straight to holyrood where nicola sturgeon is about to begin her first ministers questions. 5.6’s her first ministers questions. 5.696 ofthe her first ministers questions. 5.696 of the tests _ her first ministers questions. 5.696 of the tests carried _ her first ministers questions. 5.696 of the tests carried out _ her first ministers questions. 5.696 of the tests carried out so - her first ministers questions. 5.15923 of the tests carried out so the total number of cases is 1736. there

are there is a decrease of 33 people in hospitalfrom are there is a decrease of 33 people in hospital from yesterday and 142 people are in intensive care which is a decrease from three yesterday. i regret to report that in the past 24 hours, a further 82 deaths were registered of patients who had first tested positive in the previous 28 days so the total number of people who have died under the daily measurement is now 5970. i want to send my condolences to everyone who has lost a loved one. due to a holed up has lost a loved one. due to a holed up in the processing of data from yesterday don't have the figure for the total number of people who have received the first dose of vaccine, that will be published as soon as possible. but i can report around 60% of people over 80 and living in the community have had the first dose of the vaccine. we are on track to complete first doses of over 80s by the end of next week, but we

anticipate the vast majority will have been done by the start of next week. the over 70s. to be vaccinated next week as well and all of them, along with those who are clinically extremely vulnerable will have had the first dose by the middle of february. as we make good progress with vaccination, we see signs of progress in suppressing the virus. we will later publish the up—to—date estimate of the our number which suggests it is now below one. it is not unexpected given the decline of new cases we have seen, but it is very welcome and it provides evidence that the lockdown restrictions are working. case numbers do remain very high and our nhs remains under severe pressure. the number of people in hospital with covid is approximately 30% higher than at the peak last spring, although we are starting to see a welcome stabilisation in those figures, as we see from the numbers i have reported. it is vital that cases continue to fall, which is why

we have confirmed that lockdown restrictions will continue until at least the middle of february, as everyone is aware we are also considering implementing further measures to keep the virus under control both now and in the longer term. that includes tougher travel, restrictions and we will set out more proposals on that in the coming days and further ongoing improvements to our test and protect system. but the most important thing all of us can do to protect each other and keep the virus under control is follow the current rules, and that means we own the stay at home as much as possible. we should leave home only for essential purposes, those include caring responsibilities, essential shopping and work that cannot be done from home and essential exercise and all of us should exercise responsible judgment on what is essential and what is not. we should not have people from other households in our houses or go into theirs. on any occasion when we do require to be out of our homes, we should follow

the facts and advice. face coverings, avoid places that are busy, clean hands and surfaces, use to meet a distancing and self—isolate and get tested if you have symptoms. all of this will help continue with the progress we have seenin continue with the progress we have seen in the last couple of weeks. it will protect ourselves, loved ones and communities and protect the nhs. my and communities and protect the nhs. my advice to everybody continues to stay at home, protect the nhs and save lives. ., ~' , ., , stay at home, protect the nhs and save lives. ., ,, , ., , . save lives. thank you very much, first minister. _ save lives. thank you very much, first minister. i— save lives. thank you very much, first minister. i would _ save lives. thank you very much, first minister. i would encourage| first minister. i would encourage all members to ask a supplementary question. _ all members to ask a supplementary question, press the buttons. ruth davidson — question, press the buttons. ruth davidson. we question, press the buttons. ruth davidson. ~ ., question, press the buttons. ruth davidson. . ., ., davidson. we all want the vaccination _ davidson. we all want the vaccination programme i davidson. we all want the vaccination programme to j davidson. we all want the - vaccination programme to work as quickly as possible. but there is genuine concern across scotland at the pace of the roll—out. we know more mass vaccination centres, already set up elsewhere due to open in scotland soon will make a big difference and that is very welcome, we are hoping they go to plan. but

so far, the first minister has blamed the slow vaccination rate because of prioritise and care homes. we asked for that privatisation, but it is not an excuse for the slower roll—out. gps know it and the first minister knows it. one edinburgh gp wrote to us to say, i helped deliver thousands of vaccines over the years and i know different systems are used for care homes than the general public. another gp confirmed, these jabs are sat there but are not getting to us. this argument is that the focus on care homes rather than the over 80s is a red herring. these are different cohorts being vaccinated by different staff. first minister, are you telling these gps on the front line that they are wrong? first minister.— front line that they are wrong? first minister. ., , ~ first minister. no, but i think ruth davidson is— first minister. no, but i think ruth davidson is mis-characterising - first minister. no, but i think ruth davidson is mis-characterising the| davidson is mis—characterising the position. i will make no apology for the fact that we did prioritise care

homes first, notjust because that is what the jcvi recommended homes first, notjust because that is what thejcvi recommended we do, but also we know these are people that are most vulnerable and we see again in the second wave of the virus, concerns building about outbreaks and numbers dying in care homes. we have now virtually completed vaccination of care homes, around 95%. there will be efforts to get that percentage up, but given effort in any cohort, it is unlikely to reach 100%. we have effectively completed the vaccination of older residents in care homes. i was reading yesterday, concerns about the target for care homes being missed in england. we are on track to notjust me, but i hope exceed our targets for the other cohorts we are now vaccinating, around half a million people have been vaccinated already in total. in terms of the over 80 population, as i said, that is now around 60% perhaps slightly above 60% when we see the total

figure which will be published as soon as possible. that is on track, well on track for the target to be met by the end of next week. i anticipate, based on the current pace of progress, the vast majority of over 80s will be vaccinated and the first dose by the beginning of next week. i have been inundated by people in the over 70s age group contacting me to say they have had their appointments. the ever 70s. to be vaccinated next week. i know people in the 65 to 70 age group who have also had appointments to be vaccinated next week. together with those and the clinically extremely vulnerable group, the over 70s and those will be vaccinated by the middle of february. what we are doing is building a vaccination programme that has pace, absolutely, but the sustainable place where we are using the supplies we have in a way that ensures we commit, and

possibly exceed those targets. but we are also focusing on those that the experts say are most vulnerable to getting seriously ill and dying from this virus. let me take the opportunity to thank theirs, including gps that are working so hard to deliver this programme. but the gps hard to deliver this programme. eli the gps are right, because vaccinating care homes and vaccinating care homes and vaccinating in the community are two different systems and we are able to do both quickly and at the same time. the snp has fallen behind, no matter how much the first minister protest. we have shifted targets, we are behind the uk and on sunday vaccination is hit the lowest yet. if the problem isn't prioritising care homes, let's look at what is. gps have been shouting about it for weeks, they need the vaccine to be delivered to their surgeries more quickly. the scottish government can call up deliveries overnight from the distribution centres but are only sending out weekly deliveries to gps. the head of gps at bma in

scotland have asked if family doctors can order stocks directly to speed up this process. will the first minister let them? we continue to discuss with _ first minister let them? we continue to discuss with those _ first minister let them? we continue to discuss with those on _ first minister let them? we continue to discuss with those on the - first minister let them? we continue to discuss with those on the front - to discuss with those on the front line how we better streamline and gather the pace of this programme. i think governments across the uk will sensibly do that. in terms of the health board ordering system, although the structure of our nhs is different in terms of the population size covered by the entities ordering the vaccine, it is not different from the clinical commissioning groups that are doing that in england. the head of gps, somebody who has understandably raised concerns in recent weeks about the speed of getting supplies to gps, i think at the end of last week made the comment that he thought great progress had been made last week on vaxinators and supplies. he also said he thought the scottish approach was the right one and how we are cracking on with getting it done. that is the view thatis getting it done. that is the view that is reflected. we will continue to liaise on a daily basis with

those on the front line to see if there are problems we need to overcome to make sure this programme continues apace. just to be clear, we have pretty much finished care homes in terms of older residents in care homes. that is really important, because hopefully over the next few weeks we go through the rest of the second wave, it will reduce the number of care —— people in care homes who otherwise might have died. that achievement in almost finishing older residents in care homes has not been achieved in england, i am care homes has not been achieved in england, iam not care homes has not been achieved in england, i am not so sure about wales and northern ireland. it is not about choosing one over the other any more, we have done that one. yes there will be some efforts to get from 95% to as close to 100% as possible. now we are going for the over 80s. we will exceed the over 80s, where the vast majority of those will be done by the start of

the week rather than the end of the week. the ever 70s, one of my own family members in the over 70 group has an appointment in the middle of next week. someone else i know who is under 70 has an appointment later next week. we are going through this now because of the efforts who are planning the system and those on the front line who are delivering the system. it is good progress and we will continue to work every single day to make sure it carries on that way. day to make sure it carries on that wa . . ., ., way. without further action, su . tlies way. without further action, supplies getting _ way. without further action, supplies getting to - way. without further action, supplies getting to gps - way. without further action, supplies getting to gps tool way. without further action, - supplies getting to gps too slowly will continue to be an issue. i don't think we heard any answer whether they will be allowed to order themselves. one north east gp told us, we have the ability to vaccinate 500 patients a day. other gps in the area share our frustration. in fife a gp practice told us patients, we do expect enough to deliver the second dose, but none beyond that. one lady was delighted that both she and her

son—in—law had been called to the mass vaccination centre. but her husband had not been called and she phoned her gp and she said, they tell me people who had been receiving shielding letters would be vaccinated at the practice, but they had no doses and did know when they would get any. she completely understands why the clinically vulnerable are being asked to go to the local doctor and not a mass vaccination centre, but she asked why younger, healthier patients are getting jobs before doctors helping them more vulnerable are even being given supplies. i had no good answer for her, does the first minister? the clinically extremely vulnerable are in the same category recommended by thejcvi is are in the same category recommended by the jcvi is the are in the same category recommended by thejcvi is the over 70s. they have been getting appointments to go for vaccination starting next week. i cannot guarantee and nor should i try to guarantee that somebody over

70 without clinical vulnerability might get the vaccine in one part of the country a day before somebody who is clinically vulnerable in another part of the country. that is what happens when we have a two—week window in which we are going to do everybody in these groups, as recommended by the experts based on clinical vulnerability. the over 80s, if it is the case that we are not getting supplies quickly enough to do those, why is it we are very confident we will exceed the target of completing the over 80s well within the target day we set of the 5th of february? we are not doing the vaccination programme exclusively through gps. rightly so, because if we did, gps would, i think, be too diverted from caring for people with other needs, so gps are doing patients where there is a good case for that. others are being done through mass community vaccination centres. my own parents are being done at a vaccination

centre that is closer to their own home than their g practice —— gp practice is. i come back to the key point, we have completed care homes, we are ahead of some other parts of the uk in that. we are 60% through over 80s, well on track to exceed the target we have set for that and next week, the next cohorts will start and we are well on track to meet the targets for that. every single day, we will seek to overcome and address issues that those on the front line might be experiencing. this programme is going well and it is going well thanks to the efforts of people across the country who are working hard to ensure it is. the troblem working hard to ensure it is. the problem is. _ working hard to ensure it is. the: problem is, these are working hard to ensure it is. ti9: problem is, these are not isolated incidents. she insists everything is going well, but let's look back at what gps on the ground are telling us. early this week a family doctor in glasgow was blunt. the bottleneck is not people, it is vaccine supply. let's look at the supply chain,

since tuesday the scottish government has had around 1 million vaccines available for use. it is up to nhs scotland to get them to health boards. i spoke from the snp's health boards. i spoke from the snp's delivery plan, next day delivery can be done to health boards. getting the vaccine from the health boards holding centres to gps, normally happens weekly. we are six weeks into the vaccine delivery plan, three weeks into the community roll—out and throughout that time, gp after gp has been expressing their frustration at supply issues, all of which the first minister brushes. they want it sorted out, when will she do it? i brushes. they want it sorted out, when will she do it?— when will she do it? i am not brushing _ when will she do it? i am not brushing any _ when will she do it? i am not brushing any of— when will she do it? i am not brushing any of these - when will she do it? i am not i brushing any of these concerns when will she do it? i am not - brushing any of these concerns are. i am answering in detail around what is happening. ruth davidson might have more of a point here if we were way of meeting the targets to get through all of these population groups, but we are not. if anything, we are on track to exceed those

targets in terms of the vaccine quantity in the numbers we are vaccinating in each category. terms of supply, i am not going to go into detail about what we covered last week about is publishing the expected supply, the uk government demanding that we took them out of the public domain, but quite happy to brief these figures through spin to brief these figures through spin to the media. i have said to my officials, regardless of what they say, we will go back to publishing the supply figures from next week so we all have transparency around that. applause. in the figures that ruth davidson has quoted, if you extrapolate this figures to the uk, of course we have allocations of doses, we draw those down, they come into health boards and go to gps. of the doses that have come into scotland so far, half are in the arms of people and the others will be going into the arms of people over the course of the

coming days. this allocation we have got, we have got to plan for how we use that to allow us to vaccinate all of the groups we have prioritised within the timescales we have set. i come back to the key point, i know everybody across the country, all of us, without exception, want to get this vaccine as quickly as possible. i know gps under the vaxinators want to do it as quickly as possible. we are on track in terms of the targets we set and we will continue to make sure it continues as we get this vaccine to as many people in the adult population as we can, just as quickly as we can. population as we can, 'ust as quickly as we camh population as we can, 'ust as tuickl as we can. ,, , :, , quickly as we can. question number two, jackie — quickly as we can. question number two, jackie baillie. _ quickly as we can. question number two, jackie baillie. presiding - two, jackie baillie. presiding officer, two, jackie baillie. presiding officer. can _ two, jackie baillie. presiding officer, can i _ two, jackie baillie. presiding officer, can i send _ two, jackie baillie. presiding officer, can i send my- two, jackie baillie. presiding - officer, can i send my condolences to those who have lost loved ones due to covid. the world health organization has told countries to test, test, test. yesterday, professor debbie shriver couldn't be clearer, the best way to stop the spread of the virus, avoid rolling

lockdowns is by testing, finding contexts and isolating them. scotland has a daily testing capacity of 65,000 test. we could have done 2 million in the past month alone, but we have only used 32%. we have known for some time that the first minister's symptom led approach to testing is not enough to control the virus. south korea, germany and other countries have been using pcr tests for months to find symptomatic carriers. even in england, nearly everyone in 100 people are tested daily for covid—19. can the first minister tell the chamber what the equivalent figure is for scotland? i tell the chamber what the equivalent figure is for scotland?— figure is for scotland? i don't have that fit ure figure is for scotland? i don't have that figure to _ figure is for scotland? i don't have that figure to hang, _ figure is for scotland? i don't have that figure to hang, but _ figure is for scotland? i don't have that figure to hang, but i - figure is for scotland? i don't have that figure to hang, but i will - figure is for scotland? i don't have that figure to hang, but i will get l that figure to hang, but i will get that figure to hang, but i will get that figure. can i say to jackie baillie, if the central proposition she is making to me, if england have done so much better than scotland, why are scotland's rates of the virus so much lower than england right now? it shouldn't be a competition, we are working really

hard to control this virus and get rates as low as possible. but scotland, consistently throughout this pandemic has had rates that are too high, in my opinion, but lower than other nations in the uk. set england and more recently wales. the numbers of people dying are far too high and none of the should be comfortable with that. but we are working hard to suppress the virus and we are using testing in an appropriate way to do that, expanding it as we go through. the numbers that i have quoted, and i explain this every week, they offer people with symptoms and the reason that quantity is not used every day is because the levels of the virus are thankfully lower than they would be if that volume was being used up to capacity. we are using a symptomatic testing much more widely through care homes, nhs and community asymptomatic testing, all of which is helping us to get these

rates to get the virus down, which is so crucial. i will never stand here and say there is not more we can do, nothing we should learn and other advice we should take, i don't stand and speak for professor shaida. i speak to her often and she has been a voice of wisdom throughout this but without speaking for her, i also think that she thinks many of the things we are doing in scotland right now are the right things and we need to keep at them and improve as we go and that is what we will do.— is what we will do. thank you for that response, _ is what we will do. thank you for that response, but _ is what we will do. thank you for that response, but let _ is what we will do. thank you for that response, but let me - is what we will do. thank you for that response, but let me help l is what we will do. thank you for l that response, but let me help the first minister out with the figure. it is one in 100 people tested daily in england. in other countries in europe and the world, they have mass testing programmes and there are many more people tested daily. in scotland that figure is one in every 250. even in the last week, test and protect averaged only 20,622 tests a day. out of a capacity of 65,000.

nearly three quarters were actually repeat tests, people who had already been tested. let's look at another crucial part of the current system, which is contact tracing and self isolation. in the week ending the 17th of january, test and protect fail to protect over 850 positive people within 72 hours of their test. at the start of the month, he was as many as 1625. and when people are asked to self—isolate, there is no follow—up, little support and they get a text message and that is it. in some parts of the world where proper support is on offer, as many as 95% are managing to follow self isolation rules. can i ask the first minister, can she tell us, what is the equivalent figure in scotland? i am happy to give equivalent figures, i can provide them later on. i think it is important we engage in the issues and there are two issues i

think are important. jackie baillie says it is terrible that there was only 20,000 tested as opposed to 50,000. this is symptomatic testing. if that 20,000 figure had been 50 or 60,000, that would have mean our rates of the virus were three times what they actually are. it is a good thing that those with symptoms of fever so that there are fewer people with symptoms coming forward for testing and that means we are succeeding and starting to suppress the virus. that is the fundamental point i think has to be understood. if it is the case, england's greater number per hundred population tested than scotland is the be all and end all, england's rates would be lower than scotland's. i will never stop trying to listen and learn on how to do these things better but the idea that we are getting it all wrong does not bear out when we are

looking at a relative position compared to others. on self isolation, jackie baillie is downright wrong. when you are contacted and told to self—isolate, if you agree to have your details passed on to the local council you get a follow—up call to triage your situation, find out if you have got particular needs. we have given councils additional resources so if somebody needs practical help in addition to the financial help through the self isolation support grant, up to and including accommodation, that is available. we will set out some further plans to extend the support that is available to people self isolating, but it is simply not true to say there is no support available for people. these are the facts of the situation and we will continue to work hard to improve as we go. i we will continue to work hard to improve as we go.— improve as we go. i am always trateful improve as we go. i am always grateful when _ improve as we go. i am always grateful when the _ improve as we go. i am always grateful when the first - improve as we go. i am always| grateful when the first minister says she is prepared to listen and learn, because exactly the point i'm making is that the capacity that is

there should be used for asymptomatic testing as well. i don't think she is currently doing that. can i say to her, i am bringing the real experience of people who are self isolating into the chamber. they are telling me she —— they are getting little support and she knows herself, a third of those who applied for the self isolation grant didn't get it at all. but also, i didn't get an answer to my question, so only 18% of people in scotland are able to follow self isolation rules. that is fewer than one in five people. it is a pity the scottish government's performance cannot be matched by the first minister's spin. 11 months into this pandemic, this government has been slow to test, slow to trace and slow to support people who are self isolating. and whilst the vaccine gives us hope, experts tell us that covid will be here for some time to come. to lift current

restrictions and not end up in a third wave and another lockdown, we need a functioning test, trace and isolate system. that is not what we have in scotland today. last year, community testing pilots uncovered hundreds of asymptomatic cases in just a fortnight. instead of the promised widescale roll—out, the government is only in the planning phase. if we are going to get this virus under control, we need mass testing in all of our communities. can the first minister tell me, when is this going to happen? overly be back here in a few weeks, clutching the same expert advice, asking the same questions and with more lives lost? to same questions and with more lives lost? :, , :, : ,, same questions and with more lives lost? :, , :, : ~' 2, lost? to listen to jackie baillie, ou lost? to listen to jackie baillie, you wouldn't — lost? to listen to jackie baillie, you wouldn't think _ lost? to listen to jackie baillie, you wouldn't think we - lost? to listen to jackie baillie, you wouldn't think we have - lost? to listen to jackie baillie, you wouldn't think we have the | you wouldn't think we have the lowest levels of covid in the whole of the uk, in scotland. but they are too high and therefore we will continue to do more. we did do pilots of asymptomatic testing

before christmas and we are about to roll out a number of community asymptomatic initiatives. we are about to do asymptomatic testing... studio: that is where we will lead the first minister's questions in hollywood. jane hill will be here with the bbc news at one, but first the weather. after tonight, the rain band has stalled across the uk and you will see further rain and hill snow at times in the best of the sunshine for england and wales. we have the mild air coming in from the south—west so it is almost springlike in places. the cold holds on across the north of the uk, hence why we have this threat of further snow falling over the grampians and the highlands as this weather front continues to stall for the of the day. furthersouth, continues to stall for the of the day. further south, some brightness, temperatures 13 or 14 degrees, but more rain waits out in the west and

that will push its way northwards and eastwards as we go through this evening and overnight. heavy bursts in places and it will merge with the rain band across the north of the uk bringing further rain, sleet and hill snow here. further south, bringing further rain, sleet and hillsnow here. furthersouth, it will be rain with the sort of temperatures and another fairly mild night in the south versus a cold one in the north with the risk of ice in places. on friday we start with the rain band and for the hill snow across the north of the uk. clusters of showers but through the date of friday it is going to improve, the rain in the north easing down along with the hill snow and the showers in the south also easing. allow for drier and brighter weather. the mild air becoming confined to the south of the country, cold in the north and it will advance outlets. on friday and into the weekend, some uncertainty because it looks as this area of low pressure pushes into the cold air across the country, likely to see increasing amounts of sleet and snow for wales, into northern

england, the midlands and down into east anglia and the south—east. we could see accumulations to lower levels, certainly accumulations across wales, but generally in the south—west, where it is milder, it will be of rain. further north, drier, brighter put cold with the sunshine. a cold day for all. going to be a cold night to start on sunday, frost and ice to watch out for and then a repeat performance with another weather front trying to push its way northwards and eastwards to bring sleet and snow, northern ireland, wales and into part of the midlands, perhaps accumulations in places. at a very cold day for all areas.

the prime minister visits scotland, saying it's important the uk works together in the fight against coronavirus. borisjohnson is shown the processing of covid tests at a glasgow hospital — but the first minister had already questioned the need for the visit. me travelling from edinburgh to aberdeen to a vaccination centre right now is not essential and borisjohnson travelling from london to wherever in scotland he is going to do the same is not essential. 18 new vaccination centres that are opening in scotland as a result of the british army's efforts. it is only right that the prime minister goes to the front line, learns from those responsible for the vaccine rollout. the pm's visit comes amid talk of another independence referendum. we'll be live in glasgow. also this lunchtime: