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:

scientists say they're disappointed that covid infections aren't falling quickly enough in england to ease pressure on hospitals. the government insists there will be no interruption to the uk's vaccine supplies from astrazeneca, in a continuing row with the eu about a supply shortage. nearly one in three police officers in england and wales say they've been threatened by someone claiming to have covid—19. and how singing classes can help people cope with the breathlessness and fatigue that comes with long covid. and coming up in sport on bbc news: manchester united condemn 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.

good afternoon and welcome to the bbc news at one. on a visit to scotland, the prime minister has thanked nhs staff and emphasised the importance of the uk working together in tackling coronavirus. scotland's first minister nicola sturgeon has questioned whether it's right for borisjohnson to be travelling round the country in the middle of a pandemic. downing street says it's a fundamental part of the pm's job to meet people on the front line. the trip comes amid growing calls for another scottish independence referendum. our scotland correspondent james shaw reports. boris james shaw reports. johnson arriving for the start of borisjohnson arriving for the start of his visit to scotland at the queen elizabeth university hospital

in glasgow. despite a warning from nicola sturgeon yesterday that the rules against nonessential travel apply to everyone, including political leaders. is apply to everyone, including political leaders.— political leaders. is it really, really essential? _ political leaders. is it really, really essential? that's - political leaders. is it really, really essential? that's the l political leaders. is it really, - really essential? that's the test. and i would see me travelling from edinburgh to aberdeen to visit 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. but in scotland he is going to do the same is not essential.— same is not essential. but boris johnson and _ same is not essential. but boris johnson and his _ same is not essential. but boris johnson and his cabinet - same is not essential. but boris i johnson and his cabinet colleagues insist it is right to point out that the uk government has made a big contribution to the fight against the virus in scotland.— contribution to the fight against the virus in scotland. there are 18 new vaccination _ the virus in scotland. there are 18 new vaccination centres _ the virus in scotland. there are 18 new vaccination centres opening l the virus in scotland. there are 18| new vaccination centres opening in scotland as a result of the british army's efforts and it is only right the prime minister goes to the front line, learns from those responsible for the vaccine roll—out and make sure we do even better. that is part of the job of any leader, to thank those making a difference in keeping

us safe, but also to hear direct and unvarnished what we can do to make sure the delivery is even better. over the course of the pandemic there have been tensions between the different parts of the country, but this feels different. it has got a bit more political and there is a simple reason. scottish elections in just three months. this particular election is vitally important to both first minister and prime minister. just as the pandemic might be starting to ease, the future of the uk will once again be in question. the uk will once again be in question-— the uk will once again be in cuestion. ., , ., question. two polls have confirmed that around — question. two polls have confirmed that around one _ question. two polls have confirmed that around one in _ question. two polls have confirmed that around one in five _ question. two polls have confirmed that around one in five of _ question. two polls have confirmed that around one in five of those - that around one 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 and it is also clear at least half of this group, probably

more, are no longer supporters of no, they are supporters of yes, so it looks as if that start differential perception of how the scottish government has handled the pandemic and how the uk government has done has added another notch to theirs. , ., ., , , ., , theirs. these are the opening shots bein: theirs. these are the opening shots being exchanged — theirs. these are the opening shots being exchanged by _ theirs. these are the opening shots being exchanged by the _ theirs. these are the opening shots i being exchanged by the conservatives that the snp ahead of polling day at the start of may. both nicola sturgeon and borisjohnson are formidable campaigners but it could be a long and gruelling campaign for both. james shaw is in glasgow for us. your assessment of how this visit is being received? it is your assessment of how this visit is being received?— being received? it is interesting. on the being received? it is interesting. 0n the face _ being received? it is interesting. on the face of _ being received? it is interesting. on the face of it, _ being received? it is interesting. on the face of it, ostensibly - being received? it is interesting. on the face of it, ostensibly this| on the face of it, ostensibly this is about fighting the pandemic on a uk wide basis but below the surface and always visible this emerging political battle between the snp and the conservatives, between the scottish government had the uk

government. just recently the snp decided that they would not necessarily wait to get permission or authority from the uk government to hold an independence referendum. they might do it of their own back and if necessary fighting through the courts to do that. it is possible that that has focused the minds of people in westminster but there are really only three months left to make this case for the union before potentially it is taken out of their hands by the electorate in scotland. we know that borisjohnson will want brexit to be part of his legacy but one thing he certainly will not want is to be the uk prime minister who oversaw the break—up of the united kingdom as we currently know it. , ., , ., ~ _, our political correspondent nick eardley is in westminster. number 10 says this is about cove nike but really this is about

politics. nike but really this is about olitics. , ., ., , politics. there is no doubt the constitution _ politics. there is no doubt the constitution is _ politics. there is no doubt the constitution is high _ politics. there is no doubt the constitution is high in - politics. there is no doubt the constitution is high in the - politics. there is no doubt the l constitution is high in the minds politics. there is no doubt the - constitution is high in the minds of number 10 this morning. a planning government is to say no to another independence referendum even if the snp win big in may but i think ministers also realise they need to do a lot more than simply say no, they need to make a case for the union. that is why you are healing borisjohnson talking today union. that is why you are healing boris johnson talking today about vaccines bought by the uk but ruled out by the scottish government. it is why you will hear him talk later about some of the big economic interventions we have seen. the uk government is that that is possible because of the broad shoulders of the treasury, as they put it. there are some in the unionist campaigns who think that the message is not getting a close and maybe boris johnson is not the best person to make it. two of the reasons that seem to be behind the increasing support for independence are intrinsically linked to the prime

minister, brexit and leadership during the pandemic. polls suggest scots are much happier with nicola sturgeon's performance and boris johnson, so you are going to hear the prime minister took a lot more about the union in the next few months but there are many who think there's a lot of work to do.— there's a lot of work to do. thanks very much- _ scientists tracking the spread of coronavirus in england say they're disappointed that infections aren't coming down enough to help ease the pressure on the nhs, with demand for critical care beds still rising. the latest study by imperial college london shows a decline in the infection rate in london, the south east and south west, but signs of a slight rise in the east midlands. our health correspondent katharine da costa has the details. shut up shops, empty classrooms, life on hold. three weeks into england's third national lockdown, many want to know when this will all be over. there are now some signs things may be going in the right direction. imperial college has published full

results for its survey. it gathered a random sample of swabs from over 160,000 volunteers in england between the 6th and 22nd of january. it found one in 64 had the virus over that period. it suggests infections are gradually falling or plateauing in most regions, except for the east midlands. but rates are still highest in london and among 13—24—year—olds. the prevalence is so high, the pressure on the health service is so high, that it's really important that we get these rates down as quickly as we possibly can. as i say, we've got a hint in the last seven days that things are now moving in the right direction, but not fast enough, so we just have to do more. there has been some progress. daily case numbers are falling. 70% of swab results were returned in 24 hours, up from just over 50% last week. contact tracing has remained stable, with just under 70% of close contacts reached

and asked to isolate. the vaccine rollout continues to be ramped up. this islamic centre in derby now one of around 1,400 vaccination sites in england. more than seven million of the most vulnerable have had their first dose and, despite supply issues, the government says it's still confident it can offer vaccines to 15 million by mid—february, but scientists say the rollout needs to be worldwide, notjust in the uk. there is only one answer to all of this and that is to drive down transmission, to keep it low and to make these vaccines available globally. otherwise, we will see new variants coming up, new strains of this virus which will come back to all of our countries and, not now, but at some point in the future, may escape these amazing tools of vaccination. health officials say vaccinations won't relieve pressure on the nhs in the short term. while the number of covid patients in hospitals is starting to fall, there is still huge demand in icus.

latest figures show critical care beds in nearly a third of hospitals are more than 95% full, despite nearly 50% more being added since november. the more contagious uk variant means stopping the spread of the virus is that much harder. restrictions and social distancing are likely to be with us for some time to come. katharine da costa, bbc news. the government has insisted there will be no interruption to uk vaccine supplies from astrazeneca, after the european union demanded doses from the british allocation, in a row about shortages. the shortfall in supplies to the eu, which astrazeneca blames on teething problems, could be as many as 75 million doses. nick beake reports from brussels. europe is really struggling to get hold of covid jobs, especially in spain. in thejet hold of covid jobs, especially in spain. in the jet they have had to

cancel nearly all vaccines for nearly a week. in strasbourg big delays in protecting people. translation:— delays in protecting people. translation: , ., ., translation: there is a realfeeling of frustration. _ translation: there is a realfeeling of frustration. there _ translation: there is a realfeeling of frustration. there is _ translation: there is a realfeeling of frustration. there is a _ translation: there is a realfeeling of frustration. there is a very - of frustration. there is a very strong demand and an organisation here and ready but we cannot go to full capacity because there is a lack of vaccines. it full capacity because there is a lack of vaccines.— full capacity because there is a lack of vaccines. it is said to get even worse- _ lack of vaccines. it is said to get even worse. the _ lack of vaccines. it is said to get even worse. the european - lack of vaccines. it is said to get | even worse. the european union claims one supplier, astrazeneca, will be delivering 75 million fewer doses than promised over the next two months. the eu is demanding that jabs mid—in the uk are devoted to mainland europe to make up the shortfall. when asked about that idea one senior british minister said there should be no disruption to british supplies. it is said there should be no disruption to british supplies.— to british supplies. it is the case that the supplies _ to british supplies. it is the case that the supplies which - to british supplies. it is the case that the supplies which have - to british supplies. it is the case | that the supplies which have been paid for and scheduled should continue, absolutely. there will be no interruption to that. but again the right approach to take with our

friends in europe is to make sure that we foster a cooperative dialogue to see how we can do everything we can to help. the dialogue to see how we can do everything we can to help. the eu is now investigating _ everything we can to help. the eu is now investigating if _ everything we can to help. the eu is now investigating if astrazeneca - now investigating if astrazeneca jabs me did mainland europe have already been sent to britain. it insists it must receive its fair share. ~ u, insists it must receive its fair share. ~ ., insists it must receive its fair share. ~ . , insists it must receive its fair share. . share. we can and will get doses of the vaccine — share. we can and will get doses of the vaccine from _ share. we can and will get doses of the vaccine from the _ share. we can and will get doses of the vaccine from the series - share. we can and will get doses of the vaccine from the series of- the vaccine from the series of plants which are mentioned in the contract including those in the united kingdom. the contract including those in the united kingdom.— united kingdom. the eu and astrazeneca _ united kingdom. the eu and astrazeneca say _ united kingdom. the eu and astrazeneca say they - united kingdom. the eu and astrazeneca say they are - united kingdom. the eu and - astrazeneca say they are working more closely together to try to sort this out but there are still many specific unanswered questions swirling around. there are plenty of legal and moral arguments being made. what health experts say is the last thing we need is so called vaccine nationalism, that this is the time for countries to cooperate to get out of the pandemic as quickly as possible. vaccine

specialists point out increasing production of new products is not an easy business. we production of new products is not an easy busines— production of new products is not an easy business. we are used to seeing dela s in easy business. we are used to seeing delays in complex _ easy business. we are used to seeing delays in complex construction - delays in complex construction projects similar to this, vaccine production is much more complex than anything we have ever done in the world before, so it is completely natural to have these delays. this row between _ natural to have these delays. this row between the _ natural to have these delays. this row between the uk and the eu is far from being resolved. europe is the engine of the global vaccine making process and countries further afield are asking how these arguments and delays will affect them as well. the government is being urged to do more to encourage people from minority ethnic backgrounds to have a covid vaccination. a study by the university of oxford and the london school of hygiene and tropical medicine shows that black people over the age of 80 are half as likely to get the vaccine than their white counterparts. here's our community affairs correspondent, adina campbell. carmen reed 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 a few... a week or so, she was just taken. so, that did affect me and it probably affected the family. you realise how... you know, 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 among these groups. this concept of hesitancy, we've alljumped onto it only a small proportion have been offered the vaccine. without the data showing who has taken it up we are going to struggle to understand what is going on. the government says it's working closely with black, asian and minority ethnic 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. 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 time is 1:17. our top story this lunchtime: the prime minister visits scotland, saying it's important the uk works together in the fight against coronavirus, amid criticism from the scottish government. and coming up, double olympic champion helen glover on her return to rowing, as she targets another gold in tokyo. and coming up in sport on bbc news: england's paul casey off to a flying start in the dubai desert classic. he birdies the first four holes of his opening round and is just one off the lead. a team from the world health organization has come out of quarantine in china and is to begin on the ground investigations into the origins of the coronavirus

in the city of wuhan. the scientists will begin interviewing people from research institutes, hospitals and the seafood market linked to the initial outbreak. officials from the chinese government and the who spoke by phone this morning about the response to outbreaks of infectious diseases. our china correspondent, stephen mcdonnell, is in wuhan. this is the next stage, what happens next, what did they hope to achieve? we have been following the team around today. they left their quarantine hotel and went to another hotel, where, from now on, they will be able to sit down with a team of their chinese counterparts and have face—to—face discussions about the origins of the coronavirus. i think there has been a bit of a bit of a misunderstanding among people that this international team will be doing a lot of its own research to find out what caused the coronavirus. that's not really what

will happen. what they are doing is, they are seeing what the chinese scientists have already done and then wondering, well, where are the holes in our knowledge and then possibly in the future organising for other studies to be done, to chase down what started the coronavirus. what they won't be doing is in two weeks, coming out and telling us, we found it, we know what caused the coronavirus. they are telling us it will take a long time. it is a very complicated matter. and basically, everybody just has to wait. another thing they won't be doing is looking at the lab leak theory. they were saying in their view it's a conspiracy area. they will be focusing much more on this possibility that the virus came from bats into another animal and then into human beings. the biggest task that the chinese and international teams is going to be to get above the politics, to try and really focus on the data and chase down the science to attempt to

answer this question that the whole world wants to know, what caused the coronavirus?— coronavirus? stephen mcdonnell in wuhan, coronavirus? stephen mcdonnell in wuhan. thank _ coronavirus? stephen mcdonnell in wuhan, thank you. _ nearly one in three police officers in england and wales have reported having coronavirus used against them as a weapon. 32% of officers who replied to a police federation survey said someone they believed to be infected had threatened to breathe or cough on them. let's speak to our home affairs correspondent, daniel sandford. pretty dispiriting findings in this survey, daniel?— survey, daniel? yes, this is the first published _ survey, daniel? yes, this is the first published survey _ survey, daniel? yes, this is the first published survey and - survey, daniel? yes, this is the first published survey and the l first published survey and the largest published survey on what it's been like to police the pandemic. it is a survey of members of the police federation of england and wales, so constables, sergeants and wales, so constables, sergeants and inspectors in england and wales. they managed to get responses from one in ten officers in england and wales, so a very large sample size. what they discovered was that police

officers who had been out on the front line of the pandemic, 32% of them had experienced a situation where someone who they thought had the virus had threatened to breathe or cough on them. 30% of them had experienced someone threatening to spit on them. 21% of them said someone had actually tried to spit on them. there's also been some mental health issues, for example, two out of every five officers in the six months before the survey was taken at the end of november had at some point been in the same place as somebody who had died from natural causes. of course, many of them people who had died from covid—19. very often, police officers have been attending when people have died from covid—19 at home. the survey also asked police officers whether they had had covid—19 dusted 3% of them had had a positive test but a further 23% said they believed

either because of their own suspicion or because of medical advice that they had had covid—19. in the early days of the pandemic, it wasn't possible for everyone to have a tester many officers feel they did get the virus in those early days of the pandemic. beyond coronavirus itself, officers also reporting the attempts to attack them in the last year. 55% said they had suffered in an armed attack. 19% said they had suffered an attack with what could have been a lethal weapon. with what could have been a lethal wea on. with what could have been a lethal weaon. ., with what could have been a lethal wea on. ., ., ~ with what could have been a lethal weaon. ., ., ~ i. the uk passed the grim milestone of 100,000 deaths with coronavirus earlier this week. and for some who survive the virus, the struggle isn't over, as it can take very many months to get over its effects. our correspondent, tim muffett, has been speaking to people facing a long road to recovery. they turned around and said to me, "you're very, very ill with covid—19." they told my kids that i wasn't going to make it. as ali knows, surviving covid is one thing.

fully recovering is very different. at the moment, i'm finding it difficult to dress, i can't dress myself. i can't walk up the stairs. you know, i can't cook. ali spent more than 200 days in hospital last year, after being admitted in april. i managed to ring my daughter and i said to her, "look, "they're going to put me in a coma. "tell everyone i love them, and hopefully i'll see "you on the other side." and then, obviously, when i woke up, it was three months later. i had lung failure, kidney failure, liverfailure. i was on dialysis machines, i had another stroke, i had gangrene in my lungs, i had sepsis. it was like watching him in pain take every single breath, and watching somebody go through that — not being able to breathe, almost drowning

in their own fluids, and to have to watch that, and know that they're going through that every second of the day, it was incredibly hard. i can't afford to pay my bills. i'm not working and whatnot. i take life day by day. i take it breath by breath, you know? that's the only way to do it. i don't think about the future because i don't know what the future's going to bring. this was a journey clare feared she would never make. "we're going to put you in an induced coma, and you've "got 50% chance of survival." i thought, i've just got to come out the other side. and then they got a phone call at home to say i took a turn for the worse, and they give me two hours, and they said if i didn't improve in that two hours, they were turning the ventilator off. what was it like when you woke up from your coma? when i opened my eyes, i thought i was there were spacemen, because again, ijust thought i was in sapce. i didn't know where i was,

i was so confused. it's been very difficult. my mum and me are like really close. the impact of covid for so many means new challenges and a whole new way of living. tim muffett, bbc news. the stationery chain, paperchase, has been rescued singing has come to an end during the pandemic, in public anyway. but english national opera is offering a singing therapy programme to people who are suffering with long—covid, which can cause breathlessness, anxiety and fatigue. our arts correspondent, david sillito has been finding out how it works. she sings lullaby. 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. ..in breathing. i am breathing out ten. practice voice exercises. wonderful! 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 suzi zumpe from english national opera, who has a vital area of expertise. breathing. it's one of the things that's really hard if you've been unwell for a long time, is that you've potentially never been particularly conscious of how you breathed when you were well, then it's been a struggle, and 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 since then has spent months isolated, anxious and breathless. could you have ever imagined that, essentially, singing teaching could have helped? not in my wildest dreams, no, not at all. 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's helping people recoverfaster. with use of the lullabies that calm the patients and with use of the exercises that they do in between the classes, we can see that people's breathing patterns are better. # summertime and the... # but it's also about more than breathing. music can be healing in many ways. # fish arejumping...#. david sillito, bbc news. the vendee globe round the world sailing race has been won by the man who finished third, but was awarded a bonus of more than 10 hours, for his role in rescuing a fellow competitor. yannick bestaven was declared the winner when he arrived in france this morning. he'd gone out of his way to help a fellow frenchman in november, whose boat eventually sank off

the cape of good hope. helen glover only took up rowing in her 20s, but she went on to make history, winning two olympic gold medals in the coxless pairs with heather stanning. since then, she's been busy raising three children with her husband. now, she's decided she wants another shot at the record books — and is hoping to get back on the water for tokyo 2021. she's been speaking to sally nugent. helen glover, it is wonderful to see you in your natural habitat, right by the water. yeah, i know, it's dedication, isn't it? taking you out to the riverside with me! are you trying to tell us something? yeah, i'm dropping a big hint with the rowing machine behind me and being by the water. yeah, i've thought long and hard about a return to rowing, and, well, with the goal being to make the tokyo olympics. we should just explain to people at home who may be don't know, you have three very young children. just tell me their ages at the moment and what life is like for you.

yeah, ido. so, logan is two—and—a half and kitand bo, the twins, have just turned one. that on its own is a huge dedication, really. just trying to be the best mum i can be. what on earth made you want to get back in a boat as a mum of three very young children and put yourself through this once again? yeah, well, steve did come to me and say that most people's lockdown project is learning to crochet and mine was getting to the olympics! but, yeah, i think what happened was i was getting my fitness back from having the twins during that first lockdown, so just spending a lot more time on the rowing machine than i anticipated spending and getting fitter. i started to see scores that i used to get when i was on the rowing team and by summer, my scores had got pretty good and i contacted the rowing team and said, i'm just putting it out there that i'm thinking about whether i could return. i kind of expected things to change more and for us to be able to,

you know, go and see family and friends but we weren't. we were still at home and i was still training and it got to christmas time and i thought, well, i've got to follow through with this and turn up to a trial. so there was never a day where i woke up and thought, this is it, this is going to happen, ijust kind of kept going. how much care do you have to take in changing the way you train and what do you do, what's the difference now? i think i'm still discovering that. because this path is a bit untrodden, then i'm kind of going through it for the first time and having to learn the hard way a little bit. do you have that dream — the podium, the moment? is that in your head? before london and before rio, it was gold or nothing. it felt like the most important thing in the world, being on top of that podium and this time round, i can honestly say that my big picture is very, very different. i'm a mum and we're living in a pandemic and we've got all of these things that daily and constantly remind me that sport

is not the most important thing. it's a real privilege to get to do and it's exciting and i love it,