good afternoon. there's been criticism of the european commission from politicians across the uk in an escalating row over vaccines supplies. late on friday night, the commission reversed a decision which would have over—ridden part of the brexit agreement by imposing controls on the export of coronavirus vaccines from the eu into northern ireland — a move which could have seen checks on its border with the republic of ireland. the first minister of northern ireland accused the brussels of an "incredible act of hostility". our political correspondent

leila nathoo reports. how to avoid border checks between northern ireland and the irish republic was the issue that dominated the brexit negotiations. but last night, the prospect of a hard border on the island was raised again after the eu activated an emergency provision in the brexit deal in frustration over the pace of its vaccine roll—out. it is an absolutely incredible act of hostility towards those of us in northern ireland. it was nothing to do with making sure that northern ireland was in a peaceful state and all to do with the european union's vaccine embarrassment and mismanagement. the prime minister now needs to act very quickly to deal with the real trade flows that are being disrupted between great britain and northern ireland. the eu announced controls of exports of vaccines produced in the bloc and wanted to stop any doses entering northern ireland

as a back route into the uk. but the commission quickly reversed its decision after condemnation from westminster, belfast and dublin. as a joint duty of care, we need to apply that vigorously in northern ireland and we need to have that spirit of cooperation across the new relationship that we've got with our eu friends and partners. the eu is scrambling to secure vaccines for its member states, it's in a dispute with the firm astrazeneca about whether doses should be diverted from the uk to the continent to meet commitments already made. late last night, the european commission's president, ursula von der leyen, said she'd had a constructive conversation with borisjohnson and they'd agreed there would be no export restrictions when companies where fulfilling contractual responsibilities. downing street said last night that the prime minister had grave concerns about the potential impact

of the eu's actions, but ministers maintain they are confident in the uk's vaccine supplies. number ten is yet to comment on the eu's reversal over northern ireland. but this episode risks souring relations, fuelling suspicion of brussels in westminster and raising concerns about how the eu may behave in the future if its interests are threatened. leila nathoo, bbc news. kevin connolly is in brussels. not much further news from the eu this morning — how is this all being viewed in european capitals? you get the impression that having threatened those border controls in northern ireland very abruptly and then lifted them, if anything, more abruptly, the european commission is taking a little bit more time to consider its next moves. that is because there is considerable pressure from those european capitals. there are shortage of the vaccine in paris and madrid and wealthy cities in germany with very

capable vaccination centres operating at a fraction of capacity because of the shortage of the vaccines. the initial reaction in europe has been to hint at some sort of skulduggery on the part of britain to look at how drug companies are handling their dealings. but the european commission knows that very quickly, theissue commission knows that very quickly, the issue in europe is going to be how competently the european commission has handled all of this. because it was the commission that insisted on taking the responsibility away from member states, putting itself front and centre, so how well do to get the business done, how well did the science understood? those are the big questions it faces.— big questions it faces. kevin connolly in _ big questions it faces. kevin connolly in brussels, - big questions it faces. kevin connolly in brussels, thankl big questions it faces. kevin - connolly in brussels, thank you. borisjohnson has published an open letter to parents, saying he's "in awe" of how they're coping with home—schooling. the prime minister also repeated a pledge to invest in a national education catch—up programme after the pandemic. earlier this week, the government confirmed england's schools would remain closed to most pupils until the 8th of march —

at the earliest. a man has been charged after a suspicious package was sent to a coronavirus vaccine production site in north wales. all staff had to be evacuated from the wockhardt site in wrexham on wednesday and production halted while the package was investigated. 53—year—old anthony collins, from chatham hill, has been remanded in custody to attend maidstone crown court next month. midwives are warning that the implementation of coronavirus rules in some maternity wards is causing confusion and upset to families — in some cases leading to health workers being verbally abused. last month nhs england changed its guidance to try to ensure pregnant women can have a person of their choosing at all maternity appointments and at the birth itself. but the bbc has found that isn't always possible. our health correspondent anna collinson reports. gemma, this is jacqui and jacqui, this is gemma. can i have a look at your bump?

yep. aw! these two women both know what it is like to be pregnant in lockdown. gemma is due in two months. she's hardly left home since november and has gone to most appointments alone. the biggest feeling is probably anxiety at the minute. jacqui gave birth to evie last year and hopes her experiences will help gemma. throughout the pandemic, the priority has always been for a woman to have a partner, relative or friend present during labour and birth. but last month, nhs england updated its guidance to say a support person is an integral part of care and should also be able to attend scans, appointments, if the woman feels it is important, and antenatal and postnatal wards. we've spoken to more than 20 trusts and found services vary. midwives say stricter rules may be in place because of local infection rates and limited space

on the wards. you might have four or six beds in a bay and so, you can imagine if you then have, on top of the six women in the bay, the six babies, you know, you've then got to think is it safe, is it possible for us to have all six partners there as well at the same time, and to be able to socially distance? jacqui's husband tom had to leave shortly after she gave birth. it's what gemma is most worried about. if you're on your own, you miss out on that time as a family. yeah. and itjust, yeah, worries me how i'd cope with all of those emotions, as well, and not knowing what i'm doing with the baby. yeah, i completely understand. there's so much support for you, be it in the form of the midwives, the nhs staff, but also the other mums that are going to be there going through it with you. so this is evie. do enjoy, like, the rest of your pregnancy but enjoy

the birth as well, because, you know, when they get handed to you, it is literally the best feeling in the world. say bye—bye then. say bye—bye! bye! anna collinson, bbc news. with all the sport now, here's ollie foster at the bbc sport centre. good afternoon. as many as 30,000 tennis fans will be allowed to attend next month's australian open. the minister for sport in the state of victoria says that will be the daily limit for the first eight days in melbourne before being reduced to 25,000 from the quarterfinals onwards. that's about 50% capacity. the tournament starts on the 8th of february. it will not be the same as the last few years, but it will be the most significant international event with crowds that the world has seen for many, many months. there'll be no fans in india for england's cricket tour. they are in chennai ahead of the first test that starts on friday.

ben stokes and jofra archer have trained today after being rested for the recent series in sri lanka. with most of the players in quarantine until tuesday, freshening up the squad has become more important. the ecb have been really forward thinking, ifeel, for us as the ecb have been really forward thinking, i feel, for us as an england group to rotate players in and out of the series. i am sure at times there is frustrations, because you want to see the best players on show all the time, but it's just not possible with the amount of cricket and the amount of time spent in bubbles to help keep people healthy doing that. it's been a good day for england's james vince in australia, an unbeaten 98 helped sydney sixers reach the big bash league final. the holders beat perth scorchers by nine wickets. there was a dilemma for thousands of football fans this week. it was the deadline for getting refunds on their tickets for the european championship but will it go ahead across 12 cities as planned and will only home fans be allowed into matches. joe lynskey spoke to some

of those with tickets. nine years ago, uefa had their big idea, a tournament that hops round a continent. in 2012, it was controversial. in 2020, it was impossible. but still, they say, the plans will go on, a year later. 12 cities are still in place to host and fans have had to choose to keep or lose their seats so where does this leave them? we've got two games in baku in azerbaijan, i cancelled those this week. ijust can't see how it's possible that we will be going to azerbaijan to watch football in four months�* time. no way. i couldn't stand it if england were playing and i was not there at the tournament, so we are keeping hold of our tickets. i would rather take the risk. | the scotland fans that still have | tickets, i get the impression that most have kept them. i can't really see a reason for- asking for a refund at this stage. when there is so much uncertainty, how do you feel like uefa are treating the fans? i think they should have made a decision earlier. they are telling us we're still going to baku in four months. it's ridiculous.

it's very difficult because nobody actually knows what is going to happen over the next few months. i can tell you now, just being there isjust so magical, i would leave it to the day before to cancel it, to be honest. i agree completely. i think it is too early. to make a call on this. the landscape is- changing all the time. uefa will refund games behind closed doors or if they are moved away from the host city. they want a solution by april. all the games could go to one country or only home fans could attend. but that would not be the same, especially for scotland. they have waited 23 years for this. it would be absolutely heartbreaking. - it would be typical scotland! when i have spent my entire life waiting for this to happen. - yes, glyn and guy, do you want to describe to laura what it is like to have that tournament experience? i was on cloud nine, everybody�*s buzzing, everybody�*s just so excited, on top of each other. laura, it is a fantastic atmosphere. hang in there, hopefully they will get it going. i would love it to be that they would allow a certain quantity of fans into the stadiums and i think the players would like that as well.

with five months to go, there is still hope but the tournament that spans 3,000 miles has to find a way forward. joe lynskey, bbc news. police have arrested a man on suspicion of racially abusing the west albion midfielder, romaine sawyers. the club contacted the police after their player was targeted online. a 49—year—old man is being questioned. west brom are playing fulham at 3:00pm, that's on bbc one. one other match under way in the premier league, everton versus newcastle. that is goalless approaching half—time. keep up to date with that on the bbc sport website. that's it. the next news on bbc one is at 5:10pm — bye for now.

hello. you're watching the bbc news channel with shaun ley. let's return to our main story this hour, and the european union has backed down from using an emergency clause in the brexit deal to restrict the movement of coronavirus vaccines to northern ireland. the plan, which could have seen checks at the irish border, sparked outrage at westminster and stormont, while the bloc�*s chief brexit negotiator, michel barnier, urged brussels "to step back" from its row with the uk over

a shortage of vaccines in europe. dr liam fox is former international trade secretary, he gave me his reaction to the eu's backtracking. i think the first thing is the great contrast between the very measured and proportionate way the british government dealt with this yesterday compared to the confusion in the commission, and i think that the rather statesman—like way that the prime minister dealt with it in his conversations with the european commission president was in stark contract with some of the behaviour from people like president macron in recent days. i think the real issue here is about both the eu's decision making process and what the eu see as their wider role. for example, who thought it was a good idea to invoke article 16? the buck has to stop somewhere, where does it stop? why did they not think it was a good idea to tell the irish government, who are a member of the eu, after all?

obviously, this had a major impact on them. and what does this tell us about the bar that is set by the european union about any future application of article 16? remember, all the time and detail that was gone into with the withdrawal agreement and the pre—trade agreement with the european union about how precious the northern ireland agreement was, why there must not be a hard border, and yet at very little requirement and no notice, the european union were willing to impose that hard border on northern ireland. i mean, it was like an episode of carry on up the commission, except that it wasn't funny, and it means there are a lot of question for the european union to answer about its internal workings before we get to the wider role and the criticism of the who and of developing countries about the eu's general attitude. i want to ask you about that

question of vaccines, because you are — as people may not know, you are a gp, a trained doctor. you obviously have serious knowledge and concern about the medical side of this question, of dealing with the pandemic. just on the politics, though, you heard what arlene foster said. she is unhappy anyway about the protocol, you know that, the dup felt they had been promised one thing and the uk government, borisjohnson, did a deal with the european commission that effectively created a border in the irish sea as opposed to a border between northern ireland and the republic of ireland. and she is saying that some products are not coming from great britain because of the way this protocol is being applied. there are questions that we have to ask about the application of that, and those details will need to be ironed out, but i think there is a bigger question here, which is about the northern ireland irish border itself, because this was the central element, if you remember, when those discussions about the withdrawal agreement

during all those turbulent times in parliament, and of course we made concessions as a uk parliament to the european union on the basis that, yes, we wanted to ensure that the northern ireland agreement, the belfast agreement, was fully implemented, that there was no threat of a hard border, and after all those concessions the united kingdom made to try to ensure that that was the case, we get the european union, almost on a whim, introducing that hard border. now, it was corrected, they withdrew that yesterday, but what we have seen is a potential sign of intent, and i think that will worry the government, the british government and all those parties in northern ireland, and for good reason. you heard the concerns being expressed again this weekend by the who about the risk of vaccine nationalism, as it puts it. but from a humanitarian point of view, from a medical point of view, how concerned are you about achieving vaccine supply around the world,

particularly to countries that cannot actually afford, or don't want to pay for the vaccination of their own people? the uk has already put a lot of money into the international fund for this, it has been a world leader. we have also been at the forefront of developing vaccines, and since 2016, the uk has been all out to improve our ability to produce vaccines and to develop new ones. so, we are in a good position. part of the problem of the european union, to be very frank, they have been behind the game. the slow way in which they do things means that they are behind the curve, as the chief executive of astrazeneca said. they are a good three months behind the uk, and having teething problems getting their supplies. the wider issue, the bottom line is that we are not safe in a global pandemic until the whole of the world gets access to vaccines. and that has to be a major role of both the world health organization and the world trade organization

in ensuring that countries get access to it, and it is up to those countries, like the united kingdom who have given a lead to ensure that they are able to afford to buy them, and i hope that is a lead that is followed by others, because the consequences if we cannot make such a policy work is that a lot of people in the developing world will not have reduced rates of covid infection, and that will have an implication for all of us in a world where we travel more and where widespread trade requires us to move people. today is the anniversary of the world health organisation first declaring the covid—i9 outbreak a public health emergency of international concern. its director—general, tedros adhanom ghebreyesus, has warned countries against �*vaccine nationalism', saying drugs should be prioritised for use for those most in need around the globe. vaccines are giving us another window of opportunity to bring the pandemic under control.

we must not squander it. the pandemic has exposed and exploited the inequalities of our world. there is now a real danger that the very tools that could help to end the pandemic, vaccines, may exacerbate those same inequalities. vaccine nationalism might serve short—term political goals, but it's ultimately short—sighted and self—defeating. we will not end the pandemic anywhere until we end it everywhere. a world health organization team investigating the origins of the pandemic have visited a hospital in the chinese city of wuhan where some of the earliest confirmed cases were treated. the scientists are interviewing people from various research institutes and hospitals, and are also visiting the seafood

market thought to be linked to the initial outbreak. covid—19 was first detected in wuhan in late 2019, but china disputes that the virus originated there. more now that midwives are warning that confusion over coronavirus rules in maternity wards is upsetting families — and in some cases staff are being verbally abused. last month, nhs england changed its guidance to say pregnant women should be able to choose someone to be with them at all stages of the maternityjourney. but an investigation by bbc news has found that isn't always possible. elizabeth duff is from the national childbirth trust — the uk's largest parent charity — and she said women needed to be given clearer information. we will be very much the first to say that the midwifery and the other disciplines involved in maternity care, that incredibly valuable workforce must be protected against the infection and of course

against abuse in those very rare cases. but we are also asking for a lot of understanding of very individualised care for mums, particularly those perhaps with first babies. some of the feedback we have heard from women who are going through perhaps second or third pregnancies are able to be a bit more resilient and philosophical because they know what to expect, and they feel that they can get through without that extra support. but we do want, first of all, very clear communication. we have heard reports, which is extra distressing, where women have arrived at the hospital with their partner, either for a scan or actually in labour, expecting to be able to have both of them go in, and the partner has been turned away, either has to go home again, or if it is too far perhaps just wait outside in the car park. and that really is adding to the anxiety and the stress.

i suppose practical problems just about facilities — we heard from one doctor about some of those. i don't need to go over those again. but are you worried that there is kind of not a presumption, despite the guidance from the nhs, that there isn't a presumption in trusts that they should be doing this unless it is genuinely impossible to achieve it, for reasons obviously of safety? well, we absolutely hope that people are reading and following our guidance, and i was particularly welcoming the phrases in it about the whole maternityjourney, because for some women, some of the early bits, the antenatal scans and so on, are exceptionally important. for others, it's the process of labour, sometimes just those first few hours of postnatally with the baby, but they are all important and all extraordinarily crucial for partners to be there, both for their own engagement with the baby and to support

the women having the baby. so, having that partner as part of the whole maternity care team, i really liked that phrasing. that is crucial. so, it is getting that communication right and thinking it through, how we can get this to work for each one. we'll have to leave it there. thank you so much. funeral directors say they may have to ask bereaved families to pay any fines incurred if a service breaches coronavirus restrictions. the national association of funeral directors said it was "utterly ridiculous" its members risked penalties for doing a frontline job. police in hertfordshire fined an undertaker £10,000 when 150 mourners went to a ceremony last week. germany and france have tightened their border controls over fears new coronavirus variants might spread in europe. berlin says most visitors from britain, ireland, portugal,

brazil and south africa will be banned from saturday. most non—eu nationals will be excluded from france from sunday. the european union remains opposed to a blanket travel ban. the indian government has suspended mobile internet services in some areas surrounding the capital delhi, where farmers are continuing their protests against the new agriculture laws. the interior ministry said the internet shutdown in three locations would continue until sunday night to maintain public safety. in their latest action, the farmers are staging a one—day hunger strike, which coincides with the anniversary of the death of the independence leader, mahatma gandhi. when international visitors can eventually return to amsterdam, they may find one of the city's most famous tourist attractions off limits. amsterdam's mayor wants to ban foreign tourists from the dutch capital's cannabis cafes. but coffee shop owners say barring travellers will direct them

into the hands of criminal gangs. anna holligan has more. amsterdam, famous for an array of things, including its thriving nightlife, red light districts, cannabis cafes and bars, attracting 20 million tourists per years. the city is currently in lockdown. some of its 850,000 residents would prefer after mark to resemble something closer to its current state rather than return to it was. this time last year, it would be crowded already with a drunk and stoned tourists, who are here solely to get lost, you know? the stoned tourists, who are here solely to get lost, you know?— stoned tourists, who are here solely to get lost, you know? the mayor has a lan. to get lost, you know? the mayor has a plan- she — to get lost, you know? the mayor has a plan. she thinks _ to get lost, you know? the mayor has a plan. she thinks cutting _ to get lost, you know? the mayor has a plan. she thinks cutting off- to get lost, you know? the mayor has a plan. she thinks cutting off the - a plan. she thinks cutting off the life out of cannabis tourism body chair low—budget gas and reducing anti—social behaviour regularly

associated with them. the? anti-social behaviour regularly associated with them. they let go of all behavioural— associated with them. they let go of all behavioural discipline _ associated with them. they let go of all behavioural discipline and - all behavioural discipline and control command to start misbehaving, littering, shouting urinating, puking, whatever. the council has _ urinating, puking, whatever. the council has already tried other ways to reduce the pressure that comes with over tourism. he had been based were recently banned from the historic centre, and the future of the red light district as under discussion. coffee shops are the latest pleasure seeker�*s pursuit to be targeted. in latest pleasure seeker's pursuit to be targeted-— be targeted. in the red light district, there _ be targeted. in the red light district, there are _ be targeted. in the red light district, there are actually l be targeted. in the red light i district, there are actually only eight coffee shops left, so on the one hand you could say how much do they really contribute to the disturbance in the streets, because it in the same area, there is 500 places that serve alcohol, so i think the mayor feels like something needs to be done. i though i think refusing turners from the coffee shops is not the right way to make the centre of the city more livable

for the locals. the centre of the city more livable for the locals-— for the locals. how do you stop touch residents _ for the locals. how do you stop touch residents from _ for the locals. how do you stop touch residents from simply i for the locals. how do you stop - touch residents from simply becoming street dealers, facilitating sales to turn for a ban from these cafes? no one from the council was available to answer that, but they did give us this response. home available to answer that, but they did give us this response. none of the proposed _ did give us this response. none of the proposed measures _ did give us this response. none of the proposed measures can - did give us this response. none of the proposed measures can be - the proposed measures can be introduced without a risk of negative side effects, and all require careful implementation, a transition period and monitoring. cannabis is a big draw for this city, and some small business owners, like this fishmonger, i worried about the impact of the proposed ban. worried about the impact of the proposed ban-— worried about the impact of the proposed ban. worried about the impact of the ro osed ban. , ., ., , worried about the impact of the --roosed ban. , ., ., , ., proposed ban. there is going to be a lot less money _ proposed ban. there is going to be a lot less money here, _ proposed ban. there is going to be a lot less money here, and _ proposed ban. there is going to be a lot less money here, and we - proposed ban. there is going to be a lot less money here, and we are - lot less money here, and we are going to sell a lot less effects you are dubbed us summer's to people who are dubbed us summer's to people who are stoned and hungry.— are stoned and hungry. foreign tourists are _ are stoned and hungry. foreign tourists are hardly _ are stoned and hungry. foreign tourists are hardly likely - are stoned and hungry. foreign tourists are hardly likely to - are stoned and hungry. foreign tourists are hardly likely to be l tourists are hardly likely to be barred from amsterdam's cannabis cafes from next year.

a four—year—girl has discovered a rare dinosaur footprint on a beach in south wales. lily wilder and her family made the discovery at bendricks bay in barry in january. the footprint is 220 million years old and had been preserved in mud. palaeontologists say it's one of the best examples from anywhere in the uk and will help them to establish more about how early dinosaurs walked. now it's time for a look at the weather with chris fawkes. we have a big measure of weather to take us through the rest of the day. an area of low pressure, this area of cloud here is pressing the weather front northwards, and that is bringing rain widely across england and wales. there could be localised flooding across the southwest. as a springbok centre cold the air, it is turning to snow for some. cold the air, it is turning to snow forsome. particular cold the air, it is turning to snow

for some. particular across wales and the midlands, that is for the snow weather will be today, for north, much of northern england, ireland and scotland, bright sunshine, just a few showers across eastern areas. but it is cold, temperature is around 5 degrees. the greatest risk of disruption today, higher parts of wales, parts of the midlands, and in the high ground in wales, which could save 15 centimetres of snow, coming down thicken heavily, making for difficult travel conditions. 0vernight, that mixture clears away, and it is going to be a cold night, with a widespread frost and some icy patches to take us into sunday. that is your mother. hello, this is bbc news. the headlines... the eu backs down from using emergency brexit measures to restrict the movement of vaccines to northern ireland. the plan sparked outrage in london and belfast. but the eu's vaccine shortfall sees the bloc force pharmaceutical