this is bbc news. the headlines at seven. the government calls for a reset in relations with the eu following a row over the supply of vaccines and the now—abandoned attempt to override part of the brexit agreement. i think the european union recognise they made a mistake in triggering article 16, which would have meant the reimposition of a border on the island of ireland. we were told that under no circumstances could the european commission countenance a border between northern ireland and the republic of ireland, but yet, 29 days into the protocol, they are quite happy to invoke it, whether it is in their interest and the interest of the european bloc. the prime minister publishes an open letter to parents, saying he's "in awe" of the way

they're coping with home schooling. confusion over coronavirus rules in maternity wards — midwives warn a lack of clarity means some staff are being abused. five men have been arrested following a �*disturbance�* at a former military barracks in kent, being used to house hundreds of asylum seekers. a four—year—girl has discovered a rare dinosaur footprint on a beach in south wales. well, we just literally were walking along the beach doing the usual thing, looking for shells, and what have you, and lily said, daddy, look at this, and there it was. and newcastle united pick up their first premier league points of 2021, after winning 2—0 at everton. that and the rest of the day's sport in sportsday at 7.45.

good evening. the government says the european commission recognises it made a mistake threatening to impose controls on the export of coronavirus vaccines from the eu into northern ireland. it was a decision that could have seen checks on its border with the republic of ireland. the move — which was reversed late last night — came amidst a deepening row over vaccines supplies. the first minister of northern ireland accused brussels of an "incredible act of hostility". michael gove insists the uk will work with the eu to address issues — and that the uk's vaccine programme is still on track. our political correspondent nick eardley reports. the great hope for so many of us. vaccines could be a way out of the coronavirus crisis. this wasjoanna, a nurse, becoming the first person jabbed in northern ireland last month.

ministers think the uk roll—out is going well, but in europe there is frustration and delays, prompting brussels to introduce controls on vaccines leaving the eu. the plan, though, would have meant controls here, the border between ireland and northern ireland. that's despite the brexit deal being designed to keep goods flowing. there was a furious response last night, which led to europe changing its mind and saying the proposal had been an error. i think the european union recognise now that they made a mistake yesterday. the commission made a mistake. they didn't consult us, they didn't consult ourfriends in dublin, and they united parties in northern ireland, from sinn fein on one side to the dup on the other, in condemnation, and people in northern ireland were bewildered by this step. last night's row did something rare, uniting different sides of the political divide in the uk in opposition to brussels. ministers here are pleased that an immediate crisis has been

avoided, but they face calls from some to use the emergency powers themselves to protect trade between northern ireland and the rest of the uk. we were told that under no circumstances could the european commission countenance a border between northern ireland and the republic of ireland, but, yet, 29 days into the protocol, they are quite happy to invoke it when it's in their interest. i do fear that it has caused some political damage, and it's given the brexiteers an opportunity to use it to their own advantage, and i think that's very unfortunate given the fact that there was a lot of attention and effort and dedication put into protecting the all—ireland economy. avoiding a hard border in ireland was one of the hardest tasks of the brexit negotiation, and that's why some here are so frustrated that europe seems to be willing to use its emergency powers so quickly, and although it's now changed its mind, there are questions over what this will do to trust between brussels and london,

and whether something similar could happen again. some are calling for a more conciliatory approach. we must do everything that we can, everything that we have in our power to find a solution, and any kind of vaccine nationalism, i think, is simply wrong. the european commission is still imposing some controls as it tries to speed up its vaccine programme, but, for now, a major row has been averted. as we heard, there, governments across the world are grappling with how best to roll out vaccines — with varying degrees of success. our health correspondent katharine da costa explains how the uk is faring. the uk's mass vaccination programmes are well under way, with more than 300 million doses on orderfrom seven different companies. three have already been approved, but only the oxford astrazeneca and pfizer/biontech vaccines are in use. supplies of moderna

are expected in the spring. this week, two more vaccines were found to be highly effective at protecting people from falling seriously ill with covid. if they are approved by the uk regulator, novavax could be available from the second half of this year. it's not clear when supplies of janssen would be available, but, unlike the other vaccines, that one only needs one shot, and it can be stored in a fridge, which could make a significant impact on the pandemic globally. so, how is the vaccination campaign going around the world? well, israel has taken an early lead, with 53 doses per 100 people. the uk is on 12 per 100. supply issues affecting pfizer and astrazeneca have meant countries like germany, spain and france are still lagging behind. one major concern scientists have is whether new variants could stop current vaccines from working as effectively. the good news is that novavax was found to be 86% effective

against the uk variant, and both novavax and janssen were found to be around 60% effective against the south african version. scientists are still studying the impact on current vaccines. early evidence shows that they are still pretty efficient, but companies say, if changes are needed, they could be tweaked within weeks or months, and, like flu, we may need new vaccines each year. katharine da costa reporting there. now let's take a look at the latest government figures there were 23,275 new coronavirus infections recorded in the latest 24—hour period, which means that on average the number of new cases reported per day in the last week is 25,519. the number of people in hospital is falling — with 34,783 currently in hospital. 1,200 deaths were reported, that's people who died within 28 days of a positive covid—19

test. on average in the past week, 1,177 deaths were announced every day. the total number of deaths so far across the uk is 105,571. vaccinated. ani 487,756 people have had their first dose of one 487,756 people have had their first dose of one of the three approved covid—19 vaccines in the latest 24 hour period. meaning nearly 8.4 million people in the uk have had theirfirstjab. and nickjoins me now. this row with the eu, michael gove trying to settle things down again, but you do wonder what was going on inside the commission.— inside the commission. absolutely, because the — inside the commission. absolutely, because the decision _ inside the commission. absolutely, because the decision yesterday - inside the commission. absolutely, | because the decision yesterday then reversed to invoke this article in the brexit deal which basically allows them to override the rules to avoid a hardboard on the island of

ireland, that decision infuriated everybody involved everyone in the process, and crucially everyone in northern ireland was furious, so we had this pretty quick reversal from the european union last night, but i suppose the question now is is that enough, and i suspect there has actually been a lot of damage done. firstly, trust, and we know that the brexit process, though it is officially over, it will . brexit process, though it is officially over, it will. still be officially over, it will still be, — in officially over, it will still be. — in the officially over, it will still lag, , in the background because continuing in the background because there's lots of things to be sorted out. this does nothing to trust. there is also the question of whether it lowers the bar for these emergency powers to be used in future. there are unionists in northern ireland have been knocking on borisjohnson�*s door saying, on boris johnson's door saying, look, on borisjohnson�*s door saying, look, when you look at supermarkets and the fact that some producers in northern ireland are struggling to get things from great british mainland, you should use these powers now to do the same thing, to get them from great britain to

northern ireland. i don't not think they want to do that, but if they want to do in certain circumstances. there's also this question of what on earth they were thinking, because as soon as it was announced, it was quite clear that the irish government, representations made by people involved in negotiating this protocol, saying stop it. change your decision. its ridiculous position to be in. that eventually happen, so, there is also the question of what is going on in the commission for it to get to that point where these more or warnings were not made, and i expect there will be making these points. it to leave the european _ will be making these points. it to leave the european union than with the headache of how to get supplies across the union as fast as they want, because some countries are weeks behind. want, because some countries are weeks behind-— weeks behind. that is right, and i think there _ weeks behind. that is right, and i think there is _ weeks behind. that is right, and i think there is growing _ weeks behind. that is right, and i think there is growing frustration | think there is growing frustration in the european union at the way this process has been handled by the

commission. remember, it's different in the uk. they have decided they will procure all vaccines for member states and then it will be rolled out by the commission. the process seems to be going badly at the moment, there is great frustration and the commission, that the astrazeneca contract is not being fulfilled, and there is a big dispute about whether astrazeneca is doing what it promised the commission. it insists it wasjust trying to make the contracts and had to make its best efforts and that is what is doing. i think those contestants will continue, but the uk government view is that the doses given in the last 24 a is, the view in whitehall in the uk government is that the process here is going very well and despite the fact that there are going to be new controls brought in by the european union on exports leaving all vaccines being taken by the single market and going elsewhere, some of them are supposed to be destined for the uk. the

government here is insisting it is absolutely confident it won't affect supply, absolutely confident it won't affect supply, and that things are on strike for the uk to meet its target of vaccinating everybody in the first dose in the top four risk categories for february. and we'll find out how this story — and many others — are covered in tomorrow's front pages at 10:30 and 11:30 this evening in the papers — our guestsjoining me tonight are the author &journalist, yasmin alibhai—brown and the executive chairman of the communications group, cicero, iain anderson. germany and france have tightened their border controls, over fears that 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. today is the anniversary of the world health organization first declaring the covid—19 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 and 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 is ultimately short sighted and self—defeating. we will not end the pandemic anywhere until we end it everywhere.

max lawson is head of inequality policy at 0xfam. thank you forjoining us. how is supply compared with demand around the world? surely there isn't enough vaccine at the moment to go around, evenif vaccine at the moment to go around, even if there was a political will to vaccinate all of those in the poorer countries. i to vaccinate all of those in the poorer countries.— to vaccinate all of those in the poorer countries. i think we have two things _ poorer countries. i think we have two things going _ poorer countries. i think we have two things going on, _ poorer countries. i think we have two things going on, a _ poorer countries. i think we have two things going on, a situation l two things going on, a situation where rich countries have bought enough vaccine to vaccinate every single one of their citizens three times over. so, i think no one, least of all 0xfam, is suggesting that everyone in the uk should all get a vaccine. my father was vaccinated last week, my mother is getting vaccinated next week, but we think that that hope, the freedom from fear that the vaccine brings, could come to everyone on earth, and could come to everyone on earth, and could come to everyone on earth, and

could come a lot quicker. the other main obstacle, apart from rich countries buying too much of the vaccine, is that we have a situation where we are respecting the intellectual property of pharmaceutical firms like astrazeneca and pfizer, we are allowing them to make a very big profit on these vaccines, even though the research behind the vaccines was funded by american and european taxpayers' money, so we are having limited supplies. astrazeneca has been unable to meet its commitments to the eu. why not have every vaccine company in the world producing these successful vaccines? why are we limiting it to individual companies? that is limiting supply notjust companies? that is limiting supply not just the companies? that is limiting supply notjust the eu, but the rest of the world, and developing countries will be lucky to vaccinate one in ten citizens in the next year on current numbers, so it is a serious issue, and many people are going to die around the world for the sake of the

profits of pharmaceuticals. pharmaceutical companies, those involved, saying they are not profiteering at all, and they have the money of their own in, but there has been... the money of their own in, but there has been- - -_ has been... that's 'ust not true. but a lot — has been... that's 'ust not true. but a lot «h has been... that's 'ust not true. but a lot of public_ has been... that'sjust not true. but a lot of public money, - has been... that'sjust not true. i but a lot of public money, billions of pounds of public money, has gone in, that's the argument for public source. ., i, in, that's the argument for public source. ., l, l, , , source. you have to distinguish between pfizer _ source. you have to distinguish between pfizer and _ source. you have to distinguish i between pfizer and astrazeneca, astrazeneca is not getting a profit, but pfizer are selling at a significant profit, up to 80% profit margin, and there vaccine is based on one developed in germany, based on one developed in germany, based on european money, which is another rich irony. the public money has flooded into developing these vaccines, which is why we have come so quickly, which are such an amazing achievement, but to see this public goods turned into an opportunity for profit and limited to pharmaceutical companies who we

think is crazy, and at a time like this makes no sense to have some of the biggest vaccine manufacturers in the biggest vaccine manufacturers in the world sitting idle unable to produce vaccines because they do not have the rights to them. the need to change, and borisjohnson could do a lot to fix that. he has so far defended the intellectual property of these firms and has said nothing about open source and sharing technology. about open source and sharing technology-— about open source and sharing technolo: . , , l, technology. given the number of deaths britain _ technology. given the number of deaths britain has _ technology. given the number of deaths britain has had, - technology. given the number of deaths britain has had, given - technology. given the number of| deaths britain has had, given the deaths britain has had, given the death rate in britain, surely it is right to use the vaccine that has been developed here, produced here, to get those numbers more under control. we have had 105,000 people die coded in the last 12 months. i completely agree. surely - die coded in the last 12 months. i completely agree. surely is - die coded in the last 12 months. i | completely agree. surely is right, thou~h? completely agree. surely is right, though? not— completely agree. surely is right, though? not every _ completely agree. surely is right, though? not every agrees - completely agree. surely is right, though? not every agrees with i completely agree. surely is right, i though? not every agrees with you. some people can talk about inequality, they're saying that actually we should be starting to ship it abroad to poorer countries right now, even to places where they are not seeing the death rate that

we have got in the uk. you are more nuanced than that? yes or no, i'm not suggesting that. i do think it is a bit over the top for rich countries to have bought is a bit over the top for rich countries to have bought enough to vaccinate their _ countries to have bought enough to vaccinate their population - countries to have bought enough to vaccinate their population several l vaccinate their population several times over. i think that is a version of hoarding, writing that should be shared. do i think it is the case ever in the uk should be vaccinated? absolutely. this is a false choice. we should not be full to choose between an elderly person in the uk and someone in senegal or indonesia. i used to in for 0xfam, i had a very good friend die in the last week, and why should we have to choose between people when we could smash through this intellectual property, and smash through, getting these across the board as fast as possible, and it is in all of our interest, because if we can control this disease before it mutates, and

can have a host of new set of vaccinations, it is and everyone's interest, we need to vaccinate the world as quickly as possible, and we will not do that by respecting the product the net profits of pharmaceuticals like pfizer. we need are people's vaccine, not a profit vaccine. 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. 0ur health correspondent anna collinson reports: gemma, this is jacqui and jacqui, this is gemma. can i have a look at your bump? yep. aww! these two women both know what it is like to be pregnant in lockdown. gemma is due in two months. she has 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. you cannot control it, but then there is this huge reward at the end that is just so completely worth it. what are you doing? 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 this is not always happening, and depends on where you live. take london as an example. 0ne trust in the east of the city allows support people on the postnatal and antenatal ward, but only at certain times.

if you travel a few miles north to a second trust, they allow visiting and overnight stays. now, that is in stark contrast to a third trust we spoke to, which has currently suspended visiting, because of safety concerns. 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 have 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? we've been told by some trusts that families have been confused and in some cases, it is led to staff being abused. what is your reaction to that? that is just hugely distressing to hear. you know, these are people who have worked throughout the pandemic night and day, trying to provide the highest quality maternity care in a really

frightening situation. 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 would 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. in terms of tom missing out on that time as a family, as soon as i came home, he took the reins and he was like "you go have a shower, go to sleep," you know, "i am fully rested and i have got this and i can take care of the baby" so that he got some one—on—one time with her as well. so this is evie. there she is. say hello. oh, look! hi! i cannot wait to have my

baby and cuddle it. i suppose that is what i have to keep in mind with everything going on, just at some point, we will be home with the baby, so... 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. west midlands police say two teenagers have been charged with the murder of 15—year—old keon lincoln. keon died after suffering gunshot and stab wounds in handsworth, near birmingham, on thursday last week. a 14—year—old boy from birmingham and 15—year—old boy from walsall have been remanded in custody to appear before birmingham magistrates�* court on monday. the prime minister has published an open letter to parents, saying he is "in awe" of how they are coping. he also promises "hundreds of millions of pounds" will be spent on a national education catch—up programme after the pandemic. here's our education editor branwen jeffreys. it's tough for millions of parents right now,

trying to help children learn at home. schools in england are mainly closed until march. today, borisjohnson said he couldn't thank parents enough. he said they are buying time for vaccination and that is saving lives. only a few children are still learning in school. parents and teachers are worried about lost learning. there is a promise in the letter of hundreds of millions of pounds for catch—up but it's going to be a big job. one of the schools i have responsibility for, fantastic place, serves a very deprived community, only 30% of those families have access to broadband in that area. only 30%. this is digital poverty in a really extreme way and it means that many children, despite the very best efforts of schools and teachers, still cannot connect with that learning. this warehouse is getting laptops to kids, more than 800,000 so far. but not every child will have

somewhere quiet to work or parents able to give them lots of time. leading to fears that children could pay a heavy price in this pandemic. we can now talk to parent carina white, who is also co—host of the black mums upfront podcast. thank you forjoining us. when you speak to parents, mums in particular, just how much are they trying tojuggle at particular, just how much are they trying to juggle at the moment? it’s trying to 'uggle at the moment? it's a lot, trying to juggle at the moment? it's a lot, it's trying tojuggle at the moment? it�*s a lot, it's definitely a lot. my safe, i work full time, i a lot, it's definitely a lot. my safe, iwork full time, i have a lot, it's definitely a lot. my safe, i work full time, i have a full—timejob, safe, iwork full time, i have a full—timejob, but safe, i work full time, i have a full—timejob, but i recognise i'm in a more privileged position in some of my friends, or other mums in my network. my daughter is in year six, logging onto her classroom lessons is quite good, but we are seeing mums within her network with

mums under six, underfive, seeing mums within her network with mums undersix, underfive, having more than one child in the household trying to fight for devices, having to share devices or not even having devices at all, so it's a real struggle for parents out there. the rime struggle for parents out there. the prime ministers said he is in all of what parents are having to do at the moment. how well do you think government ministers really understand the stresses and strains? i do not think they really do understand, if they did, he would not be writing an open letter to parents. we do not want an open letter, we want to see tangible action, we want to see decisions being made, and the right decisions being made, and the right decisions being made, and the right decisions being made, so that lockdown marriages aren't having to be implemented or continued to be implemented. we want assurance that the money that he says he will put into education recovery programmes are going to be tangible, and that in two, three, four, years time we

won't see another generation of children who are missing huge gaps in their education. you children who are missing huge gaps in their education.— in their education. you say tangible. _ in their education. you say tangible, what _ in their education. you say tangible, what does - in their education. you say tangible, what does that i in their education. you say - tangible, what does that mean in practical terms? it’s tangible, what does that mean in practical terms?— practical terms? it's looking at children as _ practical terms? it's looking at children as a _ practical terms? it's looking at children as a whole _ practical terms? it's looking at children as a whole and - practical terms? it's looking at children as a whole and not. practical terms? it's looking at| children as a whole and notjust saying, 0k, they are in year one, yet too, so we will teach them the curriculum at that level. it's really assessing the children, assessing their needs and what they need as a result of being at school for so long, and potentially could be grouping those children together so that they are being taught on ability and being taught in ability sets rather than everyone learning the same thing at the same time. it also exposed, a lot of people are saying, this digital divide, people who don't have access to good enough broadband or devices so that children can learn. how much is likely to feature in future planning? it likely to feature in future planning?— likely to feature in future ”lannin ? , , ., planning? it definitely needs to feature. planning? it definitely needs to feature- we _ planning? it definitely needs to feature. we are _ planning? it definitely needs to feature. we are living - planning? it definitely needs to feature. we are living in - planning? it definitely needs to feature. we are living in a - planning? it definitely needs to feature. we are living in a tech| planning? it definitely needs to i feature. we are living in a tech era now, and i don't feel it's

acceptable if you are expecting children to learn at home, we have over 4 million children in the uk in poverty. they have been provided by the government with thousands of laptops, but we have had to run advertising programmes ourselves to get people to donate laptops, getting people to buy laptops and tech to donate to schools. they should not be having to do that. if people don't have internet connection or they don't have broadband connection, how do they expect the children to learn online? if they have more than one child in a household and they are living in poverty, how do we expect the kids to be having a substantial education if they don't even have the tools to even access to education?-

even access to education? carina white, the _ even access to education? carina white, the host _ even access to education? carina white, the host of— even access to education? carina white, the host of black - even access to education? carina white, the host of black mums i white, the host of black mums upfront. a man has been charged after a suspicious package was sent to a coronavirus vaccine production site in north wales. the factory in wrexham was evacuated and production of the oxford astrazeneca vaccine stopped on wednesday. police say the item was not a viable device. anthony collins from chatham in kent, has been remanded in custody to appear at maidstone crown court next month. police are investigating after the body of a baby boy was found on a golf course on the wirral. merseyside police said the body was found in a wooded area at brackenwood golf course in bebington, wirral, on friday. a police spokesman said it was not clear when the baby died, what the cause of death was or how long the body had been there. a post—mortem examination is due to be carried out on monday. five men have been arrested following a disturbance at a former military barracks in kent being used to house hundreds of asylum seekers. kent police said a significant amount of damage was caused at the site in folkestone when a fire broke out.

they are appealing for anyone with information about the incident. the barracks has been used to house around 400 asylum seekers since september. 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. a little earlier, my colleague reeta chakrabarti caught up with lily and herfamily — who told her when they realised they'd discovered something spectatular. we were just walking along the beach, and there it was, this

amazing footprint. just unbelievably