tonight at ten — everyone over the age of 50 should be vaccinated against coronavirus by may, says the government. almost 11 million people have had their firstjab. the health secretary says as long as supplies hold, almost half the uk population should soon be protected. my goal is that i want is to be able to offer a vaccine to all over—sos, that's priority groups 1—9, by may. the number of new cases, hospital admissions and deaths continues to fall. we'll be asking how soon restrictions could be lifted. also tonight... a mother and daughter are killed in separate attacks in kilmarnock. a man also died in a crash that police believe was linked to the incidents. russia's prominent opposition leader, alexei navalny, is back in court — as a row between the eu and russia

over his treatment escalates. # edelweiss, edelweiss #. tributes to the actor christopher plummer — star of the sound of music — who has died at the age of 91. no, they can't, because the vice—chair�*s here. i take charge. and the perils of parish politics. read them and understand them! meet jackie weaver — the woman who went viral after their rather heated zoom meeting in cheshire. and coming up in sport on bbc news — a fairy tale in chennai. joe root scores a century in his 100th test appearance, as england take control in india. good evening. almost half the uk population — 32 million people — should receive their first dose

of coronavirus vaccine by may. the government says it expects all adults over the age of 50 — as well as the clinically vulnerable and those working in health and social care — to be offered their first jab by then. almost 11 million people have now had their first injection. the uk's medicines regulator says the latest research shows side effects from all the approved vaccines are minor and don't last long. here's our medical editor, fergus walsh. this is an immunisation production line. at epsom racecourse in surrey, they're doing 1,000 covid jabs a day. the government is so confident it'll reach its target of giving a first dose to the over—70s and front line health workers by mid—february it's now looking to the future. my goal is i want us to be able to offer a vaccine to all over—505 — that's priority groups one to nine - by may — there's a lot of things we have to get right

in order to hit that goal, and obviously supply is the most difficult of all of those, but we're currently on track for that. you might get a sore arm for a couple of days. new data confirms that side effects from covid vaccines are mostly mild, which should reinforce public confidence. it will take about three weeks from today for your body to build up the immune response. the 70 and 80—somethings in epsom were taking it all in their stride. they said there may be some side effects, but i've never, _ ever had side—effects with any - vaccines so i'm not expecting any. my wife has had hers already, and she just had a 24—hour soreness but that's all, and she was perfectly 0k afterwards, so i'm not concerned, no. it doesn't hurt and i feel so secure now. medical regulators are constantly monitoring covid vaccine safety. they've analysed 6.9 million doses given up to the 24th of january.

there were 22,820 reports of suspected adverse reactions, which equates to about three per 1000 doses. the vast majority were mild and included sore arms, headache, tiredness or fever, that generally lasted a couple of days. there were no unexpected serious adverse reactions, so the benefits of the covid—19 vaccines far outweigh the risks, and anyone who gets that invitation to go along for a jab should not hesitate. you can be confident that these are very safe vaccines. all medicines, including vaccines, can cause side effects. so the results of this safety monitoring are very reassuring — for those who've had their covid jab and for the tens of millions of us yet to get our invite. new research shows the oxford astrazeneca vaccine protects well against the more contagious kent

variant, but new variants are inevitable. so the government has signed up with a german biotech to develop future covid vaccines to try to keep pace in the arms race against the virus. fergus walsh, bbc news. the latest government figures show there were 19,114 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 19,823. that's the first time that figure has dropped below 20,000 for almost two months. across the uk, 30,508 people are in hospital with coronavirus — including suspected cases in wales. 1,014 deaths were reported — that's people who died within 28 days of a positive covid—19 test. it means the average number of deaths announced every day

in the past week is now 985 — the first time that has fallen below 1,000 for almost three weeks. the total number of deaths across the uk is now 111,264. the uk's programme of mass vaccinations continues. 480,560 people have had theirfirst dose of one of the three approved covid—19 vaccines in the latest 24 hour period, taking the overall number of people who've had their firstjab to very nearly 11 million. well, as cases come down and the numbers being vaccinated rises fast, more questions are being asked about how soon lockdown measures can be eased. here's our health editor, hugh pym. surge testing in action. in walsall, volunteers and council staff collect swab samples. it's one of the communities notified this week of cases of people testing positive with the south african variant. it's a mammothjob, but we're getting there. the boxes are slowly stacking up. so, a great response

from the community, so we just hope that continues. house—to—house visits continue, encouraging people to get tested, but the overall national picture is brighter, with falling daily case numbers — and in a weekly survey by the office for national statistics, which picks up those who are positive but don't have symptoms. the latest 0ns survey of community infection suggests in england last week one in 65 had the virus. it was the same in northern ireland. in scotland, it was one in 115. in all three, case rates were falling. in wales, one in 70 had the virus, with case numbers broadly unchanged. the latest r number range — anything above one suggests the virus is accelerating — was between 0.7 and one, a little lower than before. so which areas have the highest and lowest case numbers? sandwell, knowsley and corby have the most cases per 100,000 people, though they're falling.

the shetland islands, orkney islands and torridge in devon have the fewest. i think it's encouraging that hopefully we're going in a negative direction. less hospitalisation, less infections. but we probably need to go much, much further before we start thinking about rolling back the lockdown. another survey by the 0ns looks at attitudes during different lockdowns, while noting direct comparisons aren't straightforward. in the spring of last year, 81% said they were staying at home or only leaving for basic needs like shopping or exercise. but in the current lockdown, 57% say they're doing so. compliance with hand washing and mask wearing has stayed high. 90% said they're maintaining social distancing. but the pandemic�*s taking its toll on mental health. according to the survey, in the last week of january life satisfaction and happiness were at the lowest levels since research began in march 2020.

mental health charities say the findings tally with their experience. it's been quite overwhelming at times, and we're hearing from lots of people that they're struggling with depression and anxiety, worries about how the pandemic and lockdown is affecting their lives and the people they care about. with falling case numbers, there's a tension between the call to ease lockdown to improve people's well—being and the caution of scientists who argue it mustn't happen too quickly. hugh pym, bbc news. 0ur deputy political editor vicki young is at westminster. what people really do want to know is how soon restrictions could be lifted as yellow talking to ministers this week there is no doubt there's a sense of optimism that really wasn't there before. but ou can that really wasn't there before. but you can also _ that really wasn't there before. elf you can also detect underlying anxiety after everything that has happened over the last few months and that really is leading to a cautious approach. what are they worried about? they are worried about case numbers, they are still

pretty high and they are concerned if they open too soon those will rebound up back very heavily. they are worried about too many people of course still being in hospital. now of course the more that people are vaccinated the loud of those calls grow for things to be unlocked. now what the government is waiting for is more detailed analysis of exactly how the vaccines are having an impact, particularly of course in those people who are older and more susceptible to covid. we do have some dates, particularly for england. first of all the 8th of march, we know more pupils will go back to school. we know that local elections will take place on the 6th of may. the big unknown, what will happen between those two dates, how much will be opened up. the prime minister has promised to tell us but not for another two and a half weeks. . ~' ., not for another two and a half weeks. n' ., ., ~' not for another two and a half weeks. a ., ., ~ i. the government has invited submissions from dozens of hotel groups to secure the thousands of rooms needed for its quarantine plans. from the 15th of february, people returning from 33 countries

considered covid hotspots will have to spend 11 days in approved accommodation at their own expense. here's our transport correspondent, caroline davies. running a covid—secure hotel is not business as usual. on top of cleaning and virus—killing air purifying machines, this hotel reassessed all of its safety protocols, and finally got insurance to have covid—positive guests staying here. it took us approximately three months of satisfying our insurers with all the risk assessments and method statements to get this in place. so do i think they will be able to turn it round in ten days? i doubt it very much. this is the sort of room quarantine guests could stay in. now, according to the guidelines, quarantine would last for 11 days. the hotel have to provide three meals and they would have to have ensuite facilities. and guests staying here would have two covid tests during the course of their stay. but some of the guidance has been questioned. the corridors of this hotel are monitored by cctv, but the guidelines do say that if you want to go out for a breath of fresh air orfor a cigarette, you can, you just need to be

accompanied by security. as well as being time—consuming, this hotelier is not convinced it would be safe. 0ur virologist would not allow it. once the person is in the room they have to stay there, self—isolating for ten days. because the hotel isn't by an airport, the hoteliers don't know if it will be chosen by the government. quarantine hotels have been in place in australia since march 2020. welcome, everyone. i'm so happy to be able... last week vera van der slot and her australian husband spent two weeks in a perth hotel room teaching online yoga classes. we don't have a balcony or a window that opens. the money side of it is not the best. it's quite a lot of money. but it also costs money to put us up in a hotel. their stay cost nearly £1,900. the uk estimate is currently just over £1,000. but some hotels are already warning it could cost more. further proposals are expected soon.

a number ten spokesperson said, "no formal contracts had yet been agreed with hotels, and it was vital that the government got this right from the start." what will happens when passengers arrive? in hong kong, arrivals are given a security bracelet that they have to wear for their three—week hotel quarantine stay, and they're tested before they're bussed to their hotel. the uk procedures aren't likely to look like this, but there are no official guidelines yet for airlines and airports. today, heathrow airport said, "this is a very complex initiative." and while they remain supportive, time is ticking. it's nowjust over a week until the first guests arrive. caroline davies, bbc news. a mother and daughter were killed last night in separate attacks in kilmarnock. a 40—year—old man died in a car crash south of the town a short time later. police believe the crash was linked to the incidents. from kilmarnock, our scotland correspondent lorna gordon reports. emma robertson coupland and nicole anderson, a mother and daughter described

as "beautiful girls taken far too soon". last night both were fatally attacked, emma in the car park of a large hospital on the edge of kilmarnock where she was employed by the nhs, then, 20 minutes later, her daughter nicole, who was on shift at a take away a couple of miles away was stabbed. she was taken to the hospital where her mother had worked, but died later. there were police everywhere. there was a helicopter going about. there had been a couple of stabbings apparently. police are linking both deaths to a third incident — a fatal car crash in which 40—year—old steven robertson was killed. the investigation into what exactly happened here, and why, continues, but local people have been left in shock. i've stayed here about 30—odd years now and i've never seen anything like it. i feel upset for the family, it's devastation. for three hours last night, this hospital complex was locked down. police remain here today, but they say their inquiries

indicate that all three incidents were linked and they're not looking for anyone else in connection with the deaths. staff at the hospital who treated one of their own have been offered extra support. they and the nearby community now left struggling to understand the sudden and violent nature of these shocking events. lorna gordon, bbc news, at crosshouse hospital, kilmarnock. a row between the european union and russia over the treatment of the prominent opposition leader alexei navalny has escalated. russia has expelled three diplomats who it says took part in unauthorised protests in support of mr navalny, who has beenjailed for two and a half years for fraud. he was back in court today on a separate charge. from moscow, steve rosenberg reports. it's becoming a familiar sight — president putin's nemesis on trial. alexei navalny had already been sentenced to two and a half years

in prison this week, for a parole violation. slander was the charge now. he insists it's political persecution. i appeal for his release. across town, the eu's foreign policy chief was calling for mr navalny�*s release. it didn't go down well. first, russia's foreign minister called the eu an unreliable partner and accused courts in the west of political verdicts. then his ministry expelled three eu diplomats, claiming they'd attended rallies in support of mr navalny. the eu condemned the move. moscow expected international outrage over the jailing of alexei navalny. there's talk in the west of possible measures that would target vladimir putin's inner circle. the kremlin, though, has long taken the view that sticks and stones

may break its bones, but sanctions will never hurt it. meanwhile, mr navalny�*s supporters have decided to pause their protests until the spring. in the last two weeks, across russia, thousands of protesters have been detained. with police cells full in moscow, hundreds have been locked up in this deportation centre. like dmitri and sergei, who we managed to contact. sergei, on the left, is a journalist. he wasn't at the protests, but he retweeted a post about them and was jailed for 25 days. "the authorities see journalists as part of the protest "movement now," sergei says. "we're coming under pressure." outside the makeshiftjail, people have been queueing for hours in the cold to deliver food parcels

to their loved ones. "i used to vote for putin," says yulia, whose husband was arrested. "i never will again." the russian authorities can crack down on dissent. what they can't do is force people to stay loyal to the kremlin. steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. the boss of barclays says britain's banking and financial services industries should now focus their energy on competing with the us and asia, rather than the eu. jes staley says brexit offers one of the uk's most important sectors the opportunity to set its own agenda. our business editor, simonjack, has the story. it's not everyone's favourite industry, but financial centres like canary wharf are home to arguably one of our most important. this industry employs over a million people across the uk.

it's nearly 100 times more economically significant than fishing and pays a whopping 11% of all taxes paid and, yet, was almost totally ignored in the brexit deal. financial services, one of the uk's most profitable, most successful and most innovative industries and, yet, on january 1st, this sector was essentially handed a no—deal brexit. and yet, in the corridors of these financial palaces, you do not hear the same alarm that would have caused in other industries. why? it's about size, power, and the fact that the eu is not really the competition. jes staley — wall street veteran, now boss of barclays — says the post—brexit focus should be global, not european. brexit gives the uk the opportunity to define its own agenda, and in defining that agenda around financial services, i think what london needs to be focused on is not frankfurt, or not paris — it needs to be focused on new york and singapore. i think that's how you want to drive

the financial industry in the uk. it's worth remembering that two thirds of finance jobs are outside london and this hasn't been painless. across the industry, £1 trillion and an estimated 10,000 jobs have left. there has been some rebalancing, some movement of business, and we regret that. we don't want to see things move. but we are where we are, there's plenty more that happens here. let's focus on the strength that we have and let's build for the future. the uk continues to attract the finance companies of that future, but setting up here is not the no—brainer it used to be. brexit has made some look elsewhere. dublin and amsterdam are two places that we know were benefactors - of that specifically. lots actually came to london l to start a business because it's a really great jumping—off point to expand into europe, - and that close relationship - is something that many of them feel was important and want - to prioritise, as we go forward. banks, accountants, insurers, law firms, all clustered together. it's one of the uk's big draws, but does that even matter any more?

i think people want to get back to offices. when the government starts to open up stores and restaurants, etc, you'll see this building packed pretty quickly, i think. in our own minds, what we're currently thinking is early—summer. the uk government thought that financial services could look after itself. on this evidence, maybe they were right. the chancellor will certainly hope so. simon jack, bbc news. almost one and a half million small businesses that borrowed money through the government's bounce back scheme — to help them survive the pandemic — will be allowed to repay sums over a much longer period of time. the bounce back scheme was introduced in may last year to get loans of up to £50,000 to struggling businesses, guaranteed by the government. the news comes as investigators start work to try to track down criminal gangs who are thought to have targeted the bounce back scheme and managed to steal billions of pounds.

angus crawford reports on the teams tasked with getting some of the money back. today's operation is to do with a bounce back loan fraud. 0ut before dawn... ..fraudulently obtained a £50,000 loan by claiming that he's a landscape gardener. ..a small team of specialists. these officers are investigating a new kind of fraud — people suspected of illegally claiming tens of thousands of pounds from the government's bounce back loan scheme. they're from the national investigation service, which probes financial crime, now rooting out fraud in the government's covid—support schemes. the scale of the problem is extremely large at the moment. we're operating across the country. we have numerous operations planned. and my message to those that are committing this crime is that we will be investigating you. this is money that was meant for legitimate businesses, and that they're to expect a visit from us and our policing partners. so, those people should be nervous?

yes, they should be, yes. the scale of the fraud could cost the taxpayer billions, and it hasn't stopped. look at this. we found limited companies being touted for sale on facebook, ebay and gumtree, and some ads make it clear they could be used to get bounce back loans. we got in touch with some of them. they told us it was easy... and lucrative. one said he'd sold hundreds of companies. and do you think everyone you've sold a company to recently has got a bounce back loan, or tried to? the bounce back loan scheme is designed to support uk - smaller businesses...

it's perfectly legal to sell a company online, but the treasury says it's not in the spirit of the scheme — meant to help firms hit by covid, and giving advice on getting a fraudulent loan could be a crime. you can apply for a loan... anything up to 29, 30 billion of these bounce back loans, these quick loans to businesses, could be fraud or lost due to error and things. so, potentially, one of the biggest frauds in history. stepping up the pressure on covid fraudsters. here, an arrest by the national crime agency. but with thousands of fraudulent claims to investigate, and billions of pounds at stake, these teams will be busy for years to come. angus crawford, bbc news. tributes have been paid to the actor christopher plummer, who has died aged 91. born in canada, he was best know

for his role as captain von trapp in the oscar—winning film the sound of music. 0ur arts editor, will gompertz, looks back at his career, which spanned six decades. # these are a few of my favourite things # when the dog bites...# christopher plummer in 1965, as the fine, upstanding captain von trapp, playing opposite julie andrews' maria in the sound of music. hello. fraulein, did i not tell you that bedtime is to be strictly observed in this house? the versatile, charismatic actor said he only did the movie so he could sing, and therefore wasn't pleased when he found out his voice would be overdubbed. # edelweiss # every morning, you greet me...# it is the role for which he will always be remembered, but for such a long time, wished people would forget, making his disdain for the film

clear by renaming it the sound of mucus. yes, i did say that, but so did we all. we alljoked about the sound of music. you have to, when you do something very delicate and sentimental and coy, in order to avoid being sentimental and coy, you have to joke about it and see the funny side of it. christopher plummer was born into a wealthy canadian family, his great—grandfather was the country's third prime minister. he considered becoming a concert pianist, but chose acting instead, making his name first on stage playing lead roles such as shakespeare's henry v, for which he gained comparisons to laurence olivier. and upon this charge, cry... "god for harry! england!" and st george! he brought weight and humanity to the role of rudyard kipling in the man who would be king. a character actor of rare skill, he reached new heights when he entered his 805. where did you get these?

and he became the oldest 0scar acting nominee when he replaced kevin spacey asjohn paul getty in ridley scott's film all the money in the world. the great struggle in life is coming to grips with what that price is. christopher comes with this inordinate charm, a smile and his twinkle, the twinkle and smile somehow make him that much more effective. it makes him quite lethal, but in a charming way. julie andrews said of christopher plummer tonight, "the world has lost a consummate actor today, and i have lost a cherished friend." christopher plummer, who's died at the age of 91. england cricket captainjoe root marked his 100th test with a hundred of his own, as england made an impressive start to the first test against india. he was 128 not out at the close of day one in chennai.

andy swiss watched the action. applause 100 in his 100th test match. what a player! if sport is all about timing, well, itjust doesn't get better than this. forjoe root, an unforgettable finale to an unforgettable day. he'd begun it celebrating a different century — his 100th test cap. and if the head gear was sparkling, well, so was what followed. under the hot chennai sunshine, his team wobbled at first, rory burns succumbing to a rush of blood. and it's the first wicket down for england. and when dan lawrence quickly followed, india were proving just why they're among the world's best. but so is root, and with good reason. pure class. after hundreds in his previous two tests, a hat—trick was clearly in his sights. wherever india bowled at him, well, that was his answer. and the end result was gloriously inevitable. root�*s only the third englishman to make 100

on his hundredth appearance — inspired, he said, by his team—mates. yeah, i was a little bit emotional. last night, the guys actually put a little together for me, sent some lots of videos from some past players and friends and family. to start the series in the way that we have, it couldn't have gone any better. indeed, nothing could stop him — not even a late bout of cramp, to which india sportingly lent a helping hand. they did get some reward before the close, trapping the doughty dom sibley for 87, but it was england's day and, above all, it was his. andy swiss, bbc news. a woman who went viral after a chaotic parish council meeting says she's surprised by her newfound fame. jackie weaver was hosting the meeting in cheshire on zoom when things got a little out of hand, as our correspondent judith moritz reports. will you please let the chairman speak?! this must be the first time that a parish council meeting has been watched more

than five million times... you have no authority here, jackie weaver. no authority at all. ..but this meeting had all the drama of a political blockbuster. don't, don't... she's kicked him out. jackie weaver was hosting the environment committee, over zoom. a row erupted over who should be in charge, and when things got heated, mrs weaver removed some of the participants. i take charge! read the standing orders. read them and understand them! she gasps handforth, in east cheshire, is usually a peaceful, even sleepy, enclave, but this morning, the village woke up to find its parish council had put it on the international map. and the internet has some new cult figures. you have no authority here, jackie weaver... did it surprise you, seeing the council meeting? yes. to be honest, i didn't even know who was in the council until i actually watched them, but i found it quite laughable. oh, it's better than reality tv. it's the funniest - thing i've ever seen.

if that's real life, just carry on.