this is bbc news. the headlines at six: a leaked document appears to reveal plans to reverse reforms made to nhs england and it would mean the health secretary would have more direct control. the chairman of the vaccines task force says he's confident the uk will be able to offer coronavirus jabs to everyone over 50 by may. police say a 24—year—old man in croydon has been taken to hospital after being stabbed. there have a spate of stabbing attacks in south london in the past 2a hours, with one man dying from his injuries. and england and scotland's six nations campaign is under way as the two sides face up at twickenham — scotland lead as the second half gets under way.

welcome to bbc news. in a few moments viewers on bbc one willjoin us for a round up of the news with kate silverton. but before that, a leaked document has revealed that borisjohnson is planning to sweep away david cameron's reforms of the nhs in england that could see a reduced role for the private sector. nhs commissioners would no longer be required to invite private companies to bid to run services and there would be more focus on hospitals and social care services working together to improve patient care. i asked our political correspondent ben wright to set out what changes were proposed in the leaked document.

this is very much in line with the direction of travel that the government had signalled over the last couple of years, ever since it published its long—term plan for the nhs, which in itself marked quite a break with how government has approached the health service over the last three decades really. right back to ken clarke in the �*90s when he introduced the internal market into the health service, through the controversial andrew lansley reforms of 2012, which cemented the idea of gp commissioning groups, competition being the key driver for improved services. now it's about i think bringing back the power of local authorities to work with hospitals, delivering health care far more locally for patients, and it seems increasing the power of ministers in whitehall to try and pull levers, a bit more of a simplified version of nhs structure that we have not seen for a while. that's what the draft white paper that has been leaked points towards, and eventually we will get legislation which really does unpick

many of those coalition government reforms that were put in place to try and rewire the way the nhs works. some people might wonder about the timing. i mean, the nhs is under such intense pressure at the moment, is this the right time to be introducing radical reforms? labour have certainly said, why now? why prioritise a restructuring just as the nhs is dealing with a pandemic? the nhs faces a huge number of challenges right now, notjust dealing with covid but there is a massive backlog of health care that has stored up because people can't get the treatments for all sorts of things that they are waiting to see their doctors and clinicians for, so they have to deal with that, there is a workforce shortage, there are long—term funding challenges facing the health care system. so restructuring alone will not solve any of those. but the government would argue that the fact that the nhs has had to respond so quickly to the pandemic showed how bureaucracy can be cut out,

how sort of various silos can be destroyed, how it can just work more efficiently when it needs to. i think that has probably galvanised thinking within the department of health to crack on with this sort of restructuring now. and some, of course, might say that the success of the vaccination programme demonstrates that, doesn't it? in terms of that and when lockdown might be lifted, we know that there is a small number of conservative mps who are keen for lockdown restrictions to be lifted sooner rather than later but others are much more cautious, so how difficult a balancing act is it for boris johnson? it's been tricky all the way through, of course, rebecca. although the rebellion by tory mps in january to the current lockdown restrictions was very small, only a dozen tory mps opposed them and yet there have been grumblings from them over the last five or six weeks. they are increasing, certainly, as the vaccination programme rolls out at speed. they want these restrictions lifted as quickly as possible. they are saying may should absolutely be the moment

they have all gone once all the over—50s are vaccinated. but the watchword in no 10 seems to be caution. we know that there will be a review of the current restrictions and rate of hospitalisations and vaccine progress in the middle of this month, when the mps return from the half—time break the week of the 22nd of february, the government will set out its plan and they hope schools in england will go back by march the 8th. but i think as far as borisjohnson and the government goes, this remains a fairly tentative timetable, because in many ways the course of the virus remains out of their hands. our political correspondent there. earlier i spoke to the former liberal democrat mp sir norman lamb — he was a care minister in the coalition government. he welcomed the proposals in the leaked white paper. i think this is a move in the right direction. it does mark i think a very significant and decisive shift away notjust from the 2012 reforms, but going back through new labour,

just as ben wright was saying, the market in the nhs has been present for a long time now. under labour, we had patient choice, the right to choose, and you could go to a private sector hospital or an nhs hospital. this is a significant move away from that, there is no doubt and i think there are risks. you want to avoid local complacent monopolies and unique innovation ——you need innovation and i really strongly believe that you have to collaborate with third sector organisations, absolutely, definitely with local government. and sometimes with the private sector, on digital for example, we have to get the best of health care for our population, but i think it makes sense to build now the right structures for the post—covid world. i want to come back to that, but you did say you welcomed the changes and of course

you were part of the coalition government. i know you weren't social care minister when andrew lansley introduced the changes, but you were in 2012 whenjeremy hunt took over. so is this an admission that these so—called reforms from the government about which you were a part were wrong? look, i don't think and i have never thought that the health and social care act was the coalition�*s finest hour. i actually spoke out publicly, it was somewhat unusual, i was a government whip at the time, during the passage of the bill through parliament to raise my concerns. i spoke to bbc news at the time and called for changes to the legislation. i don't think it was a good reform. it did not have a clear intellectual base for it and it delivered confused accountability, so i was never a fan. ultimately, i made a judgment to go along with it after some changes were made which i think improved it, but with the benefit of hindsight,

did not improve it sufficiently, but as i say, in many ways, built on reforms that had happened under the new labour government, introducing choice into the nhs, introducing a greater role for the private sector and actually the backdrop is competition rules from the eu and although i was a remainer and i think that brexit in many ways was a mistake, leaving the eu does allow us to move away from those competition rules and allows us to make our own judgments about whether we should allow competition in any part of our public services.

good evening. a leaked document has revealed that borisjohnson is planning to reverse reforms of the nhs in england. the changes could see a reduced role for the private sector. the move would sweep away changes introduced by david cameron's government in 2012 with nhs commissioners no longer required to invite private companies to bid to run services and with more focus on hospitals and social care services working together to improve patient care. our health correspondent katharine de costa reports.

an ageing population brings with it extra challenges. hospital beds are often tied up, waiting for a care package to treat elderly patients at home. many have argued controversial changes made nearly a decade ago left health and care services fragmented. it nearly a decade ago left health and care services fragmented.- care services fragmented. it was broadly considered _ care services fragmented. it was broadly considered to _ care services fragmented. it was broadly considered to be - care services fragmented. it was broadly considered to be a - care services fragmented. it was broadly considered to be a bit i care services fragmented. it was broadly considered to be a bit of| care services fragmented. it was l broadly considered to be a bit of a problem, allowing gps, hospitals, and social care to work closely together, and some elements of the competition and the requirement to cure services through competitive tender has got in the way of people working together. in 2012, under the cameron government, lord lansley handed the control and finances of the nhs to nhs england, with an annual strategy set by the government. it meant that nhs services were bought for patients by gp groups, including from private providers. the new proposals rolled back

on much of this and will allow ministers to more tightly control how the nhs works, as well as deliver public health and social care plans. but health campaigners are not convinced. this government has been more dependent than ever before on the private sector during a pandemic. we've had the private sector brought in to test and trace, we've had private sector brought in to run laboratories, parallell to the nhs. we've got a four—year plan now to use private hospitals, while nhs beds in large numbers remain closed and out of use. so this isn't a government that's been looking to marginalise the private sector. 0ne former health secretary supports the plans and wished he'd been able to get a grip on social care. the thin i to get a grip on social care. the thing i did _ to get a grip on social care. the thing i did not _ to get a grip on social care. the thing i did not manage to do which i try to _ thing i did not manage to do which i try to do _ thing i did not manage to do which i try to do which is the next really important — try to do which is the next really important step is a ten year plan and a— important step is a ten year plan and a sustained funding increase for the social_ and a sustained funding increase for the social care sector because that goes _ the social care sector because that goes hand—in—hand with the nhs. we need to— goes hand—in—hand with the nhs. we need to be _ goes hand—in—hand with the nhs. we need to be much better at looking after people at home. the department of health

and social care said it was rightly considering where changes need to be made, and that full details would be set out in due course. but labour's questioned the timing of plans to reorganise health and care services in the middle of a pandemic. when services are already at breaking point. katharine da costa, bbc news. the new chair of the vaccine taskforce, dr clive dix, says he is "very optimistic" the uk will meet its target of offering a first coronavirus jab to all over 50s by may. almost 11.5 million people have now received their firstjab, but some, particularly those in ethnic minority communities, remain hesitant as our community affairs correspondent adina campbell reports. this vaccination hub at the royal london hospital has been up and running for almost six weeks, and it's nonstop, with staff putting jabs into hundreds of arms each day. any history of problems with bleeding or bruising at all? one of them is martin griffiths, a consultant surgeon, whose dayjob normally involves

treating trauma victims with severe wounds, but now he's part of the vaccination effort. he's seen, first—hand, the disproportionate impact of coronavirus on people from black, asian and other ethnic minority groups. there's a lot of anxiety out in the community about coronavirus and the vaccination, about its speed, about whether it works or not and a lot of misinformation on, particulary on social media about that. i think it's important that people take the opportunity to ask questions and have their concerns answered by trusted individuals. this government video is one way of spreading the vaccination message on social media. people from these communities are up to four times more likely to die from coronavirus than white people, but there's growing evidence and research which shows they're more reluctant to be vaccinated. we have to trust that, you know, the scientists have done what they should be doing, government and everybody has done theirjob correctly and they've put this out there.

they've had a lot of misconception, especially within the bangladeshi community. it's more to do with not getting the information in the language that they need it or if they've got the misconceptions, where they come from. nhs staff are giving jabs from more than 1,500 sites across the country. this is one of the busiest vaccination hubs in london and, at the moment, it's running twice a week, where up to 700 people a day are given a jab here. and for those still in doubt... we are not authority, we are people as well. we want to help our community get better. so, yes, please, ask us questions. we'll give you the answer and tell you the truth and we can move forward from there. in an effort to get more people vaccinated, the government has now started to publish ethnicity data and it's hoped these clinics will end up attracting the most hard to reach hesitant communities. adina campbell, bbc news. the scottish government says it has met its target to vaccinate

the over 80s by the 5th of february. 93% of everyone over 80 had been vaccinated, according to scotland's health secretary, with 7% unable or unwilling to receive the jab. jean freeman said the programme was "delivering ahead of expectations". it comes after opposition parties had criticised the speed of the vaccine rollout. the latest government figures show there were 18,262 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 19,107. across the uk, 29,326 people are in hospital with coronavirus — including suspected cases in wales. 828 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 932.

the total number of deaths across the uk is now 112,092. the uk's programme of mass vaccinations continues. 494,163 people have had theirfirst dose of one of the three approved covid—19 vaccines in the latest 2a hour period. taking the overall number of people who've had their firstjab to nearly 11.5 million. mobile testing for areas in england with new cases of the south african covid variant is being expanded. at the beginning of the week surge testing began, which included door—to—door visits — after cases were not connected to foreign travel. and today testing began in parts of worcestershire after a small number of cases were discovered there. in southport, testing has been expanded after a second case was found. 0ur health correspondent katharine da costa is here. remind us about the concern regarding this particular variant.

vaccines are targeting the spike protein, but the south african variant has changed its behaviour. there is no evidence that it causes a more serious illness but there are concerns it is more contagious and vaccines might not work quite as well. early results are encouraging, that vaccines are still effective but maybe not at such a high level. trial results for two new vaccines, novavax and jensen, they also found that the effectiveness dips for the south african variant —— janssen. the good news this week, it was found to work against a new variant, so it was likely to offer some protection, and developers are already working to tweak their vaccines to deal with new types of vaccine, and so it might be the case that we need new booster shots each year. that we need new booster shots each ear. ., that we need new booster shots each ear. . ., ., ,

cricket now — and there was another remarkable innings from england captainjoe root in the first test against india in chennai. he scored a double—century as his side continued their impressive start, closing day two on 555 for 8. adam wild reports. smiles and celebration, it's a sight england cricket fans are getting rather used to. joe root had already passed 100 when this morning's master class began, a study in calm control. if that was the foundation, ben stokes brought the strokes. those empty stands make an inviting target. still, how big a score were england actually aiming for? india running out of ideas. well, almost. tempt stokes into another mighty heave. india clinging on, just about. with his partnerfalling short, the captain wasn't about to follow. this brought up his 200, in his 100th test match, the first player ever to do that. root reached 218 before he finally faltered, congratulations from opposition and team—mates.

all knew they'd seen something special. england batted out the day, now firmly in command. joe root even tidying up after. their captain setting the standard till the very end. adam wild, bbc news. rugby union's six nations championship is underway and england are playing scotland in the 150th calcutta cup. scotland haven't won at twickenham since 1983 but with less than 15 minutes to go, they're leading by 11—6. duhan van der merwe with the only try of the game so far. there's more throughout the evening on the bbc news channel. we're back with the late news at ten o'clock. now on bbc one it's time for the news where you are.

hello. this is bbc news.

there have been a spate of stabbing attacks in south london in the past 2a hours. in one of the latest incidents, a 24—year—old man has been taken to hospital after being stabbed in croydon this afternoon. and a murder investigation has been launched after a 22—year—old man was stabbed to death in the town last night. 0fficers don't believe all the attacks were linked and have appealed for information. earlier rebecca jones spoke to our correspondent danjohnson. we have just had some details from the metropolitan police in croydon. who say shortly after 3pm we were notified by the london ambulance service of a stabbing in london close to the junction, close to west croydon station. they said officers attended and a crime scene

is in place but i've seen video from the scene which shows police in attendance and police tape around the scene of the latest stabbing, a 24—year—old man has been taken to hospital and they are awaiting an update on his condition. this comes on the back of a whole load of incidents in and around croydon, certainly across south london, which means in total now one person has died as a result of stab injuries and ten are in hospital, adding this latest one to the nine last night. the police say they are treating all these incidents, five or six different scenes that they are now investigating, they are treating them as isolated, but it does reiterate that with everything else going on, police still have the challenge of knife crime to deal with in south london at least and a man has been arrested, this is from last night, on suspicion of grievous bodily harm. he is in custody and there are extra police on the streets as a result of what happened last night and they will be patrolling through this evening and the rest of the weekend. ten people have died after a coronavirus outbreak associated with a care home in fife. nhs fife said 25 residents and 43 staff at mossview care home in lochgelly tested positive for the virus. the health board said the home had now reopened, after 1a days

without a positive case. thousands of people have taken to the streets of myanmar�*s main city, yangon, to protest against this week's military coup. they are calling for the release of the elected leader aung san suu kyi and others detained by the army. it's the first big demonstration since the military seized power. the crowds were chanting in favour of democracy, and against what they say is a dictatorship. 0ur south east asia correspondent jonathan head reports. five days after the military takeover and people are testing the limits. this group included factory workers from the western suburbs of yangon. but led by young political activists, shouting their condemnation of the new regime and their support for the ousted government. translation: is a citizen who was born in this — translation: is a citizen who was born in this country, _ translation: is a citizen who was born in this country, i _ translation: is a citizen who was born in this country, i cannot -

born in this country, i cannot accept the takeover of the military. because of this, many of our lives have been destroyed. we cannot let our future generation it meet the same fate. translation: i same fate. translation: ., ., , samefate. translation: ., ., i, translation: i am really pleased with what i see _ translation: i am really pleased with what i see in _ translation: i am really pleased with what i see in these _ translation: i am really pleased with what i see in these protests. l with what i see in these protests. here _ with what i see in these protests. here people are not paid to come out and protest. — here people are not paid to come out and protest, they are genuine peopid — and protest, they are genuine people. to those who are watching these _ people. to those who are watching these scenes, we welcome you tojoin us. the crowd grew as it headed towards the downtown area of myanmar�*s largest city, where a line of police blocked their way. offering a perfect backdrop for the hunger games salute that has become the symbol of popular defiance in this region. it's hard to gauge how much of the country shares this sense of outrage, but it is a fair bet this coup is widely unpopular. the protest was broadcast as it happened on a dozen or more social media pages but the military began shutting down the internet and blocking popular apps so that through the day we watched myanmar

slipping back towards the digital dark age of a decade ago. protests have taken place outside myanmar too. with aung san suu kyi in custody once more, these are painful echoes of a wretched past. are myanmar�*s generals really prepared to return to the bad old days? perhaps even they do not know what they will do yet after inflicting such a blow to their country's hopes. dozens of people have been detained in india during a nation—wide road blockade by farmers protesting against new agricultural laws. more than 50,000 security personnel were deployed around the capital, delhi. rajini vaidya nathan reports. roadblocks as farmers in cities across india staged a three—hour traffic jam.

protests against the farm laws have spread nationwide, protesters say they will not give up until the reforms are appealed. translation: in protest of the laws imposed on us, we are blocking - the highways but peacefully. there will be no violence and they will be carried out peacefully. the government says they will leave farmers better off by allowing them to sell direct to big businesses. farmers fear once big corporations enter the market, price guarantees on crops will eventually disappear. translation:the modi government under the pressure of big corporations have brought these farming laws in, our demand is that these laws be repealed because it is notjust bad forfarmers, it is harmful for the 1.3 billion people of our country. as tens of thousands of farmers continue to come in protest,

just outside delhi, a high security presence remains in the area. internet has been shut down at protest sites. farmers accuse the government of trying to silence them. the un human rights agency became the latest to comment on the protests, calling on the authorities to protect peaceful assembly and expression. it comes after public figures, including rhianna and greta thunberg, tweeted their support for the protests. in response, india's foreign ministry issued an unprecedented statement this week saying sensationalist social media by celebrities and others was neither accurate nor responsible. despite rounds of talks, both sides are in deadlock. this is the largest challenge facing india's populist prime minister, narendra modi. farm leaders say they will not go home until their demands are met. time for a look at the weather.

by by tomorrow there will be a stronger, colder, easterly wind which will bring snow more widely to the uk. let me show you what has happened over the past few hours, the blue as the rain, the white is the blue as the rain, the white is the sleet and snow which continues to fall in scotland but turning more wintry in northern england. this band of wet weather works down towards wales and the southwest overnight, as it does rain becomes light but starts to turn to snow and we have snow showers coming in is that strengthening easterly wind starts to arrive, temperatures falling close to freezing and it will be i see quite widely. attention focuses to the south—east of england and east anglia night and tomorrow. we have this heavy snow warning, this is where it will be worst, the snow will fall widely across the south—east of england and east anglia throughout sunday. to the north, across the north midlands northwards there will be cold winds are bringing snow showers all the

north, blowing all the way to northern ireland, the driest weather across south wales and the south—west of england. temperatures are lower than today, barely getting above freezing and on the strength of this bitter easterly wind which will be picking up and for some areas it will feel like minus seven celsius. hello this is bbc news. the headlines...

a leaked document appears to reveal plans to reverse reforms made