this is bbc news — these are the latest headlines in the uk and around the world. the uk economy shrank by nearly 10% last year — the biggest drop ever recorded. whilst there were some signs of resilience overwinter, what's clear is right now, many families and businesses are experiencing hardship. are you still working? have you been furloughed? or have you lost yourjob? how has the pandemic affected your life over the past year economically? please do get in touch with your stories. on twitter, i'm @annita—mcveigh. the other headlines this morning. the australian state of victoria

announces a deadlocked and because a cluster of cases linked to a quarantine hotel in melbourne. —— announces a third lockdown. the bbc has learned the rules for quarantine hotels in england will be less strict than australia's — allowing travellers to go outside for short spells. democrat prosecutors finish making their case in the impeachment trial of donald trump, arguing he incited his supporters to attack the capitol building last month. ajudge in los angeles has denied a request by britney spears�*s father to exert greater control over her finances. and coming up this hour, we hear how wales has become the first part of the uk to offer a coronavirus vaccine to everyone in the top four priority groups. hello and welcome if you're watching in the uk or around the world.

official figures have confirmed the uk economy shrank by more in 2020 than any other year on record, amid the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. the office for national statistics said gross domestic product — which measures the value of goods and services produced by the economy — dropped by 9.9% last year. the economy did grow slightly in december at 1.2% as some lockdown restrictions were eased in the run up to christmas. despite the gloomy figures, the chief economist for the bank of england, andy haldane, sounds optimistic. writing in the daily mail, he says, "the economy is poised like a coiled spring" and ready to rebound when lockdown is lifted and people start spending again. speaking this morning, the chancellor rishi sunak says the economy had suffered a �*serious shock�* and that his focus was on supporting people through the crisis. i think today's figures show that last year, our economy experienced a significant shock. and whilst there were some signs

of resilience overwinter, what's clear is right now, many families and businesses are experiencing hardship. that's why we've put in place a comprehensive plan forjobs to support people through this crisis, and we will set out the next stage of our economic response at our budget in early march. let's discuss this with our business correspondent, katy austin. hello. so we have the picture for the last quarter of 2020, that gives us the complete picture for the year, the whole of 2020. take us through that in a bit more detail. that's right, 2020 saw a historic drop in gdp, which is the sum total of the goods and services the economy produces. if might think thatis economy produces. if might think that is not a shock given the pandemic and the restrictions we had, but if you look at going back to the past few years, we can show

you with the graphic where it sits in the broader scheme of things. if you look back, since 2006, that graph is generally going up, the size of the economy, the percentage it is rising orfalling each year. if you can see the aftermath of the financial crisis back into him —— backin financial crisis back into him —— back in 2,000 and 82,009, there was a fall. but last year, the steepness of that —— it is much greater, it is more than twice the dip in gdp compared to even that great tip around the financial crisis. so that is the kind of scale we are talking about. —— great dip. looking at leisure in more detail, economists or the office for national statistics looks at this for quarters, three month periods. the first quarter of the year, there was a drop in gdp, that was about 2.9%. the second quarter of the year was when we were really in the full first national lockdown including

april, huge swathes of the economy shut down. and in the second quarter, it was 19% fall. that is about a fifth white off the gdp just in those three months. as you might expect, as the economy started to reopen again, the summer onwards, there was a rise again. then when we get into the winter, again, we were not quite sure whether the economy would continue to grow again, but it looks like it did, only by 1%. however, for now, we have avoided what they call a double dip recession, so a recession is two consecutive quarters where the economy contracts and goes into reverse, which we did see last year. at the moment, things are still in an upward trajectory. the big question is what happens next? these figures are backward —looking and don't reflect the current lockdown. the chief economist for the bank of england sounding optimistic and said people have been able to keep their

jobs and save money, that is by no means everyone, but he says those people will want to go out with pent up people will want to go out with pent up demand to spend their money. but the bank says the first quarter of this year, there will be a further contraction of the economy, so what are the lasting impacts as we look ahead to the rest of this year? that is the question, _ ahead to the rest of this year? that is the question, what _ ahead to the rest of this year? twat is the question, what will happen in the period we are sitting in right now? yes, we know that a lot of people have saved money and billions are sitting on spence because people frankly can't spend it and they are hanging onto their money. people like andy haldane at the bank of england are expecting that quote about the economy being like a coiled spring ready to spring back into life. it is when that recovery will come, how long the current restrictions go on for. and i suppose how much damage is done in the meantime. how many businesses can hang on through to reap the benefits of recovery once it eventually comes?- benefits of recovery once it eventually comes? benefits of recovery once it eventuall comes? �* ., , ., eventually comes? and the economy of course looking — eventually comes? and the economy of course looking to _ eventually comes? and the economy of course looking to the _ eventually comes? and the economy of course looking to the chancellor's - course looking to the chancellor's budget in march to see what interventions there may be from the government. thank you very much for

that, katy austin. a five—day lockdown has been imposed in the australian state of victoria, following a cluster of covid cases linked to a quarantine hotel for returning travellers at melbourne airport. 13 cases of the uk virus variant have so far been identified. phil mercer, has the latest. a short, sharp circuit breaker is being imposed across victoria, australia's second most populous state. the growing cluster of infections is linked to a quarantine hotel at melbourne airport. australians returning home must go into isolation for at least two weeks in arrival. health officials say the snap coronavirus lockdown is in response to the hyper—infectious uk variant. it's thought to have been spread in the hotel by a nebuliser, a device that vaporises medicine, that was used by a family who tested positive.

stay—at—home orders will apply to millions of people. schools will close and facemasks are mandatory. the australian open will continue in melbourne, but tennis fans won't be allowed to attend for at least five days. the victorian premier, daniel andrews, says there's no time to lose. if we wait for this theory that it might be out there, there might be more cases than we know about, if we wait for that to be proven correct, it will be too late. and then we will face the prospect of being locked down until a vaccination. hotel quarantine is australia's last line of defence against imported cases of covid—i9, but it's not perfect. breaches in security that allowed passengers to pass the virus to staff ignited a deadly second wave of infections in melbourne last year. the city was shut down for almost four months

until the outbreak was contained. international border closures, mass testing, sophisticated contact tracing and strict lockdowns are key pillars in australia's pandemic strategy. but the safety of the hotel quarantine system is once again under great scrutiny. phil mercer, bbc news, sydney. concerns are being raised about the rules for quarantine hotels in england for travellers arriving from covid hotspots. the scheme is due to begin in a few days, but the bbc has learned there are no plans for regular testing of hotel staff and people will be allowed to go outside. the government insists the rules are tough enough. ministers have also announced extra police patrols at ports and airports from monday. simonjones reports. returning home is about to be accompanied by a whole new set of requirements.

if you arrive in england from one of the 33 countries considered high—risk, you'll have to go straight to a quarantine hotel. there'll be more money for the police to ensure this happens. patrols will be stepped up at airports and ports, so travellers arriving from covid hotspots follow the new rules. in scotland, new restrictions will apply to residents arriving from any country by air. the government's been speaking to the authorities in australia, which have been running quarantine hotels for almost a year now. where infections have occurred, lessons have been learned, such as the risk of the virus spreading in the air from people's rooms. all they found for some of these security workers that were in the halls of these hotels, particularly the one in adelaide, from the hours of cctv, the only thing that person was doing that caused them to get covid—i9 was breathing in the hall. but there will be some key differences from the australia model. in australia, hotel staff are tested every day, but there are no plans for that in the uk. instead, staff with symptoms will be told to stay at home.

in australia, all hotel guests must remain in their rooms at all times. but in the uk, people will be allowed out for fresh air or to smoke, if they're accompanied by security. security guards, for example, whether they be in hotels or not, if they're being put at risk, if they are having to accompany people, customers, to and from their room, that is something that the government should absolutely be putting in its guidelines. the government has secured 4,700 rooms in 16 hotels. people will have to pay £1,750 for ten days' quarantine. failing to follow the rules could lead to a fine of up to £10,000. ministers have insisted the changes, which come into force on monday, are measured and proportionate. simon jones, bbc news. our political correspondent iain watsonjoins me now. people asking questions about why the rules for the quarantine hotels

here won't be quite as tough as we have seen in places like australia, what is the government response to that? ,., what is the government response to that? _, ,_ ., what is the government response to that? a, , that? the government say of course that? the government say of course that we have — that? the government say of course that we have some _ that? the government say of course that we have some of— that? the government say of course that we have some of the _ that? the government say of course that we have some of the toughest i that we have some of the toughest border restrictions in the world, including the demand there is a predeparture test, and it is whether you are at home of forster go into a quarantine hotel, you will still have to be tested on day two and stay eight after your arrival. they emphasise as well people should only travel for essential reasons and not for holidays at this particular time. but there are obvious differences with australia, government ministers say they have been learning from the situation in australia and new zealand, yet the most obvious difference is people will be allowed out to smoke or to get fresh air in the uk and they are not allowed to leave their rooms in australia because there seems to be a bit of a spike in cases come at some time ago last year, when guests were apparently mingling. and we have had another outbreak in a hotel

in a state of victoria in australia today. where it is less clear is what happens to staff when they are working in hotels, how often are they tested? incoming passengers get two tests in the ten days quarantine, but will staff be tested regularly, they are tested daily in australia. the department of health have been unable to clarify that and have been unable to clarify that and have said they are rolling out rapid flow tests to companies with more than 50 employees. but it is not clear what happens to hotels with fewer than 50 employees. i am told they will clarify this soon so i am happy to tell you as soon as i know. but the home office minister victoria atkins earlier told the bbc that in any case, all the measures, in all quarantine hotels, it would be kept under review.

i think we have to look at our own measures in our own country. the hotel will, of course, be adhering to all of the very strict measures we have in place in relation to social—distancing and facemasks and so on. so i think allowing someone a gulp of fresh air, apart from anything else, we know that being outside is less likely to transmit than being inside. but i think allowing someone a gulp of fresh air during a ten—day visit in a hotel, with all the very strict measures that we have, i think is reasonable. people are not supposed to be travelling unless in very specific circumstances, so as a further deterrent and it certainly would be one can imagine, the government is changing the way it adds countries to the red list.— to the red list. that's right, these red list countries _ to the red list. that's right, these red list countries are _ to the red list. that's right, these red list countries are very - red list countries are very important, they are the 33 countries that there is some prevalence of either the south african or the south american variants of coronavirus. and if you are coming as a uk resident into england, if

you come from one of those countries and have been there in the past ten days, you are forced to go into hotel quarantine. so that list is hugely important. it is to be the case it would be reviewed on a weekly basis rather like the travel corridors last summer. —— it used to be. the government now says there will be a fast—track review of these red list countries and the red list could change injust a red list countries and the red list could change in just a few hours notice, so if you are out of the country, you may not be required to quarantine at home when you come back into england, but you could be forced into a quarantine hotel. and that could cost around £1700. so that could cost around £1700. so thatis that could cost around £1700. so that is a massive disincentive to travel abroad. that is a massive disincentive to travelabroad. but that is a massive disincentive to travel abroad. but of course, no one, as you say, is supposed to be travelling at the moment except for essential reasons. what is worrying some conservative backbenchers is a policy like this may stay in place for longer so you may be technically allowed to travel abroad again as restrictions ease, but in practice, if the red list is based on the

prevalence of any particular varied and could change at very short notice, you may be very wary about travelling abroad in case you get caught out and shunted into hotel on your return. caught out and shunted into hotel on your return-— your return. thank you very much, iain watson _ your return. thank you very much, iain watson in _ your return. thank you very much, iain watson in westminster. - your return. thank you very much, iain watson in westminster. the l your return. thank you very much, l iain watson in westminster. the uk because my office for national statistics has published the latest data on the social impacts of coronavirus based on a survey of just under 6,000 adults in great britain. from the 3rd of february to the seventh, the ons found around one in five adults said they had received at least one dose of the covid—19 vaccine. among those aged 70 or over, almost eight in ten reported receiving at least one dose of a vaccine. away from the vaccine, 56% of adults surveyed reported to staying at home or only leaving for work, exercise, essentialshopping medical needs. this is lower than figures from mid—january, but higher than in the pre—christmas lockdown.

the headlines, and the uk economy shrank by nearly 10% last year, the biggest drop ever recorded. the australian state of victoria announces a third lockdown because of a cluster of cases linked to a quarantine hotel in melbourne. and the bbc has learned the rules for quarantine hotels in england will be less strict than australia's, allowing travellers to go outside for short spells. prosecutors in the impeachment trial of donald trump have finished putting forward their case to the us senate, alleging the former president incited his supporters to attack the capitol building last month. house democrats again used emotionally—charged video evidence to back up their case. they accused mr trump of showing a pattern of condoning violence. this report comes from washington. after reconstructing the anatomy

of the riot in brutal detail, the prosecution rested its case. if you don't find this a high crime and misdemeanor today, you have set a new terrible standard for presidential misconduct in the united states of america. democrats focused their second day on donald trump's role and his alleged intent, arguing that the violence was foreseeable and he wilfully encouraged it. they sought to demonstrate that mr trump had a history of inciting political violence, and that his supporters listened and got the message. the security guys, we have wonderful security guys, they said, "mrtrump, there may be somebody with tomatoes in the audience." so, if you see somebody getting ready to throw a tomato, knock the crap out of him, would you? seriously. the rioters at the capitol building did believe they were following the president's orders. their own words presented as evidence. we were invited by the president of the united states! the defence takes over now. mr trump's lawyers are under pressure to step up their game,

after a bumbling performance that angered him. they'll make the case that his fiery rhetoric wasn't meant literally, and that he has the right to freedom of speech. republicans were shaken by the democrats' graphic video evidence, but mr trump's lawyers will argue that he never intended for the violence to happen. and they're expected to be brief — not more than a day — suggesting they're confident they have the votes to acquit him. barbara plett—usher, bbc news, washington. let's talk to dr gina reinhardt, an expert in american politics, from essex university. it is good to have you with us. we are going to hear the defence case for donald trump starting later today, but to sum up first how you think the prosecution case has gone. well, the prosecution has done a very good job and some would say just as best as you could expect. they know that they are facing

highly unlikely chance of they put together enough film and evidence to really convey not only the violence and terror and damage that was done injanuary the six, but also the in january the six, but also the long chain of injanuary the six, but also the long chain of encouragement that donald trump gave people to behave in that way, leading up to january six. and that is about the best they could do. they also did one really interesting thing. they cast the other republicans in congress is also being victims of what happened on sixth january. and that is despite the fact that several of them have also encouraged and were encouraging ideas like the vote was stolen and the election was fraudulent. and that people should

protest and get up in arms about that. so they are giving those republicans a graceful way out. by casting them as victims, rather than other perpetrators. what casting them as victims, rather than other perpetrators.— other perpetrators. what we know about the pre-trial_ other perpetrators. what we know about the pre-trial motions - other perpetrators. what we know about the pre-trial motions that i about the pre—trial motions that have been failed about how the defence case for donald trump will look? ., defence case for donald trump will look? . , . , defence case for donald trump will look? . , ., , ., ., look? that starts today and it will likel end look? that starts today and it will likely end today. _ look? that starts today and it will likely end today. it _ look? that starts today and it will likely end today. it should - look? that starts today and it will likely end today. it should be - look? that starts today and it will| likely end today. it should be very short. the consensus is that the longer they take to make an argument, the worse it will be for their chances. so they are going to say, very quickly and succinctly, first that they don't think it is constitutional to hold an impeachment trial for someone who is not a sitting president, that they believe that donald trump was exercising his freedom of speech. and that there is no connection between trump and what happened on 6th january. those of the three main points and then they will stop. horst

points and then they will stop. how cuickl points and then they will stop. how quickly could _ points and then they will stop. how quickly could we — points and then they will stop. how quickly could we get the result of this? ht quickly could we get the result of this? . ., , quickly could we get the result of this? _, , ., ., ., this? it could be tomorrow, actually- — this? it could be tomorrow, actually. there _ this? it could be tomorrow, actually. there is _ this? it could be tomorrow, l actually. there is widespread feeling that a lot of senators are issuing that they are tired of this, they want it to end. and the quicker it goes, the betterfor they want it to end. and the quicker it goes, the better for both sides really. because the democrats don't want it to seem as though they can't make a case. or to really degenerate into a lot of sort of partisan bickering over procedure. so the only thing that happens after the defence makes its case is that there is a chance to bring witnesses. my guess is that the prosecution believes that they have given the evidence they need and don't need witnesses and there is no chance really that the defence will call witnesses, said the vote should probably be tomorrow. t witnesses, said the vote should probably be tomorrow. ”just witnesses, said the vote should probably be tomorrow. i 'ust want to finish with a — probably be tomorrow. i 'ust want to finish with a thought _ probably be tomorrow. i 'ust want to finish with a thought on — probably be tomorrow. i just want to finish with a thought on the - probably be tomorrow. i just want to finish with a thought on the wider i finish with a thought on the wider political scene in the states and to what extent does donald trump still have a firm grip on the republican party? last time, we discussed

whether there could be a split in the republican party with a very much pro trump party forming. now in the last 2a hours or so, we have seen reports dozens of former republicans, republican party officials have been talking about forming a new centre—right party to break with trumpism. can you see something like that happening? ht is something like that happening? it is certainl something like that happening? ut 3 certainly possible and something like that happening? ut 1 certainly possible and it would be quite a wise move. interestingly, the direction that trump has taken the direction that trump has taken the republican party in is more and more extreme. and typically, it is the people on the extreme side that feel left out, now they are becoming the centre of the republican party. and what is extreme to them are the republicans that are slightly centre—right. so that group has a really great opportunity right now to create a party and to really appeal to a lot of people who voted for biden who are just a little

centre—left. for biden who are 'ust a little centre-lefth for biden who are 'ust a little centre-left._ for biden who are 'ust a little centre-left. very interesting to hear your _ centre-left. very interesting to hear your thoughts _ centre-left. very interesting to hear your thoughts on - centre-left. very interesting to hear your thoughts on that, - centre-left. very interesting to hear your thoughts on that, dr| centre-left. very interesting to - hear your thoughts on that, dr gina reinhardt, from the department of government at the university of essex, thank you very much. thank ou. you. russian's foreign minister has said moscow is ready to break its relations with the european union if the bloc imposes new sanctions. the eu has raised concerns about russian's treatment of the jailed politician of alexei navalny. sergei lavrov said the country would respond if it's economy would be threatened. respond if it's economy would be threatened-— threatened. alexei navalny is in court to face — threatened. alexei navalny is in court to face defamation - threatened. alexei navalny is in| court to face defamation charges which he says are a further attempt to blacken his name. there over—65s in england will be invited to have that covid jabs next week, a further sign the vaccination programme is on track to inoculate the most vulnerable. the welsh government says it has reach the target of offering the vaccine to everyone in the first four priority groups. every part of the uk is offering to —— is aiming to offer a first dose

to those over 70, healthcare workers and extremely vulnerable by the end of this week. the first minister of wales mark drakeford has been talking about a potential road out of lockdown. here in wales, numbers of people infected with coronavirus continue to go down. if that can be sustained over the weeks to come, then we can see a pathway into the spring in which we will be able to restore freedoms to people that they've had to go without while we've been in this second wave. but that is a very big if, because there are so many unknowns. new variants that are happening in different parts of the world that could make a difference here in the united kingdom. but with vaccination and with numbers falling, provided we reopen society carefully and cautiously, and don't allow the virus to get away from us again, we can see a path into the spring where it will be possible for us to go back to doing some of the things that we're all missing so much.

well, in that interview, mr drakeford also suggested that easter might be the time to start reopening some parts of the economy. we've got easter at the beginning of april this year. it's always a very important moment for our tourism and hospitality industry. we are talking with them about what might be possible around the easter period, but it is all very much caveated in the way that you did in asking me the question. but the current progress that is being made can continue, and that in a careful and cautious way, we look to reopen things. but that is, those are amongst the dates that we are using in our conversations with businesses and workers here in wales. mark drakeford, first minister of wales. britney spears father has lost some of his control over the star's state, the court ruling in la is the

latest stage in a sing up as my efforts to remove her father from his conservatorship role. jamie spears was handed control of his daughter's finances and personal affairs after she suffered a public breakdown in 2008, but a recent documentary has fuelled a high—profile campaign for the arrangement to be ended. david willis was in court for the proceedings. britney spears was one of the bestselling and highest paid performers in the world. she had a series of public meltdowns, including shaving her head. that led to a brief spell in a psychiatric unit and to what is called a conservatorship, which has you mentioned, basically is a legal arrangement under which she has somebody else appointed to take charge of her personal and professional life. in the case of britney spears, that person was her father, jamie spears. and over the years, and it is 13 years since the

conservatorship was put into place, relations between father and daughter have somewhat soured, to the point where britney spears last year asked the judge for her father to be relieved of control over her vast fortune. but the judge declined that, instead dividing conservatorship of miss spears between her father and a conservatorship of miss spears between herfather and a new york—based trust fund. why is any of this now in the public domain, i hear you ask? because of this very powerful documentary produced by the new york times, which raises all sorts of questions about the motives of those who were involved in the conservatorship. david willis reporting. the head of the tokyo olympics organising committee has resigned after making sexist remarks about women. 83—year—old yoshiro mori sparked anger when he said in a meeting earlier this month that women talk too much. the formerjapanese prime

minister apologised today. there are fragments to go into the delayed games start again. the uk chairman of the accountancy firm kpmg has resigned after reportedly telling staff to stop moaning about concerns over possible cuts to pensions and pay during the covid—19 pandemic. in a statement, bell michael said, i love the firm and i am truly sorry my words have caused hurt among my colleagues. in light of that... archaeologists say they found evidence that part of stonehenge second—hand. and was orginally put together in wales. a team from university college london believe there are key elements linking stonehenge to the remains of a welsh ancient stone circle. they say it could give the answer to one of the great mysteries about the monument — why its stones came from so far away, rather than a local quarry.

the main story is so far today. the uk economy shrank by nearly 10% last year — the biggest drop ever recorded. the chancellor says the economy has experienced a serious shock as a result of the pandemic. the australian state of victoria announces a third lockdown — because of a cluster of cases linked to a quarantine hotel in melbourne. the bbc has learned the rules for quarantine hotels and england will be less strict than australia's, allowing travellers to go outside for short spells. democrat prosecutors finish making their case in the impeachment trial of donald trump, arguing he incited his supporters to attack the capitol building last month. ajudge in los angeles has denied a request by britney spears' father to exert greater control over her finances. and coming up, as chinese new year begins, how will the pandemic affect celebrations for those who observe the festival?

as we have been hearing, official figures show the uk economy shrank ljy figures show the uk economy shrank by a record 9.9% last year, more than double any previous annual fall. there was a slight recovery in december when restrictions were briefly relaxed. uk chancellor rishi sunak says the economy has suffered a serious shock because of the pandemic, he was speaking to our economic said it faisal islam. there are reasons — economic said it faisal islam. there are reasons for _ economic said it faisal islam. there are reasons for cautious _ economic said it faisal islam. there are reasons for cautious optimism l are reasons for cautious optimism because of the vaccine rolled out, which is going really well. i paid should be to everyone involved in that. the prime list will set out a road map for exiting restrictions in the next few weeks and months. in the next few weeks and months. in the week of february 22, it is rightly base that road map on the best possible evidence and data and thatis best possible evidence and data and that is exactly what we are doing, and we hope to provide some of that outlook that week. can and we hope to provide some of that outlook that week.— and we hope to provide some of that outlook that week. can we presume, if thin . s outlook that week. can we presume, if things may — outlook that week. can we presume, if things may last _ outlook that week. can we presume, if things may last longer, _ outlook that week. can we presume, if things may last longer, and - outlook that week. can we presume, if things may last longer, and some l if things may last longer, and some forms of restrictions that seem

inevitable to last weeks or months longer, that the support that you have given from this building, some forms of it, whether universal credit or the wage support, will last longer as well? mi; credit or the wage support, will last longer as well?— last longer as well? my priority throughout _ last longer as well? my priority throughout the _ last longer as well? my priority throughout the crisis _ last longer as well? my priority throughout the crisis has - last longer as well? my priority| throughout the crisis has always been to try to protect peoples jobs, first and foremost, and provide support to families and businesses through what has been an enormously difficult time. that difficult time will not be over in the spring. our support runs through to the spring and we'll set out the next stage of our economic response to coronavirus at the budget in early march and that will be based on the road map to the prime minister sets out the week before. to the prime minister sets out the week before-— to the prime minister sets out the week before. . ., , week before. there are measurement issues in terms _ week before. there are measurement issues in terms of _ week before. there are measurement issues in terms of international- issues in terms of international comparisons but when you look at the health outcomes, excess deaths and gdp over 2020, we are at the wrong end of international league tables. do you accept that some reflection on the government's overall response to these extraordinary times? t to these extraordinary times? i think the point on comparative economic performance is important to

clear up. we calculate gdp in a different way to pretty much everybody else. if you are either correct for that difference or look at it in a way that is more operable with nominal gdp, what you find, as the bank of england and office for national statistics have pointed out, you find our performance then is very much in line or comparable with other countries and may be on the margin better than places like canada, germany, italy and spain. it has been a presumption that around the cabinet table at various points over the past year your voice has been the voice saying perhaps the restrictions have gone too far, perhaps we need to lift them and get the economy going more quickly. we have had some bad outcomes in terms of cases. was that you, do you accept there were mistakes made? i think what we always try to do is base our decisions on the data and the evidence in front of us. this is an uncertain situation always, so you are trying to make the best judgments you can in the face of that uncertainty. when it comes to

things like restrictions, it's important to recognise that they also have consequences. of course they help suppress the spread of the virus but we have to balance that against the impact on children's education, for example, kids not being in school and the impact on peoplesjobs and mental being in school and the impact on peoples jobs and mental health. those things after debbie weighed up in the round. they are difficult decisions but we will make those decisions but we will make those decisions based on the evidence and data and we will set a road map out of current restrictions in the week of current restrictions in the week of february 22. uk of current restrictions in the week of february 21— of current restrictions in the week of february 22. uk chancellor rishi sunak. of february 22. uk chancellor rishi sunak- the — of february 22. uk chancellor rishi sunak. the uk _ of february 22. uk chancellor rishi sunak. the uk economy _ of february 22. uk chancellor rishi sunak. the uk economy shrinking l sunak. the uk economy shrinking nearly 10% last year because of the pandemic, the biggest drop ever recorded. we have asked you to share your experiences about how you have been affected economically. to read out a few of the tweets you have sent to me. lindsay burns says driving instructors have been hit hard, she says it's a postcode lottery to get extra financial help. this tweet from anita, who says her travel business has been impacted

and she has lost 95% of her income. no income for 11 months and i am living on hand—outs and savings. i am in a forgotten and excluded uk group. forgotten limited company and excluded uk groups. andy says they are a supply teacher and they are not being furloughed because of a national insurance contribution. finances are rock bottom. feeling worthless. teachers are far from worthless, and they are doing a really good job. if you are a supply teacher you might not be being called in as much as you may have been. i don't know the situation. this is from another viewer, after nearly 11 months of zero government support, i cannot stand to hear what our lines from rishi sunak and others who say there is financial support. that is from excluded uk,

who we have heard from on a number of occasions who say they are not being supported. stephen says he was made redundant last april. you quickly learn the furlough scheme has created a welfare apartheid between those fortunate enough to be furloughed and those surviving on £74.35 per week. there are lots more of you getting in touch and tweeting about your situation. i appreciate you sending in your comments and unfortunately i can't read all of them but that's a flavour of what some of you have said in response. if you want to get in touch you can do that by getting in touch with annita mcveigh on twitter and bbc your questions. at least six people have been killed in a crash involving around 130 vehicles on an icy highway in texas. emergency crews were still on the scene near fort worth nearly 12 hours after the incident unfolded. a warning that you may find some of the images in this report distressing.

a scene of carnage — this icy texan freeway resembling more a wrecking yard. a mangled heap of more than 130 vehicles, and a community left grieving, with at least six lives lost and more than 60 people injured. we're all coming to you with heavy hearts today. the scene we saw today is one, really unlike one probably any of us have ever seen and one that we pray to god we never see again. my heart is broken for this community as we deal with the tragic loss of so many lives and so many injuries in a scene like none of us have ever seen before. so many people have lost loved ones or had them injured. and that pain isjust incredible. this whole community will feel that pain. they need your love and they need your prayers to get through this. this is a snapshot of the horror unfolding. vehicle after vehicle, unable to avoid impact. the scene eventually spanning around a kilometre.

emergency crews worked for hours on end, systematically making their way through the tragic wreck. after the initial scene stabilisation, after all of the victims that were able to be found, all the cars that were able to be searched were searched, the scene was turned over to the fort worth police department in orderfor them to begin conducting their investigation. that investigation likely to be as complex as the recovery effort. police believe ice was a factor, but say they're only in the preliminary stages. tanya dendrinos, bbc news. more than 30.5 million people in the uk have now had their first dose of a coronavirus vaccine. —— more than 13.5 million. but in some minority ethnic communities, a low take—up rate is giving cause for concern for

stop in bristol, two somali nurses are trying to change that will stop fiona lamdinjoined them as are trying to change that will stop fiona lamdin joined them as they went door to door to try to convince people to have the jab. huda and suad have been nursing in bristol for years. they've both had the vaccine and are encouraging others to do the same. with ethnic minority, we know that they have a high risk of hospitalisation and death and also suffering from severe side effects when they contract the covid—19. nhs figures suggest, in some black and ethnic minority communities, the take—up rate for the vaccine is half of what it is for white people... as—salamu alaykum. .. ..so they've produced a film in somali, are advising gps, and are having lots and lots of conversations. it's like a flu jab. yes. we believe flu jab? yes, yes. i was very nervous. i was not believing it. i felt like that vaccine'd kill you after one year or after two years.

you will get, like, any sickness that you wouldn't have before. but after talking with suad, asma changed her mind and had the vaccine yesterday. on the other side of the city, huda is also having more doorstep conversations. today, it's with liban. i'm in 50 days coma. three days... three month hospital. and 50 days' coma in intensive care. i survived. after three months, this was the moment liiban was wheeled i'm recovering now. my life all, you know, doing here. you see? trachy. yeah. he's now urging others to take the vaccine. but huad doesn't leave till she's spoken to everyone in the home. at 81 years old, amena is vulnerable. women chat. she said yes, she would be happy to take it.

"it's in my own benefit to take it," she said. "it's beneficialfor me and i'd be happy to take it." and already they're seeing the ripple effect. huda persuaded ayan, who's a carer — who persuaded her brother, who's a taxi driver. and you're telling other people to do... i'm telling the other people, as well. my family, my sisters, my brother — who is not clear if they are taking. i say, ok, why not take it? i'm taking, i'm waiting now. i'm a carer and i'm waiting for my vaccine for next week. there's still a lot more work to be done, but these two nurses are determined that no—one who's offered the vaccine turns it down. fiona lamdin, bbc news. what a good job of those nurses are doing. chinese new year begins today, and is china's most important holiday. an annual occasion that's traditionally spent with families

and friends. this year the coronavirus pandemic means celebrations around the world will look and feel very different. food plays a big role in the celebrations so with restrictions in place making it difficult for people to meet up or eat in a restaurant, we will get a few tips on how to cook up a feast at home. who better to give us those tips, we arejoined by at home. who better to give us those tips, we are joined by celebrity chef and all—round authority on asian cuisine, ken hom. good to have you with us on bbc news.— you with us on bbc news. happy chinese new— you with us on bbc news. happy chinese new year _ you with us on bbc news. happy chinese new year to _ you with us on bbc news. happy chinese new year to you. - you with us on bbc news. happy chinese new year to you. happy | chinese new year to you. happy chinese new year to you. happy chinese new year to you. happy chinese new year! thank you. it’s chinese new year! thank you. it's the year of _ chinese new year! thank you. it's the year of the 0x this year sol the year of the ox this year so i decided to see what year you were born in, and you were born in the year of the ox, so it's your year. apparently they are strong, reliable, fair and conscientious but can be a bit stubborn. does that describe you?— can be a bit stubborn. does that describe ou? , �* ., , , describe you? exactly. but hopefully after all the — describe you? exactly. but hopefully after all the grim _ describe you? exactly. but hopefully after all the grim years _ describe you? exactly. but hopefully after all the grim years there - describe you? exactly. but hopefully after all the grim years there will. after all the grim years there will be some optimism. and oxes tend to

be some optimism. and oxes tend to be very happy, which i am. we want to bring joy to people in these dire times. hopefully we will see the light at the end of the tunnel. brute light at the end of the tunnel. we absolutelyjoin you in that sentiment. during the last year and as we look ahead to this year, food has brought us great pleasure with lots of people spending more time in their kitchens and appreciating food and learning how to cook new things. what does chinese new year mean for you in that respect because you grew up you in that respect because you grew up in the us, in tucson. how does that influence your style of cooking? i that influence your style of cooking?— that influence your style of cookini ? , .. ., , cooking? i grew up in chicago but was born in _ cooking? i grew up in chicago but was born in arizona. _ cooking? i grew up in chicago but was born in arizona. i _ cooking? i grew up in chicago but was born in arizona. i grew- cooking? i grew up in chicago but was born in arizona. i grew up - cooking? i grew up in chicago but was born in arizona. i grew up in| was born in arizona. i grew up in chicago. in the chinese community, chinese new year was the biggest holiday, simply because we got to eat a lot. what i loved as a child, you got little envelopes filled with banknotes. you would say happy

chinese new year to an adult and they would be obliged to give you this little red envelope which i loved. i cashed in on it! but the best thing was food. we had a really wonderful food, best thing was food. we had a really wonderfulfood, banquets. we would eat for two weeks. everybody would invite you to their house or to a restaurant, and you would just feast. there were no leftovers because we got to take it home. that was good. as a poor child i loved it because for me it was great food. and it was about sharing with people as well. sharing with relatives, friends. and it was a happy occasion. we have to think about chinese new year, it's a bit like your christmas, new year and easter all rolled into one. and it lasts

for two weeks, which is fantastic. i filled up my piggy bank as a child doing that! find filled up my piggy bank as a child doini that! �* �* , filled up my piggy bank as a child doini that! . �* , ., filled up my piggy bank as a child doini that! . �*, ., , doing that! and it's a big celebration. _ doing that! and it's a big celebration. i— doing that! and it's a big celebration. i loved - doing that! and it's a big i celebration. i loved reading doing that! and it's a big - celebration. i loved reading about how when you were a child, your school friends would be a bit envious of the food your mother would send with you to school to eat for your lunch. would send with you to school to eat for your lunch-— for your lunch. yes, because in chicaio for your lunch. yes, because in chicago it _ for your lunch. yes, because in chicago it was _ for your lunch. yes, because in chicago it was very, _ for your lunch. yes, because in chicago it was very, very - for your lunch. yes, because in chicago it was very, very cold. | for your lunch. yes, because in i chicago it was very, very cold. my mother always insisted on something hot, so she would put all this wonderful chinese food in a thermos. all the other children would open up in the cold these cold sandwiches. and i would open my thermos and the flavours and smells would come out. i was trafficking it, may be selling a little bit of my warm and wonderful chinese food, for a taste of their cold sandwiches. i thought, my mum is right. pm of their cold sandwiches. i thought,

my mum is right-— of their cold sandwiches. i thought, my mum is right. an early indication of our my mum is right. an early indication of your career. _ my mum is right. an early indication of your career. a _ my mum is right. an early indication of your career, a very _ my mum is right. an early indication of your career, a very enterprising . of your career, a very enterprising spirit. there is such a strong connection between the chinese community in the us and other communities in the us, that great melting pot. i'm sure it hasn'tjust happened in the united states, of course, but i have been reading about it in recent days, around the new year celebrations, the anti—chinese sentiments that have cropped up in some places, somehow trying to link people with this virus and the pandemic that's going on. that must make you incredibly sad when you read those kinds of reports. {lit sad when you read those kinds of re -orts. . ., , sad when you read those kinds of re-orts. .., , ., ,, , reports. of course, it makes me really sad- _ reports. of course, it makes me really sad. the _ reports. of course, it makes me really sad. the problem - reports. of course, it makes me really sad. the problem was, i reports. of course, it makes me| really sad. the problem was, you reports. of course, it makes me i really sad. the problem was, you had a president who was fuelling all this by making fun, and constantly calling it a chinese virus. that's terribly inappropriate. people take their cues from their leaders. it's

very sad that a leader of one of the leading countries in the world would act like a child and actually brought out the worst, i think, because there are a lot of very good american people, who don't think that way. i know that, because having lived there before, and having lived there before, and having many american friends. i know they have a great respect for other people. let's not start putting blame on people, let'sjust people. let's not start putting blame on people, let's just get together and solve this problem together. and eat together! yes. together. and eat together! yes, let's eat together. _ together. and eat together! yes, let's eat together. i _ together. and eat together! yes, let's eat together. i wish - together. and eat together! yes, let's eat together. i wish we could. we can only eat with our family is really at the moment. and that is lovely, if we can eat with our families. we look forward to those days when we can widen that circle and eat with friends again. now that we are under a system of restrictions, how do you see people

marking chinese new year? it's usually a great gathering of people. it will be different this time but a special one nonetheless. how will you be marking it? it’s special one nonetheless. how will you be marking it? it's interesting, a lot of people _ you be marking it? it's interesting, a lot of people have _ you be marking it? it's interesting, a lot of people have been - you be marking it? it's interesting, a lot of people have been marking | a lot of people have been marking it. for me, my chinese friends, they have been sending me photos of what they have been making, all their dishes. i'm doing the same. this is what i've been cooking with my family, and this is what we are eating. we are sharing this with you. sharing it over social media. it's a great medium today, how we all connect during these difficult times. ~ ., ., , all connect during these difficult times. . . , , , times. what are the must cook dishes for chinese new _ times. what are the must cook dishes for chinese new year _ times. what are the must cook dishes for chinese new year celebrations? i for chinese new year celebrations? for me, steamed fish, because that means prosperity. and we all want prosperity after the news we have been listening to. and what i love

to serve is chicken, because chicken is a sign of fortune, and we certainly need fortune. and lots of crispy noodles. why? because noodles mean long life, and we all want that. it mean long life, and we all want that. ., ., , mean long life, and we all want that. ., ., , ., , ., that. if someone wants to start exoerimenting _ that. if someone wants to start experimenting with _ that. if someone wants to start experimenting with chinese i that. if someone wants to start i experimenting with chinese cooking at home, where is the best place to start? ~ , �* �* at home, where is the best place to start? , “ ., start? well, my bbc books! no, there are many--- — start? well, my bbc books! no, there are many- -- we _ start? well, my bbc books! no, there are many... we are _ start? well, my bbc books! no, there are many... we are not— start? well, my bbc books! no, there are many... we are not supposed i start? well, my bbc books! no, there are many... we are not supposed to l are many... we are not supposed to say! there are really many very good cookery books. you can also go on the internet and get recipes. really wonderful things to cook, it's so easy. just go on the internet, and it's pretty fantastic. the sharing that people have with food these days. i love that people post not only how they made something that

looks good, but how they made it and what they learn from it, certain lessons and how it was really delicious. sometimes i have seen food pictures and i thought, that's a great idea. 50 food pictures and i thought, that's a great idea-— a great idea. so 'ust have a go, ou're a great idea. so 'ust have a go, we saying _ a great idea. so 'ust have a go, you-e saying to — a great idea. so just have a go, you're saying to people. - a great idea. so just have a go, you're saying to people. just i you're saying to people. just experiment. you are making us all hungry. everyone in the news gallery was discussing their favourite chinese dishes. it's been delighted to talk to you, ken hom. once again, a very happy chinese new year to you. thank you for speaking to us. you're watching bbc news. back to coronavirus, mexico has lost more than 170,000 lives to the virus, the third highest death toll in the world. but it has also lost more than 300,000 lives in its decade—long war on drugs. in the city of tijuana, just across the border from the us, city of tijuana, just across the borderfrom the us, this double pandemic is plain to see. for a

week, the bbc followed a paramedic couple from the red cross, juggling these two high risk emergencies. sirens. this is the sound of a city overwhelmed with emergencies. daniel is a paramedic for the red cross. he's been working on the streets of tijuana for the past two decades. he was just 49 years old. many people here are sceptical about covid, so paramedics like daniel find more and more people at home.

most of them unresponsive. meanwhile, on the other side of town, daniel's wife, aida, is suiting up for another covid emergency. she's already had covid, but she's scared she could catch it again. one of the hard truths about covid is relatives are not allowed into hospitals, so this could be a last chance to say goodbye. in this city, there are only a dozen

ambulances for about 2 million people, so emergency calls keep coming. and when the night falls, they are faced with another pandemic — gun violence. juggling between covid—related emergencies and cases of violence has become the new normal for paramedics like aida. this is because the red cross, the emergency service she's working for, is the only one in the city of tijuana fully prepared to attend these kinds of high risk emergencies. but as first responders don't have access to the shooting scene until it is secured by police, it often gets too late to make a difference. the battle to save lives has never been so physically or mentally draining. woman cries.

this is a city traumatised, not only by gun violence but also by covid. and for this husband and wife, things won't get easier any time soon. anne laurent, bbc news, tijuana. china has banned bbc world news from broadcasting inside the country for what beijing claims to be unfair and untruthfuljournalism. china has untruthful journalism. china has criticised untruthfuljournalism. china has criticised the bbc for its reporting on coronavirus and the persecution of uighur muslims will stop our correspondence mark lobel has this update.

china has systematically blocked or expelled the foreign media for a number of years, including three american journalists in 2020. and in fact, the bbc news website and the bbc app was already banned in china. this could also be a retaliatory move because earlier this month the media regulator in the uk, ofcom, had actually revoked the license of the chinese state broadcaster's wing in england, in the uk, the cctv. basically, the company that it had issued the licence to, it wasn't confident had complete editorial control over the coverage. they thought that, indirectly, the chinese state would be able to influence what went in on air. basically, the company that it had issued the licence to, it wasn't confident had complete editorial control over the coverage. they thought that, indirectly, the chinese state would be able to influence what went in on air. and so we have this ban, as you say, of us chatting here, which is available in the uk and all around the world, but perhaps not today, on chinese new year, available in hotel rooms in china. and we learnt about this through a tweet from the state affiliated global times newspaper. if we can have a look at that, you can see the reasoning is the ban including xinjiang and china's handling of covid—19." this move, the tweet says, sends a clear signal that fake news is not tolerated in china. the global times twitter account sent out another message a few hours

later saying that if the bbc didn't correct its wrongdoings then bbc journalists might be expelled in the future. now, as you'd expect, the bbc is disappointed at this and has issued a statement which we can show you now. in fact, last week there was that striking report of muslim women in china alleging the systematically... that they were systematically gang—raped in the so—called re—education camps of xinjiang. that was something the chinese government denied. mark lobel with that report. now time for a look at the weather with matt taylor. there are weather changes on the horizon if you have not enjoyed the cold but be prepared for another at least two more days of chill to come with added bite from a strengthening wind. that wind picking up through the rest of today, feeding the

return of snow showers in north—east england, continuing across parts of north—east scotland, particularly across aberdeenshire, kinross, perth and fife. the crowd restart within the west will break up more with a few spots of rain, drizzle and sleet in the south—west. here we have the strongest wind, touching gale force. the wind means, while it says 1—5 on thermometers it will feel much older than that, closer to —4 and —5. this evening and overnight, win strengthening further, bringing snow showers over the grampians. as the weather front pushes into cold air, be ready for snow across ireland. all of us seeing temperatures close to if not well below freezing. not as cold as recent nights but frosty in places with an icy start tomorrow. pretty wintry for those in northern ireland. the weatherfront with us, strong wind blowing snow around. could see 5—10 centimetres of snow, may be more over hills in the morning and easing off a bit in the morning and easing off a bit in the afternoon will stop the weather

front on the move through the afternoon into the west of scotland, isle of man, wales and may be the south—west so these areas could see a couple of centimetres of snow, nothing too substantial with the weather front decaying as it works east. many parts of eastern scott dann good parts of ink and remaining dry. clouding over into the afternoon with temperatures barely getting above freezing with the wind even stronger tomorrow, so the wind chill is even more, —6 and —7 feeling to things in the afternoon. when continuing to be strong on sunday. turning into a south, south—westerly. temperatures at last starting to rise so if you haven't enjoyed the cold something milder is slowly on its way for some it will take a while on sunday, eastern areas, temperatures are staying a bit suppressed and after a cold start cloud moves over. further west, outbreaks of rain on and off through the day and may be something brighter into northern ireland later and temperatures of 9—10. only three orfourfor some in the east. to give you a flavour of next week,

looking at temperatures, all above well above what we have seen in the past week or so.

this is bbc news. i'm jane hill. official figures indicate the officialfigures indicate the uk economy contracted by 9.9% last year, more than double any previous drop. year, more than double any previous dro -. ~ , year, more than double any previous dro -. . , ., year, more than double any previous droi. . , ., year, more than double any previous dro. . , . , ., , , year, more than double any previous dro.s , . , ,., drop. whilst there are some signs of resilience over _ drop. whilst there are some signs of resilience over winter, _ drop. whilst there are some signs of resilience over winter, what's - drop. whilst there are some signs of resilience over winter, what's clear l resilience overwinter, what's clear is right now many families and businesses are experiencing hardship. the government insists measures put in place for quarantine hotels in the uk are in line with those in other countries. not less strict. wales has offered a vaccine to everyone in the top four priority groups, while england starts vaccinating the over 65s from next week. the uk chairman of accountacy firm kpmg resigns after reportedly telling staff to "stop moaning"

about possible cuts to pensions and pay during the covid—19 pandemic. democratic prosecutors finish making their case in the impeachment trial of donald trump, arguing he incited his supporters to attack the capitol building last month. good morning and welcome to bbc news. the uk economy shrank by more last year than in any other year on record, amid the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. new figures from the office for national statistics show

gross domestic product which measures the value of goods and services produced by the economy dropped by 9.9% last year. the economy did grow slightly in december by1.2%, as some lockdown restrictions were eased in the run up to christmas. despite the gloomy figures, the chief economist for the bank of england andy haldane sounds optimistic. writing in the daily mail, he says, "the economy is poised like a coiled spring", that it's ready to rebound when lockdown is lifted and people start spending again. well, the chancellor rishi sunak says the economy has suffered a "serious shock" but he's insisted his focus is on supporting people through the crisis. today's figures show last year our economy suffered a significant shock and also signs of resilience over winter. what's clear is, right now, many families and businesses are

experiencing hardship. that's why we've put in place a comprehensive plan forjobs, to support people through this crisis and we will set out the next stage of our economic response and our budget in march. let's discuss this with our business correspondent, katy austin. these are sizeable figures. yes, the dro- in these are sizeable figures. yes, the drop in gdp. — these are sizeable figures. yes, the drop in gdp. the — these are sizeable figures. yes, the drop in gdp, the total _ these are sizeable figures. yes, the drop in gdp, the total value - these are sizeable figures. yes, the drop in gdp, the total value of- drop in gdp, the total value of other goods and services the economy produced, was a historic drop last year, 9.9%. that's a lot more than evenin year, 9.9%. that's a lot more than even in the aftermath of the financial crisis and if we look at what happened during 2020, if we break it into three—month periods or quarters as they are described by economists, we saw very steep drop in the start of the year, 2.9% and 19% in the second quarter, including april, the months of the most full

lockdown, the first national lockdown. those two consecutive quarters of the economy shrinking counts as a technical recession but as the economy started to open up again as restrictions were eased last year, we did see a rebound but then the figures released today that were released today by the ons show the period of october to december, the period of october to december, the last quarter, and there was growth in that three—month period only 1% so even though we are at the moment set to avoid what we call a double dip recession, to periods of that consecutive quarters of the economy shrinking, the growth was quite slow because we had that period in november of the lockdown again but these figures are backward looking, of course. we are sitting here and another national lockdown which is not covered by these figures so it's perhaps not a surprise to anyone that we haven't seen huge growth at the end of last yearin seen huge growth at the end of last year in a period where there were lots of restrictions and they were

tightening. a big question is, what happens now? how quickly does the vaccine roll—out? how quickly can restrictions be lifted? and when can we see the kind of recovery like andy haldane seem to be so optimistic about? his andy haldane seem to be so optimistic about? andy haldane seem to be so 0 -timistic about? , .., , ., optimistic about? his comments are strikini optimistic about? his comments are striking because _ optimistic about? his comments are striking because there _ optimistic about? his comments are striking because there are _ striking because there are economists who are reasonably optimistic and others who say there is brexit to factor into all of this as well, there's a lot we don't know. we get positive about the vaccine but there's still a lot we don't know about how this pandemic is going to pan out in the next few months. it’s is going to pan out in the next few months. �* , ., is going to pan out in the next few months. �*, ., .., , ,. is going to pan out in the next few months. �*, ., .., , , . ., months. it's a complex picture and it's very unclear _ months. it's a complex picture and it's very unclear at _ months. it's a complex picture and it's very unclear at the _ months. it's a complex picture and it's very unclear at the moment i it's very unclear at the moment where we will be at that point, exactly where restrictions can be lifted, and for the time being there is still a pain being felt. some sectors like hospitality are still closed and there are lots of businesses worrying about whether they will make it through to that recovery phase, whether they will reap the benefits of the consumers, those people in the economy who have

been able to save quite a lot of money, although a lot of people have lostjobs. there is a lot of pent—up demand is a lot of pent—up demands on savings there among some people so a lot of businesses will be looking to the chancellor and his budget at the start of march to hear whether there will be more measures to support them as a kind of a bridge to what they hope will be better times to come. lets discuss the impact — better times to come. lets discuss the impact on _ better times to come. lets discuss the impact on business. _ better times to come. lets discuss the impact on business. it - better times to come. lets discuss| the impact on business. it depends what business you run of course. colin gray is managing director of lavender green flowers, a london—based florist. good morning. good morning. i'm assumin: good morning. good morning. i'm assuming it— good morning. good morning. i'm assuming it has _ good morning. good morning. i'm assuming it has been _ good morning. good morning. i'm assuming it has been a _ good morning. good morning. i'm assuming it has been a difficult i assuming it has been a difficult yearfor assuming it has been a difficult year for you. assuming it has been a difficult yearforyou. explain assuming it has been a difficult year for you. explain what your business was like at the start of the pandemic and what it's like now. it's been a successful business for nearly 30 years and having come out

of 2019 probably being our biggest year, we were looking forward to a strong 2020, so we saw when the pandemic came in in march, we saw a drop off of 90% in our business. it's an unusual business in that we work at events, weddings, sporting events like wimbledon and queens, and we got hotel contracts and also retail. retail has been ok. all of the hospitality and events that have been removed has hit us hard. haste been removed has hit us hard. have ou had been removed has hit us hard. have you had to — been removed has hit us hard. have you had to lose _ been removed has hit us hard. have you had to lose staff? _ been removed has hit us hard. have you had to lose staff? the _ been removed has hit us hard. have you had to lose staff? the furlough | you had to lose staff? the furlough scheme has — you had to lose staff? the furlough scheme has been _ you had to lose staff? the furlough scheme has been wonderful- you had to lose staff? the furlough scheme has been wonderful for- you had to lose staff? the furlough scheme has been wonderful for us, scheme has been wonderfulfor us, it's allowed us to keep a lot of our great team on. we have had to say goodbye to some staff but over the past year we saw a bit of a spike in business in december so we are able to bring a lot of the back during that time and we are trying to bring

them back on a casual basis where possible so that then hopefully when we do come back as an events business, ourwonderful we do come back as an events business, our wonderful industry comes back, then we are ready to tackle the business as and when. i’m tackle the business as and when. i'm interested in your levels of optimism or otherwise. we've got one economist at the bank of england saying the economy as a coiled spring and everything will be improved when we are out of lockdown, improved economically, but as much as you can get your crystal ball out, what is your expectation? to be honest, we are asking all of our clients the impossible question, when do they think events will come back? the summer is obviously for the events industry huge season which often carries us all through for the rest of the year. once we get an understanding of the road map

when we come out of lockdown, i think weddings will be the first thing to bounce back for us. i think there is pent—up demand for that and people waiting to understand what they can and can't do, then we are hopeful sporting events will come backin hopeful sporting events will come back in one way or another. obviously on reduced capacity during summer, but that's not confirmed. then we are hopeful that smaller corporate events will hopefully come backin corporate events will hopefully come back in september but really i think we are understanding from speaking to quite a few of our clients that it's really kind of next year from january that they can say confidently that they will be going for next year at least.— for next year at least. that's still a loni for next year at least. that's still a long way _ for next year at least. that's still a long way to _ for next year at least. that's still a long way to go- _ for next year at least. that's still a long way to go. valentine's i for next year at least. that's still| a long way to go. valentine's day for next year at least. that's still i a long way to go. valentine's day on sunday, do you get a lot of online orders? tide sunday, do you get a lot of online orders? ~ ., sunday, do you get a lot of online orders? . ., ., ., ., orders? we are fortunate that we have a web _ orders? we are fortunate that we have a web shop _ orders? we are fortunate that we have a web shop and _ orders? we are fortunate that we

have a web shop and store. it's i orders? we are fortunate that we have a web shop and store. it's a | have a web shop and store. it's a busy time of year for us. we've definitely seen it pick up this year than in previous years but that could be because we've had to diversify over these times and really push a lot of our business online so we've been really busy. i was out this morning making deliveries with the team so we're really hoping we are going to have a good valentines, that's for sure. all the best to you and the team. thank you. the managing director of lavender green flowers talking about his business. the government have said the rules for quarantine hotels will be as stringent as other countries. the bbc obtained a document which suggested they would be less strict than in australia. from monday, travellers arriving from covid hotspots will have to stay in a hotel for 11 nights. simonjones has this report.

returning home is about to be accompanied by a whole new set of requirements. if you arrive in england from one of the 33 countries considered high risk, you'll have to go straight to a quarantine hotel. there'll be more money for the police to ensure this happens. patrols will be stepped up at airports and ports, so travellers arriving from covid hotspots follow the new rules. in scotland, new restrictions will apply to residents arriving from any country by air. the government's been speaking to the authorities in australia, which have been running quarantine hotels for almost a year now. where infections have occurred, lessons have been learned, such as the risk of the virus spreading in the air from people's rooms. all they found for some of these security workers that were in the halls of these hotels, particularly the one in adelaide, from the hours of cctv, the only thing that person was doing that caused them to get covid—19, was breathing in the hall. but there will be some key differences from the australian model. in australia, hotel staff

are tested every day, but there are no plans for that in the uk. instead, staff with symptoms will be told to stay at home. in australia, all hotel guests must remain in their rooms at all times. but in the uk, people will be allowed out for fresh air or to smoke, if they're accompanied by security. security guards, for example, whether they be in hotels or not, they're being put at risk if they are having to accompany people, customers, to and from their room. that is something that the government should absolutely be putting in its guidelines. the government has secured 4,700 rooms in 16 hotels. people will have to pay £1,750 for ten days' quarantine. failing to follow the rules could lead to a fine of up to £10,000. ministers have insisted the changes, which come into force on monday, are measured and proportionate. simon jones, bbc news.

let's talk to our correspondent ian watson. what is your sense, do you think the government had to defend these measures coming in on monday? they do come in on monday and it's taking time to get clarity on exactly what measures people will be facing. they were clear from the outset that people have predeparture tests, that in quarantine, the test they get after two days. it was less clear what the testing regime would be for hotel staff and in the past ever, the department of health have clarified this and said that staff will be given access to regular testing. as we had heard in the report, in australia, staff are tested on a daily basis, tested even if they are not actually in work. it's not clear that staff in the uk hotels would be tested on a daily basis, but they will get regular testing and have access where

necessary to ppe. one thing which has also been clarified since we had simon's report is that people will not be allowed outside the rooms in order to smoke. you will be allowed outside of the room to seek medical attention, as we heard from the home office minister victoria atkins. you will also be allowed out if is accompanied by security staff for fresh air. i accompanied by security staff for fresh air. ., ., accompanied by security staff for fresh air. ~' ., ., ., ., ~' fresh air. i think we have to look at our own _ fresh air. i think we have to look at our own measures _ fresh air. i think we have to look at our own measures in - fresh air. i think we have to look at our own measures in our i fresh air. i think we have to look at our own measures in our own| at our own measures in our own country — at our own measures in our own country the _ at our own measures in our own country. the hotel will of course be adhering _ country. the hotel will of course be adhering to— country. the hotel will of course be adhering to all of the very strict measures— adhering to all of the very strict measures that we have in place in relation _ measures that we have in place in relation to— measures that we have in place in relation to social distancing and so on so _ relation to social distancing and so on so allowing someone fresh air, we know— on so allowing someone fresh air, we know that _ on so allowing someone fresh air, we know that being outside is less likely— know that being outside is less likely to — know that being outside is less likely to transmit than being inside but i likely to transmit than being inside but i think— likely to transmit than being inside but i think allowing someone a gulp of fresh _ but i think allowing someone a gulp of fresh air— but i think allowing someone a gulp of fresh air during a 10—day visit in a hotel— of fresh air during a 10—day visit in a hotel with all the very strict measures— in a hotel with all the very strict measures that we have i think is

reasonable. a measures that we have i think is reasonable-— measures that we have i think is reasonable. . , . , ., reasonable. a pedant might listen to this and say. — reasonable. a pedant might listen to this and say. you _ reasonable. a pedant might listen to this and say, you can _ reasonable. a pedant might listen to this and say, you can go _ reasonable. a pedant might listen to this and say, you can go outside i reasonable. a pedant might listen to this and say, you can go outside for. this and say, you can go outside for fresh air, but not for a smoke, do we know where the difference is? you will be we know where the difference is? m. will be accompanied by security at all times to make sure you have proper ppe so i'm not sure if they can confiscate cigarettes from you or not. talking of fresh air, i think a sharp intake of breath on something else the government is doing is to discourage international travel because they made it clear today that red list countries, that if you are a uk resident and have beenin if you are a uk resident and have been in those countries in the past ten days and are coming back into england, that's when you assent to these quarantine hotels in the first place. this list of 33 countries could be expanded at very short notice indeed. there used to be weekly reviews, there is now going to be a fast—track review, i'm told,

so decisions on which countries will be eligible for these hotel quarantine measures could change very swiftly indeed. you're not allowed to leave the country to go on holiday at the moment. in any case, that's against the law. but if that changes as restrictions begin to ease, perhaps in spring or summer, but there are still fears about where new variants might be coming into the country. if hotel quarantine stays in place, you could find yourself leaving the country and being told you've got a bill for £1700 to get back into the country and could find yourself confined to and could find yourself confined to a hotel so some conservative mps have been sceptical about some of the government's measures and the effect it may have on the travel or aviation industries and a further disincentive if any further were needed, 2 million will be spent on policing at airports and ports, a more obvious police presence there and perhaps police getting more actively involved in asking if your

journey is really necessary. that's all really interesting. _ journey is really necessary. that's all really interesting. it _ journey is really necessary. that's all really interesting. it might i all really interesting. it might make you think about breaking at the moment. we'll talk to you later, ian. the office for national statistics has published its latest data on the social impacts of coronavirus, based on a survey ofjust under 6,000 adults across the uk. over the period from the third of february to the seventh of february, the ons found that around one in five adults said they had received at least one dose of the covid—19 vaccine. among those aged 70 or older, almost eight in ten reported receiving at least one dose of a vaccine. away from the vaccine, 56% of adults surveyed reported staying at home or only leaving for work, exercise, essential shopping or medical needs. this is lower than figures from mid january but higher than in the pre—christmas lockdown.

people over the age of 65 in england will be invited to a covid jab appointment from next week, a further sign that the vaccination programme is on track to inoculate the most vulnerable people. meanwhile, the welsh government says it has reached the target of offering a vaccine to everyone in the first four priority groups. every part of the uk is aiming to offer a first dose by the end of this week to people aged over 70, health care workers and people who are clinically extremely vulnerable. our headlines: the uk economy shrank by nearly 10% last year, the biggest drop ever recorded. the government says measures being put in place for quarantine hotels in the uk will be in line with those in the uk will be in line with those in other countries and not less strict. wales has offered a vaccine to everyone in the top four priority

groups. a five—day lockdown has been imposed in the australian state of victoria, following a cluster of covid cases linked to a quarantine hotel at melbourne airport. 13 infections have now been diagnosed, and officials warn that that the uk variant of the virus is spreading fast. phil mercer reports. a short, sharp circuit breaker is being imposed across victoria, australia's second most populous state. the growing cluster of infections is linked to a quarantine hotel at melbourne airport. australians returning home must go into isolation for at least two weeks in arrival. health officials say the snap coronavirus lockdown is in response to the hyper—infectious uk variant. it's thought to have been spread in the hotel by a nebuliser,

a device that vaporises medicine, that was used by a family who tested positive. stay—at—home orders will apply to millions of people. schools will close and facemasks are mandatory. the australian open will continue in melbourne, but tennis fans won't be allowed to attend for at least five days. the victorian premier, daniel andrews, says there's no time to lose. if we wait for this theory that it might be out there, there might be more cases than we know about, if we wait for that to be proven correct, it will be too late. and then we will face the prospect of being locked down until a vaccination. hotel quarantine is australia's last line of defence against imported cases of covid—19, but it's not perfect. breaches in security that allowed

passengers to pass the virus to staff ignited a deadly second wave of infections in melbourne last year. the city was shut down for almost four months until the outbreak was contained. international border closures, mass testing, sophisticated contact tracing and strict lockdowns are key pillars in australia's pandemic strategy. but the safety of the hotel quarantine system is once again under great scrutiny. phil mercer, bbc news, sydney. russia's foreign minister, sergei lavrov, has said russia is ready to break its relations with the european union if the bloc imposes new sanctions. the eu has raised concerns about moscow's treatment of the jailed russian opposition leader, alexei navalny. mr lavrov said russia would respond if its economy was threatened. mr navalny is in court again to face defamation charges which he says are a further attempt

to blacken his name. the head of the tokyo olympics and paralympics organising committee has resigned, after making sexist remarks about women. yoshiro mori, who is 83, sparked anger when he said earlier this month that women talk too much in meetings. today the formerjapanese prime minister apologised. he told a board meeting the most important thing now was for the tokyo olympics to be a success. in a further development, the man tipped to take charge, saburo kawabuchi, has reportedly declined the job because of a backlash about the appointment. there are only five months to go until the games begin. lawyers for donald trump will start presenting their defence of the former president at his impeachment trial in the us senate this afternoon. last night, democrat prosecutors finished making their case and urged senators to convict mr trump, arguing that he incited his supporters to attack the capitol building last month. our north america correspondent barbara plett usher has this

report from washington. after reconstructing the anatomy of the riot in brutal detail, the prosecution rested its case. if you don't find this a high crime and misdemeanor today, you have set a new terrible standard for presidential misconduct in the united states of america. democrats focused their second day on donald trump's role and his alleged intent, arguing that the violence was foreseeable and he wilfully encouraged it. they sought to demonstrate that mr trump had a history of inciting political violence, and that his supporters listened and got the message. the security guys, we have wonderful security guys, they said, "mrtrump, there may be somebody with tomatoes in the audience." so if you see somebody getting ready to throw a tomato, knock the crap out of him, would you? seriously.

the rioters at the capitol building did believe they were following the president's orders. their own words presented as evidence. we were invited by the president of the united states! the defence takes over now. mr trump's lawyers are under pressure to step up their game, after a bumbling performance that angered him. they'll make the case that his fiery rhetoric wasn't meant literally, and that he has the right to freedom of speech. republicans were shaken by the democrats' graphic video evidence, but mr trump's lawyers will argue that he never intended for the violence to happen. and they're expected to be brief — not more than a day — suggesting they're confident they have the votes to acquit him. barbara plett—usher, bbc news, washington. a serial sex offender will be sentenced later today after being found guilty of raping and murdering the university student libby squire. pavel relowic attacked the 21—year—old as she made her way home

after a night out in hull two years ago. jurors heard relowicz had previously committed a string of offences against women. he was convicted yesterday at sheffield crown court. firefighters have been working through the night to contain a huge fire on dartmoor. the flames took hold of grassland near tavistock and spread to an area three miles wide. emergency crews said that strong winds and poor visibility made it extremely dangerous to tackle the fire, but no homes were under threat. china has banned bbc world news from broadcasting inside the country, for what beijing claims to be unfair and untruthful journalism. china has criticised the bbc for its reporting of coronavirus and the persecution of uighurs. the bbc says it's disappointed by the decision. our correspondent mark lobel has this update. china has systematically blocked or expelled the foreign media

for a number of years, including three american journalists in 2020. and in fact, the bbc news website and the bbc app was already banned in china. this could also be a retaliatory move because earlier this month the media regulator in the uk, ofcom, had actually revoked the license of the chinese state broadcaster's wing in england, in the uk, the cctv. basically, the company that it had issued the licence to, it wasn't confident had complete editorial control over the coverage. they thought that, indirectly, the chinese state would be able to influence what went in on air. and so we have this ban, as you say, of us chatting here, which is available in the uk and all around the world, but perhaps not today, on chinese new year, available in hotel rooms in china. and we learnt about this through a tweet from the state affiliated global times newspaper. if we can have a look at that, you can see the reasoning is the ban was brought in because of a slew of falsified reporting on issues including xinjiang and china's

handling of covid—19. this move, the tweet says, sends a clear signal that fake news is not tolerated in china. the global times twitter account sent out another message a few hours now, as you'd expect, the bbc is disappointed at this and has issued a statement which we can show you now. the bbc says, the bbc is the world's most trusted international news broadcaster and reports on stories from around the world fairly, impartially and without fear or favour. in fact, last week there was that striking report of muslim women in china alleging the systematically... that they were systematically gang—raped in the so—called re—education camps of xinjiang. that was something the chinese government denied. archaelogists say they've found evidence that part of stonehenge is second hand that it was orginally put together in wales.

a team from university college london believes there are key elements linking stonehenge to the remains of a welsh ancient stone circle. they say it could give the answer to one of the great mysteries about the monument — why its stones came from so far away, rather than a local quarry. now it's time for a look at the weather with matt taylor. milderair milder air will be with us by the end of the weekend but for now it is cold, a wind chill for the next couple of days. the breeze picking up couple of days. the breeze picking up today, bringing snow flurries to the northeast of england that continue across eastern scotland, mostly dry and sunny and sunshine developing through ireland, wales and the southwest, although cornwall and the southwest, although cornwall and devon may stay cloudy. gale—force towards the west and those winds will make 124 celsius

feel more like —5 in a few areas —— one orfour celsius. by feel more like —5 in a few areas —— one or four celsius. by the end of the night, the most significant snow is in northern ireland. away from that, a widespread frost, quite as cold as recent nights but all areas starting with frost into tomorrow morning. significant snow potentially tomorrow morning and into other western areas which fades into other western areas which fades into sunday and then milder air returns with some rain as well.

hello, this is bbc news with jane hill. the headlines... the uk economy shrank by nearly ten per cent last year — the biggest drop ever recorded. the chancellor says the economy's experienced a "serious shock" as a result of the pandemic. the government claims measures being put in place for quarantine hotels

in the uk will be in line with those in the uk will be in line with those in other countries and not a less strict. wales has offered a vaccine to everyone in the top four priority groups. while england will start vaccinating people over the age of 65 next week. the uk chairman of the accountancy firm kpmg has resigned after reportedly telling staff to stop moaning about possible cuts to pension and pay during the pandemic. democratic prosecutors in the us have finished making their case and the impeachment trial of donna trump arguing that he incited his importers to attack the capitol building last month. —— in the impeachment trial of donald trump. more coronavirus news coming up in the next hour but right now, up with all the latest sports news. good morning. let's start in melbourne, where the clock is ticking for fans

at the australian open. where the clock is ticking for fans a new coronavirus lockdown begins in the state of victoria at midnight — meaning there will be no spectators allowed at the tournament from then until wednesday at the earliest. our tennis correspondent russell fuller says the authorities have moved quickly to contain a small outbreak. a short sharp stop. they are describing it as a circuit breaker but the restrictions people in victoria will be under are like those in the uk at the moment. tonight's matches may well finish with empty stadium potentially if there are late finishes and for the next five days, the matches will continue, professional at its are deemed essential workers but there will be no crowd so, for example, camera nori's big match against andy... several will camera nori's big match against andy... severalwill go camera nori's big match against andy... several will go ahead behind closed doors. but the hope is that they will be allowed from the semifinal onwards on thursday. to matters on the court, novak djokovic is a set up

on the american taylor fritz, he also leads in the second. meanwhile the us open champion dominic thiem is involved in a thrilling 5—setter with home favourite nick kygrios. the australian took the first two sets — winning the second with an underarm serve. but thiem's fought back to win the next two. so they're into a fifth and there's only an hour to go until the crowd will be asked to leave in order to be home for the midnight curfew. serena williams is through to the fourth round. she beat russia's anastasia potapova, in straight sets — and admitted that she was slow, getting out of the blocks, but says it's about surviving and getting better as the tournament goes on. naomi osaka is also through.

the man in charge of the tokyo olympics organising committee has resigned — after being criticised over inappropriate comments about women. yoshiro mori was quoted as saying, women talk too much, and that meetings with many female board directors would "take a lot of time". the 83 year old had apologised for the remarks, but has now stepped down. england have made four changes, to the squad for the second test against india, which starts tomorrow. jimmy anderson is rested after that starring role in the first test. jos buttler is rested too and jofra archer is injured. stuart broad and ben foakes come in, as does moeen ali in place of dom bess who's been dropped. we know the full line—up for the quarterfinals of the fa cup. southampton beat wolves last night to set up a tie against bournemouth in the last eight.— in the last eight. chelsea are all throu~h, in the last eight. chelsea are all through, struggling _ in the last eight. chelsea are all through, struggling to - in the last eight. chelsea are all through, struggling to a -

in the last eight. chelsea are all through, struggling to a one i in the last eight. chelsea are all through, struggling to a one - l in the last eight. chelsea are all. through, struggling to a one - zero through, struggling to a one — zero win. tammy abraham with the only goal of the game. they will play sheffield united next. now in the early hours of this morning, british sailor, pip hare, became only the 8th woman, in history to finish the vendee globe — the solo around the world race. more men have been on the moon. hence the emotional scenes, as pip became the first brit to finish, after 95 days at sea, non stop for 28,000 miles. she's also done it in a boat that is 21 years old, the oldest vessel to cross the finish line, in this year's race. one of the things i'm onlyjust starting to come to terms with is how well i've done against all the other campaigns as you said, i've been... i started other campaigns as you said, i've been... istarted in other campaigns as you said, i've been... i started in 2019 with nothing. i took out a personal loan to cover the first couple of months

charter and from then, i kind of said, ok, ican charter and from then, i kind of said, ok, i can put my head down, race and money, learn how to sell this better and qualify for the race. the all thing. i guess it's been incredible but i think that back story helped me get through the rest for sure. back story helped me get through the rest for sure-— rest for sure. brilliant achievement for pip hare- _ that's all the sport for now. she is remarkable, isn't she? but rather her than me! all that time on your own. thank you very much, see your own. thank you very much, see you a little bit later. let's talk a little bit more about the economy... as we've been hearing, official figures show the uk economy shrank by a record 9.9 per cent last year — more than double any previous annual fall. there was a slight recovery in december, when restrictions were briefly relaxed. the chancellor rishi sunak says the economy has suffered a �*serious shock�* because of the pandemic. he's been speaking to our economics editor, faisal islam.

the reasons for corruption is optimism because of the vaccine and the roll—out, and i pay tribute to everybody involved in that, and the prime minister will set out a road map for exiting restrictions on the next few weeks and months. in the week of february _ next few weeks and months. in the week of february 22, _ next few weeks and months. in the week of february 22, it _ next few weeks and months. in the week of february 22, it is - next few weeks and months. in the week of february 22, it is right i week of february 22, it is right that we base that road map on the best possible evidence and data, and thatis best possible evidence and data, and that is exactly what you're doing and hope to provide some of that outlook that week. can and hope to provide some of that outlook that week.— and hope to provide some of that outlook that week. can we presume the thin . s outlook that week. can we presume the things may _ outlook that week. can we presume the things may last _ outlook that week. can we presume the things may last longer— outlook that week. can we presume the things may last longer and i outlook that week. can we presume | the things may last longer and some form of restriction seems inevitable to last weeks or months longer that the support you have given from this building, some forms of it, whether universal credit or weight support, will last longer tour, too. my -riori will last longer tour, too. my priority has _ will last longer tour, too. it priority has always will last longer tour, too. m1: priority has always been will last longer tour, too. is’ii: priority has always been to will last longer tour, too. 111 priority has always been to try to protect people's jobs first and foremost and help families and businesses through what has been an enormously difficult time. it helped that that difficult time is not going to be over in the spring, while support runs through to the

spring we will set through the next stage of our economic response to coronavirus at budget in early march and that will be based on the road map that the prime minister has set out the week before.— out the week before. some of the measurement _ out the week before. some of the measurement issues _ out the week before. some of the measurement issues in _ out the week before. some of the measurement issues in terms i out the week before. some of the measurement issues in terms of i measurement issues in terms of international comparisons, when you look at health outcomes, excess deaths, gdp of 2020 now, we are at the wrong end of international league tables. do you accept that it is some reflection on the government because my overall response to these extraordinary times? i because my overall response to these extraordinary times?— extraordinary times? i think the -oint on extraordinary times? i think the point on economic— extraordinary times? i think the point on economic comparative | point on economic comparative importance as important clean—up. we calculate gdp different to everyone else and if you're correct for that different look at it a way more comparable in than nominal gdp then what you find is that our performance then is very much in line comparable to other countries and in fact maybe on a margin better than places like canada, germany, italy and spain.

than places like canada, germany, italy and spain-— italy and spain. there is a presumption _ italy and spain. there is a presumption that - italy and spain. there is a presumption that randy l italy and spain. there is a i presumption that randy cannot italy and spain. there is a _ presumption that randy cannot leave my cabinet table, at various points, your voice has been the voice saying perhaps the restrictions have gone too far and maybe we need to lift them, get the early going the and we've had some bad outcomes in terms of cases. was that you? do you accept there was mistakes made? iaiiutiltsztt accept there was mistakes made? what we alwa s accept there was mistakes made? what we always try — accept there was mistakes made? what we always try to — accept there was mistakes made? what we always try to do _ accept there was mistakes made? what we always try to do is _ accept there was mistakes made? trawat we always try to do is base accept there was mistakes made? wiat we always try to do is base our decisions on the data and the evidence in front of us and this is an uncertain situation always, so you're trying to make the best judgments you can in the face of that uncertainty but what i can say is when it comes to things like restrictions, it is important to recognise they also have consequences and of course they help suppress the spread of the virus but we have to balance that against the impact on children's education for example and kids not being in school, the impact on people bosman jobs and i'll, and all those things have to be weighed and they are difficult decisions but we will make them based on the evidence, based on them based on the evidence, based on the data and we have set a road map out of the current restrictions in

the week of february 22. and we're expecting to speak to the shadow chancellor annelise dodds at twelve o'clock to get labour's response to today's economy figures — stay with us for that. that's in about twenty minutes. now turning our attention to a different story around covid—19 because the number of deaths in positive tests in prisons are falling. positive tests in prisons are fallini. ., : positive tests in prisons are fallin.. . , ., . . ., positive tests in prisons are fallin.. . , . . . ., ., falling. that is according to new fi . ures falling. that is according to new figures released _ falling. that is according to new figures released from _ falling. that is according to new figures released from the i falling. that is according to new. figures released from the ministry ofjustice. the number of positive tests peaked in the week of 25th january at more than 1,400 but was 771 in the week to 8th february.the number of deaths related to covid—19 in a single week has been as high as ten in recent months. in the week to 8th february, four deaths related to covid 19 were recorded. the figures cover prisoners and youths in custody.

let's speak to the prisons minister lucy frazer. good morning. how would you... how happy are you with the way the situation is being managed in the nation's prisons? because people watching although there have been a lot of reports about prisoners being locked up 23 hours a day as the only way to contain it. that locked up 23 hours a day as the only way to contain it.— way to contain it. that is right and we did take _ way to contain it. that is right and we did take very _ way to contain it. that is right and we did take very drastic, - way to contain it. that is right and we did take very drastic, serious l we did take very drastic, serious action at the beginning of the pandemic in my and the reason for thatis pandemic in my and the reason for that is that ph he advised us in march that if we did not take action, we were looking at around 2500-3000 deaths action, we were looking at around 2500—3000 deaths in prisons. obviously that was very concerning and worrying so we took a variety of measures. you mentioned one which was restrictions, lockdown across the estate and we did other things as well, we compartmentalise people so we separated those out who were symptomatic, those who are shielding and in that way manage the estate as well as building on the estate,

bringing in temporary units and 1000 temporary net unit so people could self—isolate better and the result of all those measures that we took, we didn't see a number of deaths that have been predicted, we did sadly see some losses of life but to date, we have lost around less than 100 people, so significantly less than had been predicted. it the than had been predicted. if the fiiures than had been predicted. if the figures and _ than had been predicted. if the figures and situation _ than had been predicted. if the figures and situation are i than had been predicted. if the figures and situation are improving, does that mean things are being operated differently today? are prisoners being let out more? can they socialise to some degree? that they socialise to some degree? fit they socialise to some degree? fit the restrictions in the community have eased, we have eased them in prison as the infection rates come down so over the summer, we did see more activity in prisons, for example we managed to get social visits back on. obviously with the recent lockdown, we've had to lock down again and we will look carefully at the prime minister pot

announcements and the results of looking at the vaccinations and the impact of infections over the coming week and we'll decide then what action we will take and take to lift restrictions if appropriate in prisons as well. [30 restrictions if appropriate in prisons as well.— restrictions if appropriate in prisons as well. restrictions if appropriate in -risons as well. , prisons as well. do you accept the need to get _ prisons as well. do you accept the need to get back _ prisons as well. do you accept the need to get back into _ prisons as well. do you accept the need to get back into routine i prisons as well. do you accept the need to get back into routine and | need to get back into routine and get back into, for example, education, classes, that is vitally important, isn't it, after this length of time as mac important, isn't it, after this length of time as mac absolutely and we really realise _ length of time as mac absolutely and we really realise the _ length of time as mac absolutely and we really realise the impact - length of time as mac absolutely and we really realise the impact of i we really realise the impact of locking people up. like in the community was restrictions, there are consequences for society and so too in prisons there are consequences for those in prison so we are really keen to open up and we have to do that safely so we have taken decisions, for example, in the youth estate at the moment, we are running education because we recognise the importance of that and we recognise also that young people are less affected by the virus, but

all the decisions we take will be based on the evidence and making sure we continue to save lives and we have done already. i’m sure we continue to save lives and we have done already.— sure we continue to save lives and we have done already. i'm afraid we are running — we have done already. i'm afraid we are running out _ we have done already. i'm afraid we are running out of— we have done already. i'm afraid we are running out of time _ we have done already. i'm afraid we are running out of time but - we have done already. i'm afraid we are running out of time but thank. are running out of time but thank you for your time this morning. thank you, the prisons minister. the uk chairman of the global accountacy firm kpmg has resigned after reportedly telling staff to �*stop moaning�* about concerns over possible cuts to pensions and pay during the covid—19 pandemic. in a statement, bill michael said �*i love the firm and i am truly sorry that my words have caused hurt amongst my colleagues. in light of that, i regard my position as untenable and so i have decided to leave the firm.�* we can speak to our business correspondent theo leggett. why is this significant? tells a little bit more as well perhaps people who have not followed this what exactly is relieved he said.

this is a meeting, an online meeting and recall at a town hall meeting that happened between bill michael and several hundred kpmg consultants on monday. now, immediately after that, a lot of reports came out about alleged insensitive remark made by bill michael and some of them have now found their way onto them have now found their way onto the internet with a video that a major newspaper has put online. at one point, he was asked about staff concerns about those potential cuts you mentioned to pay and pensions and his response was that actually in the sector they were working on, they were very lucky, he said they should not play the victim unless they were actually sick and he told them to take control of their lives and don�*t sit out there and mone was another one of his comments. but there were other things he said as well so, for example, talking about unconscious bias, and this is the idea that attitudes towards race or

gender that we may not be aware of colour are individual actions in the office and he said there was no such thing as unconscious bias because every piece of unconscious bias training that they carried out had not made any difference. at that meeting, he said he was meeting clients for coffees, even though we are in lockdown and that your legal he made a number of very much off the cuff comments which went down very badly with the staff, kpmg then launched an investigation. he was told to stand aside earlier this week and now he�*s taken the view that his position is untenable and he has to step down. the headlines on bbc news... the uk economy shrank by nearly ten per cent last year — the biggest drop ever recorded. the government claims measures being put in place for quarantine

hotels in the uk will be in line with those in other countries — and not less strict. wales has offered a vaccine to the top 4 priority groupswhile england“s to start vaccinating the over 65s england�*s to start vaccinating the over 65s —— england�*s to start vaccinating the over 65 next week. the welsh government says wales will be the first uk nation to have offered the top four priority groups a covid jab. wales�* first minister, mark drakeford, says the success of the roll—out means there is a potential road out of lockdown. here in wales, numbers of people infected with coronavirus continue to go down. if that can be sustained over the weeks to come, then we can a path i into the spring in which we will be able to restore freedoms to people that they�*ve had to go without while we�*ve been in this

second wave, but that is a very big if. there are so many unknowns. new variants that are happening in different parts of the world that could make a difference in the united kingdom, but with the vaccination and with numbers falling, provided we reopen society carefully and cautiously, and don�*t allow the virus to get away from us again, we can see a path into the spring where it will be possible to go back to doing some of the things we are all missing so much. new first minister of wales, lets get the reaction of business to that cautious optimism. we can speak now to the head of the welsh retail consortium, sara jones. good morning. what did you make of mark drake for the�*s comments? == mark drake for the's comments? -- mark drake for the's comments? » mark drakeford. we do have a control plan which sets out those levels for us exiting lockdown and indeed we

are moving very firmly to level three territory which is all about reopening society and business, and it would be fantastic news to start to see shops reopened as representative of the retail industry is vital we get that clarity now over the next couple of weeks and moved to our reopening position in early spring. [30 weeks and moved to our reopening position in early spring.— position in early spring. do you get any guidance _ position in early spring. do you get any guidance behind _ position in early spring. do you get any guidance behind the _ position in early spring. do you get any guidance behind the scenes? l position in early spring. do you get i any guidance behind the scenes? how much dialogue do you have continually with government about this? because you�*re the fact businesses need to plan of course. yes, and we have a very constructive and positive dialogue with the welsh government, engaging on a weekly basis and we are working towards our control plan and as it stands, we should be moving very quickly and drew level three territory which does see the opening of nonessential retail again, so we will continue to have those discussions in the next year next week, i don�*t envision any substantial changes happening at that review for businesses but what we would like to see is the 11th of

march, the following review where we see some positivity and a glimmer of hope for businesses to then start to trade their way back into our recovery. trade their way back into our recovery-— trade their way back into our recove . i , .., ., , recovery. and they could reopen in mid march- — recovery. and they could reopen in mid march. we _ recovery. and they could reopen in mid march. we need _ recovery. and they could reopen in mid march. we need minimal- recovery. and they could reopen in i mid march. we need minimal notice, some notice. — mid march. we need minimal notice, some notice, but— mid march. we need minimal notice, some notice, but we _ mid march. we need minimal notice, some notice, but we have _ mid march. we need minimal notice, some notice, but we have worked i mid march. we need minimal notice, | some notice, but we have worked very closely and been through two lockdown is now, we�*ve developed workplace guidance around welsh government and that remains very robust, and we are ready to reopen and, as i said, we all tried our way back to recovery and that is the best prescription for us now, not more grants are more funding but an opportunity to be able to get people back into the work and start to trade and for stores to open once more. : trade and for stores to open once more. , , ., _ trade and for stores to open once more. , i. _ ., ., more. interesting you say that and eve one more. interesting you say that and everyone would — more. interesting you say that and everyone would totally _ more. interesting you say that and everyone would totally appreciate | everyone would totally appreciate you want to get going and you want to get back to business, of course,

but we all know, we are talking about gdp today and we know the economic impact this has had. what are your members telling you about the number of staff they factually of? the amount of debt that some of them will have had get themselves into just to remain static was mac yes, we�*ve been very appreciative of the support we�*ve had from government, with it being fairly substantial and swift but we are in a very difficult position because the longer our doors are shut, we are losing over £100 million per week and loss of revenue and in wales we have the highest shop vacancy rate to five shops remain vacant in our high streets in last year we saw the biggest drop in footfall with over 50% of the drop in the number so my members are telling me we need to reopen. we went into lockdown early in wales and everywhere else uk so we need to have some urgency now about seeing that route out of lockdown to enable our members to trade their way out of this difficult position they are in. ., ,, , ., , of this difficult position they are in. . ,, , ., , . of this difficult position they are in. thank you very much for “oining

us. at least six people have been killed in a road crash involving 130 vehicles on an icy highway in texas. emergency crews were still on the scene near fort worth more than 12 hours after the incident. tanya dendrinos reports — and a warning that you may find some of the images in her report distressing. at least six people have been killed in a road crash involving a scene of carnage — this icy texan freeway resembling more a wrecking yard. a mangled heap of more than 130 vehicles, and a community left grieving, with at least six lives lost and more than 60 people injured. we�*re all coming to you with heavy hearts today. the scene we saw today is one, really unlike one probably any of us have ever seen and one that we pray to god we never see again.

my heart is broken for this community as we deal with the tragic loss of so many lives and so many injuries in a scene like none of us have ever seen before. so many people have lost loved ones or had them injured. and that pain isjust incredible. this whole community will feel that pain. they need your love and they need your prayers to get through this. this is a snapshot of the horror unfolding. vehicle after vehicle, unable to avoid impact. the scene eventually spanning around a kilometre. emergency crews worked for hours on end, systematically making their way through the tragic wreck. after the initial scene stabilisation, after all of the victims that were able to be found, all the cars that were able to be searched were searched, the scene was turned over to the fort worth police department in orderfor them to begin conducting their investigation. that investigation likely to be as complex as the recovery effort. police believe ice was a factor,

but say they�*re only in the preliminary stages. tanya dendrinos, bbc news. more than 13.5 million people in the uk have now had theirfirst dose of a coronavirus vaccine. but in some minority ethnic communities, a low take up rate is giving cause for concern. in bristol, two somali nurses are trying to change that, and fiona lamdinjoined them as they went door to door to encourage people to get the jab. huda and suad have been nursing in bristol for years. they�*ve both had the vaccine and are encouraging others to do the same. with ethnic minority, we know that they have a high risk of hospitalisation and death and also suffering from severe side effects when they contract the covid—19. nhs figures suggest,

in some black and ethnic minority communities, the take—up rate for the vaccine is half of what it is for white people... as—salamu alaykum. .. ..so they�*ve produced a film in somali, are advising gps, and are having lots and lots of conversations. it�*s like a flu jab. yes. we believe flu jab? yes, yes. i was very nervous. i was not believing it. i felt like that vaccine'd kill you after one year or after two years. you will get, like, any sickness that you wouldn't have before. but after talking with suad, asma changed her mind and had the vaccine yesterday. on the other side of the city, huda is also having more doorstep conversations. today, it�*s with liiban. i�*m in 50 days coma. two days — three month hospital. and 50 days�* coma in intensive care. i survived.

after three months, this was the moment liiban was wheeled out of intensive care. i�*m recovering now. my life all, you know, doing here. you see? trachy. yeah. he�*s now urging others to take the vaccine. but huda doesn�*t leave till she�*s spoken to everyone in the home. at 81 years old, amena is vulnerable. women chat. she said yes, she would be happy to take it. "it�*s in my own benefit to take it," she said. "it�*s beneficialfor me and i�*d be happy to take it." and already they�*re seeing the ripple effect. huda persuaded ayan, who�*s a carer — who persuaded her brother, who�*s a taxi driver. and you�*re telling other people to do... i�*m telling the other people, as well. my family, my sisters, my brother — who is not clear if they are taking. i say, ok, why not take it? i�*m taking, i�*m waiting now. i�*m a carer and i�*m waiting for my vaccine for next week. there�*s still a lot more work to be done, but these two nurses

are determined that no—one who�*s offered the vaccine turns it down. fiona lamdin, bbc news. much more coming up, we will talk about the vaccine roll—out and economic figures but let�*s pause for the weather. matt taylor is here. well changes on the horizon. if you do not enjoy the course, be prepared for two more days of gel with added bite from strengthening winds. they went picking up through the rest of today and feeling the result of some snow showers heading into england and eastern parts of scotland, particularly aberdeen, angus, perth and kinross and fife. the cloud we start with the newest breaks are built a bit more with a few spots of rain, drizzle and sleek towards the south—west and it�*s here we have

this stronger winds, touching gale force. 1—5 c on the thermometers but feeling cold, between —4 and minus five celsius. through the evening, feeling the snow showers in across the grampians what is a weather front pushes into one of the there, get ready for some snow across ireland. temperatures well below freezing, not as cold as recent light but frosty in places in an icy start to tomorrow. and a pretty wintry one for those was in northern ireland, too, with a weather front with us, strong winds blowing the snow around, 5—10 centimetres snow. using a filter bit into the afternoon and they were front will be on the move into the west of scotland, isle of man, wales or the south—west with area seeing a centimetre of 20 there and nothing too substantial. the weather front decaying as it had to it was. good parts of england staying dry,

crowding into the afternoon. temperatures barely getting above freezing and the wind is even stronger tomorrow so the wind chill is even more, —6 —7 killed two things through the second half of the day. winds continue to be strong in tucson they were starting to go to a more south—westerly with the elephants pushing their way in, get ready for the temperatures and to rise. if you�*ve not enjoy the cold, something milder slowly on the way, taking its time on sunday and temperatures thing a bit suppressed after that cold start, crowd moving over, further west, cloud, outbreaks of rain on and off through the day and may be something brighter into northern ireland later and temperatures 9—10 c, only three or four celsius for some unease but that milder air will win out later on sunday and into monday, and just to give you a flavour of nxtu, look at the temperatures, all of them well above where we�*ve seen for the past week or so. that�*s how it�*s looking, see you soon.

this is bbc news. the headlines: official figures indicate the uk economy contracted by a record 9.9% last year — more than double any previous drop. in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic-— in the wake of the coronavirus -andemic. . , , , ., pandemic. whilst there were signs of resilience over _ pandemic. whilst there were signs of resilience over winter, _ pandemic. whilst there were signs of resilience over winter, what's - pandemic. whilst there were signs of resilience over winter, what's clear i resilience overwinter, what�*s clear is right now, many families and businesses are experiencing hardship. the government claims measures being put in place for quarantine hotels in the uk will be in line with those in the uk will be in line with those in other countries and not less strict. wales has offered a vaccine to everyone in the top four priority groups while england will start vaccinating people over the age of 65 from next week. the government may review its

road—building policy following a legal challenge by environmentalists. the uk chair of the accountancy firm kpmg has resigned after reportedly telling staff to stop moaning about possible cuts to pension and pay during the covid pandemic. good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. the uk economy shrank by more last year than in any other year on record, amid the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. a from the coronavirus pandemic. double dip recessi have a double dip recession appears to have been avoided.

new figures from the office for national statistics show gross domestic product — which measures the value of goods and services produced by the economy — dropped by 9.9% last year. the economy did grow slightly in december — by 1.2%, as some lockdown restrictions were eased in the run—up to christmas. despite the gloomy figures the chief economist for the bank of england andy haldane sounds optimistic. writing in the daily mail he says, "the economy is poised like a coiled spring" — that it�*s ready to rebound when lockdown is lifted and people start spending again. well, the chancellor rishi sunak says the economy has suffered a "serious shock" but he�*s insisted his focus is on supporting people through the crisis. our economy suffered a shock and while there were signs of resilience overwinter, it�*s clear that many families and businesses are experiencing hardship which is why

we put in place a comprehensive plan forjobs to support people through this crisis and we will set out the next stage of our economic response at our budget in march. i�*v e i�*ve been talking to our business correspondent katie austen about these new figures. it was a historic drop last year, 9.9%. that�*s a lot more than even in the aftermath of the financial crisis and if we look at what happened during 2020, if we break it into three—month periods or quarters as they are described by economists, we saw very steep drop in the start of the year, 2.9% in the first and 19% in the second quarter, including april, the months of the most full lockdown, the first national lockdown. those two consecutive quarters of the economy shrinking counts as a technical recession but as the economy started to open up

again as restrictions were eased last year, we did see a rebound but then the figures released today that were released today by the ons show the period of october to december, the last quarter, and there was growth in that three—month period only 1% so even though we are at the moment set to avoid what we call a double dip recession, to periods of that consecutive quarters of the economy shrinking, the growth was quite slow because we had that period in november of the lockdown again but these figures are backward looking, of course. we are sitting here in another national lockdown which is not covered by these figures so it�*s perhaps not a surprise to anyone that we haven�*t seen huge growth at the end of last year in a period when there were lots of restrictions and they were tightening. a big question is, what happens now? how quickly does the vaccine roll out? how quickly can restrictions be lifted?

and when can we see the kind of recovery that people like andy haldane seem to be so optimistic about? his comments are striking because there are economists who are reasonably optimistic and others who say there is brexit to factor into all of this as well, there�*s a lot we don�*t know. we get positive about the vaccine but there�*s still a lot we don�*t know about how this pandemic is going to pan out in the next few months. it�*s a complex picture and it�*s very unclear at the moment where we will be at that point, exactly when restrictions can be lifted, and for the time being there is still a pain being felt. some sectors like hospitality are still closed and there are lots of businesses worrying about whether they will make it through to that recovery phase, whether they will reap the benefits of the consumers, those people in the economy who have been able to save quite a lot of money, although a lot of people have lost jobs. there is a lot of pent—up demand on savings there among some people

so a lot of businesses will be looking to the chancellor and his budget at the start of march to hear whether there will be more measures to support them as a kind of a bridge to what they hope will be better times to come. we can speak now to the shadow chancellor, anneliese dodds. difficult figures but that was always going to be the case in light of the pandemic.— of the pandemic. we've seen countries _ of the pandemic. we've seen countries across _ of the pandemic. we've seen countries across the - of the pandemic. we've seen countries across the world i of the pandemic. we've seen i countries across the world affected economically by the pandemic. one of the most concerning things around these statistics is the fact that these statistics is the fact that the uk has had the worst economic crisis of any major economy. we�*ve had the worst crisis of any g7 country so we do need to see action right now to secure our economy for the future, to make sure we�*re getting out of the currentjobs crisis, that we are keeping business is going. we can�*t wait for that action until the budget, which seems

to be the chancellor�*s strategy right now. that willjust lead to our economy suffering even more. what�*s your assessment as to why britain is in that situation in relation to other g7 countries? it we look at the unemployment situation for example, we see that the increase in unemployment that took place just before the chancellor made his mind up around the furlough scheme, that wasn�*t replicated in many other countries. in fact, in many other countries when we saw that increase in unemployment, their unemployment levels were stabilising. we�*ve had a very last minute, stop start approach to support in the uk and we also haven�*t seen the kind of targeted measures that would really be helping right now. that�*s why labour are saying we need to be setting out right now the measures that will be required, for example, extended business rates holiday, but we also need those measures to be targeted. if you look at labour run

wales, they opposed a cap for the very biggest essential retailers so they could focus that funding so that it protected jobs. that�*s what the government should be doing and they shouldn�*t be waiting, they should be acting now. the they shouldn't be waiting, they should be acting now.- they shouldn't be waiting, they should be acting now. the uk economy did irow in should be acting now. the uk economy did grow in the — should be acting now. the uk economy did grow in the last _ should be acting now. the uk economy did grow in the last quarter _ should be acting now. the uk economy did grow in the last quarter in - should be acting now. the uk economy did grow in the last quarter in a - did grow in the last quarter in a way that some european countries didn�*t so there is some strength there. didn't so there is some strength there. : : didn't so there is some strength there. , , ., there. there is strength there and it's there. there is strength there and its positive _ there. there is strength there and it's positive that _ there. there is strength there and it's positive that there _ there. there is strength there and it's positive that there was - there. there is strength there and it's positive that there was that i there. there is strength there andj it's positive that there was that 1% it�*s positive that there was that 1% growth but if we look across the year, very worryingly, we had the worst economic crisis of any g7 nation. that means we need resolute action now with a longer term plan. the chancellor talks about a plan forjobs but unfortunately it has been very short—term, it hasn�*t delivered. we need much stronger action and labour set out a number of practical ways that we can really be building up that employment for the future, generating the newjobs we need right across the uk but also

stopping unnecessaryjob losses. stopping unnecessary job losses. that�*s stopping unnecessaryjob losses. that�*s what we really need the chancellor to do now, to get a grip on the situation, not wait until the budget and have more short—term solutions that just leave budget and have more short—term solutions thatjust leave our country in that precarious position. well, the budget is only weeks away and you talk about a stop start solution but rishi sunak would point to the billions that are being spent on the furlough scheme, grants that are being given to businesses. i think he would say to you he hasn�*t been doing nothing. think he would say to you he hasn't been doing nothing.— think he would say to you he hasn't been doing nothing. well, of course not. what would _ been doing nothing. well, of course not. what would you _ been doing nothing. well, of course not. what would you have _ been doing nothing. well, of course not. what would you have done i not. what would you have done differently? _ not. what would you have done differently? we _ not. what would you have done differently? we would - not. what would you have done differently? we would have i not. what would you have done| differently? we would have that loner differently? we would have that longer term _ differently? we would have that longer term perspective - differently? we would have that longer term perspective first i differently? we would have that longer term perspective first of| differently? we would have that i longer term perspective first of all and when i�*ve been talking to businesses up and down the uk, the few weeks that are coming up are not a short period for them. they are the period where they have to decide if they can even continue in operation in many cases. i was

talking to some businesses in cumbria yesterday and they were saying they need that clarity right now about whether, for example, the business rates holiday will be continuing, but we also need that funding to be targeted in the right direction. the chancellor talks a lot about the overall amount of money that he has spent but he doesn�*t talk about whether it has been targeted effectively and just this week, labour has shown how we have seen hundreds of millions, even billions of pounds of money going into contracts that have not delivered. we�*ve had the worst death toll of any european country but we�*ve also had that worst economic crisis of any major economy as well. we really need public spending to be directed into the right places, not have this level of waste and mismanagement of public funds. taste mismanagement of public funds. we have also had a more swift, wide reaching vaccination programme that a lot of european countries. taste a lot of european countries. we have, a lot of european countries. we have. which _ a lot of european countries. we

have, which is _ a lot of european countries. - have, which is fantastic and i really cannot praise enough all of those nhs staff, the gp staff, all of them from receptionists through to the gps themselves, the volunteers across our country who have deliver that programme. i have to say that so far, it really does show the value of our national health service and the way that it can be mobilised using that people power. i�*m very proud of what they have achieved. but we do need to do better and ramp that up as much as possible because for as long as we don�*t have those high rates of people being vaccinated, we could still have those restrictions continuing. i do think there�*s more that can be done. wejust continuing. i do think there�*s more that can be done. we just found out today that labour run wales have done exceptionally well at getting through those priority groups. we need the whole country to be doing well around this so that we can get out of this crisis as quickly as possible. out of this crisis as quickly as -ossible. ., ,, out of this crisis as quickly as possible-— out of this crisis as quickly as -ossible. ., ,, i. ., ., , possible. thank you for “oining us, shadow chancellor. i

possible. thank you forjoining us, shadow chancellor. new _ possible. thank you forjoining us, shadow chancellor. new statistics | shadow chancellor. new statistics suggest that coronavirus infections decrease across the uk last week. our correspondent has been looking through these figures. explain what they show, please, robert. iiiretti;r they show, please, robert. pretty much good _ they show, please, robert. pretty much good news _ they show, please, robert. pretty much good news everywhere, i they show, please, robert. iii'att1 much good news everywhere, falling across the country and the only difference nationally is that levels are a bit lower in scotland. in england, wales and northern ireland there were about 1.5% of people testing positive for coronavirus in the last week of data which has gone down from 1.25%, a bit lower in wales and a bit higher in northern ireland, and it�*s gone down from under 1.9 down to about —— from 0.9 to 0.7 so falls everywhere. across all regions and age groups, it�*s falling everywhere except maybe for

the south west of england where levels have been lowest standard not coming down as quickly as elsewhere but good news. iilice coming down as quickly as elsewhere but good news-— but good news. nice to hear that. talk us through _ but good news. nice to hear that. talk us through hospitalisation i talk us through hospitalisation figures. talk us through hospitalisation fi . ures. talk us through hospitalisation fiiures. . , ., , figures. the declines we are seeing here are slower _ figures. the declines we are seeing here are slower and _ figures. the declines we are seeing here are slower and have _ figures. the declines we are seeing here are slower and have been i figures. the declines we are seeing i here are slower and have been slower here are slower and have been slower here than in cases of hospitalisations. the number of people coming forward to getting tests because they are feeling sick and being confirmed as having coronavirus falling by about half every fortnight. the number of hospitalisations the same. these falls in the ons survey have been going a little bit slower but they are starting to pick up speed now and the difference between these numbers, the ons numbers is that they are picking up people who have ever tested positive for coronavirus to the people are analysing who are analysing this data and government

are expecting them to be slower to show the effect of lockdown but eventually to do as they have done today and begin to catch up and begin to show how we are moving in the right direction and things are getting better, although it should be said, coming down doesn�*t mean we are through it yet. the level we are at, 1.25% of people testing positive, that�*s roughly where the levels where in england at the end of november when we went into a national lockdown, so not out of the woods yet but moving in the right direction. we�*ve also had statistics about the social impact of coronavirus. from the third to the 7th of february, the third to the 7th of february, the ons found that one in five adults said they had had at least one dose of a covid vaccine. among people aged 70 or above, nearly eight in ten reported receiving at least one dose. away from the

vaccine, 56% of adults reported staying at home or only going out for permitted reasons like work, exercise and medical needs, lower than figures from mid january although higher than in the pre—christmas lockdown. to get reaction to all of those figures let�*s speak to dr deepti gurdasani, senior lecturer in clincical epidemiology at queen mary university of london. good afternoon, doctor. good afternoon- — good afternoon, doctor. good afternoon. we _ good afternoon, doctor. good afternoon. we have _ good afternoon, doctor. good afternoon. we have focused i good afternoon, doctor. good afternoon. we have focused a j good afternoon, doctor. good i afternoon. we have focused a lot in the last few — afternoon. we have focused a lot in the last few weeks _ afternoon. we have focused a lot in the last few weeks about _ afternoon. we have focused a lot in the last few weeks about the i afternoon. we have focused a lot ml the last few weeks about the vaccine roll—out, the speed of it and categories of people who are getting their firstjab. categories of people who are getting theirfirstjab. i�*m interested their first jab. i�*m interested broadly theirfirstjab. i�*m interested broadly in your assessment of where the vaccine programme is, how well it is or isn�*t working. i the vaccine programme is, how well it is or isn't working.— it is or isn't working. i think the roll-out has — it is or isn't working. i think the roll-out has been _ it is or isn't working. i think the roll-out has been a _ it is or isn't working. i think the roll-out has been a huge i it is or isn't working. i think the i roll-out has been a huge success. roll—out has been a huge success. it's roll—out has been a huge success. it�*s very clear that we have met our vaccination target uptake in the populations that are most vulnerable

and has been very high. we have kinda vaccinated more than 13 million people from the vulnerable age groups which already have a huge impact on hospitalisations and disease and deaths in the coming weeks. ~ ., disease and deaths in the coming weeks. . . ., . , weeks. will have an impact there, is it fair to say — weeks. will have an impact there, is it fair to say don't _ weeks. will have an impact there, is it fair to say don't know— weeks. will have an impact there, is it fair to say don't know or _ weeks. will have an impact there, is it fair to say don't know or don't i it fair to say don't know or don't know enough about transmission still? i know enough about transmission still? ~' know enough about transmission still? ~ a, �* , a, know enough about transmission still? ~ a, �*, a, a, still? i think that's fair to say, particularly — still? i think that's fair to say, particularly those _ still? i think that's fair to say, particularly those age - still? i think that's fair to say, particularly those age groups| particularly those age groups because we don't have a lot of data. particularly for astrazeneca and oxford on the impact of infection and transmission in those age groups as well as for pfizer so we need to remember that vaccinating 20% of the population is not going to have a huge impact on transmission which is why although vaccination is a hugely important part of our strategy we need to focus efforts on reducing case numbers in parallel with vaccination because we don't expect vaccination because we don't expect vaccination to have an impact on

that in the coming months. that's an im ortant that in the coming months. that's an important message _ that in the coming months. that's an important message to _ that in the coming months. that's an important message to get _ that in the coming months. that's an important message to get across - that in the coming months. that's an l important message to get across from your perspective because we focus so much on vaccines, perhaps because we are desperate for good news, but politicians are having to juggle with that issue of lockdown, when it can be released, so is it fair to say that you are saying the sort of measures we are living through need to persist for a while? yes. measures we are living through need to persist for a while?— to persist for a while? yes, we need to persist for a while? yes, we need to remember— to persist for a while? yes, we need to remember how _ to persist for a while? yes, we need to remember how bad _ to persist for a while? yes, we need to remember how bad this _ to persist for a while? yes, we need to remember how bad this crisis - to persist for a while? yes, we need to remember how bad this crisis got| to remember how bad this crisis got and we could easily get there again if we release lockdown early which is what happened last time. the level of hospitalisations we have a still higher than we had in april and may, so we need to keep that in mind and we are seeing a lot of virus adaptation happening. we've heard about new variants that could potentially threaten our effectiveness so we need to make sure we suppress the virus efficiently to keep it down otherwise we are likely to see a resurgence which would still mean a lot of icu admissions and long covid

and much more potentialfor virus mutation. ., ., ., , mutation. unravel that last point for --eole mutation. unravel that last point for peeple like — mutation. unravel that last point for people like me _ mutation. unravel that last point for people like me who _ mutation. unravel that last point for people like me who are - mutation. unravel that last point for people like me who are not i for people like me who are not scientific. i'm thinking about new variants and the concern around that. your point is that if there is more of the virus out there in the community, does that increase the risk of people like you spotting more variants?— risk of people like you spotting more variants? absolutely. the viruses mutate _ more variants? absolutely. the viruses mutate as _ more variants? absolutely. the viruses mutate as they - more variants? absolutely. the | viruses mutate as they replicate more variants? absolutely. the - viruses mutate as they replicate and the more potential there is for them to replicate, the more potential there is for them to adapt and is worrying we are seeing adaptation happening in the uk in real—time including new mutations we know are associated with reduced vaccine effectiveness in thejohnson & johnson trials and potentially for astrazeneca and oxford, so it's very important we limit the spread of those particular variants. we need to remember that as more of the population is vaccinated, they will be more pressure on the virus to

escape vaccination and the only way to do that is to make sure we don't have much transmission happening so that the virus does not mutate in that the virus does not mutate in that way. that the virus does not mutate in that wa . . ~ that the virus does not mutate in that wa . ., ~ ,, that the virus does not mutate in that wa . . ~' ,, , that the virus does not mutate in thatwa . ., ~ , . ., that way. thank you very much for now, that way. thank you very much for now. doctor- _ that way. thank you very much for now, doctor. talking _ that way. thank you very much for now, doctor. talking about - that way. thank you very much for i now, doctor. talking about vaccines and variance in the current lockdown. the government claims the rules for quarantine hotels and england will be as stringent as other countries, which comes after the bbc obtained a copy of requirements which suggested that rules would be less strict than those in australia. from monday, travellers arriving from 33 countries have to stay in a hotel for ii countries have to stay in a hotel for 11 nights at their own expense. let's get more from our political correspondent ian watson. it all starts on monday. talk us through a bit more about the suggestion that

perhaps the british rules aren't going to be quite as stringent as other countries and what the government is saying about that. the government is saying about that. tue: government is saying about that. tte: government have said they are consulting with other countries which have had a policy of hotel quarantine for some time including australia. we had an outbreak in the quarantine hotel in australia, in victoria, but it would appear that some of the things the government are going to introduce into the uk hotel quarantine policy from monday still aren't quite as strict as the requirements it australia for hotels. for example, we know that most australian states, ppe is required and that hotel staff are given daily tests, even when they are not at work are not allowed to work between different hotels. they are also paid to get those tests. what the government has confirmed this morning is that certainly there is a very clear regime if you are a

traveller coming back into england and a uk resident, if you are coming back from one of these coronavirus hotspots, 33 countries in the red list, you are going to hotel quarantine, you are going to be tested on day two and again on day eight but what they are saying about staff is that there will be simply regular testing so we don't know if it will be daily but staff will be tested regularly and also get ppe if required. there is another area where i think perhaps the initial guidance to hotels hasn't been quite explicit and the government cleared that up today as well. in australia you're not allowed outside your room to mingle in any way whatsoever. the government has also said you will not be allowed outside your room in the uk to go for a cigarette. you will be allowed out for urgent medical care and also for one government minister called a gulp of fresh air but you will have to be accompanied by security staff at all times and the government is arguing its one of the most stringent regimes in the world because you

have to combine this with the requirement to get a predeparture test before you come into the uk in the first place. fix, test before you come into the uk in the first place-— the first place. a quick thought about the list _ the first place. a quick thought about the list itself _ the first place. a quick thought about the list itself because i the first place. a quick thought i about the list itself because there are 33 countries on it. none of us can go on holiday at all at the moment but over the last week we've all been doing stories about people trying to book summer holidays are thinking about whether they can book a summer holiday. what is the government saying, if anything, about when and whether that list could change?— about when and whether that list could change? they are very much chanauin could change? they are very much changing the _ could change? they are very much changing the criteria. _ could change? they are very much changing the criteria. at _ could change? they are very much changing the criteria. at the - changing the criteria. at the moment, if you arrive anywhere internationally in scotland, you're expected to go to hotel quality no matter what. expected to go to hotel quality no matterwhat. if expected to go to hotel quality no matter what. if you arrive into england, the situation is slightly different. you have to come from one of these 33 coronavirus hotspots at the red list, before you're sent to hotel quarantine and that list was being updated on a weekly basis a bit like last summer's travel corridors. what the government is saying now is that that list may change with just a few hours notice.

if they receive more information variance becoming programme —— predominate in different countries, there will be a fast—track system. leaving the country for the holiday is against the lawjust now but if restrictions are lifted in due course, there is still the risk that if you are out country and the goalposts shift, you may have to go to a quality hotel when you return and pay an additional £1700 which creates a disincentive for further international travel and £2 million will be given to the police to strengthen their presence at ports and ask if yourjourney is necessary, so the government is underlining at the moment that you should not be expecting to travel abroad in the country any time soon but there will be some people at westminster and the government's on benches who are worried about the longer term effects on the aviation and travel industries. that

longer term effects on the aviation and travel industries.— and travel industries. that sudden extra of £1750 — and travel industries. that sudden extra of £1750 is _ and travel industries. that sudden extra of £1750 is per _ and travel industries. that sudden extra of £1750 is per person, - and travel industries. that sudden extra of £1750 is per person, not l extra of £1750 is per person, not per room and you can't go back to work, so that's something to ponder. you will have no money for your next holiday! the uk chairman of the accountacy firm kpmg has resigned after reportedly telling staff to "stop moaning" about concerns over possible cuts to pensions and pay during the covid—19 pandemic. in a statement, bill michael said: our business correspondent theo leggett has the background.

this was a meeting between several hundred kpmg consultants on monday and reports can out after that about alleged insensitive remarks made by bill michael and some of them have found their way onto the internet including a video which a major newspaper has put online. at one point he was asked about staff concerns about those potential cuts to pay and pensions and his response was that actually, in the sector they were working on, they were very lucky. he said they should not play the victim unless they were actually sick. he told them to take control of their lives and don't sit out there and moan was another one of his comments, but there were other things he said as well, for example, he talked about unconscious bias, the idea that attitudes towards, for example, race or gender that we may not be aware of colour are every day actions in the office and he said there was no such thing as

unconscious bias because every piece of unconscious bias training that they had carried out had not actually made any difference. he also reportedly at that meeting said that he was meeting clients for coffee even though we are in lockdown and that supposed to be illegal, so he made a number of very much off the cuff comments which went down very badly with the staff. kpmg then launched an investigation. he was told to stand aside earlier this week and now he has taken the view that his position is untenable and he has to step down. lets catch up with the sport news. we start in melbourne where the clock is ticking for the start of the australian open because i knew lockdown starts in victoria at midnight, just over half an hour away which means there will be no spectators allowed at the tournament until wednesday at the earliest. the rector says the players wanted to

get on and continue to play. tilda; get on and continue to play. play will continue. _ get on and continue to play. play will continue. the _ get on and continue to play. tt— will continue. the players will compete in a bubble formed not dissimilar to what they have been doing throughout the year. this was the first event they played in front of crowds and for the next five days they will continue to play and continue to compete. . novak d'okovic continue to compete. . novak diokovic is — continue to compete. . novak djokovic is two _ continue to compete. . novak djokovic is two sets _ continue to compete. . novak djokovic is two sets to - continue to compete. . novak djokovic is two sets to one . continue to compete. . novak djokovic is two sets to one upt djokovic is two sets to one up against the american. it looks like spectators will be asked to leave before that game finishes so they can meet the curfew. the us open champion has won a thrilling five sets against the home favourite. the australian took the first two sets with an underground serve —— underarm serve. he dug in to take the fifth. there was a brilliant

entertainment in front of a pretty raucous crowd in melbourne. serena williams is through to the fourth round and beat russia's annastacia in straight sets. she did admit that she was a slow getting out of the blocks but says it's all about surviving and getting better as the tournament progresses for her. simona hallop made short work of her opponent to reach the fourth round. she tookjust over an hour and a quarter to win in straight sets. naomi is also through to the fourth round, but had to deal with an unexpected guest on court, a butterfly doing its best to put her off! the man in charge of the tokyo olympics organising committee has resigned after being criticised over inappropriate comments about women.

mr mori was quoted as saying women talk too much and that meetings with many female board directors would take a lot of time. the 83—year—old had apologised for the remarks but has now stepped down. ireland captainjonny sexton will miss the six nations game against france on sunday with billy byrne starting instead. he has failed to recover from a head starting instead. he has failed to recoverfrom a head injury starting instead. he has failed to recover from a head injury picked up, as has the vice captain who was going through the same return to play protocols. scrum—half conor murray has a hamstring injury who misses out and iain henderson will captain the side in sexton's absence. england have made four changes to their squad for the second test against india which starts tomorrow. jimmy anderson is rested after that starring role in the first test. joss butler is rested as well and joffre archer is injured. stuart broad and ben folkes come in, as

does ali. after a win in the first big test, joe root is expecting a reaction from india. t’m big test, joe root is expecting a reaction from india. i'm expecting them to come _ reaction from india. i'm expecting them to come back _ reaction from india. i'm expecting them to come back swinging - reaction from india. i'm expecting them to come back swinging at i reaction from india. i'm expecting| them to come back swinging at as. reaction from india. i'm expecting - them to come back swinging at as. we know they are a fine team with a brilliant record in these conditions, but we are also in a very good place ourselves, we are full of confidence. we've played three fantastic games in the subcontinent now and we have to take that forward into the next three. it's been a brilliant start to things but it is just the start. arsenal have confirmed the home leg of the europa league tie against benfica will be played in greece. the last match on the 25th of february has been moved from the emirates stadium and will instead be played in athens because of coronavirus travel restrictions. the first leg has already been moved from lisbon to rome. that's all the sport for now. you can follow the australian open tennis on five live

sports extra but now it's time for the weather. milderair milder air with us. it will be especially called to the wind picks up. wind—chill across parts of the next couple of days. bring snow flurries to the north—east of england, continuing across scotland, most dry and sunny and some sunshine developing through ireland, wales and the south—west. some places then cloudy. the strongest of the winds touch gale force towards the west and it's those winds that will make 1-4 c and it's those winds that will make i—li c feel more like —a —5 and it's those winds that will make i—li cfeel more like —a —5 in a and it's those winds that will make i—li c feel more like —a —5 in a few areas. staying when the if not windier still into tonight. snow flurries continuing into the north of ireland. a widespread frost again, not as cold as recent nightspots they are all part of the start of some frost. snow into tomorrow morning and a little bit of light snow with some feeding into

sunday and in milder air returns with some rain as well. hello, this is bbc news... the headlines: the uk economy shrank by nearly ten per cent last year — the biggest drop ever recorded. the chancellor says the economy's experienced a "serious shock" as a result of the pandemic. the government claims measures being put in place for quarantine hotels in the uk will be in line with those in other countries — and not less strict. wales has offered a vaccine to everyone in the top four priority groups, while england starts vaccinating the over 65s from next week. democrat prosecutors finish making their case in the impeachment trial of donald trump, arguing he incited his supporters to attack the capitol building last month. the uk chairman of accountacy firm kpmg resigns after reportedly telling staff to �*stop moaning' about possible cuts to pensions and pay during the covid—19 pandemic.

as we've been hearing, official figures show the uk economy shrank by a record 9.9 per cent last year — more than double any previous annual fall. there was a slight recovery in december, when restrictions were briefly relaxed. the chancellor rishi sunak says the economy has suffered a �*serious shock�* because of the pandemic. he's been speaking to our economics editor, faisal islam. there are reasons for cautious optimism because of the vaccine and the roll—out, and i pay tribute to everybody involved in that, and the prime minister will set out a road map for exiting restrictions on the next few weeks and months. in the week of february 22, it is right that we base that road map on the best possible evidence and data, and that is exactly what you're doing and hope to provide some of that

outlook that week. can we presume the things may last longer and some form of restriction seems inevitable to last weeks or months longer that the support you have given from this building, some forms of it, whether universal credit or weight support, will last longer, too? my priority has always been to try to protect people's jobs first and foremost and help families and businesses through what has been an enormously difficult time. it helped that that difficult time is not going to be over in the spring, while support runs through to the spring we will set through the next stage of our economic response to coronavirus at budget in early march and that will be based on the road map that the prime minister has set out the week before. some of the measurement issues in terms of international comparisons, when you look at health outcomes, excess deaths, gdp of 2020 now, we are at the wrong end of international league tables. do you accept that it is some reflection on the government because my overall response to these extraordinary times? i think the point on

economic comparative importance as important clean—up. we calculate gdp different to everyone else and if you're correct for that different look at it a way more comparable in than nominal gdp then what you find is that our performance then is very much in line comparable to other countries and in fact maybe on a margin better than places like canada, germany, italy and spain. there is a presumption that randy cannot leave my cabinet table, at various points, your voice has been the voice saying perhaps the restrictions have gone too far and maybe we need to lift them, get the early going the and we've had some bad outcomes in terms of cases. was that you? do you accept there was mistakes made? what we always try to do is base our decisions on the data and the evidence in front of us and this is an uncertain situation always, so you're trying to make the best

judgments you can in the face of that uncertainty but what i can say is when it comes to things like restrictions, it is important to recognise they also have consequences and of course they help suppress the spread of the virus but we have to balance that against the impact on children's education for example and kids not being in school, the impact on people bosman jobs and i'll, and all those things have to be weighed and they are difficult decisions but we will make them based on the evidence, based on the data and we have set a road map out of the current restrictions in the week of february 22. i think today's figures show that last year, our economy experienced a significant shock. and whilst there were some signs of resilience overwinter, what's clear is right now, many families and businesses are experiencing hardship. that's why we've put in place a comprehensive plan forjobs to support people through this crisis, and we will set out the next stage of our economic response at our budget in early march. a new five day lockdown comes into force in the next hour in the australian state of victoria, following a cluster of covid cases linked to a quarantine hotel at melbourne airport. 13 infections have now been diagnosed, and officials warn that that the uk variant of the virus is spreading fast. phil mercer reports.

—— we will speak to someone who provides information about infectious disease spreading. goad infectious disease spreading. good afternoon. infectious disease spreading. good afternoon- an _ infectious disease spreading. good afternoon. an interesting discussion area. is there a body of opinion, a large scientific body of opinion that thinks that is a way to go to let a wave sweeps through the country? let a wave sweeps through the count ? ~ ., , let a wave sweeps through the count ? ~ . , , let a wave sweeps through the count ? ~ ._ , , country? well, there may well be but i would say it — country? well, there may well be but i would say it is _ country? well, there may well be but i would say it is something _ country? well, there may well be but i would say it is something we - country? well, there may well be but i would say it is something we need l i would say it is something we need to be extremely cautious with here. what we need to remember is if we go back 12 months before lockdown was even thought of, the art number four coronavirus was round about three. and given that we now have a new variant, if we were to drop all controls, than the our number will go a little further than that, may be up to four, possibly higher. even with high levels of vaccination, we need to remember the vaccines don't protect everybody or all of the vulnerable and so if we had a much

more transmittable variant and a proportion of the vulnerable are not protected, even with those high levels of protections, we run a real risk of a big surge in infections in the vulnerable, so i think we do need to be very, very careful if we are making the decision to relax controls without thinking of the implications that would have on the elderly and vulnerable.— elderly and vulnerable. writes, because the — elderly and vulnerable. writes, because the way _ elderly and vulnerable. writes, because the way you're - elderly and vulnerable. writes, i because the way you're describing it as a strategy, i may layperson but that would —— but i am a lay person but that sounds risky. you might guess, it is easy to look and see our hospital occupancy and death going down at the case is easy to look and see our hospital occupancy and death going down at the cases going down quite dramatically but thatis going down quite dramatically but that is a feature of the fact we are in lockdown and i, like everybody else, don't want to stay in lockdown a moment longer than we have to do. but the danger is if we open up too quickly and too strongly in terms of relaxing lockdown, we could get a resurgence and we could end up in the cycle of lockdown which is where we need to be really careful not to relax too soon. share we need to be really careful not to

relax too soon.— we need to be really careful not to relax too soon. are there people who make the point— relax too soon. are there people who make the point that _ relax too soon. are there people who make the point that eventually i relax too soon. are there people who make the point that eventually we i make the point that eventually we adapt, we are all used to few. we rarely think about flu really and thousands of people lose their lives to flu every year in this country but we have a well practised vaccination programme, it is something that we have adapted, or do we talk about it as something that ultimately we will adapt to in the same way, or is it too early to be talking about it in those terms? now, i think it is a good point and it needs to be part of the longer term discussion. my thing at the moment is, and i'm saying, not suggesting we do this but let's say we relax all controls now and we run the real risk of higher vaccination levels. in the longer term, once we hopefully get out of this lockdown and get back to some semblance of normalcy, we may need to think in those terms have not eradicating this, so how do we live with this

and at what level of impact do we prepare to put up with as a society? because as you quite rightly said, we have lived with influenza and seasonal influenza, so we need to think about longer term if we are not going to eradicate it, what are we prepared to accept as a society when it comes to these restrictions? and when you say, what are we prepared to accept? is that a polite way of saying that it is something we are prepared to live with? is it that blunt? tit we are prepared to live with? is it that blunt?— that blunt? in a sense, it is something _ that blunt? in a sense, it is something that _ that blunt? in a sense, it is something that we - that blunt? in a sense, it is something that we look i that blunt? in a sense, it is something that we look at l that blunt? in a sense, it is i something that we look at the figures and we say over 400 people a day die about cancer and we don't talk about it but we don't insist that the entire population does not drink, smoke or half to do an hour of exercise every day which would reduce the cancer figures. of exercise every day which would reduce the cancerfigures. this is something we do have to think longer term. we don't want 1000 deaths every day from covid, it's horrendous, but if we get to the

stage of having 50 deaths per day and being much lower than the causes, this may be something we have to say, ok, as a society, we will minimise those that by repeating vaccinations perhaps with the vulnerable but not eradicate them. tt the vulnerable but not eradicate them. , ,., , , them. it is so interesting. iwishi could talk— them. it is so interesting. iwishi could talk to _ them. it is so interesting. i wish i could talk to you _ them. it is so interesting. i wish i could talk to you for— them. it is so interesting. i wish i could talk to you for even - them. it is so interesting. i wish i could talk to you for even longer| could talk to you for even longer thank you for your time so far. thank you very much indeed. just to bring you some news that has just come through in the last few moments in terms of that quarantine hotel story that we've been touching on out of westminster all day, we are hearing from downing street it expects the hotel booking website to be functioning later on today. that is what they are saying. number ten spokesman saying work is under way to fix a technical issue with that online booking portal and we do think it will be back up and running later today. there have been a lot

of problems of people trying to get onto that website, it crashed quite early on i think i'm right in saying and we've been talking about the whole issue all day in terms of the rules around this quarantine hotel is in this country being quite as strict as they are in australia and other countries with the government pushing back and saying the rules are strict and there are still some debate about whether they will be operating in quite the same way as we might have seen in other countries. but the booking system itself it appears is going to be up and running later today. the mobile phone operator 02 has been filmed more than that might find more than £10 million by ofcom for overcharging its customers. the error meant 140,000 were leaving 02 between 2011 and 2019 were double charged fees on their final bill. 02 says it is extremely does pointed by what it called a technical error and it has apologised to customers.

let's talk about one of the stories we mentioned in the headlines, the government may review its road—building policy following a legal challenge by environmentalists. campaigners have argued the policy does not fit with the uk's climate change targets. let's find out more from our energy and environment analyst. what's happened? what does this mean? what happened? what does this mean? what it means is the — happened? what does this mean? twat it means is the government happened? what does this mean? wngt it means is the government is happened? what does this mean? wngt it means is the government is facing a barrage of legal letters from a small group called transport environment network, and they are arguing that the government's policy on roadsters not accord with the latest policy on climate change and nature protection, and wejust latest policy on climate change and nature protection, and we just found out this morning that grant shafts has asked the lawyers from the other side for a delay so he can consider whether to review the decision, so that doesn't seem very much, it is a delay pending a possible decision and it doesn't seem a big deal but

actually, until now, there has been actually, until now, there has been a steel wall from the department for transport saying, yes, yes, all our plans are perfectly compatible with climate change targets and no need to worry, so the fact he is now considering a review is actually quite a significant step although obviously very farfrom quite a significant step although obviously very far from him actually deciding to change the policy which underpins the £27 billion road expansion programme. 0k, ok, so these are not projects that were going to be constructed in the near future but the government has to go away and have a think essentially. is that fair? tiara essentially. is that fair? two thin . s, essentially. is that fair? two things. the _ essentially. is that fair? two things, the roads _ essentially. is that fair? tent? things, the roads programme and the roads policy underpinning it, and what the environmental campaigners are challenging as the roads policy, so if they get an agreement that for some reason that road policy no longer fit with climate change targets, then that may affect the roads programme which lies

underneath it and there are road schemes all around the country waiting in the government has promised the money for them but there is a possibility now that this great scheme will be compromised in some way. great scheme will be compromised in some wa . . ~' great scheme will be compromised in some wa . . ~ y great scheme will be compromised in somewa. . ~ , . some way. thank you very much. interesting. _ some way. thank you very much. interesting, our— some way. thank you very much. interesting, our environment i some way. thank you very much. i interesting, our environment analyst there. it is exactly 1245 pm. the headlines on bbc news... the uk economy shrank by nearly ten per cent last year — the biggest drop ever recorded. the government claims measures being put in place for quarantine hotels in the uk will be in line with those in other countries — and not less strict. the numbers of people testing positive for covid 19 across the uk continues to fall according to new official figures. in wales, everyone in the first four priority groups for the vaccine has been offered a jab. the first

minister mark drakeford thanks everyone for playing a part in what he calls a phenomenal effort. t’m he calls a phenomenal effort. i'm incredibl he calls a phenomenal effort. tn incredibly proud to say that we have achieved the first milestone in our vaccination strategy. and what that means is we have offered vaccination to everyone in the first four priority groups. that is everyone over 70 or front—line priority groups. that is everyone over 70 orfront—line health and social care workers, everyone living and working in an old persons care home, and everyone who is clinically extremely vulnerable. this has been a phenomenal effort and it is thanks to the hard work of the thousands of nhs aft, volunteers and military personnel across wales who have been vaccinating people every day of the week in the max vaccination centres, gp practices and hospital sites.

take—up of the sites has been incredibly high and the figures being published today show that in total, more than 715,000 people will have already had the first dose of the vaccine. but we want to make sure that nobody from those first four groups is left behind. so, if you've changed your mind about having the vaccine, or missed your appointment because of illness, you have not missed out on your chance of having the vaccine. the nhs across wales is checking and rechecking its lists to make sure nobody has been missed out and will continue to invite people to come forward throughout the weekend. every health board has a dedicated phone lines and e—mail addresses for people in the first four groups to get in touch to arrange an

appointment and refute these on our website, too, so, please, if you know anybody who for reason is still to be invited for their vaccination, help us help them come forward. now, the supreme court has ruled that more than 42,000 nigerian farmers and fishermen can sue oil giant royal dutch shell in british court. tt giant royal dutch shell in british court. ., ., , giant royal dutch shell in british court. ., ., _ ., , giant royal dutch shell in british court. ., ., _ ., ., court. it follows years of oil sills court. it follows years of oil spills that _ court. it follows years of oil spills that have _ court. it follows years of oil. spills that have contaminated court. it follows years of oil- spills that have contaminated land and also ground water pollution in the niger delta. judges heard shell had a common law duty of care but let's find out more from a correspondent who joins let's find out more from a correspondent whojoins me let's find out more from a correspondent who joins me from abuja in nigeria. thank you for being with us. i'm afraid this might being with us. i'm afraid this might be something a lot of viewers in britain might not be too familiar with. explain how many people are affected by this and how long this has all been going on.—

has all been going on. well, basically. — has all been going on. well, basically, the _ has all been going on. well, basically, the communities, | has all been going on. well, i basically, the communities, to communities in the niger delta region with more than 40,000 people sued the royal dutch shell but there are millions and millions of people in that region who have been affected by the oil pollution, the environmental pollution, that have been destroyed and the same they are talking about drinking water, being contaminated. farmland, fishing waters and the strange diseases, so livelihoods have been destroyed and this court ruling means they can seek compensation, they can seek clean—up by the oil producing company, the oil companies in that region, so this is part of a huge relief for many communities in the niger delta region but many say there is a possibility of more legal battles, especially seeking compensation.—

battles, especially seeking compensation. battles, especially seeking comensation. , , . ,, compensation. this is a huge issue for a lot of — compensation. this is a huge issue for a lot of people, _ compensation. this is a huge issue for a lot of people, some - compensation. this is a huge issue for a lot of people, some of- compensation. this is a huge issue for a lot of people, some of whom | for a lot of people, some of whom have lost their livelihood, as you say. what happens now? what have lost their livelihood, as you say. what happens now? what happens now is that the — say. what happens now? what happens now is that the communities _ say. what happens now? what happens now is that the communities can - now is that the communities can proceed to launch legal claims in the uk against royal dutch shell, they can seek compensation and clean—up of the environment. this is not the first ruling. in a few weeks ago, a dutch court ruled that royal dutch shell was responsible for pollution... t dutch shell was responsible for pollution- - -_ dutch shell was responsible for pollution... i do apologise. you mercifully _ pollution... i do apologise. you mercifully heard _ pollution... i do apologise. you mercifully heard the _ pollution... i do apologise. you mercifully heard the bulk i pollution... i do apologise. you mercifully heard the bulk of i pollution... i do apologise. you i mercifully heard the bulk of what he was saying and that was a big victory or certainly a big victory at the next stage for an awful lot of people there who have been affected in the niger delta, so that ruling, as a result of that ruling today in the supreme court. now, a new five day lockdown is about to

come into force on the australian state of victoria following a cluster of cases linked to a quarantine hotel at melbourne airport. 13 infections have now been diagnosed and officials warned the uk variant of the virus is spreading fast. our correspondence sent us this report. a short, sharp circuit breaker is being imposed across victoria. australia's second most populous state. a growing cluster of infections is linked to a quarantine hotel at melbourne airport. australians returning home must go into isolation for at least two weeks on arrival. health officials say the snap coronavirus lockdown is in response to the hyper infectious uk variant. it is thought to be spread in the hotel by a nebuliser, a device that vaporises medicine used by a family who tested positive. stay at home orders will

apply to millions of people, schools will close and facemasks are mandatory. the australian open will continue in melbourne but tennis fans will not be allowed to attend for at least five days. the victorian premier said there is no time to lose. if we wait for this theory that it might be out there, there might be more cases than we know about, if we wait for that to be proven correct, it will be too late. .. be proven correct, it will be too late. , , . late. then we will face the prospect of bein: in late. then we will face the prospect of being in the _ late. then we will face the prospect of being in the lockdown _ late. then we will face the prospect of being in the lockdown until- late. then we will face the prospect of being in the lockdown until i i of being in the lockdown until i vaccination.— of being in the lockdown until i vaccination. hotel quarantine as australia's _ vaccination. hotel quarantine as australia's last _ vaccination. hotel quarantine as australia's last line _ vaccination. hotel quarantine as australia's last line of _ vaccination. hotel quarantine as australia's last line of defence l australia's last line of defence against imported cases of covid—19 but it's not perfect. breaches in security that allow passengers to pass the virus to staff ignited a deadly second wave of infections in melbourne last year. the city was

shut down for almost four months until the outbreak was contained. international border closures, mass testing, sophisticated contact tracing and stricter lockdown is our key pillars in australia's foundering strategy but the safety of the hotel quarantine system is once again under great scrutiny. you probably know it's the start of the chinese new year, the occasion traditionally spent with family and friends but this year, the pandemic in celebrations around the world are having to look and feel rather different. food is a big role in all the celebrations but with restrictions in place making it difficult for people to meet up, difficult... perhaps impossible in some cases. we've been getting a few tips on how to cook up a feast at home. who better to give us that advice than celebrity chef,

all—round authority on asian cue scene, the one and only ken home? —— ken hom. scene, the one and only ken home? -- ken hom. ., , scene, the one and only ken home? -- ken hom. .,, ., ., ~ _ ken hom. people have marking, by sendina ken hom. people have marking, by sending me — ken hom. people have marking, by sending me photos— ken hom. people have marking, by sending me photos of— ken hom. people have marking, by sending me photos of what - ken hom. people have marking, by sending me photos of what they've| sending me photos of what they've been making. other dishes. i'm doing the same. this is what i've been cooking with my family and this is what you're eating, we are sharing this with you over the social media. which is a great medium to day about how we all connect during these difficult times.— how we all connect during these difficult times. what are the most cooked dishes _ difficult times. what are the most cooked dishes for _ difficult times. what are the most cooked dishes for chinese - difficult times. what are the most cooked dishes for chinese new i difficult times. what are the most l cooked dishes for chinese new year celebrations? tar cooked dishes for chinese new year celebrations?— celebrations? for me, steamed fish because the — celebrations? for me, steamed fish because the fishermans _ celebrations? for me, steamed fish because the fishermans prosperity| because the fishermans prosperity and we all want prosperity. after the news that we've been listening to, and then of course, what i love to, and then of course, what i love to service chicken because chicken

is a sign of fortune and we certainly need fortune, and lots of crispy noodles. why? because noodles be nonlife and we all want a long life. tt be nonlife and we all want a long life. ,., ., be nonlife and we all want a long life. ., ., , ., , ., life. if someone wants to start experimenting _ life. if someone wants to start experimenting with _ life. if someone wants to start experimenting with chinese i life. if someone wants to start i experimenting with chinese cooking at home, what is the best is to start? ~ , �* �* at home, what is the best is to start? , “ at home, what is the best is to start? ~ , �* �* ., start? well, my bbc books. there are many books — start? well, my bbc books. there are many books out _ start? well, my bbc books. there are many books out there. _ start? well, my bbc books. there are many books out there. we _ start? well, my bbc books. there are many books out there. we know- many books out there. we know we're not supposed to say that. i think there are many really good cookery books and also you can just go on the internet and get recipes, and recipes abounding about how... things to cook and it's really easy, go on the net and it's pretty fantastic. the sharing that people have with with these days. i love that people post not only how they made something that looks good, but how they made it and what they learn from it, certain lessons in how it was really delicious, and sometimes

i have seen food pictures and thought, that is a great idea. {line thought, that is a great idea. one more story _ thought, that is a great idea. one more story to _ thought, that is a great idea. one more story to bring you. the americanjazz composer more story to bring you. the american jazz composer and —— the americanjazz composer and electric keyboard player keyboard player chick corea has died. he was 79—years—old. the 23—time grammy award winner composed jazz standards — including �*spain', �*500 miles high' and �*la fiesta'. now it's time for a look at the weather. hello there. going to be a windy weekend on the way and today when picking up a bit, just making it feel that bit colder. where we got the clearer skies this evening, those temperatures will be following quite rapidly with some parts of the

country not seeing temperatures above freezing all day. snow showers affecting the eastern coastal areas will continue for a while overnight into eastern scotland but signs of a more significant change out to the west with thickening cloud bring wetter weather from the atlantic. that is going to be bumping into all this cold air that we've got with typical temperatures down to —4 minus excelsior so not as cold as it has is on the weather in northern ireland where it will be snowing for most of the day. widely 5—10 c of snow and some blizzards and drifting in the hills and the strong winds. this band of wetter weather moves very slowly eastwards and a mixture of rain and snow in the south—west of rain and snow in the south—west of england, some snow over the hills of england, some snow over the hills of wales and eventually going into western scotland there is no amount in these areas will be much less. further east, likely to be dry but it will turn more and more cloudy and it's going to be a windy day pretty much everywhere. that will make it feel cold, and the temperatures on their own will stay

below freezing across large parts of the country but when you factor in the country but when you factor in the strength of those south— south—easterly winds, it may feel more like minus 6—7 celsius. we go further eastwards, head into the wins and it blows in milder air. it reaches the eastern side and with south are south—westerly winds, temperatures rise eventually. a chilly start across the eastern side of the uk with a touch of frost. costs of 70 mph. drive through parts of the day and still feeling cold out to the west was temperatures breaking nine or 10 celsius. they

milder picture.

the uk economy shrank by more last year than any other on record, amid the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. figures show the economy contracted by nearly 10%, though there was a small pickup in december. the chancellor says it's been a tough time whilst it's been a tough time there were some signs of resilience whilst there were some signs of resilience overwinter, what is clear is that right now many families and businesses are experiencing hardship. we'll talk to our economics editor, faisal islam, shortly. the other stories this lunchtime... latest figures show that the estimated number of people infected with coronavirus in the uk is continuing to fall. the government insists new rules for travellers and quarantine hotels that start on monday will be in line with restrictions elsewhere.