good afternoon. the government is under pressure from a group of its own conservative backbench mps to give more clarity on a roadmap out of lockdown. the mps — known as the covid recovery group — want all legal restrictions on people's freedoms to be eased by may. but the foreign secretary dominic raab has rejected their call. he says easing the lockdown has to be done cautiously and be based on the success of the vaccine in bringing down deaths and hospitalisations. here's our political correspondent nick eardley.

scenes like these have become eerily familiar. the centre of london, more like a disasterfilm familiar. the centre of london, more like a disaster film than a thriving city. but as the number of cases and deaths falls on the number of people who have had a vaccine rises, the government is under pressure from some mps to start opening up again. we share all of the ambition and the desire to get out of this lockdown, we want to do it responsibly and safely and, therefore, it's got to be based on the evidence, which is what we said from the outset. but you've got to be able to monitor it in real time, which is why i think saying what we are going to do with precision and as a guarantee by the end of april and beginning of may is beginning to —— difficult to do at this stage. beginning to -- difficult to do at this stage-— beginning to -- difficult to do at this state. ~ , _, ~ , ., this stage. ministers are likely to confirm that _ this stage. ministers are likely to confirm that the _ this stage. ministers are likely to confirm that the 15 _ this stage. ministers are likely to confirm that the 15 million - this stage. ministers are likely to confirm that the 15 million mostl this stage. ministers are likely to l confirm that the 15 million most at risk in the uk have been offered a first dose of the vaccine. everyone over 50 will now be offered one by the end of april and some conservatives say that it should be

the point where all restrictions are lifted. �* , ., the point where all restrictions are lifted. �*, ., ., , ., , ., ., lifted. it's not arbitrary at all, it's completely _ lifted. it's not arbitrary at all, it's completely tied _ lifted. it's not arbitrary at all, it's completely tied to - lifted. it's not arbitrary at all, it's completely tied to the - lifted. it's not arbitrary at all, - it's completely tied to the roll-out it's completely tied to the roll—out of the _ it's completely tied to the roll—out of the vaccination programme and the fact that _ of the vaccination programme and the fact that you are then protecting the most — fact that you are then protecting the most vulnerable people from death _ the most vulnerable people from death and serious disease from covid, — death and serious disease from covid, from the fantastically successful vaccination programme the nhs has _ successful vaccination programme the nhs has undertaken.— nhs has undertaken. there are sliuhtl nhs has undertaken. there are slightly different _ nhs has undertaken. there are slightly different plans - nhs has undertaken. there are slightly different plans in - slightly different plans in different parts of the uk, but, for england, the prime minister will set out the road map out of lockdown a week on monday, the 22nd. ministers hope the schools will be able to reopen on the 8th of march. that is likely to be followed by more outdoor recreation. then nonessential shops would start to open again, followed by hospitality, pubs and restaurants serving again. some, though, have expressed frustration and say pubs should be allowed to open soon. we frustration and say pubs should be allowed to open soon.— frustration and say pubs should be allowed to open soon. we think we can 0 en allowed to open soon. we think we can open very _ allowed to open soon. we think we can open very safely _ allowed to open soon. we think we can open very safely for _ allowed to open soon. we think we can open very safely for easter- can open very safely for easter weekend. we understand, as i said, that there would be social

restrictions in place like there were in july restrictions in place like there were injuly and we would absolutely administer those to the letter and we would ensure that we have a responsibility for our customers and our staff. but responsibility for our customers and our staff. �* ., responsibility for our customers and our staff. �* . ., , our staff. but there are warnings from some _ our staff. but there are warnings from some scientists _ our staff. but there are warnings from some scientists that - our staff. but there are warnings | from some scientists that moving our staff. but there are warnings - from some scientists that moving too quickly could risk a resurgence in the virus. there are political warnings, too.— the virus. there are political warnings, too. the virus. there are political warninas, too. , ~' ., the virus. there are political warnins, too. , ., ., warnings, too. this lockdown has to be the final — warnings, too. this lockdown has to be the final lockdown, _ warnings, too. this lockdown has to be the final lockdown, by _ warnings, too. this lockdown has to be the final lockdown, by the - warnings, too. this lockdown has to be the final lockdown, by the way. l be the final lockdown, by the way. the strategic aim is to do everything we can know so we don't have to _ everything we can know so we don't have to go — everything we can know so we don't have to go back into a lockdown. parts _ have to go back into a lockdown. parts of— have to go back into a lockdown. parts of the economy will start to move again soon and, next week, we will find out more details of when. nick eardley, bbc news. donald trump has hinted he could return to politics, after being acquitted in his second impeachment trial in the us senate. only seven republicans joined the democrats in voting to convict the former president, meaning the vote fell short of the two—thirds majority required. after the vote, mr trump said he plans to put forward what he called a "vision fora bright, radiant "and limitless american future." nomia iqbal reports from washington.

..donaldj trump, former president of the united states, is not guilty as charged in the article of impeachment. this wasn't a typical trial, but it had an ending we all saw coming. nearly half of the jurors, the republican senators, had voted unsuccessfully to stopthe trialfrom happening. the motion was agreed to... there was a plot twist when it looked like witnesses may have been called, but, soon, the drama concluded, making it the fastest impeachment trial in history. at the heart of it all was the question — did the then—president donald trump incite a violent mob to overturn the election results on january the 6th? mr mcconnell, not guilty. mr romney, guilty. only seven republicans said yes, along with 50 democrats. that was more republicans than expected. in this security footage video... democrats had spent three days presenting new, harrowing footage and audio showing how mr trump not only encouraged rioters, but backed them

when the violence was happening. all the senators had been inside the capitol that day, including vice president mike pence and top democrat nancy pelosi. they were targeted by the mob and had to flee. what we saw in that senate today was a cowardly group of republicans who apparently have no options, because they were afraid to defend theirjob. a lot of her anger was directed at this man, top republican mitch mcconnell. there's no question, none, that president trump is practically and morally responsible for provoking events of the day. we will never takei back our country... tough words, but he voted to acquit mr trump on a technicality, saying it was unconstitutional to remove a president who had already left office. in a lengthy statement, donald trump said the trial

was a witchhunt and that his make america great again movement had only just begun. nomia iqbal, bbc news, washington. a ban on evictions in england is being extended until the end of march. the government says it will ensure tenants who fall behind on their rent because of the pandemic are not forced out of their homes in all but the most serious cases. but housing charities say it won't help the hundreds of thousands of renters who are already in arrears, asjonathan blake reports. my income went from reasonable to zero. as a parent, it's really important that you feel that you can provide for your children and put a roof over their head. the pressures of the pandemic have left many, like ian, at risk of losing their home. when work as a wedding dj dried up, he had to find a newjob. while struggling to pay the rent, he was served with notice of eviction. i was working earlier this year but i had a car accident last week,

so that's stopped me from being able to get to work, but i have been able to make a full rent payment and start also paying some of the arrears, but the situation is still pretty dire, at this stage, if i'm honest. it's estimated that at least half a million private renters in the uk have fallen into arrears during the pandemic, meaning landlords like elena are losing income. so i've just had to go through all my savings and i had to borrow more from kind friends, because, obviously, i can't take a loan because i wasjobless. i think the government shouldn't, first of all, they shouldn't pass on the sort of welfare state onto the landlords. confirming the extension to a ban on evictions in all but the most extreme cases, the housing secretary robertjenrick said the government's measures strike the right balance between protecting tenants and enabling landlords to exercise their right to justice. but, across the housing

sector and from opposition parties, there are calls for more financial support. emergency grants or loans are similar to schemes similar to schemes in scotland and wales. the government needs to make sure that the resources are there, the support is there, for people to be able to continue living in their own home and to plan for the future, so that they make good on their promise that nobody should lose their home because of coronavirus. this extension to the ban on evictions may bring some relief to those most at risk of losing their home, but there is more uncertainty ahead. jonathan blake, bbc news. it's been a difficult day for england's cricketers in india, as their batting collapsed on the second day of the second test. england were bowled out for 134 — leaving india with a lead of 249 and on course for what would be an emphatic win in chennai. joe wilson reports. sum up sunday in chennai? well, that. england began 329 behind.

rory burns, 0—1. but what happens ifjoe root fails... ..like this? out for six. axar patel�*s first test wicket. now the crowd seemed closer than ever. pitch bare, ballspinning, fielders crowding and dan lawrence falling. problems, serious problems. ben stokes bowled. ravichandran ashwin masterful in india. captain kohli conducted the fans — listen... crowd roaring. real noise. while rishabh pant flew to get ollie pope. but ben foakes steered and survived, an honourable 42 not out, but ashwin�*s fifth wicket meant 134 all out. india batting again, rohit sharma style. the lead to 249 and, for them, just a perfect day. joe wilson, bbc news. that's it.

the next news on bbc one is at 6:35 this evening. hello. you're watching the bbc news channel. sport now and a full round up, from the bbc sport centre. good afternoon. i'm chetan pathak with your latest sports news. we'll start in melbourne where the quarter finals of the australian open are taking shape. serena williams and naomi osaka are the two big names through in the women's draw, but there's been a bit of a shock in the men's — asjoe lynskey reports: when there are rows of blue seats,

defeat in melbourne feels empty. dominic thiem knew he had missed an opportunity. the world number three was going for grand slam title number two, was going for grand slam title numbertwo, but was going for grand slam title number two, but he was well beaten. that is outrageously good.— that is outrageously good. grigor dimitrov didn't _ that is outrageously good. grigor dimitrov didn't reach _ that is outrageously good. grigor dimitrov didn't reach the - that is outrageously good. grigor| dimitrov didn't reach the quarters in any major last year, but was ruthless here. the 18th seed, winning in straight sets in two hours. so no dominic thiem was runner—upjust a year hours. so no dominic thiem was runner—up just a year ago. with just two magazines above him, he might have hoped for more. he was asked how it could go wrong so quickly. well, i am how it could go wrong so quickly. well, iam having how it could go wrong so quickly. well, i am having some little physical issues. i don't want to go closer into them, i don't want to find any excuses. but the thing also is that i am not a machine. sometimes i would like to be, but there are really, really bad days. naomi osaka showed too she is only human. she faced two match points could saved herself. deep in the

decider, osaka broke twice in a row, from the face of defeat to the quarterfinals. she is going for grand slam numberfour. yeah, she got away with one. how far she was pushed shows where the women's draw is now. every player left as a contender, and nothing is easy. simona halep had to come from a set down against macomber, who is still a teenager but knows that points are made on missed chances. simona halep now has another battle, serena. she also dropped a set, but found a way through. fans could be back in a few days. for now, they play on in silence, and try to work out how to celebrate. well the reigning men's champion novak djokovic is out on court at the moment. he's two sets to one up on the canadian milos raonic, as he goes for his third consecutive australian open title and what would be a ninth overall. today's game between aston villa and arsenal

in the women's super league is off, because of a frozen pitch. the two other games today are going ahead as planned as it stands, including the leaders chelsea at bristol city. meanwhile four games in the premier league today too. southampton playing wolves in the early kick off and it's southampton who have the lead — danny ings with a thumping volley. they're just under way in the second half at st mary's and wolves have just got an equaliser. ruben neves with a penalty. 1-1. celtic also under way against stjohnston in the scottish premiership. neil lennon's side are 21 points behind leaders rangers at kick off. they're just into the second half and stjohnstone have taken the lead thanks to shaun rooney — it's 1—0 there. it's ireland against france in the six nations today. france are many people's favourites for the tournament, they're in a decent run of form and beat ireland in october in the final round of last year's delayed tournament. ireland lost against wales last weekend, and they'll be without key players this afternoon including

captainjohnny sexton. they are really important players for ireland. and they bring experience. johnny is the captain, and everything goes through him. so it is going to be a big void to fill. the hope that you have is that that responsibility is going to be scrapped throughout the team. iain henderson is coming on as captain. henderson is coming on as captain. he has captained ulster, and he is an experienced player. there was a big shock in the boxing last night, as britian�*sjosh warrington lost for the first time in his career. warrington was the heavy favourite going into his fight against the mexican mauricio lara at wembley arena but he was knocked out in the ninth round. he was taken to hospital for checks too. it was warrington�*s first fight in 16 months, and his defeat�*s been described as one of the biggest upsets in a british ring in recent years. ben ainslie and his british sailing team have it all to do if they're to qualify for next month's america's cup. they've lost their latest two races in the qualifying prada cup

to the italian luna rossa team off the coast of new zealand. that leaves aislie and his ineos team uk crew 4—0 down in the best of 13 series. there is some doubt though now about when the next races will be. originally scheduled for wednesday, they've been postponed because of a snap lockdown in auckland. and before we go, stand by for a high speed save at the alpine skiing world championships. this is the french skier maxence muzaton saving himself from a crash during the men's downhill. remarkable bit of athleticism to keep upright. austria's vincent kriechmayr won what is the showcase men's event in italy and he enjoyed muzaton�*s efforts too. that's all the sport for now. the headlines on bbc news...

british prime minister borisjohnson comes under pressure from some of his own mps to end covid restrictions by the end of april. president trump suggests he could make a political comeback after he's cleared of inciting insurrection in his impeachment trial. thousands of people in myanmar return to the streets for a ninth day of protests against the military coup. as we've been hearing — borisjohnson is under pressure from more than 60 of his own conservative mps to remove all coronavirus restrictions in england by the end of april. earlier i spoke to the chair of that group of mps, mark harper. we have set out three things in the

latter. as we get the groups 5—9 vaccinated, we can get hospitality back by easter. once everybody over 50 and everybody over 16 with a health condition have been vaccinated, and we have therefore protected the groups were 99% of the deaths, and about 80% of hospitalisations come from, we don't think there is a strong case at all for any legal restrictions remain in place in the uk. you for any legal restrictions remain in place in the uk— place in the uk. you don't have access to _ place in the uk. you don't have access to the _ place in the uk. you don't have access to the scientific - place in the uk. you don't have access to the scientific data - place in the uk. you don't have | access to the scientific data that the government have. dominic raab says we can't give an arbitrary commitment without reviewing the impact of the measures have had on the transmission and the hospital admissions of the virus. do you accept this is a changing situation that the government has to be allowed to consider all of the data, allowed to consider all of the data, all the time? i agree with the foreign secretary that we shouldn't choose arbitrary dates. but we haven't in our letter. we very much timed our requests for the relaxation

of restrictions to the roll—out of the vaccination programme. so, we've suggested starting lifting restrictions on march the 8th, when the top four groups who are most vulnerable have been vaccinated and that first dose of vaccination becomes effective from march the 8th. and then we suggested all of those restrictions going once the government has vaccinated the top nine groups. and we have tied the timetable very much to the government's commitment about the vaccination roll—out. so it's not arbitrary at all, it is completely tied to the roll—out of the vaccination programme and the fact that you are then protecting the most vulnerable people from death and serious disease from covid, from the fantastically successful vaccination programme the nhs has undertaken. but the government was still considering the data from the vaccination programme, especially how it affects transmissibility. at the moment we don't know 100% how the vaccine programme is affecting the transmissibility of the virus?

the government has made it quite clear, the health secretary made it quite clear in the house of commons just this week, that the government is looking at the reduction in death rates and the reduction in hospitalisation to remove pressure on the nhs. the government itself has said that infection rates are not one of the factors it is going to look at. because the vaccination breaks the link between the number of infections and hospitalisation and death, because you are protecting people from vaccinations. so the government is looking at deaths, hospitalisations, the roll—out of the vaccination and obviously keeping an eye on the progress of any new variants. but the government has confirmed that all of the new variants are dealt with effectively by the vaccination is that we have at the moment. your critics will say that your group, the covid recovery group has pushed for easing restrictions many times before, and effectively you were proved wrong, especially when we saw the emergence of the new variant, the kent variant, that

has been so dangerous? no, i don't think that, the kent variant emerged, the fact that it was more transmissible and led to a much higher level of pressure on the nhs meant that when the government brought forward this third lockdown, ifor example, and many members of the group, did not oppose it for that very reason, because we looked at the evidence, we saw that the virus was more transmissible, and responded accordingly. what we are looking at now is the fact that we have got this fantastically successful vaccination roll—out programme, one of the fastest in the world. those vaccinations go to protect their most vulnerable groups, the groups that get seriously ill and tragically died from covid. once you have protected those groups, thejustification for the very severe restrictions that people are having to live under goes away.

that is the argument we are making. we think it is a very savvy one, based on the scientific evidence from the success of the vaccines that we are rolling out in the uk so quickly at the moment. can that we are rolling out in the uk so quickly at the moment.— quickly at the moment. can i ask ou, 60 quickly at the moment. can i ask you. 60 odd _ quickly at the moment. can i ask you, 60 odd mps _ quickly at the moment. can i ask you, 60 odd mps have _ quickly at the moment. can i ask you, 60 odd mps have signed . quickly at the moment. can i ask| you, 60 odd mps have signed this letter. are you going to publish the list of mps so we know exactly who is saying this? ida. list of mps so we know exactly who is saying this?— is saying this? no, we have published _ is saying this? no, we have published my _ is saying this? no, we have published my name - is saying this? no, we have published my name and - is saying this? no, we have published my name and my is saying this? no, we have - published my name and my deputy chair, steve baker. the prime minister, obviously the letters to the prime minister. he has obviously been supplied with the list of all of the colleagues who have signed it. at my own view is, in old—fashioned on this, it is up to colleagues themselves to say if they have signed the letter. a number already have. the prime minister, though, who the letter is addressed to, he has obviously had the full list of the 63 people who signed the letter. mark harper, chair of the covid recovery group of mps, who wrote

that letter to the prime minister. more now on the news that donald trump has hinted he could return to politics, after being acquitted in his second impeachment trial in the us senate. the former president said he planned to put forward �*a vision for a bright, radiant and limitless american future'. the senate voted by 57 to 43 to convict mr trump — well short of the the two—thirds majority needed to find him guilty of incitement to insurrection over the attack by his supporters on congress, last month. earlier i spoke to robert mackey, who's a senior writer at us investigative website the intercept. during his entire term, he was campaigning constantly. that is what he thrives on and craves, the adulation of crowds. so, it is difficult to see why he wouldn't run for president again. except for the fact that he does have some dissent within the republican party that he will have to deal with. how divided is the

republican party now? you have the trump wing, which is in the ascendancy, i suppose it is fair to say, then the traditional republicans, who probably may hate him, but think that they need him to be electorally successful? yes, absolutely. i think the actual wing of the party that believes the conspiracy theories and lies that he spreads is not that large. but there is a lot of fear of his voters. obviously it was an overwhelming turnout that he drove in the last election, but helped many of these people win their seats again. so, they are afraid of alienating those very voters that they would need. but when you look at the 2024 potential race, the other senators that want to run like ted cruz, josh hawley, who supported trump in contesting the election results, they will eventually have to deal with finding some way to criticise trump or run against him. that is going to be

a fascinating dynamic to see. what difference to all of this does the impeachment trial of the senate make? obviously a failure to get a two thirds of votes to actually convict him. does that mean donald trump is strengthened or weakened by the whole process of that trial? well, i think it depends on what part of the country you are talking to. the country is extremely divided along the lines of conspiracy theories and lies, and facts. when you look at the house impeachment manager's case, and they laid out in clinical detail what happened during the riot, how the attack progressed. we saw cctv footage that gave a new insight into what happened. and it seemed overwhelming and convincing. but then when you have the president's lawyers give their account of things, they basically avoided all of those facts and just repeated sort of things you hear inside this right—wing media bubble in the states.

if you watch fox news, if you watch fringe programmes like newsmax or oan, you're used to hearing that the democrats are really responsible for horrible violence and actually left—wing infiltrators carried out the attacks on the capitol. there is no evidence for that, but his lawyers repeated arejust as he has. and millions of americans are convinced of those lies. so the struggle in the republican party is a struggle between verifiable reality and these fantasies that trump has managed to spin out and convince millions of americans to believe. but was this whole trial a waste of time? we always knew there were not going to be enough republican senators to convict him. i think that the democrats... to some extent, they felt there might be political risk in doing it. but it was necessary to help create a record. and it is certainly true,

even though all the questions were not answered and the trial easily could have gone on much longer, to get a lot more evidence, a lot more is now known about the sequence of events. a lot more is known, for instance, about what trump's reaction during it was. we know that he phoned a senator tuberville, he was trying to find senator lee, he tried to get him to play out further this objection, to object to more states, the counting of their electoral votes on fraud in more states, as the attack was going on. we know from testimony that came in at the last moment that kevin mccarthy, the senior house republican, frantically phoned trump and tried to get him to make a statement, to go on television to call off his supporters. and trump first told him, they are not my supporters, they are antifascist leftists. when mccarthy assured him they were his supporters,

because they were breaking into his office, trumpjust expressed no interest in calling it off, and said, well, it seems those people are more upset about the election than you are, kevin. and this sort of complete disregard for protecting the government of the united states from the president was shocking. but it was put on full display. it is possible it will have some impact on his standing inside the republican party. seven republicans voting against him is an unprecedentedly large number. until today, until yesterday, only one member of a party had ever voted to have a president of his or her own party removed from office. that was mitt romneyjust last year against trump. now he has beenjoined by six more republicans. so there is a lot of disquiet inside his party over the clear display of the dereliction of duty.

as mitch mcconnell, the senior republican, described it, after voting to let trump off the hook on a technicality that he was already out of office. robert mackie from the intercept. in myanmar military leaders have named seven opposition campaigners they want arrested, under the rare charge of "disturbing tranquility". the army is staging night—time raids, following mass protests at the military coup. tim neilson has more. an eighth successive day of demonstrations. this was yangon city on saturday afternoon. hundreds of thousands still marching, and still ignoring the military crackdown on the protests. the latest tactic by the coup leaders, suspending laws stopping security services from detaining suspects, or searching private property without court approval.

they have also released the names of seven opposition activists they accuse of disturbing tranquillity — a rarely used charge. human rights watch says over 300 people have now been detained, many during night—time raids. we have neighbourhoods who are trying to organise. they are using pot banging when it looks like the police, or military, are coming into the local area, to the area, to possibly arrest someone, to warn people. it really has become a situation where the crackdown is now going after anybody that the military identifies as leaders of these protests. meanwhile, football is also playing its part in the protests. outside the country's national stadium, many of the country's top footballers have also been making their voices heard. translation: we will only play football on the street _ until we get democracy. we won't play for the national team under the military dictatorship. we are protesting to send that message.

translation: we are football players i but we're also citizens of myanmar. i we know people have relied on each other in this moment, so people from sport are participating in this revolution, too. the us is the only country to impose sanctions on myanmar�*s military so far. with the rest of the world still wondering whether to follow suit, the protests and the arrests go on. now it's time for a look at the weather with sarah. hello. still a fair bit of lying snow around and icy conditions today. it is turning gradually windier and milder. there is the threat of freezing rain. rain falling across northern england and scotland into sub zero air could bring some really icy conditions here. winds gusting 60 to 70 mph, big waves around the irish sea coasts, the western isles for instance as well. 12 degrees in belfast.

contrast that with further east still, fairly chilly,