tonight at 6pm... the duke of edinburgh has been taken to hospital in london after feeling unwell. prince philip was driven from windsor last night. buckingham palace say his admission is not covid—related — it is precautionary. also on the programme tonight... as he prepares to lay out a road map for easing restrictions in england, the prime minister says it's right to focus on data, not dates. a cautious and prudent approach to coming out of lockdown, in such a way as to be irreversible — we want to be going one way from now on. the healthy young people volunteering to be deliberately infected with coronavirus in the uk, for the world's first human trials of vaccines and treatments.

new pop—up courts to open in england and wales to help victims of the backlog of more than 50,000 criminal cases. and it's off—road and all the cars are electric — the new global motor—racing event being launched this spring. and coming up on bbc news... rafa nadal�*s bid for a 21st grand slam title is over, as stefanos tsitsipas fought back from two sets down to reach the australian open semifinals. good evening and welcome to the bbc news at six. the duke of edinburgh has been taken to hospital in london after feeling unwell at windsor castle for the past few days. prince philip, who will be 100 injune, was driven to the king edward vii hospital last night. buckingham palace says his admission is not related to coronavirus

and he is in hospital on the advice of his doctors as a precautionary measure. here's our royal correspondent, nicholas witchell. awarning, a warning, his report contains flashing images. fanfare plays. he's been retired for more than three years now, and he's remained largely out of public sight during the lockdown. this was an exception. july last year, when he took his leave from the rifles, one of the regiments of which he'd been honorary colonel in chief for many years. the most recent image of him is this, at windsor castle with the queen, a photograph released by the palace last november to mark their 73rd wedding anniversary. prior to that, there was a photograph of the couple together lastjune, on the occasion of the duke's 99th birthday. and, for the royal doctors, it will no doubt have been his age as much as anything which will have persuaded them to err on the side of caution. the duke has apparently been feeling unwell for several days so,

last night, at windsor castle, his doctors decided to admit him to hospital. at 2pm this afternoon, the palace issued a statement. the duke's admission is a precautionary measure, it said, on the advice of his royal highness�*s doctor, after feeling unwell. the duke is expected to remain in hospital for a few days of observation and rest. the duke is in the private king edward vii hospital in london. it's understood he was driven there by car. it was not an emergency admission. it is not covid—related, says the palace, and the duke is said to be in good spirits. i think he would want no fuss. he is a very robust character, and he doesn't like... he is a no—nonsense sort of man. i think he would be embarrassed by there being fuss, and would not want it. i'm sure he is in good spirits. he is always in good spirits. this is the first time the duke has been in hospital

since december 2019. on that occasion, he was admitted, again, to the king edward vii hospital, for what was described as observation. he spent four nights in hospital before leaving tojoin the queen and other members of the royal family at sandringham. anxiety, on top of everything else. today, the royal family has been carrying on without any outward evidence of concern. this was prince charles and the duchess of cornwall this morning at a hospital in birmingham, before the news of the duke's hospital admission was made public. the queen has remained at windsor castle. she too is carrying on with her duties but, inevitably, in everyone�*s mind will be the fact that the duke is nowjust four months short of his 100th birthday. and nicholasjoins me now. so he went into hospital last night. the palace made the news public this

afternoon, but precautionary is the word they are stressing. yes. afternoon, but precautionary is the word they are stressing.— afternoon, but precautionary is the word they are stressing. yes, and i detect no sense _ word they are stressing. yes, and i detect no sense of _ word they are stressing. yes, and i detect no sense of alarm _ word they are stressing. yes, and i detect no sense of alarm or- word they are stressing. yes, and i detect no sense of alarm or even i word they are stressing. yes, and i | detect no sense of alarm or even of undue concern. he has been admitted through what one official described to me is an abundance of caution, and you can understand that, given his age. it was not an emergency. he walked into the hospital, the palace tells us. it is not covid related. he has had his covid vaccination, like the queen. the queen is keeping calm and carrying on, the epitome of that, as ever. she took a call today from the head of the royal navy, the first c lord, and she had a call last night the new ambassador to the united states. the duke, as far as we can tell, has generally been in good health since four nights in hospitaljust before christmas 2019. he has been at windsor castle with the queen for most of the past year, in lockdown. i think they've rather enjoyed the time they spent together for the but tonight he is back in the king edward vii hospital, and

there is no reason that i can detect to doubt the palace description of it is precautionary, for a few days of observation, though one would imagine it would be pretty close observation.— observation. nicholas witchell, thank yom _ one of the government's scientific advisors has told mps that the coronavirus data is now looking so good that it could point to an earlier lifting of restrictions in england. the prime minister is due to set out a road map on monday for how lockdown will be lifted. borisjohnson warned that measures would be eased cautiously. here's our health editor, hugh pym. it'll be one of the most difficult decisions he has to make — at what speed to start easing the lockdown in england. the prime minister's hoping the rapid roll—out of vaccinations will help for his plan to be unveiled on monday. it'll be based firmly on a cautious and prudent approach to coming out of lockdown, in such a way as to be irreversible.

so, what do experts think about when restrictions will ease? schools in england are set to start reopening from march the 8th, but families and businesses want to know what else might open up and when. today, one expert was optimistic based on vaccine numbers and falling cases. my conclusion from that is if you're driven by the data and not by dates, right now, you should be looking at earlier unlocking because the data are so good. and speaking to the same commons committee, another scientist was also upbeat. i think if we're cautious, we should get... - it won't be completely normal, . but things will start to look much more normal by spring. mps were also told scenes like this on some british beaches last summer were not the problem some people thought. there was an outcry about this. there were no outbreaks linked to crowded beaches. there's never been a covid—19 outbreak linked to a beach ever anywhere in the world. the number of daily reported cases was very low last summer. then it picked up in the autumn and really surged injanuary

to reach a peak, before falling back sharply. but there's still a lot of pressure on the nhs. the number of patients in hospitals on ventilators is still onlyjust below the peak last april, and that's even with doctors less inclined to use ventilators for patients this time. so, how much can vaccinations help? there's agreement that the programme has gone very well so far, but there was a warning there was a lot more work to do to ensure sufficient community protection. don't unlock too fast, because if you unlock a lot whilst a lot of the most vulnerable are still unvaccinated, genuinely we risk disaster, frankly. and what role is there for mass testing? there's been talk of lateral flow kits giving rapid results being sent out to households and workplaces as lockdown is eased, but there was a note of caution about their use. where we've used them most successfully, i have to say, i

is where they've been self—tests, but in a semi—supervised - environment. so, there's somebody there to take the results, you log the result, - you know who's had what test. the scottish government is moving cautiously. the first minister said today it was likely people would be advised against booking easter breaks, though holidays in scotland might be possible in the summer. hugh pym, bbc news. the latest government figures show 12,718 new infections were recorded in the latest 24—hour period. that's almost the same number as last wednesday. an average of 12,289 new cases were recorded per day in the last week. just under 21,000 people are in hospital with coronavirus across the uk. in the last 2a hours, 738 deaths have been recorded — that's people who died within 28 days of a positive covid test. that number is almost a third lower than this time last week. on average, 583 deaths

were announced every day in the past week. the total number of people who've died is 118,933. almost 365,000 people had their first dose of one of the three approved covid—19 vaccines in the latest 24—hour period. just under 16 million people have now had theirfirstjab. british scientists have been given the green light to run the world's first covid—19 trial in which people will be deliberately infected. 90 healthy volunteers between the ages of 18 and 30 will be exposed to the virus, to understand its effects. the study will be carried out in a safe and controlled environment, with medics monitoring participants' health. 0ur medical editor, fergus walsh, reports. this is where trial volunteers will spend just over two weeks, in en suite rooms at the top of the royal free hospital in north london.

there's quite a view and all meals provided, but the stay includes being deliberately infected with coronavirus. the aim is to find the smallest possible dose that will trigger an infection. we believe the risk on this trial is incredibly small because they are young, healthy adults. most of them will even be asymptomatic, but we're doing every thing we can to make sure we're monitoring it and mitigating it. future trials will be used for head—to—head comparisons between different vaccines and how well they work, but this initial study should also yield important information about covid. in no other kind of study can you understand what's happening right at the beginning of the infection, how much virus comes out of people's noses, and most importantly amongst asymptomatic people, who we think are an important contributor to transmission in the community. the volunteers who do spend 17 days

here at the royal free hospital and attend their follow—up blood tests over the course of a year will be compensated to the tune of £11,500, but it's altruism rather than money that seems to be the main motivation. alastair is 18 and has already signed up. he's been campaigning for the trials to take place as a means of speeding up research into vaccines and the virus. i think it's a challenge for us. really they are going - to shorten the pandemic. anything we can do shorten the pandemic is certainly. really worth doing. so, i guess it's that- which is really driving it. challenge trials have a long history. in this study in oxford, volunteers drank a solution laced with typhoid bacteria to test whether a vaccine they'd had protected them. it's an approach that should help find new covid vaccines

and treatments in years to come. fergus walsh, bbc news. the pandemic has led to a record backlog in court cases in england and wales. more temporary courts are now being set up, amid warnings that the number of trials that have had to be delayed could damage the criminal justice system for years. 0ur correspondent, dominic casciani, has been talking to one woman who is devastated after being told that the trial of the person accused of sexually assaulting her could be delayed for more than two years. there is a legal principle that justice delayed is justice denied, and that has never felt truer than it does right now to "jenny", a victim of sexual violence. she reported historical abuse in 2018. prosecutors asked her to delay therapy because it could affect her trial evidence. then, last autumn, she learnt that was still two years away. and i said, you do mean 2021, don't you? you don't mean 2022?

and they said, no, we mean 2022. and i got really angry. i'm resilient, i've got support. what about individuals that have got no family, no friends? how many of those have walked away — not because a crime did not happen but because the system hasn't enabled their voice to come out? jenny's wait forjustice is not unusual. the pandemic closed courts, often too small to hold judges, juries, lawyers and defendants safely. today there is a record 56,000 cases waiting to be heard in england and wales. many new cases are now being timetabled for trial in 2023. but criminaljustice experts blame cuts rather than covid. court sitting days fell 20% over the last decade and lawyers say that was a political decision to lock court rooms that could have been used. we ended up using somewhere in the region of 220 court rooms out of an existing estate of 491 rooms, and that was simply

a cost—saving exercise. there were judges ready, available and willing to deal with trials but simply prevented from so doing. the available court rooms now have social distancing in place. these screens separating jurors in liverpool. and 60 extra temporary courts also aim to ease the pressure. lord chancellor robert buckland, the minister responsible for courts, has pledged £40 million to support the vulnerable. i don't want to see victims| and witnesses have to wait inordinate lengths of time... he is promising swifter justice but not overnight. i accept what you say about the huge frustrations and the anxiety- and the concern that is out there, but i'm doing everything i can- to mitigate those problems - and to make sure that the courts system is working as quickly as possible, i even in these covid times. jenny, what is your view of the system and how it is treating victims? it's not broken because of covid, it was well broken before that. and you might put your bloody

nightingale courts up and running, but you need to go back to what do the victims need. dominic casciani, bbc news. the time is 15 minutes past six. our top story this evening... the duke of edinburgh has been taken to hospital in london as a precautionary measure, after feeling unwell. and after feeling unwell. who could and afterfeeling unwell. who could have imagined a and after feeling unwell. who could have imagined a ye ago and who could have imagined a year ago at life as we know it now, staying at home, wearing masks, holidays illegal? we look at how our lives have changed. coming up on sportsday on bbc news... as england women prepare for their first international in nearly a year, we speak to midfielderjill scott, as she gets set to become just the second person to win 150 caps. across the uk, the covid crisis has put immense and relentless pressure on hospital staff. doctors, nurses and other medics have been very much on the front line, but the pandemic has demanded so much from everyone working in hospitals.

in his second report from glan clwyd hospital in north wales, jeremy cooke has been filming in the �*green�* non—covid areas and talking to those behind the scenes who've played a crucial role throughout. a hospital at the heart of a rural community, at the centre of the covid crisis. every part of glan clwyd hospital... take you to a ward when we've got some space. ..is stretched by the pandemic. doctors and nurses can only do their life—saving work... can you give me your arm to do your blood pressure? ..if the behind—the—scenes support staff do theirs. and tonight, we are meeting them, every one essential. if you're looking for a hero, how about gary? 0n duty at the entrance to a&e. covid rules mean it's a toughjob. i was assaulted here boxing day.

ward 7 are still escalated... in the hub, an update on patient numbers, beds, waiting times. quite a challenge today, we've got 32 patients waiting for beds. - paul is briefing emma, the medical director. ward nine hasjust closed so unfortunately we've i lost another bed there. his job is never easy. ward three, i've got the itu patient... with covid, it has never been harder. how are you doing with it? i think we are all tired. you're dealing with ward staff, ward nurses, you can see that| from time to time they are tired i and frustrated with the relentless pressure that is on the system. to ease the pressure, there is this. deeside leisure centre, now the rainbow hospital. how are you? are you feeling 0k? good. a year ago, it was a skate park, gym, squash courts. i might not be clinical but as an operational person, i do want to consider,

would i want my family to be treated in there? this is laura's baby. she is the project manager who converted this... starting to take the medication. ..into a 420—bed hospital. my grandmother became a patient here back in december. actually within five days she did pass away. she wasn't on her own, she was in a lovely environment, she was cared for with lots of dignity and respect and i couldn't have asked for more, to be honest. she'll be going on infusion in a minute. back at the district hospital, medical staff are crucial but so are the cleaners, kitchen staff, the workshop guys who fix the beds, mend the kit. the specialist equipment... just testing one ofl our itu ventilators. ..that saves lives. lives like david... very proud to work for the nhs, i love myjob. ..one of the hospital's own. a porter and now a survivor of covid—19. i was on the life—support machine

for four or five days, spent 18 days in hospital. did you think you might die? yes, i did, i honestly thought, am i going to get through this? i'm passionate about myjob, i'm passionate about what i do and i would like to do my bit to help other people come through this horrible, nasty disease. as medical director, emma'sjob is to keep life—saving services on track. this ward is now being used temporarily for patients who need surgery. and she knows now more than ever the crucial role of her hospital support staff. medicine will never be the same again, hospitals will never be the same again. as human beings, we'll never be the same again. and i for one think that, as a hospital, we are closer to each other than we were before, and that we have a sense of common purpose. are you proud of what is being achieved here? i'm incredibly proud, i'm incredibly proud. jeremy cooke, bbc news, north wales.

the united nations says it will raise the detention of princess latifa, the daughter of dubai's ruler, with the united arab emirates. in secret videos obtained by the bbc�*s panorama programme, the princess said she was being held in solitary confinement, and feared for her life. the foreign secretary, dominic raab, said the videos were "deeply troubling". 0ur diplomatic correspondent james landale is here. this is what the princess' friends had hoped for when they released the videos? will it make any difference? they released them _ will it make any difference? they released them for _ will it make any difference? they released them for a _ will it make any difference? tie: released them for a purpose, to raise the profile of the case and to increase international pressure on the authorities in dubai. certainly they have succeeded in the first task, the united nations, the office for the high commissionerfor human rights, said it will raise the case with authorities in the uae and the foreign secretary has backed that process and says it is concerning, what's going on, and people will want to know if the princess is

alive and well put out some of her legal team want to go further, calling for sanctions on the ruler of dubai, herfather, sheikh mohammed bin rashid al maktoum, who she says is the person holding her hostage. the foreign secretary play that down, saying there was a strict legal threshold for that. the interesting question is whether this case tarnishes the reputation of dubai as a destination for business and for tourism. will investors and visitors turn a blind eye and turn away? there was pressure on the shake but it's not clear if there is enough for him to change his position yet —— the sheikh. the long—standing position of the government there is that the princess is safe in the care of her family. the company which made the grenfell tower fire cladding has been accused of deliberately concealing

�*disastrous' fire test results on one of its products. giving evidence to the public inquiry, the boss of the french company denied the test results were "deliberately concealed", but agreed the omission amounted to a "misleading half truth". who'd have thought a year ago that we'd all be told to wear masks and work from home if we could? how many people knew then what furlough meant and did anyone ever imagine that holidays would be illegal? well, almost a year after our lives changed dramatically, our business correspondent emma simpson has been talking to three people about their lockdown experiences and what may lie ahead. for so many in this pandemic, where we live has become where we work. not easy if you're home—schooling as well. tori is a single month in hull. —— single mother. i wish to have more flexibility to work from home but i didn't wish it in this way! get your foot off the wire! try to get your foot off the wire, please. yeah, i'm all right. she is a project manager for a heating business, working until 10:30pm to keep up.

i've been quite emotional today, i've had a cry. um... it's just really overwhelming, balancing everything. counting the days until the kids are back in school. would you like to go back to the office five days a week? no! i'd like the flexibility of being able to choose, you know, when i can work from home and when i can be in the office. my industry didn't necessarily promote home—working orflexible working in the way that we are doing now so i hope that there will be some sort of change. she's not the only one. right now more than 40% of working adults are thought to be doing theirjobs from home. it's incredible, really, and shows what can be done. for many, this pandemic is likely to change the way we work for good. millions of workers, though, have stayed in their workplace throughout. a big part of service starts with a smile, that's impossible to do with a mask on...

stephen manages this supermarket in livingston, the biggest asda in scotland. the role of the store manager is completely different. in fact, i've also had to be a psychologist, i've also had to be a counsellor, i've had to be a health and safety expert, a crowd manager, you know, there's many, many different strings to the bow that i've had to pick up very, very quickly. have you felt you've been on the front line? definitely, and in actual fact, i've felt a bit of pride. and in this pandemic, there have been plenty of workers forced to changejobs, like mark, a comedian who is now tiling walls and floors. i used to hate leaving a room flat — now i love it! _ get it? when the venues closed, mark went on a course to brush up his skills and is now doing good business. the change of direction, - it was almost forced upon me. just needed some sort of income coming in. i in a strange way, i think i might carry on doing a dual life, - comedy works in the evenings - but going out and doing tiling jobs,

it's like, actually that's nice, it's something different. - when the dust eventually settles, many of us will want to work in a different way than we did before this pandemic. emma simpson, bbc news. and finally to a new kind of motor racing. it's all off road and only electric cars are allowed to compete. it's called extreme e, and as well as sending an environmental message, it will also have equal numbers of men and women competing for the first time. 0ur sports correspondent katie gornall reports. electric suvs competing off—road. it's motorsport, but not as you've ever seen or heard it before. extreme e aims to push both the boundaries of racing and an environmental message. it is a concept that has drawn in some of the biggest names in sport. lewis hamilton owns a team, so doesjenson button, and the ex formula 1 world champion is also driving in the series. it's the first actual

electric car i've driven. it's like a big tonka toy. with 550 horsepower! the future will always be electric in every form of motorsport. we are all doing our little bit, i'm not going to say i'm going to change the world, i can't change the world on my own, but i'm going to try and do my little bit to bring awareness to the issues we have. jenson button and his team have been getting a feel for the car here in wales however, the terrain they will encounter when the series starts will be very different. they will be racing in some of the most remote parts of the world, all places seriously affected by climate change. the series will visit five locations including deserts, glaciers and rainforests to raise awareness. they will work with scientists to minimise the impact of the races and also set up local projects to try and repair the environment for the future. in another twist, the cars and scientists will travel on this, a former royal mail vessel that has been converted into a floating paddock, all to reduce emissions.

we are going to show the ice melting in the arctic, we are going to show the deforested areas in the rainforest, we are going to show the deserts that are growing all the time in the planet, we are going to show coastlines full of plastic. there will be people who will look at this from a different angle and they will say that this is all part of an elaborate pr stunt. i wouldn't say anything to those people that just think this is a pr stunt, i don't care, ijust do, and that's the important thing. you know, and people that don't take action and criticise, they are free to do that, ijust don't listen to them. there is an argument that it would be more sustainable sustainable not to race at all, but organisers point to the lasting benefits the series could bring, and the hope that it will drive innovation and interest in electric cars. and that's not all. every team must have a male and female driver, a first for the sport. i think this championship is massive for females in motorsport, - and in the industry, - you know, it's got some huge broadcast partners and i think the fact that it will be put out| to kind of mainstream audiences,

it will show girls that there - are opportunities in motorsport. and i think also for females that are in the sport, - it is giving you a new credibility. extreme e has big ambitions, both for motor racing and sport's relationship with the environment. it hopes where it goes, others will follow. katie gornall, bbc news. time for a look at the weather here's louise lear. good evening, away from the north—west of scotland and the south—east of england we have had a mid week window of sunshine. look at this, a beautiful afternoon in north yorkshire for some sea fishing. will at last? unfortunately not and in fact already the rain is arriving, pushing in from the west as we speak so this has been the story, you can see the best suli breaks here but it is this rain in the south—west moving into wales that will bring some heavy bursts moving into the night —— you can see the best sunny

ike's pond it will gradually drift northwards through the night, the winds remain a feature that will drive the cold front from at a pace tomorrow meaning a mild start to the states but wet weather around. a few scattered showers in the south—east but the main bulk of rain will move in from the west and it pushes towards the south—east by late morning. a couple of hours of rain before it clears to some sunny spells but closer to the low pressure is where we will see the sharp showers, driven by some pretty strong gusty winds with gusts in excess of 45 mph. in terms of the feeling, a bit fresher tomorrow because that system was a cold front so it introduces a fresher air, 7-9 , but so it introduces a fresher air, 7—9 , but the mild air is set to return unfortunately, mild and moist with a lot of heavy rain on friday into saturday. particular to the west and we could see two or four inches of rain on west coast, mainly

more, accompanied by gale force