tonight at ten: easing the lockdown in england — the prime minister says the data will dictate the timetable for the months ahead. some experts suggest it might be possible to ease the lockdown at an earlier stage because of the success of the vaccination programme, but the prime minister struck a more guarded note. 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. a world first for the uk — dozens of young and healthy volunteers will be exposed to the coronavirus to help scientists deepen their understanding. anything we can do to shorten the pandemic is something that would be worth doing, so it's kind of...

i guess it's that which is really driving me. we'll have more on the trial — and on the debate about easing lockdown. also tonight... the duke of edinburgh, who's 99, is in hospital tonight — the palace says it's a "precautionary" step. the united nations is to raise the case of princess latifa who accuses her father, the ruler of dubai, of keeping her imprisoned. and... ..handforth parish council is back, but does it descend into another verbal bust—up? and coming up in sport, on bbc news... stefanos tsitsipas comes from two sets down to beat rafael nadal and move through to the australian open semi—finals. good evening. the success of the vaccination programme has made it possible to consider lifting the covid

restrictions at an earlier stage according to one of the government's scientific advisors. professor mark woolhouse of the university of edinburgh told a parliamentary committee at westminster there were reasons to be more optimistic because there was more confidence in the scientific data compared to last year. but other government advisers sounded a far more cautious note. and the prime minister, borisjohnson, said he was taking a "data not dates" approach which would "go in stages". he's set to announce his plans next monday for easing the lockdown in england. our health editor hugh pym has the latest. 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 could set to start reopening from march 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 will next week announce its plan for moving out of lockdown. the first minister said a sharp fall in deaths amongst the over 85s in recent weeks was the first hard evidence of the positive impact of vaccination. hugh pym, bbc news. in the first trial of its kind in the world, dozens of young and healthy volunteers, all carefully selected, between 18 and 30 years of age will be exposed to the coronavirus in a safe, controlled environment. the study will begin in the uk in a matter of weeks, following approval from the clinical trials ethics body. scientists hope it will give them a deeper understanding of the virus as our medical editor fergus walsh explains. 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 £a,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 challenge trials are really going to shorten the pandemic. i anything we can do to shorten the pandemic is certainly- really worth doing. so, i guess it's that- which is really driving me. 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 latest offcial figures show... 12,718 new infections were recorded in the latest 24—hour period. 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 2a hour period. just under 16 million people have now had theirfirstjab. 0ur deputy political editor vicki young is at westminster. the prime minister said it is all about data but one of the advisers says the data is looking pretty good, so where does that leave him? every time we see him in front of the camera we see the word caution, because he is trying to balance the good news about the vaccination programme alongside the idea that you unlock too quickly, so what they are talking about here is reopening in stages, we know schools will be at the beginning of that process, hospitality likely to be at the end, but what is interesting is that is in the short term, but ministers in

whitehall also discussing the longer term, other issues of how we live with coronavirus for quite some time, that could mean that mass testing is with us for some months, if not years. in schools, in workplaces, but they are ethical issues as well, what if an employer says that everyone who works for them has to have a vaccination? how can people prove they have been vaccinated in order to travel? all of that is in the longer term but no doubt about it, borisjohnson wants to be cautious and that approach will irritate many people including some of his own mps but i don't think he's going to change his mind. thanks forjoining us. the duke of edinburgh is spending his second night in hospital in london. prince philip, who's 99 years old, was admitted last night. buckingham palace said it was �*a precautionary measure�*, after the duke had reported feeling unwell for a few days.

his condition is apparently not related to coronavirus and the duke was said to be �*in good spirits�* when he was admitted. 0ur royal correspondent nicholas witchell has the latest. his report does contain 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 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. he's a no—nonsense sort of man. i think he would be embarrassed by the fuss, and would not want it. i'm sure he's in good spirits. he's always in good spirits. the duke was admitted to the same hospitaljust before christmas 2019 for treatment of an undisclosed condition. he left after four nights to join the queen at sandringham.

anxiety, on top of everything else. today, the royal family has been continuing with business as usual. this was prince charles and the duchess of cornwall this morning at a hospital in birmingham. 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. nickjoins me now. they say this as a precaution, should people be reading a bit more into it? i should people be reading a bit more into it? ., �* ~' , into it? i don't think there is anything _ into it? i don't think there is anything to _ into it? i don't think there is anything to suggest - into it? i don't think there is anything to suggest that - into it? i don't think there is anything to suggest that the situation is not as the palace has described it. there is always a degree of sensitivity about medical issues and you wonder if you are getting an accurate impression of what is going on, so let's look at the evidence. no sense of alarm amongst officials and one of them said he had been into hospital through an abundance of caution because of his age and it wasn't an emergency admission. we were told he

walked into hospital and there was no covid link at the royal family are also continuing as normal. the queen took a call from the head of the royal navy this morning and she spoke to the new ambassador to the united states, so no suggestion of anything amiss. we know the queen and the duke have been at windsor throughout the lockdown, nearly a year now, and they have been carefully shielded and they have both have had their vaccination but not the duke is back in the king edward vii hospitalfor not the duke is back in the king edward vii hospital for the first timejust edward vii hospital for the first time just before christmas 2019. the visit precautionary, that seems plausible, i must say, it is for observation, i dare say the observation, i dare say the observation will be very close and very careful. observation will be very close and very careful-— the foreign secretary dominic raab says the case of the missing princess, sheikha latifa, the daughter of the ruler of dubai, is �*deeply troubling�*.

in secret videos broadcast by the bbc yesterday, the princess accuses her father, sheikh mohammed bin rashid, of holding her hostage. mr raab said britain would follow the case closely but he played down calls for sanctions to be imposed on dubai which is a close ally of the uk. 0ur diplomatic correspondent james landale has the latest. i�*m a hostage, and this villa has been converted into a jail. this is sheikha latifa, a princess, but also a prisoner, in solitary confinement somewhere in dubai. she says she�*s a hostage of herfather, sheikh mohammed bin rashid al maktoum, the ruler of dubai, who shares a passion for horses with the queen and owns huge swathes of land across britain. the princess�*s friends released these videos to rouse international support. the foreign secretary said the case was troubling and people would want to see she was alive and well. we are concerned about her. i think anyone at a human level would watch the footage and be concerned about it. i think the right mechanism

is via the un which is already under way and we obviously support that and watch what they find and what we see further in the developments on that very closely. that un process will be led by the office of the high commissioner for refugees in geneva which said it would raise the case with the uae. the princess�*s friends said they were reassured the international community was listening, but others said more action may be needed. the uk government and other governments should look to impose sanctions on the uae authorities if they don�*t uphold human rights. we have the laws in our country and in other countries to do that, to impose sanctions, to prevent people from moving around, to ensure that their assets are not misused. so those measures should be taken. the foreign secretary, chairing a un meeting today, played down the idea of sanctions, saying they needed to meet a strict legal threshold. the question for diplomats here at the emerati embassy

is whether the case of princess latifa will tarnish dubai�*s reputation as a destination for business, tourism. will investors and visitors turn a blind eye or will they turn away? every year more than a million britons visit the uae for their holidays. every year both countries trade goods and services worth £18 billion. but at what price? the idea of going and holidaying and luxuriating on a beach in dubai when we know that behind closed doors terrible things are going on and there is no respect for law and that justice for women is not taking place, that should concern us as people who travel, if we ever travel again. so far sheikh mohammed has made no comment. his long—standing position being the princess is safe in the care of his family.

for all the international pressure, there is no sign yet to suggest he�*s feeling it at home. james landale, bbc news. let�*s take a look at some of today�*s other news... the head of the company that made the flammable cladding used on grenfell tower has admitted it told a "misleading half—truth" to a british standards board. the public inquiry into the fire has heard that the french manufacturer arconic didn�*t share the results of a failed test while applying for a product certificate. but the company�*s president denied it was "deliberately concealed". lord frost, who served as the prime minister�*s chief brexit negotiator, has been given a seat at the cabinet table and a ministerial post overseeing the uk�*s relationship with the european union. among his responsibilities will be representing the uk in any trade disputes resulting from brexit. a deadline of may 1st for all international troops to be pulled out of afghanistan is set to be extended because of a surge in taliban violence. this year marks the 20th anniversary of the american—led invasion,

and troop withdrawal was central to last year�*s us—taliban deal, which was signed by president trump, but is now under review by president biden. let�*s join our chief international correspondent lyse doucet in the afghan capital kabul. yes, well this question is the top issue on the agenda. this crucial nato meeting which began today and continues tomorrow. it�*s the first time that the new us defence secretary is meeting online his nato counterparts, and when it comes to afghanistan there are no good options on the table. if they don�*t stick to the me first deadline the taliban are vowing to intensify this war. if they do stick to it there are even greater concerns. nato does not believe the taliban have kept their commitments, that they haven�*t cut ties with al-qaeda, that they have not made a genuine effort to negotiate a peace deal. so at this critical error there is a frantic push to get the taliban back to the

table, but there are also plans by afghan and nato military planners to prepare for are ratcheting up of this war. a stark snapshot of a gathering storm — the national police hospital. doctors tell us they�*ve never seen so many patients. there�*s fighting in so many provinces now. this policeman took a bullet. translation: the taliban blew up a vehicle outside school, _ so i went there to help get the children out. the taliban started shooting and we fired back. i was shot. the bullet hit me here and come out the other side. gunfire and they�*re braced for more. this was a training exercise, but it�*s all too real. afghan police on the hunt for suicide bombers... ..and civilians trapped inside.

the government gave us access to film this, as taliban warn, if the us deal breaks down, there will be more of this. the interior minister thanks his men and a few women, what�*s his advice to washington? i would say let�*s review what the taliban agreed to. did the taliban cut their relationship with terrorists? did the taliban respect that? are the taliban are willing to please? if not, then the taliban should know that the international community will remain. a taliban call to arms. they insist they�*ve kept their commitments, that foreign forces must be out by may. if not, they�*ll be attacked. on the streets, there�*s already a wave of targeted killings. every day, a blast, or more.

no one claims them. many blame the taliban. 18—year—old ramin survived a horrific taliban suicide bombing. translation: now when i leave home, i say goodbye to my family. _ you don�*t know if you�*re going to make it home alive or dead each day. 20 years after us forces came in, there�*s no easy way out. violence may surge whether they stay or go. there is still talk of peace and plans for war. lyse doucet, bbc news, kabul. last night we reported from a hospital in north wales on the staff who are maintaining urgent medical care which is not related to the pandemic. tonight, we talk to some of the support staff at ysbyty glan clwyd in denbighshire, whose work is essential in keeping the hospital going. staff say the pandemic has brought them all closer together and that medicine will never be

the same again, as our correspondentjeremy cooke reports. 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. can you sanitise your hands, my friend? if you�*re looking for a hero, how about gary? on duty at the entrance to a&e. covid rules mean it�*s a toughjob. i was assaulted here boxing day. i ended up with a fracture of my face here. a big elbow and he stamped on my back. have you ever wondered if it�*s all worth it? i�*ve done this job for 43 years. you do it because you�*ve got something to give. 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's on the system. to ease the pressure, there�*s this. deeside leisure centre — now the rainbow hospital. how are you? are you feeling ok? 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�*s 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 a life—support machine forfour orfive days, spent 18 days in hospital.

did you think you might die? yes, idid. 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. jeremy cooke, bbc news, north wales. a bbc investigation has found examples of potential child abuse on the live video chat website

omegle. the site claims to be moderated. its popularity worldwide has soared during the pandemic, with millions of visitors a day, including from the uk. despite its reputation for disturbing and explicit content, it�*s frequently visited by children, and international protection groups are increasingly concerned at the availability of so—called "self—generated" abuse material. this report byjoe tidy contains details that viewers may find upsetting. hi. hello. it�*s a site you might not have heard of, but omegle has been linking up people for random video chats for years, and it�*s gone viral during lockdown. traffic to the site has surged globally from 3a million to 65 million visits a month. it claims to be moderated, but has a reputation for being unpredictable and unsafe. in one two—hour period during a bbc investigation we were paired at random with 12 men explicitly touching themselves, eight naked males and seven porn adverts.

the site doesn�*t ask anyone to prove how old they are. we found dozens of under—18s, and some children as young as seven or eight. and it�*s notjust adults doing explicit things. when we searched for chats using a generic sexual keyword we were randomly paired twice with seemingly prepubescent boys masturbating. one of them identified himself as 1a years old. we ended both chats swiftly, and reported the incidents to the relevant authorities. but the internet watch foundation says it too is concerned. it says omegle is being used by predators to gather self—generated child abuse material. we do see content that's been generated on the website omegle, and this type of activity is going on in a household often where we know that parents are present, because there are conversations that you can hear, even children being, you know, asked to come down for tea. one parent in the north of england told us that her eight—year—old daughter was nearly coerced into sexual activity on the site last month.

to maintain her anonymity we have had an actress read her words. she witnessed a man masturbating, and another man wanted to play truth or dare. he was asking her to shake her bum, take her top off and her trousers — which, thankfully, she didn�*t do. lily and herfriend, who was on face time with her, say the site has become a viral craze during the pandemic. they are 16 years old. yeah, it was a few months - ago our friends started using it, and then we alljust started using it. - but there's weird men on there. yeah, loads of them. there is no way to contact omegle at all and we spent months tracking down the website�*s owner, leif k—brooks, in the us. he claims to have actually increased moderation in the last year and says that his site is not for prurient interests. joe tidy, bbc news.

a parish council in cheshire, which made headlines recently after its rather fiery online meeting went viral, has been back in business tonight. handforth parish council was preparing to debate planning matters this evening, but as our north of england correspondentjudith moritz discovered, the council more than lived up to its reputation for vigorous debate. chair, i�*m speaking, chair. with respect, chair, i�*m still speaking. a parish council meeting on a wet wednesday isn�*t usually gripping viewing, but this isn�*tjust any parish council meeting. we are trying to do handforth parish council business. it�*s no strasbourg or westminster, but handforth is on the international political map, or at least it has been, since its council planning committee went viral. will you please let. the chairman speak? you have no authority here, - jackie weaver, no authority at all. she�*s kicked him out. as blockbusters go, the infamous handforth parish council meeting didn�*t know if it was a drama or a farce.