tonight at ten — the duke and duchess of sussex have decided to leave royal life for good. buckingham palace confirms that prince harry and meghan will not return as working members of the royal family. the couple are being stripped of patronages and honorary titles. one friend says that will be a blow for prince harry. i know that personally he will be gutted in many regards, that certain things he cares so much about he will not be able to have such a direct involvement with any more, you know, like his titles within the military, for example. buckingham palace says everyone is "saddened" by their decision, but the couple remain "much loved members of the family". also tonight... coronavirus cases fall right across the uk — but around half a million people

are still infected. the uk's highest court rules that a group of uber drivers must be treated as workers rather than self—employed — in a case that could have implications for many others. remarkable new pictures from mars — the moment nasa's robot perseverance touched down on the red planet last night. and coming up in sport on bbc news — wolves on the hunt for back—to—back premier league wins, as they take on leeds in a mid—table match at molineux. good evening. buckingham palace has confirmed that the duke and duchess of sussex will not be returning as working members of the royal family. prince harry and meghan stepped down from royal duties last year and moved to the united states. the couple — who are expecting

their second child — have been stripped of their patronages and honorary titles — which will be returned to the queen and distributed elsewhere in the royal family. prince harry and meghan responded with a statement, saying, "we can all live a life of service. "service is universal. " here's our royal correspondent, nicholas witchell. the bond which was once so close has, in every formal royal sense, been shattered. the breach, in terms of the business of royalty, is complete, and bar a complete about—face by the sussexes, it is final. for harry, then, perhaps, a sense of long sought freedom. for william, one imagines, a deep sense of disappointment. today's news is not unexpected. in the year since harry and meghan made their last appearance at a formal royal engagement at westminster abbey, the gulf between them and the rest

of harry's family has grown ever wider. the couple have bought a house in california, negotiated deals with us media companies, and made it clear that they relish their new life. at midday today, buckingham palace confirmed that they would not be returning as working members of the royal family. a statement said that following conversations with harry, "the queen has written confirming that in stepping away from the work "of the royal family, it is not possible to continue "with the responsibilities and duties that come "with a life of public service." the statement finished, "while all are saddened "by their decision, the duke and duchess remain much loved "members of the family." this was the sussexes�* response. "as evidenced by their work over the past year, the duke and duchess "of sussex remain committed to their duty and service to the uk "and around the world and have offered their continued support "to the organisations they have represented, "regardless of official role."

they finished their statement by saying this. "we can all live a life of service. "service is universal. " for harry, the loss of his military roles, particularly as captain general of the royal marines, will be particularly hard. i know that he'll be personally gutted, just as i was, that he's not allowed to pull a military uniform on any more. regardless, it doesn't change his commitment to the individuals that serve in it and those that require care beyond it. supporters of meghan understand why she wants a new life. the press drove her out of here. if she was going to stay here any longer, i think they would probably have made her ill because it isn't a relationship that most americans are used to. so, one of the royal family's most popular members, a man for whom, over the years, there's been great sympathy

and admiration, now faces a very different future. the way back to royal duty has been closed. he can never again wear military uniform. harry's future lies in california with his wife and family. and nicholas is with me now. how do you read the response from prince harry and meghan? i think that both statements are revealing of the underlying tensions and the completely mismatched ambitions. the queen's position is very straightforward. you cannot do and just picks the bits of royal life that you particularly enjoy. you either do all of it or none of it. ithink you either do all of it or none of it. i think the palace statement reveals the feeling of exasperation that there is there, the telling reference from the palace or from the queen to duties that come with a life of public service. well, who is that reminding us of? a life of public service. the queen, of

course, her husband, and all the other members of the royal family who are not walking away. and then this stinging riposte from the sussexes. we can all live a life of service, service is universal. well, one wonders who penned that particular flourish which in fact is saying to the palace, we don't need you to tell us what duty and service are. i think many people might think that it comes as close to impertinence as they dared stop but an awful lot of people will have sympathy for them, an awful lot of people will wish them the very best of luck, as will the family, as will the queen, the grandmother, which is quite distinct from the queen, the embodiment of the crown. as the statement says, they remain much loved members of the family. hick loved members of the family. nick witchell, thank _ loved members of the family. nick witchell, thank you. the duke of edinburgh is expected to remain in hospital over the weekend and into next week for observation and rest. he was driven to hospital on tuesday night, afterfeeling unwell for a few days. it's understood that prince philip's doctor is acting with what's being called an "abundance of caution", and the duke, who's 100

injune, remains in good spirits. nasa has tonight released remarkable new high—definition images from mars, taken by its rover perseverance, which landed on the red planet last night. it's hoped it will find microscopic signs of ancient life from billions of years ago. it was an extraordinary and perilous landing — one that was helped by a company in devon, as our science correspondent rebecca morelle reports. nasa's perseverance rover being lowered to the surface of mars, an image taken from above two metres away from touchdown. that image and the details there in really pull us humans here on earth into the result of all of that hard work. you are brought into the surface of mars,

you are sitting there, on the upper left of the image and the lower right of the image you can see these little dust plumes in that on the surface of mars kicked up by our engines. and here is one of the landing site, the shadow of perseverance is clearly visible. and this close up of its wheel is intriguing the team. we will be looking forward to the coming weeks and months as our instruments get checked out to look closer at these rocks, by the edge of the wheel is a rock and one of the first things we notice is it has a lot of holes or bugs in it so the science team is now thinking about what this might mean. it's the start of the rover�*s two year mission and its main objective is to search for signs of life. perseverance is in an area called thejezero crater. it was once a huge lake. you can see the river flowing into it and out of it. and this purple area is a beautifully preserved river delta where microorganisms

could once have lived. this is one of the existential questions, are we alone - in the universe? and what i can say is thatj all the raw materials, the building blocks, are there for there to be life. - so if there is going to be life, it should be in this type - of environment. the rover survived a perilous descent, travelling at the speed of a bullet before a supersonic parachute helped it to the ground. and this is where it was made. it's a fabric factory in tiverton, devon. it was a nerve—racking moment for them. i could hardly watch, then it sort of really hit home. there were lots of things that could go wrong but it all went right and all of us, the whole team and everybody working at heathcoates, was elated that we had another successful mission. over the next few days.

over the next few days the rover�*s instruments will be switched on and many more images will start to come back, including a video of its descent. then perseverance will be ready to start investigating its new home. rebecca morelle, bbc news. the number of coronavirus cases is continuing to fall in all parts of the uk. the latest r number, estimated to be between 0.6 and 0.9, also suggests infection numbers are shrinking. but experts warn that with more than 500,000 people currently infected, there is still plenty of virus circulating for people to catch. they say any lifting of restrictions should be done slowly and cautiously. here's our health correspondent, catherine burns. the pressure is easing on the nhs, but from a very bad situation. injanuary, hospitals in england treated 100,000 covid patients, a third of all the people they had seen with coronavirus since the pandemic started. it's better now, but far from normal. there are still many hospitals around the country with intensive care units that have more covid patients than they had at the peak of the first wave back in april,

and there are still intensive care units who are at double their normal baseline capacity. on monday, we'll hear about the government's roadmap out of lockdown in england, with the promise that they'll be led by data, not dates. and that data is definitely going in the right direction. essentially, cases halved over three weeks. the office for national statistics figures suggest that in the third week injanuary, one in 55 people across the uk would have tested positive for coronavirus. by the end of that month, it was rarer. cases had fallen to under one in 65 people. and at the start of february, fewer still — one in 80 people. the numbers are going down across the uk. one in 115 in england. it's one in 125 in wales.

for northern ireland, it's one in 105. and scotland has the lowest rates, at one in 180. we've been in this position before, poised on the verge of restrictions easing. on the 10th of may last year, the prime minister announced how we would come out of the first lockdown. ..provide the first sketch of a roadmap for reopening society. but things are different now. like then, case numbers are falling, but from a much higher level. back in may, hospitals were treating almost 12,000 covid patients. now, it's more like 19,000. on the other hand, though, we didn't have a vaccine then. almost 17 million people have had their first dose, and about 600,000 of them have now had their second boosterjab, too. we're waiting for numbers showing what impact this is having on the virus, but the early signs are positive. it's only been two or three months

since we started vaccinating, and it takes quite a long time to collect the data needed to really get a good handle on how effective the vaccination is proving to be. whatever the roadmap out of lockdown looks like, it won't be a straight path. we can expect small steps, with pauses in between. but the hope is, in a few months�* time, life will look a lot more normal. catherine burns, bbc news. the latest government figures show there were 12,027 new infections recorded in the latest 24—hour period — a fall of 20% since last friday. it means an average of 11,639 new cases were recorded per day in the last week. more than 19,000 people are in hospital with coronavirus across the uk. in the last 2a hours, 533 deaths have been recorded — that's people who died within 28 days of a positive covid test. that's down by almost a third

since this time last week. on average, 519 deaths were announced every day in the past week. the total number of people who've died is 119,920. more than 450,000 people have had their first dose of one the three approved vaccines in the latest 24—hour period. almost 17 million people have now had their firstjab. our health editor hugh pym is here. soa so a lot of new data today, and it's very significant, this is what the prime minister will be looking at ahead of his big announcement on monday. ahead of his big announcement on monda . , ., ., ahead of his big announcement on monda. , ., ., , i, monday. yes, two important surveys will feed into — monday. yes, two important surveys will feed into that _ monday. yes, two important surveys will feed into that decision _ monday. yes, two important surveys will feed into that decision making, i will feed into that decision making, their react study by the imperial and yesterday on they ons today, and they are broad studies in communities picking up on people who don't know they have the virus, and they've shown definite downward trends. in the case of the ons a

fall of 26% in the uk in one week. the r range shows the virus is receding, between not .6 and 0.9, and that not .6 is the lowest since this data was first published in may last year although it is a range. so we'll hear more about the road map for england on monday and the key phrase is this data, not dates, with some sort of easing set for march the 8th, but then an assessment, waiting for more data to come in. the prime minister said he wants to see infections really low, more time will be needed to assess that. and of course an assessment will be needed on going about the pressure on the nhs and hospitals. thank needed on going about the pressure on the nhs and hospitals. the high court has ruled that the government acted unlawfully when it did not reveal details of some of the covid contracts it had signed while procuring personal protective equipment within the required time frame. the court said the health secretary matt hancock had "acted unlawfully" and he had

"breached his legal obligation". the department for health and social care said it had been forced to sign deals within very short timescales and against a background of unparalleled global demand. the first minister of wales says he hopes the country has entered its last three weeks of �*stay at home' rules. but mark drakeford said further changes to lockdown will depend on case rates continuing to fall. whilst younger primary school children return to school on monday, he said all primary pupils and students in years 11 and 13 may be able to return from 15 march. some non—essential shops and hairdressers could also reopen then. from tomorrow, up to four people from two different households can exercise outdoors together. but pubs, restaurants, cafes and gyms are likely to remain closed for a while. our wales correspondent hywel griffith reports. yet another family walk.

for nicola and her children, this has been the routine for 2021. but in three weeks' time, if infection rates keep falling, nine—year—old evan and eight to old lyla can take their first step back to school. i think we will be skipping into the school playground. and i think it is great the kids are able to get back to school and get back to some structure and normality in a school environment. the classrooms are ready. the first pupils, those aged 3—7 years old, start back on monday. it'll be wonderful to have children back in these classrooms. that means about half ofjenny�*s pupils. for now, the balance feels right, to be honest. i think we need to get it right with our younger pupils first so that we can reassure children, staff, families, the school community that it is as safe as we can possibly make it for the children to return to school. classrooms may be coming back to life but this is going to be a slow and staggered process. some secondary school students might not be back until after the easter holidays.

the welsh government is starting an incremental process of easing measures while still trying to give families some hope. ministers will not give a detailed route map for exiting lockdown. just a direction of travel. i hope, with all the ifs that i always have to emphasise, that this may be the last three weeks of the stay at home restrictions because we would all like to be able to do more than we are doing now. the first minister says he looks forward to the green shoots of recovery. here, theyjust want to start selling them. garden centres in wales are not allowed to open. they might get the go—ahead in three weeks but you can't keep plants on pause. the stock has been ordered months and months in advance because we know at some point we will open so we have to have staff here to take the stock in, display it, get it ready, and then we don't know if we will open. incredibly frustrating. caution, hesitation,

there will be plenty of it in the weeks to come as we feel our way towards greater freedom. hywel griffith, bbc news, cardiff. organisations representing health care staff say their lives are being put at risk because the ppe they use is providing inadequate protection against airborne transmission of coronavirus. the group, which includes the british medical association and the royal college of nursing, says more than 900 workers have died of covid. our science editor david shukman has more. ambulance crews are first on the scene at the most serious covid cases, and phil rennie from oldham, rod moore from falkirk and alan haigh from carmarthenshire are among more than 20 to die of the virus, leaving colleagues scared that they aren't better protected. people call us through the college and describe themselves as cannon fodder, as canaries in a coal mine, as not worth anything.

they feel devalued, demoralised. the standard protection for ambulance crews includes a thin surgical mask. but many feel that's not enough when they've got covid patients with them. ambulances are thought to be a particular risk because you're indoors with little fresh air, close to people who are infected and for long periods of time. and when you combine all those factors it's much more likely that you'll become infected. and the ambulances are often queueing for hours to deliver their patients, with paramedics inside the vehicles all that time. and some of them have caught the virus, like georgette eaton. ijust felt that i didn't have enough protection to protect me. especially because some of the things that i might need to do to treat them meant that i'd have to get quite close to them. so not only am i in a small metal box with a patient, i'm actually having to get quite close in order to treat them

because they're really unwell and they need care. the worry is that the virus is spreading through the air in tiny infectious particles called aerosols. but the big focus has been on hands and surfaces, and keeping them clean. people washing their shopping, they were washing their pets, they've been doing all sorts of things. but what they weren't doing was thinking that the virus might be floating in the air. and so we were so stuck on a mental model of droplets and things that we touch, that we completely forgot the air that we breathe. the government says there is no need to change the guidelines on ppe. but it is monitoring the emerging research into airborne transmission. and it says that safety is always the priority. david shukman, bbc news. borisjohnson�*s main adviser on keeping the uk together has left his position, despite only being appointed earlier this month. oliver lewis — in the middle here —

also worked with dominic cummings during the brexit vote leave campaign and later worked as an advisor to the government on brexit policy before being placed in charge of downing street's so—called union unit. the united arab emirates has said that princess latifa, the daughter of the ruler of dubai, is at home, being cared for by her family. the uae released a statement after secret videos were obtained by the bbc�*s panorama programme, in which she accused her father of holding her hostage in the city. princess latifa was captured in 2018 after trying to flee. our special correspondent nawal al—maghafi is here. there is growing pressure on the uae to show proof she is alive. yes there is growing pressure on the uae to show proof she is alive.— to show proof she is alive. yes and it comes after _ to show proof she is alive. yes and it comes after these _ to show proof she is alive. yes and it comes after these videos - to show proof she is alive. yes and it comes after these videos the - to show proof she is alive. yes and | it comes after these videos the bbc released earlier this week where we hear from released earlier this week where we hearfrom princess released earlier this week where we hear from princess latifa released earlier this week where we hearfrom princess latifa for the first time in two years. in those videos she tells her she is being held captive in a villa in central

dubai in solitary confinement with bard up wind windows and she fears for her life. that phone she sent those messages on has been silent for a couple of months so there is growing concern about her well—being. the united arab emirates have always maintained and insisted she is being looked after by her family, but now there is pressure on them to prove that. this morning the office of the un's high commissioner for human rights said they have released a statement saying they have requested from the uae to prove that she is alive. a few hours after that she is alive. a few hours after that the uae released a statement saying that she is at home with her family and with medical professionals. there are reports from the last couple of days which are not reflective of the actual position and they also say she will return to public life at an appropriate time. but as of yet, sophie, there is no actual proof that has been provided to show that she is alive. that has been provided to show that she is alive-— she is alive. nawal al-maghafi, thank yom _ the supreme court has ruled that a group of uber drivers must be

treated as workers rather than self—employed — a decision which means they could be entitled to a minimum wage and holiday pay. the decision marks the end of a five—year legal battle. the case could have implications for many others. with more, here's our transport correspondent caroline davies. the supreme court unanimously dismisses uber�*s appeal. they cheer relief after years of fighting. today outside the supreme court, yaseen and james heard the decision they'd been waiting for that when driving for uber they were workers, not self—employed. i am delighted, to be honest, it is victory and i think it sends a strong signal to big massive companies like uber that the workers can find them. the workers can fight them. they spent millions of pounds to try to defeat workers. it's reprehensible they've done this but i am delighted, thrilled and relieved. worker status isn't the same as an employee but it means they have a right to a minimum wage

and holiday pay. the ride—hailing app which connects drivers with passengers, uber has always claimed it is an intermediary, but that was rejected by the supreme court. uber say this judgment only applies to the drivers that first brought the case in 2016, not to every uber driver in the country because, uber say, they have made changes since then. some drivers and lawyers would disagree. today the court set out the reasons why it thought these drivers why it thought these uber drivers were workers which include the fact that uber set the pay and contracts without any say from the drivers. how today's verdict will affect the drivers today and other workers will be the subject of future court cases. other companies in the gig economy may already be working out what this might mean for them. they will have to look at their business model. if they think they can continue with this self—employed model, it is quite clear that the judiciary isn't afraid to intervene in this, to find that the self—employed individuals are actually workers. the court says that a driver

is working from when they into the app, notjust when they have a passenger. some drivers are worried that if uber have to pay a minimum wage for those hours they could cut down on drivers or change the way uber operates. samuel has driven for uber for the last five years and is concerned. it doesn't impress me. the only reason why i am attracted to drive on the app is the flexibility. uber say they respect the court's decision and will now consult with every active drive across the uk to understand the changes they want to see. today's case sets a legal precedent that could have huge implications for uber and for other firms that rely on flexible labour. the company once thought of as the big disruptor might now have been disrupted. yes! well done. well done! caroline davies, bbc news. reports from the us say that the reality tv star kim kardashian has filed for divorce from the rapper kanye west.

the couple — who are amongst the most recognisable stars in the world — have been married for almost seven years and have four children together. neither has commented publicly. the small derbyshire village of eyam is experiencing the covid pandemic against the backdrop of a tragic history. 300 years ago, eyam's residents quarantined themselves to protect neighbouring communities during the great plague. our special correspondent fergal keane visited eyam nearly a year ago, to meet residents preparing to face the coronavirus crisis. he's gone back to see how they're coping. the silence of midwinter snowdrifts in valleys already stilled by the pandemic. and eyam lockdown, with its memories of sacrifice from centuries ago. when we last came to eyam in springtime of 2020 none here foresaw the scale of the national tragedy that was looming.

back then at eyam school there was a place for all the children. and a dynamic headmistress working to keep them focused and hopeful. good morning, squirrels. it's great to see you all joining so promptly. now in this classroom it's only the children of critical workers who are attending. good morning, mrs gilbert. good morning. and george, good morning. it's a mix of school and home learning for these children. with all the challenges. when we started home learning we would always, like, - giggle and not do our work. so now i do my work upstairs. in the spare room and he does it in the dining room. i think we both distract each other. it's really hard, like, really hard. i try to think of something that i enjoy and makes me feel really energetic and happy.

it's made them a little bit nervous of new situations, and certainly we've noticed children are quite nervous about having visitors, or different things, which they would have been quite confident before. hi, daddy! she's not only a headmistress and a mother of two teenagers, but also a daughter visiting her 88—year—old father who lives on his own. he's had enough mishaps to know that you never know if it's going to be your last time when you wave goodbye. we've got fish pie tonight. he is desperate for the end of lockdown so he can have a proper hug with the grandchildren and myself. but it's hard. i'll come back in in a second, daddy, 0k? 0k. the tourism, so important

to the area, has vanished for now. but isolation and strict following of the rules has meant rates of infection are lower than the rest of the country. and vaccination is stirring hope. that's from astrazeneca itself, so read that at bedtime, but read this one with a cup of tea when you get home. last spring, director of eyam was safe isolating last spring, the rector of eyam was safe isolating after his wife caught covid. hi, mike. hi. how are you? i'm all right, thanks. we're standing back from you. since then, they've mourned two parishioners who had covid and there is a pressing desire for normality. yeah, it's been tough. and i think this last few weeks have been the toughest in some ways because there was a real sense in the first lockdown, almost a blitz spirit, wasn't there, and people were going,

"yeah, we can do this." now there is a weariness. the lord is my light and my salvation.