this is bbc news — these are the latest headlines in the uk and around the world. teachers will decide their students�* gcse and a level grades this summer after the outcry over last yea r�*s results. the government insists the results will be fair. there will be very detailed guidance provided to teachers by the exam boards and training about how to submit those grades, how to form thatjudgment based on the evidence that they've got before them. are you a teacher, parent or student — what do you think about the plan? do get in touch with me on twitter @annita—mcveigh and use the hashtag bbcyour questions amd i'll read out some of your comments. european leaders will meet later to discuss how to speed up the roll out of vaccines

across the eu, as new research suggests the pfizer—biontech vaccine produces a good antibody response in all age groups. the company behind the computer chips which are in many of our smartphones is accused of overcharging — 29 million people in the uk could be due compensation facebook puts a total ban on myanmar�*s military, as protests continue over their coup against aung san suu kyi. princess latifa — the captive daughter of dubai's ruler — asks british police to re—investigate the disappearance of her sister twenty years ago we'll be speaking to the pop star who was told she was �*not british enough' to enter the brits and the mercury prize — but has now convinced them to change the rules

hello and welcome if you're watching in the uk or around the world. the government has unveiled how pupils in england will receive their exam grades after this summer's gcses, a—levels and written vocational exams were cancelled. the new arrangements will be set out in detail by the education secretary, gavin williamson, in the house of commons later this morning. teachers will assess their pupils work and award grades. they'll be able to draw on a range of evidence, including mock exams, coursework, and essays or in—class tests. unlike last year, no algorithms will be used to calculate grades. instead, exam boards will check random samples. students will then receive their results earlier than normal. a—level results will be released on august the 10th.

and gcse pupils will receive their results two days later. and the results for some vocational qualifications will be released in the week of august the 9th. it's hoped that bringing forward the dates will ensure that students have enough time to log any appeals. here's our education correspondent, danjohnson. last year's calculated grades left some students in limbo, unsure about university places, and unhappy with results officials admitted were unfair. the algorithm used to standardise those grades is no more. england's education secretary said he wanted those who know pupils best to work out the result they deserve. we're putting our trust in teachers. that's where the trust is going. there's going to be no algorithms whatsoever, but there will be a very clear and robust appeals mechanism. instead, teachers will have the option of using questions from exam boards, alongside mock results and coursework, as well as essays and class tests.

grades will be checked with other teachers and by exam boards, before being awarded earlier than usual, all in the same week of august 9th. that will leave more time for appeals. there's certainly more detail which needs to come out. in particular from the examination boards, we'll be expecting some guidance for teachers on how they arrive at particular grades, how they differentiate between one grade and another grade. that's all part of the training materials. but all of that can follow. i think for us to now know the direction of travel will be reassuring, not just for teachers, but in particular for those students who are worried that they would be caught up in the kind of results fiasco of last year. most vocational and technical qualifications will be worked out in the same way. but some students will have to sit exams if they need to show they've reached a professional standard in certain occupations. the end of the algorithm could mean grade inflation — that's results rising unrealistically year by year. the department for education says

these teacher—assessed grades won't be used in school league tables. the hope is they will fairly reflect what children have achieved. dan johnson, bbc news. joining me now is david laws, former education minister and now executive chairman of the education policy institute good to have you with us and thank you for your time today. do you think this is the best plan in the circumstances to ensure fairness for students? we circumstances to ensure fairness for students? ~ . ., , circumstances to ensure fairness for students? ~ ~ . , ~ , students? we certainly think this ear students? we certainly think this year because _ students? we certainly think this year because of— students? we certainly think this year because of all— students? we certainly think this year because of all the _ students? we certainly think this i year because of all the disruption to learning, there needs to be grades which are submitted by teachers rather than through the usual exam process. but we are very worried about the details that we are hearing so far. and the risk of inconsistencies between schools, and a huge amount of grade inflation and either this plan has been very badly communicated so far or it seems

quite risky and irresponsible and the reason for that is that teacher grading makes sense if you can't have formal public exams but teachers will be under huge pressure in individual schools from students, parents, to award the most generous possible grades. there needs to be very clear guidance to make sure there is consistency between the way in which schools grade between individual schools, right across the country, and also there needs to be some way of anchoring results so there isn't enormous grade inflation this year that means the exams lose credibility and are not comparable with students who were given grades last year or who are going to get grades next year. and i do worry that the government got so much flak last year over this algorithm which clearly was not particularly well designed, but they seem to have lurched to a position where they are

now simply saying they will accept any grades that are put in by teachers and i think we could end up with some very big risks this august of having inconsistencies between schools and really excessive inflation of grades. i schools and really excessive inflation of grades.- schools and really excessive inflation of grades. i spoke to a head teacher _ inflation of grades. i spoke to a head teacher a _ inflation of grades. i spoke to a head teacher a little _ inflation of grades. i spoke to a head teacher a little earlier - inflation of grades. i spoke to a head teacher a little earlier and inflation of grades. i spoke to a l head teacher a little earlier and i asked him if there was a risk of unconscious bias in marketing by teachers, especially if they felt their pupils have been particularly disadvantaged by the circumstances of the last year or so. and he said as a professional body, teachers, it's morally wrong for teachers to either mark their pupils down or to mark their pupils up but you are still worried, you've mentioned it several times now, about grade inflation. do you think there is that danger of unconscious bias in marking? i that danger of unconscious bias in markin: ? ~ �* , that danger of unconscious bias in markin: ? ~ �*, ., , marking? i think it's inevitable that when _ marking? i think it's inevitable that when you _ marking? i think it's inevitable that when you ask _ marking? i think it's inevitable that when you ask a _ marking? i think it's inevitable that when you ask a teacher i marking? i think it's inevitable that when you ask a teacher to marking? i think it's inevitable - that when you ask a teacher to grade the student that they've been teaching that they will firstly err on the side of assuming that that student should get the more generous

end of the grading. in exams, sometimes a student has a good exam or a bad exam so the grade distribution reflects that. a teacher of course is going to be human and are on the side of generosity and so you would expect a bit of grade inflation in this type of system anyway. the problem is if you really don't have anything to anchor the expectation of schools or teachers, if you don't have any national guidance about what a sensible distribution of results looks like. then you risk schools putting in very inflated results in last year, many schools felt the school down the road had actually inflated its results much more than they had. this year, there is a risk that if schools think other schools are going to inflate, that they will do so to an order that their students aren't going to be disadvantaged. flan students aren't going to be disadvantaged.— students aren't going to be disadvantaaed. . , , ., disadvantaged. can this be mitigated b the disadvantaged. can this be mitigated by the guidance _ disadvantaged. can this be mitigated by the guidance and _ disadvantaged. can this be mitigated by the guidance and training - disadvantaged. can this be mitigated by the guidance and training that - by the guidance and training that nick gibb, the schools minister, was talking about this morning that going to be given to teachers to

help them form the rightjudgments? it could be mitigated if the guidance is very clear and also if there is an anchor to ensure that schools understand that their overall results should probably look pretty similar to last year of the year before. in other words, if they submit results which are massively inflated beyond the 2020, 2019, 2018 level, then they should expect a much higher degree of scrutiny and that means we need a narrative here from government that explains to schools that yes, teachers are being trusted but also their overall results need proper anchoring so the results need proper anchoring so the results this year are credible. if we don't have that, then students will end up with very good grades but grades that everybody will be worrying about the credibility of, and we will also then have a complete mess in 2022 because the starting point will be such great generosity that we then will all be

worried about having exams for the 2022 cohort and actually having the results way out of line with 2021. so yes, the algorithm had problems last year but there has to be with teacher assessed grades, some kind of anchor that stops excess of grade inflation and that has got to come out in the government communication today. out in the government communication toda . �* , , ., out in the government communication toda . �* , ., today. briefly, if you would, everyone — today. briefly, if you would, everyone wants _ today. briefly, if you would, everyone wants consistency | today. briefly, if you would, - everyone wants consistency and fairness but what about pupils who have been really disadvantaged by virtue of the fact of their economic background, perhaps, theirfamily background, perhaps, their family hasn't background, perhaps, theirfamily hasn't been able to support them in the way that many people have been supported by theirfamilies. i've spoken to head teachers who had to go and deliver sheets of paper because those kids don't have access to a laptop, for example. how do you ensure fairness for those children who have been particularly disadvantaged?— who have been particularly disadvantaaed? ., h . . disadvantaged? that's an excellent oint and i

disadvantaged? that's an excellent point and i think _ disadvantaged? that's an excellent point and i think you _ disadvantaged? that's an excellent point and i think you ensure - point and i think you ensure fairness in two ways and i think the government signed up on this, firstly you allow students to be assessed really on that amount of the curriculum that they've actually been able to study over the last year so you accept that students are not going to be able to cover the whole curriculum. and secondly, you allow schools and teachers to look at all the work that a student has produced over the time period of their course, including at the beginning of their course. i think the government is right on those things but it's making sure there is that overall consistency and avoiding massive grade inflation stop those, at the moment, or the worrying parts about this plan. david laws, very good to speak to you, thank you for your time today. a level student caitlin 0rsbornjoins us now from rotherham good to have you with us. tell us about the subjects you are studying and what you hope to do. i’m and what you hope to do. i'm currently _ and what you hope to do. i'm currently doing _ and what you hope to do. i�*m

currently doing sociology, drama and theatre and english language at a—level and i'm hoping to go to the university of leeds today business management with marketing. not much to do with my a levels. what management with marketing. not much to do with my a levels.— to do with my a levels. what do you think of the — to do with my a levels. what do you think of the plan _ to do with my a levels. what do you think of the plan that's _ to do with my a levels. what do you think of the plan that's been - think of the plan that's been announced today for teachers to assess your grades? i announced today for teachers to assess your grades?— announced today for teachers to assess your grades? i think as far assess your grades? i think as far as the outcome, _ assess your grades? i think as far as the outcome, i _ assess your grades? i think as far as the outcome, i reckon - assess your grades? i think as far as the outcome, i reckon this - assess your grades? i think as far as the outcome, i reckon this is l as the outcome, i reckon this is probably the best one, i know i share the same opinion as a lot of my friends at the same school as me, we have 100% trust in our teachers. i know that's probably not the same for every single school because i know is david laws said, there is going to be some form of bias but i know i can't put my trust into my teachers and no my grade will come out fairly so i think as far, out of all the options that there were, i think teacher assessed grades are probably the best way. [30 think teacher assessed grades are probably the best way.— think teacher assessed grades are probably the best way. do you think there isn't any _ probably the best way. do you think there isn't any chance _ probably the best way. do you think there isn't any chance of _ probably the best way. do you think there isn't any chance of grade - there isn't any chance of grade inflation, even if it's done in an unconscious way? i

inflation, even if it's done in an unconscious way?— unconscious way? i think there definitely is. — unconscious way? i think there definitely is, there _ unconscious way? i think there definitely is, there always - unconscious way? i think there definitely is, there always will| unconscious way? i think there i definitely is, there always will be. but, speaking from a personal view, i note my teachers won't inflate the grades because they want to keep the reputation for the school but i know it's bound to happen, regardless, i know someone else said it's immoral, teachers probably won't do it but there's no speed the factor probably will happen but i know personally, i don't think i have that to worry about. i don't think i have that to worry about. ~ ., don't think i have that to worry about. ~' ., h don't think i have that to worry about. ~ ., �*, , ., about. i know it's been an incredibly _ about. i know it's been an incredibly stressful - about. i know it's been an incredibly stressful year i about. i know it's been an. incredibly stressful year for students and part of that stress has come from in some instances, not knowing what was going to happen when it came to exams. now that you know, to what extent is that take some of the burden and stress away, some of the burden and stress away, some of the burden and stress away, some of that pressure on your mental health? i some of that pressure on your mental health? ~ , �* , some of that pressure on your mental health? ~' , �* , ., health? i think definitely, it's a bi relief health? i think definitely, it's a big relief to — health? i think definitely, it's a big relief to know _ health? i think definitely, it's a big relief to know what - health? i think definitely, it's a big relief to know what we - health? i think definitely, it's a big relief to know what we are | big relief to know what we are actually working towards now because obviously, since the beginning of

january, i think it was when gavin williamson mentioned that exams weren't going forward in the traditionalform, but weren't going forward in the traditional form, but without telling us how they really were going to happen and what would take place, i think it was quite hard stop i understand we need to keep up with knowledge and continue learning in education and everything like that but i think now we actually know how we are getting our grades, it's more of a push to record because we know the work between now and getting our grades are so going towards it rather than just one exam at the end. towards it rather than 'ust one exam at the end. . ~ ., at the end. looking back to september. _ at the end. looking back to september, where - at the end. looking back to september, where your- at the end. looking back to - september, where your teacher is telling you from that point really focus on your coursework, because thatis focus on your coursework, because that is what you might end up being assessed on?— assessed on? yes, especially in enalish assessed on? yes, especially in english language, _ assessed on? yes, especially in english language, we _ assessed on? yes, especially in english language, we have - assessed on? yes, especially in english language, we have two| assessed on? yes, especially in - english language, we have two sets of coursework and in drama, we have quite a lot of coursework that contributes towards our grades or our teachers have been really pushing us to focus to get the best grade we can on that because obviously that's what we can do in our own time as well as school and

it's on us to do our best work. but yeah, they've been pushing us pushing the importance of coursework down and i mean, they've been speaking hypothetically about exams but i guess now it helps teachers as well now that they know what is going ahead and how everything is going ahead and how everything is going to happen. going ahead and how everything is going to happen-— going to happen. caitlin, we wish ou all going to happen. caitlin, we wish you all the _ going to happen. caitlin, we wish you all the best _ going to happen. caitlin, we wish you all the best as _ going to happen. caitlin, we wish you all the best as she _ going to happen. caitlin, we wish you all the best as she head - going to happen. caitlin, we wish i you all the best as she head towards the end of your school term. a little way to go, and with university applications, caitlin, thank you. let me read out some of your tweets. amanda says great that we know what's happening with exams this year. but she says it seems last year �*s cohort had been forgotten, while there are systems in place now to ensure fairness and counteract conscious or unconscious bias and any then so what about the class of 2020? max says i am in year 11 and think after the last couple of years teachers are the only people who could make an informed and fairjudgment. jenny is also

talking about last year �*s cohort of students, i think they should reconsider the grades given in gcses and a—levels last year because she was awarded grades below what she was awarded grades below what she was predicted. leah rebecca said students from 2020 and 2019 have no choice but to take another gap year, will universities be waving the policy you cannot apply if you have more than three years after a levels as it's out of their control? and i think that is all the tweets so far. but, one more, actually, jane says what about home educated children? my what about home educated children? my son has already been let down by the school system and now he has no way of getting his gcses because i am his teacher. we will have to find out about that, what happens in the case of home educated children but obviously a lot of people concerned about last year �*s cohort of students and the ongoing impact on them. thank you so much for getting in touch, keep on doing that and we

will try to read out some more of your comments. get in touch with me on twitter. let's bring you some breaking news now — armenian prime minister nikol pashinyan has warned of an attempted military coup against him after the army demanded that he and his government resign. we can see in these pictures mr pashinyan walking through the capital with his supporters — after the army asked for his resignation, the pm called on people to rally in the armenian capital, yerevan, and in a speech that was livestreamed on facebook, he dismissed the head of the armed forces. mr pashinyan has faced calls to quit since the end of the war against azerbaijan last year. his critics say he handled the six—week conflict over the region of nagorno—karabakh disastrously — and they blame him for accepting a peace deal that cedes control of big areas of the region to azerbaijan.

that news just coming into this in the last few minutes. we will bring more on that when we get it. the headlines on bbc news... teachers in england will decide their students' gcse and a level grades this summer after the outcry over last yea r�*s results. european leaders will meet later to discuss how to speed up the roll out of vaccines across the eu, as new research suggests the pfizer—biontech vaccine produces a good antibody response in all age groups. the company behind the computer chips which are in many of our smartphones is accused of overcharging — 29 million people could be due compensation a study has found that around 1k per cent of england's population has evidence of antibodies against the coronavirus. more than 155,000 people were tested in the latest react survey — conducted by researchers from imperial college london.

the study also found more evidence that the pfizer—biontech vaccine is producing a good antibody response. european leaders are meeting today to work out how to speed up the roll out of vaccines across the continent. the eu's vaccination rate is lagging significantly behind that of the uk and us. the united kingdom is ahead of european countries by a large margin — since the 8th of december when vaccinations began in the country, 27.34 people in every 100 have received the jab in the uk. in spain, 6.77 in 100 have been vaccinated. in germany the figure is 6.111. italy is not far behind with 6.12 per 100 people. and france has only vaccinated a mere 5.66 people per 100 in the population. a few countries are now reporting that some are reluctant to take the british astrazeneca vaccine,

after states including france and germany made the decision not to use it on older patients. here's our europe correspondentjean mackenzie. none of the queues they had planned for. inside, chairs sit empty. belgium's largest vaccination centre finally opened last week. but there's barely a person in sight. they have the capacity to vaccinate 5,000 people a day but today, they said they've only done 200 and in the hour that we've been here we've seen just one person arrive for their vaccination. no, it's a pity there are not many people. this afternoon, it is very quiet. because there are not enough vaccines at this moment in time. it is quite shocking to arrive and see such a huge vaccination centre, and to see it totally empty. is that not disappointing for you? yes, of course it is but what do you want me to say? of course it's disappointing but i cannot do anything about it.

countries are struggling with a shortage of vaccines. companies failed to deliver as many doses as expected. after a very public falling out between the eu and astrazeneca, the british manufacturer says it should be able to provide 180 million doses from april. but in countries across europe, some people have started to refuse the astrazeneca shot. i get maybe four, five, six e—mails every day of nurses, even medical doctors, saying they don't want the astrazeneca vaccine, they refuse and they want to wait for a better vaccine which is a bit strange because that's not really based on solid evidence or science. it's really based on perception and rumours. mixed messages by governments are partly to blame with several countries including france and germany, deciding not to use the vaccine on older people yet. here is france's health minister getting his astrazeneca vaccine live on television in an attempt to drum up support. while in germany, hundreds of thousands of vials

are sitting unused. we have more astrazeneca now than appointments. are people not turning up for their appointments then? it happens, yes. when we have 1,000 appointments that maybe 50 people say we don't want to have the vaccination, we don't want to have astrazeneca. data from scotland this week shows the astrazeneca jab is helping to prevent nearly all hospitalisations. what we want the vaccine to do is keep people out of the hospital keep them out of intensive care, keep them from dying. and as far as i have seen, all vaccines that are on the market for the moment can do that. but if vaccines are to find their way into enough arms, countries must now ramp up their production. these palm trees may offer a taste of the summer to come but at current

rates, perhaps not. jean mackenzie, bbc news. last week, bbc news reported on the plight of princess latifa, who claimed she was being held captive by her father — the ruler of dubai — sheik mohammad rashid al maktoum. now, the bbc can reveal another development in the case — this time raising questions for britain. it centres around allegations that latifa's sister — shamsa — was also abducted by their father while she was living in the uk, and an investigation by cambridgeshire police which was closed due to insufficient evidence. special correspondent nawal al—maghafi reports. sheikh mohammed rashid al maktoum. the billionaire ruler of dubai, and one of the most powerful men in the middle east. last week, the bbc released secret recordings of his daughter, princess latifa. in them, she claims he is responsible for her abduction and imprisonment. the messages sparked

international concerns. but latifa is not the only daughter of the sheik to try to escape. 20 years ago, her sister shamsa ran away from the family estate in surrey. in 2000, my sister shamsa, while she was on holiday in england, she was 18 years old, going on 19. she ran away. so, yeah, after two months, they found her. the police launched an investigation, but it hit a dead end. now the bbc has obtained an exclusive letter written by princess latifa from her captivity. in it, a plea to reopen her sister's case. the letter, delivered by her friends yesterday to cambridgeshire police, says... we have pieced together shamsa's extraordinary story. she was a passionate horse rider and loved spending summers at her father's estate in the surrey countryside.

shamsa was cheeky, liked to push all the boundaries and she wasn't what you would call a princess. you know? she was full of life and adventure. she dreamt of going to university, but says that her father wouldn't allow it. so in the summer of the year 2000, she drove a black range rover to the edge of the estate and she ran away. after shamsa escaped her father's estate, she lived as a free woman for around two months. she then checked into this hotel in cambridge. suddenly, herfather�*s operatives arrived and she was captured. by sam the next morning, she was on a helicopter to northern france, where she was transferred to a private jet that took her to dubai. six months later, from her captivity in dubai, she managed to get word

of what happened to her to a lawyer in the uk who contacted the police. dci david beck received the news. it's not every day that| an allegation involving a head of state lands on a police officer's desk. in 2001, dci david beck needed to go to dubai to speak to shamsa. he applied through the crown prosecution service. and that's effectively where my investigation came to an end, i because a short while later, i was informed that my- request had been declined. he was later told by a senior colleague that the investigation had some significant sensitivities. the london office of the princess's father, sheikh mohammed al maktoum, had contacted the fco about this. the foreign office told us that the investigation was conducted by cambridgeshire police. and that they had no role in the investigation or its outcome. but they declined to answer any of our questions about the communication between them and sheikh mohammed

al maktoum's office. shamsa was kept locked up for the next eight years. she was then released from confinement, but her life remained heavily controlled. we spoke to someone who had regular contact with after she was released. she was tranquilised all the time. everything she did was controlled. there was no spark in her any more. there was no fight in her. and i understand that people can't get their head around it. theyjust see some rich girl. it's not like that at all. it's horrific. the uae government maintain that shamsa and latifa are cherished and adored by their family. they are yet to prove that they are still alive and well. cambridgeshire police have told the bbc that the letter will be considered in their ongoing review of the disappearance of princess shamsa.

talks to try to secure the future of the vauxhall car plant in ellesmere port will continue today. discussions between government officials and company management have been taking place — and an announcement is expected within 48 hours. our business correspondent theo leggett is on the line — what's the latest? the future of the ellesmere port plant which employs 1000 people and which is responsible for thousands more jobs which is responsible for thousands morejobs in which is responsible for thousands more jobs in the supply chain still very much hangs in the balance. it's been hanging in the balance for quite some time, in fact. this plant makes the vauxhall astra, one of the mainstream models that also produces. but that model is coming to the end of its life and a new one is about to take its place next year. forthe is about to take its place next year. for the factory, is about to take its place next year. forthe factory, it is about to take its place next year. for the factory, it needs new work. vauxhall and its parent company have consistently said they

want to build the car at ellesmere port but there have always been conditions. 0ne port but there have always been conditions. one of the big problems at the moment is that the sale of new petrol and diesel cars, is supposed to come to an end in 2030 so the parent company has said fight would be build a conventional car in the uk if the sale of conventional cars is going to be banned within the next decade? so they are saying it will only really make sense for us to build electric cars at ellesmere port but we could also build electric cars at our plans in continental europe so the government has to explain why, really, the parent company should choose to build electric cars in the uk. the uk government of course is very keen that this should happen so at the moment there are various options for ellesmere port. the plant could be wound down, that is a distinct possibility or it could be used to make some more conventional models over the next few years. to make a conventional model for the next few

years. they are still in a kind of winding down basis. interim solution, if you like. 0r winding down basis. interim solution, if you like. or it could be given the go—ahead to build a new electric or electrified model and that's very much for the government wants to see but executives were meeting yesterday, that meeting was inconclusive, contacts are ongoing with the uk government and we will have to wait and see what the outcome of that will be. we expect to hear something from vauxhall later and it's likely to be in the order of a holding statement, we are not expecting a firm decision for some hours to come.— not expecting a firm decision for some hours to come. theo leggett, thank you- — the golfer tiger woods will not face criminal charges over the car crash which left him with serious injuries. he's recovering in hospital from surgery to repair his fractured right leg and shattered ankle. the los angeles county sheriff said the 15—time major champion will not face reckless driving charges, and that the crash was "purely an accident". if you think you're suffering from a lack of a good hairdresser at the moment,

take a look at this chap. he's a sheep who was given a much—needed trim after he spent years wandering around the australian bush. he was taken in by an animal sanctuary near melbourne, who sheared him and found that his fleece weighed 35 kilograms. that's well over five stone. staff there named him "baaa—rack" and say he's now settling in well with the other sheep. her weight off his mind, and the rest of him! the headlines on bbc news... teachers in england will decide their students' gcse and a level grades this summer after the outcry over last yea r�*s results. the government insists the results will be fair. there will be very detailed guidance provided to teachers by the exam boards and training about how to submit those grades, how to form thatjudgment based on the evidence that they've got before them. european leaders will meet later to discuss how to speed up the roll

out of vaccines across the eu, as new research suggests the pfizer—biontech vaccine produces a good antibody response in all age groups. the company behind the computer chips which are in many of our smartphones is accused of overcharging — 29 million people in the uk could be due compensation. facebook puts a total ban on myanmar�*s military, as protests continue over their coup against aung san suu kyi. princess latifa — the captive daughter of dubai's ruler — asks british police to re—investigate the disappearance of her sister 20 years ago. the israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu has said he hopes to fully reopen the country by april and vaccinate the entire adult population by late march. this week, israel eased many of its lockdown restrictions, opening stores and many schools. it also introduced a green vaccine passport for its citizens

which gives access to leisure centres, hotels, theatres and concerts. a third of the israeli population has now been fully vaccinated and half has received at least one dose. here's the bbc�*s yolande knell. she says israel wants to meet the target of vaccinating more than six million people by the end of march. well, the green passport vaccine scheme was introduced at the start of the week and while shopping malls and regular shops are open to people ordinarily, it is only people who have this passport, it can be downloaded on an app from the health ministry, that can go to cultural events, things like theatres, and to concerts, which we have seen starting up again this week for the first time in many months. also, they are able to go back to the gym, to leisure centres and swimming pools, to places of worship, although there are still caps on the number of people who are allowed in and still social distancing measures in place. the idea, because although israel has had a very successful vaccine

roll—out, is to try to encourage people who are staying away from those vaccination centres to come forward and have theirjabs. also, of course, for things to get back more to normal so that israel can begin to more and more open up its economy. the conservative former chancellor philip hammond has told bbc news that borisjohnson must tell "the british people some home truths" about the state of the economy. the covid crisis has seen public spending and borrowing rise steeply. speaking in the run—up to the budget next wednesday, lord hammond told our political editor laura kuenssberg said he was concerned the government would put popularity first. i am very confident that the chancellor's instincts are the right ones, but he is part of a government, and that government has made very extravagant commitments to the british electorate, in good faith, before the coronavirus crisis. not all of those commitments can now sensibly be delivered

on and that is going to be a big challenge for a government that regards its short—term popularity as very, very important. after 2010, we always knew that we were going to go through a period of intense unpopularity as we implemented the measures that needed to be taken. i am not sure that the top leadership of the current government really has that appetite for being unpopular in order to do the right thing. and to do the right thing for the economy, the prime minister needs to be willing to be unpopular, you're saying? i think he's going to have to tell the british people some difficult home truths. we have done, over the last year, the fiscal equivalent of fighting a war. and as we know, people who lived through the 1950s know, that the legacy effects of fighting that war will be with us for a very long time.

0ur political correspondent helen catt is in westminster. how many other conservative share phillip hammond's instance, do you think? i phillip hammond's instance, do you think? ~' phillip hammond's instance, do you think? ~ , ., , , phillip hammond's instance, do you think? ~ , . , , ., think? i think there is a sense that liaament think? i think there is a sense that ligament has _ think? i think there is a sense that ligament has had _ think? i think there is a sense that ligament has had to _ think? i think there is a sense that ligament has had to borrow- think? i think there is a sense that ligament has had to borrow and i think? i think there is a sense that - ligament has had to borrow and spend a lot in the last year to deal with the fallout from the pandemic. if you think of the fellow scheme, example, latest figures showed that supported 11.2 million jobs since example, latest figures showed that supported 11.2 millionjobs since it started last march so that is an enormous amount of spending. of course, there are a lot of conservatives who look at that and worry that there is not really a sense of how it is going to be paid back, you know, being fiscally responsible is a key part of being a conservative and so they want to see that there is some kind of thought, some element being put as to how this is going to be paid back. it is not that necessarily they are all calling for in the budget next week for there to be lots of tax rises and start the process now. in many ways, we're still running up the bill as the emergency measures

continue. but i think there is a sense that they want to see it is not all going to be spend, spend, spend forever. that is really the kind of sentiment you are hearing echoed by the former chancellor. more broadly, what can we expect from budget next week? the treasury sokesman from budget next week? the treasury spokesman said _ from budget next week? the treasury spokesman said that _ from budget next week? the treasury spokesman said that the _ from budget next week? the treasury spokesman said that the budget - from budget next week? the treasury spokesman said that the budget will. spokesman said that the budget will give the people the reassurance they needin give the people the reassurance they need in the medium term and they say the chancellor will be honest with the chancellor will be honest with the british people about how we are going to recover beyond the crisis. in terms of what we might see in terms of tax rises, the chancellor is considering raising corporation tax, the tax on businesses, potentially a windfall tax on businesses that have done well in the pandemic. those are the kind of things we might hear and we are expecting it is likely there will be an extension to the emergency measures that have been put in place through the pandemic, so more spending, there. what is interesting i think is labour�*s position on this, they are saying now is not the time for tax increases.— this, they are saying now is not the time for tax increases. helen, thank ou ve time for tax increases. helen, thank you very much- _ the social media network facebook has blocked the myanmar military from using its platform,

following the coup in early february and the protests which followed. facebook is used by half of the population in myanmar, so the move takes away a crucial means for the junta to communicate with people. in a statement, facebook said the risks of allowing the myanmar army on its platforms "are too great". the social media giant has faced criticisms in the past over the use of the site to incite hatred against rohingya muslims. a little earlier, i spoke to mike isaac, technology reporter for the new york times in san francisco, and he told me more about the impact of this move. depending on who you ask, it is either right about time or long overdue, considering that facebook has been used by the military in myanmar to do this kind of stuff for a very long time, especially acting out and inciting mass murder and rape against the rohingya muslims. i think the thinking is, thankfully, they did it, you know, from a number of human rights

activists, and it will be much more difficult for the military to sort of spread messages that are probably false to the rest of the population through facebook, especially because for people in myanmar, often, facebook is the internet rather than just a different channel. i think it will be effective. it is more, did they do it soon enough or should they have done this two or three years ago. there have been warnings and new guidance on how to celebrate the jewish festival of purim. the warnings come after last year's celebrations saw a spike in the number of covid—19 infections. people have been urged to leave gifts of food parcels on doorsteps and keep a safe distance. a lot of synagogues are putting their services on zoom. i'm joined by rabbi drjonathan romain, whojoins us from his synagogue in maidenhead.

if we look back over the last year or so, if we look back over the last year orso, different if we look back over the last year or so, different religious festivals altered so much because of the pandemic. what advice are you giving to your congregation about how they should set about the festival? weill. should set about the festival? well, the key thing _ should set about the festival? well, the key thing is _ should set about the festival? well, the key thing is celebrate _ should set about the festival? -ii the key thing is celebrate but celebrate safely. it is a very curious festival in that it has a theme of anti—semitism, and we celebrate the day, but the actual salivation is done in quite a frivolous way, people dress up in fancy dress, there are lots of readings of the book of esther, so there's a lot ofjollity and having fun. and of course, that is quite difficult to do with social distancing. so perhaps those with large buildings are doing it in person but synagogues like mine in maidenhead are doing it on see more live stream which is perfectly possible and may even have a couple

of advantages, —— zoom or live stream. 0ne of advantages, —— zoom or live stream. one is that it is novel, we've never done it like this before, it is literally the first time injewish history we have had a purim service on zoom so that will add to the novelty. and also, we expect to get more people as a result because if it is —— if it is bad weather, it saves people trudging through the rain or driving, and therefore we are likely to get more people than we otherwise would have had. and as you mentioned, there is also the custom of giving gifts, usually to family and friends, to be honest, it is the jewish time of present giving but this year, we are saying this year, play it safe and just leave the present on the doorstep. particularly for people who are lonely and vulnerable living alone, drop them... they are usually little cakes or biscuits, home—made stuff like that, drop it on the doorstep and step back and wish them a happy purim. �* . , , and step back and wish them a happy purim. �* . _., , , ., purim. advice everybody should follow in their _ purim. advice everybody should follow in their interactions. - purim. advice everybody should follow in their interactions. we l follow in their interactions. we referred in the introduction to the high rate of covid—19 infections,

particularly among the ultraorthodox jewish community in london and there was a study done by the london school of hygiene and tropical medicine which found that almost two thirds of ultraorthodoxjewish people in london contracted covid—19 last year, up to nine times higher than the national average. what do you say to people who feel that they are not fully observing a religious ceremony if they don't do it in the traditional way, ceremony if they don't do it in the traditionalway, ora ceremony if they don't do it in the traditional way, or a festival? well, there is a jewish traditional way, or a festival? well, there is ajewish principle that goes back centuries that health takes precedence over everything, health is the key element. to be a good jew, you have to be alive, not dead. these are unusual circumstances and we have to recognise that. we have to be sensitive to them and do what we can. the other thing is, hopefully this will be the last time that this happens. next year, in a year's time, hopefully we will be back to

reasonable normality so it is worth holding out and playing it safe so enjoyed purim but do it in a way that is... use the technology, frankly, we have almost had to leap into the 21st—century, possibly something we should have done 20 years ago but we didn't but we have embraced new technology and we are using it to enhance ancient traditions.— using it to enhance ancient traditions. ., ~ ., ., ~ ., traditions. thank you for talking to us toda . traditions. thank you for talking to us today. rabbi _ traditions. thank you for talking to us today. rabbi dr _ traditions. thank you for talking to us today. rabbi dr jonathan - traditions. thank you for talking to | us today. rabbi dr jonathan romain us today. rabbi drjonathan romain in maidenhead. newsjust coming in at about the supermarket asda. it has launched consultations with around 5000 staff over what it calls around 5000 staff over what it calls a major restructure and this could put around 3000 back—office store workers' jobs at risk. the supermarket giant said the restructuring has been driven by what it calls a structural shift towards online grocery shopping during the pandemic. separate to that, the firm said it also plans to create around a500 jobs in its

online operations this year and will look to hire staff impacted by these potential cuts. nevertheless, asda said the consultations will impact around 3000 back—office store workers, particularly those in cash and administrative roles. the firm is also saying it plans to close its dartford and heston home shopping centres with around 800 jobs affected as it looks to shift more picking operations into stores themselves. a pop star who was told she was "not british enough" to enter the brits and the mercury prize has won a reversal in the awards' eligibility rules. rina sawayama, whose album was named one of the best records of last year by the nme, was told she could not compete for the prizes, because she was not a british citizen. the singer, who has lived in the uk for 26 years, has now won the right to compete, after meeting award bosses. rina sawayama joins us now. hello and congratulations about this

change in the rules. —— you must be thoroughly brought about this change in their will. , �* ,., in their will. yes, i'm so thrilled and happy _ in their will. yes, i'm so thrilled and happy that _ in their will. yes, i'm so thrilled and happy that the _ in their will. yes, i'm so thrilled and happy that the bpi - in their will. yes, i'm so thrilled and happy that the bpi listened | in their will. yes, i'm so thrilled . and happy that the bpi listened and we were able to have an amazing conversation. means that this year i am eligible for the rising star award. i'm over the moon and speechless. award. i'm over the moon and speechless-— award. i'm over the moon and seechless. �* , , , speechless. are you surprised the decision -- _ speechless. are you surprised the decision -- by _ speechless. are you surprised the decision -- by the _ speechless. are you surprised the decision -- by the decision? - speechless. are you surprised the decision -- by the decision? did l speechless. are you surprised the i decision -- by the decision? did you decision —— by the decision? did you think they would not change the rules? ., , , think they would not change the rules? . , , ,., ., rules? there was definitely part of me that worried, _ rules? there was definitely part of me that worried, actually, - rules? there was definitely part of me that worried, actually, i - rules? there was definitely part of. me that worried, actually, i thought i might get blacklisted from the industry for bringing it up! but i'm glad i did and they went above and beyond by including people are born in the uk as well. i was expecting maybe ten years of residency as a rule but five years is amazing and i'm so happy. rule but five years is amazing and i'm so happy-— rule but five years is amazing and i'm so happy. you have lived in the uk for 26 years _ i'm so happy. you have lived in the uk for 26 years in _ i'm so happy. you have lived in the uk for 26 years in fact _ i'm so happy. you have lived in the uk for 26 years in fact so _ i'm so happy. you have lived in the uk for 26 years in fact so how- i'm so happy. you have lived in the uk for 26 years in fact so how did l uk for 26 years in fact so how did you argue your case? i uk for 26 years in fact so how did you argue your case?— uk for 26 years in fact so how did you argue your case? i guess, you know, i you argue your case? i guess, you know. i was — you argue your case? i guess, you know, i was able _ you argue your case? i guess, you know, i was able to _ you argue your case? i guess, you know, i was able to do _ you argue your case? i guess, you know, i was able to do an - you argue your case? i guess, you know, i was able to do an article l know, i was able to do an article and talk about the experiences and how it makes me feel, really. you

know, i have worked here, the record was produced by a british producer and the record label is british as well and i am british. ijust thought, you know, iwas well and i am british. ijust thought, you know, i was really confused and i was told by the mercury prize i was not eligible before the record came out. ijust did not really have any other option and ijust wanted to get my story out there. lo and behold, yeah, an amazing result.— out there. lo and behold, yeah, an amazing result. japan does not allow dual citizenship _ amazing result. japan does not allow dual citizenship so _ amazing result. japan does not allow dual citizenship so you _ amazing result. japan does not allow dual citizenship so you can't - amazing result. japan does not allow dual citizenship so you can't have - amazing result. japan does not allow dual citizenship so you can't have a l dual citizenship so you can't have a british passport. contrast how you feel now with how you felt last year when you were told your debut album, which was hugely critically acclaimed, was ineligible for the mercury prize? filth. acclaimed, was ineligible for the mercury prize?— mercury prize? oh, it was really heartbreaking. _ mercury prize? oh, it was really heartbreaking. i— mercury prize? oh, it was really heartbreaking. i think— mercury prize? oh, it was really heartbreaking. i think a - mercury prize? oh, it was really heartbreaking. i think a lot - mercury prize? oh, it was really heartbreaking. i think a lot of i heartbreaking. i think a lot of immigrants feel this way, where they assimilate and become part of the british culture, and we try so hard, we work so hard, and to be told that we work so hard, and to be told that we are not even eligible to be nominated or to be on the same

standing as everyone else, to be judged for our work, is, you know, it is very other ring and it felt like an endless battle to become british. —— it makes you feel like an other. i am just relieved and i really hope that this affects people positively in the future. i don't know how any people it affects but i hope it inspires people who previously would not have dreamt of a brit award or a mercury prize to aim high. in a brit award or a mercury prize to aim hirh. , aim high. in the broader debate about immigration _ aim high. in the broader debate about immigration and - aim high. in the broader debate about immigration and people's aim high. in the broader debate - about immigration and people's place in a country, whether it is the uk or anywhere else, as somebody who has lived in the uk for most of your life, how important is this decision?— life, how important is this decision? , ., decision? hugely important, you know, i think _ decision? hugely important, you know, i think barriers, _ decision? hugely important, you know, i think barriers, raking - decision? hugely important, you i know, i think barriers, raking down barriers is a really important thing, alongside representation. —— breaking down barriers. i really focused with my work and music and everything to bring those down so that people after me, future

generations can feel british, you know? i am very proud to be british. i call london my home. so, yeah, it is a really important discussion to keep having into the future and i am glad the bpi were listening and were open to having the conversation with me. �* , ., w open to having the conversation with me. , ., ., me. best of luck in any of the competitions _ me. best of luck in any of the competitions you _ me. best of luck in any of the competitions you are - me. best of luck in any of the competitions you are now - me. best of luck in any of the l competitions you are now going me. best of luck in any of the - competitions you are now going to be entering, or nominated for. good to talk to you. rina sawayama, there. thank you. if you've bought a new mobile phone in the last five years, you could be in line for some cash back. the consumer group which? is seeking over £a80 million in damages from qualcomm. it believes the us tech giant broke uk competition law — resulting in them charging manufacturers inflated fees for technology licenses, which were then passed down to us in the form of higher smartphone prices. our business correspondent victoria fritz told me more. firstly, it's almost impossible in your morning routine this morning

not to have touched something with a chip in it or at least some of the qualcomm technology. they are behind mobile phones, whether it's apple or samsung, also others as well and also in smart devices around your home, wearable technology, cars, for example, there are qualcomm chips everywhere and there is a beef that lots of regulators have with qualcomm, they are abusing their dominance in their position when it comes to the licensing of this technology and also the patents around it as well, it's a very lucrative market. which? believes that qualcomm has trousered something to the tune of a80 million over the last five years from this. qualcomm has said unilaterally that is not true and they have said there is no basis for this lawsuit, as the plaintiff is well aware, this case has been effectively put to rest by the united states, by a unanimous panel

ofjudges there. this is a case that was brought in 2017 for pretty much exactly the same reason. it was dismissed out of hand. however, the challenges have succeeded in other places so the european commission, for example, managed to fine qualcomm to the tune of £858 million for deals they made with apple. so this is a very lucrative business, it's very difficult to avoid qualcomm chips and behind this, of course, is the fact that they control the market, whether or not you have an apple phone or a samsung or something else. which? believe that if this case is successful at the tribunal stage, which is the next stage, and if that legal case is heard, perhaps there might be some form of early settlement. it means consumers, all 29 million of them in the uk could be in line for a payout of about £30, looking more like £17, but lots of ifs and buts at this stage but very much a case of david,

or many davids, versus a goliath. some more on the situation in armenia after the prime minister said the army had demanded he resign in a movie called an attempted coup, something that he said looks like an attempted coup. the kremlin are saying in response to this that it is concerned by the growing political tensions in armenia. the prime minister took to the streets with supporters over the situation, saying that the army had tried to stage a coup, an attempted coup, and he sacked the head of the armed forces. these are the latest pictures we have of mr pashinyan and his supporters. the kremlin says it is concerned by the growing political tensions in armenia. this

is all around the handling of the six—week conflict last year between azerbaijan and ethnic armenian forces over the nagorno—karabakh region. customs authorities in germany and belgium have seized a record haul of more than 23 tonnes of cocaine destined for the netherlands in two raids this month. it follows one of the largest ever heroin seizures in europe as our correspondent in the hague anna holligan reports. stashed away in containers that were supposed to be packed with putty, one of the largest single intercepts of cocaine worldwide. more than 16 tonnes, concealed in tins for wall filler. it entered europe via the german port city of hamburg on a container vessel from paraguay that has been a key transit country for years. translation: colleagues are working | day and night and through weekends, |

often without finding anything, so it is a nice success for them. years ago, we could not imagine that we would find one tonne. this incredible amount, obviously, makes my colleagues happy and content. according to detectives, the cocaine recovered in hamburg and antwerp had a combined street value of roughly 600 million euros. so far, only one suspect has been detained. translation: a 28-year-old dutch man was arrested. - so far, there were no arrests made in germany, but the investigation is obviously ongoing because we believe that the chap could not have acted alone. despite speculation the record seizures may be linked to the covid related restrictions, making it harder for drug mules to travel, a spokesperson for europol, the european police agency, told the bbc that this trend started way before the pandemic and can be attributed to a range of other factors. these european drug cartels have

more money to spend, so they can buy a bigger quantities and afford to take greater risks. their increased interconnectedness also means any losses are now shared. 0rganised crime has a foothold in the legal economy, so things like european ports and shipping companies have been infiltrated. this level of corruption has helped to enable some of these enormous shipments. anna holligan, bbc news, in the hague. elephants in a uk zoo could be helping to save their relatives in the wild, as part of a new conservation project. the herd at whipsnade zoo, in bedfordshire, have been posing for thousands of thermal images, which will be used to help track and monitor elephant populations around the world. 0ur science correspondent helen briggs reports. elephants posing for photos at whipsnade zoo. but they look very different through a thermal camera. 30,000 selfies that are notjust incredible to look at, but a vital conservation tool.

it is truly an elephantcam. it's made by elephants themselves. they've taken the photo with us, and it now works. it detects elephants confidently at a certain distance. and we want to get this into the field now, and actually put it in the wild, helping wild elephants and communities live side by side. the images are being used to train a camera to recognise the shape of an elephant from its body heat. it'll be able to identify when an elephant�*s close by, even in the dark, and send an alert. humans and elephants are being forced into ever closer contact, as the human population grows and wild habitat disappears. this can end in trashed crops, damaged property and the loss of lives. it's hoped the new technology will be an affordable solution to helping wildlife and humans live in harmony, and help protect endangered species. helen briggs, bbc news.

you're watching bbc news. now it's time for a look at the weather with carole. hello again. yesterday, we saw the warmest day of the year so far, with temperatures just over 18 degrees in parts of eastern england. today, it will be mild, but not that mild, and we will see sunny spells but remaining damp in the south—east and this is where we've got the remnants of yesterday's weather front, still producing some cloud and light rain or indeed some drizzle. moving away from there, there's a lot of dry weather. a fair bit of sunshine today. some showers being blown in on a brisk westerly wind across northern and western scotland. we could see some scattered showers in northern ireland, north—west wales and north—west england. temperature range, 8—1a degrees. this evening, we say goodbye to that weather front and overnight, a lot of clear skies with just one

or two showers but more cloud coming in across the north—west of northern ireland and scotland with some patchy rain. as a result, temperatures will not fall away as much as they are going to elsewhere. once again, there will be pockets of mist and fog and also pockets of frost. they will lift readily tomorrow, leaving us with another dry day and although there will be areas of cloud coming in across western scotland and north—west england, what do you will find is it should still break up in parts and we should still see some sunshine. the wind will also fall lighter. temperatures, 8—12 degrees, so still mild for this time in late february. as we go into the weekend, high pressure remains firmly in charge of the weather. any weather fronts really tend to be toppling around it and what they are going to do isjust bring in a bit more cloud, especially to northern and western areas. on saturday, we start off on a nippy note, with pockets of frost and still some mist and fog patches. they will lift and then a lot of dry weather and a fair bit of sunshine.

you can see where the weather fronts are trying to get in, introducing the cloud and the odd spot of rain. temperatures still 9—13 degrees. a similar start to the day on sunday and that it will be chilly in places and we will see some frost and patchy mist and fog which will lift. then a lot of dry weather once again. still some more cloud at times out towards the west, turning the sunshine hazy, and temperatures eight to about 12 degrees. in summary, if you have got plans for this weekend, worth knowing it is going to be drier, certainly than at the start of the week. we have got lighter winds, chilly nights with some frost for some and patchy mist and fog.

this is bbc news. i'm martine croxall. the headlines at 11: teachers in england will decide their students' gcse and a—level grades this summer after the outcry over last yea r�*s results. the government insists the results will be fair. there will be very detailed guidance provided to teachers by the exam boards and training about how to submit those grades, how to form thatjudgment based on the evidence that they've got before them. princess latifa, the captive daughter of dubai's ruler, asks british police to re—investigate the disappearance of her sister 20 years ago. asda warns 3,000 jobs could be at risk as part of a major re—organisation of the business. the company behind the computer chips which are in many of our smartphones is accused of overcharging — 29 million people in the uk could be due compensation.

the elephant "selfies" which are being used to help protect endangered species in the wild. and a superb performance from captainjoe root — he takes five wickets to rescue england in the third test against india. good morning, welcome to bbc news. the government has unveiled how pupils in england will receive their exam grades after this summer's gcses, a—levels and written vocational exams were cancelled. the new arrangements will be set out in detail by the education secretary, gavin williamson, in the house of commons later this morning. teachers will assess their pupils' work and award grades. they'll be able to draw on a range of evidence,

including mock exams, coursework, and essays or in—class tests. unlike last year, no algorithms will be used to calculate grades. instead, exam boards will check random samples. students will then receive their results earlier than normal. a—level results will be released on august the 10th. and gcse pupils will receive their results two days later. it's hoped that bringing forward the dates will ensure that students have enough time to log any appeals. here's our education correspondent, dan johnson. last year's calculated grades left some students in limbo, unsure about university places, and unhappy with results officials admitted were unfair. the algorithm used to standardize those grades is no more. england's education secretary said he wanted those who know pupils best to work out the result they deserve. we're putting our trust in teachers. that's where the trust is going. there's going to be no algorithms whatsoever,

but there will be a very clear and robust appeals mechanism. instead, teachers will have the option of using questions from exam boards, alongside mock results and coursework, as well as essays and class tests. grades will be checked with other teachers and by exam boards, before being awarded earlier than usual, all in the same week of august 9th. that will leave more time for appeals. there's certainly more detail which needs to come out. in particular from the examination boards we'll be expecting some guidance for teachers on how they arrive at particular grades, how they differentiate between one grade and another grade. that's all part of the training materials. but all of that can follow. i think for us to now know the direction of travel will be reassuring, not just for teachers, but in particular for those students who are worried that they would be caught up in the kind of results fiasco of last year. most vocational and technical qualifications will be worked out in the same way. but some students will have to sit exams if they need to show they've

reached a professional standard in certain occupations. the end of the algorithm could mean grade inflation — that's results rising unrealistically year by year. the department for education says these teacher—assessed grades won't be used in school league tables. the hope is they will fairly reflect what children have achieved. dan johnson, bbc news. the schools minister, nick gibb, says there are systems in place to counter any conerns about grade discrepancies or grade inflation in this summer's exams. teachers will be required to produce the evidence and the second layer of quality assurance of checking is by the exam board. so if the grades when they are submitted, if in a particular school, they look very out of line with the achievements of that school in the past, that will be a signal for the exam board to pay extra attention, maybe pay a visit to that school, to make sure that the evidence that the teacher has collected

to justify that grade really does justify that grade. a—level student emilia mccarthy joins us now from kent. you are yet 13, a very important year, but a stressful one. what is your view on how you would be graded? —— year 13. your view on how you would be graded? —— year13. i your view on how you would be graded? -- year13.— your view on how you would be graded? -- year13. i think this is definitely the _ graded? -- year13. i think this is definitely the fairest _ graded? -- year13. i think this is definitely the fairest way - graded? -- year13. i think this isj definitely the fairest way possible that the government could have made. i think it is going to be a wide range of different things, so essays for some essay subjects, tests, exam questions, but i really think this is the best thing for us. i think putting our futures and is the best thing for us. i think putting ourfutures and grades in the hands of people who do know us best, our teachers, that really was the best idea.— best, our teachers, that really was the best idea. what is your response to --eole the best idea. what is your response to people who _ the best idea. what is your response to people who say — the best idea. what is your response to people who say that _ the best idea. what is your response to people who say that your - to people who say that your generation is getting it easy because you do not have to sit exams, which most people do not want

to have to do? i exams, which most people do not want to have to do?— to have to do? i completely disagree with that. people _ to have to do? i completely disagree with that. people have _ to have to do? i completely disagree with that. people have not _ to have to do? i completely disagree with that. people have not realised l with that. people have not realised that we have never had a year like this before. us as students, this has never ever happened before for a—level and gcse students. we have had six months studying at home and we have all done really well, i think it would be absolutely unfair to set us in normal exams and assessments and expect us to be doing the same as we would normally, it is completely unfair. i think this is definitely the right way forward for us.— this is definitely the right way forward for us. ,, , .. , forward for us. surely teachers will be tempted _ forward for us. surely teachers will be tempted to _ forward for us. surely teachers will be tempted to give _ forward for us. surely teachers will be tempted to give you _ forward for us. surely teachers will be tempted to give you higher- forward for us. surely teachers will. be tempted to give you higher grades than you would have got if you had had to sit the exams? ida. than you would have got if you had had to sit the exams?— had to sit the exams? no, i completely _ had to sit the exams? no, i completely disagree. - had to sit the exams? no, i completely disagree. the i had to sit the exams? no, i i completely disagree. the thing had to sit the exams? no, i - completely disagree. the thing is, as a person beforejust completely disagree. the thing is, as a person before just said, schools are going to be reviewed closely. if there is anything that does look abnormal, there will be

people coming in to review that. it is not going to be in league tables, there is no need for scores to do that, we might see some inflation, but it is absolutely fair we get the grades we deserve. i think it is completely fair.— grades we deserve. i think it is comletel fair. . ., , completely fair. what are your plans ost completely fair. what are your plans post a-level? _ completely fair. what are your plans post a-level? i'm _ completely fair. what are your plans post a-level? i'm going _ completely fair. what are your plans post a-level? i'm going to - completely fair. what are your plans post a-level? i'm going to be - completely fair. what are your plans post a-level? i'm going to be going | post a-level? i'm going to be going in to university _ post a-level? i'm going to be going in to university in _ post a-level? i'm going to be going in to university in september- post a-level? i'm going to be going in to university in september or - in to university in september or october. yes, buti in to university in september or october. yes, but i have complete 0ctober. yes, but i have complete confidence that i will achieve the grades i need and i'm looking forward to it. it grades i need and i'm looking forward to it.— grades i need and i'm looking forward to it. it will be nice for it to settle _ forward to it. it will be nice for it to settle down _ forward to it. it will be nice for it to settle down for _ forward to it. it will be nice for it to settle down for you, - forward to it. it will be nice for - it to settle down for you, wouldn't it? to have something approximating normal. the best of luck with how these assessments go, thank you very much for talking to us. and we'll be in the house of commons shortly, where the education secretary, gavin williamson, will give more details of the plans for this summer's exams in england. some breaking news regarding npower.

it has closed down its app following a hack which may have exposed some customer �*s financial and personal information. it is unclear how many accounts have been affected by this data breach which was first revealed by the website money saving expert. things like contact details, dates of birth, addresses, partial bank account numbers which are believed to have been stolen, but breached accounts have been locked, npower has said. information commissioners office has confirmed they have been informed about the hack, as the company needs to do. the ico spokesperson has told the bbc npower has made us aware of an incident affecting their app and we are making enquiries. so if you are a npower energy firm customer, you will no doubt get some kind of information about whether you have been affected. last week, bbc news reported on the plight of princess latifa, who claimed she was being held captive by her father, the ruler of dubai,

sheik mohammed rashid al maktoum. now, the bbc can reveal another development in the case, this time raising questions for britain. it centres around allegations that latifa's sister, shamsa, was also abducted by their father while she was living in the uk, and an investigation by cambridgeshire police which was closed due to insufficient evidence. special correspondent nawal al—maghafi reports. sheikh mohammed rashid al maktoum. the billionaire ruler of dubai, and one of the most powerful men in the middle east. last week, the bbc released secret recordings of his daughter, princess latifa. in them, she claims he is responsible for her abduction and imprisonment. the messages sparked international concerns. but latifa is not the only daughter of to try to escape. 20 years ago, her sister shamsa ran away from the family estate in surrey. in 2000, my sister shamsa, while she was on holiday in england,

she was 18 years old, going on 19. she ran away. so, yeah, after two months, they found her. the police launched an investigation, but it hit a dead end. now the bbc has obtained exclusive letter written by princess latifa from her captivity. in it, a plea to reopen her sister's case. the letter, delivered by her friends yesterday to cambridgeshire police, says... we have pieced together shamsa's extraordinary story. she was a passionate horse rider and loved spending summers at her father's estate in the surrey countryside. shamsa was cheeky, liked to push all the boundaries and she wasn't what you would call a princess. you know?

she was full of life and adventure. she dreamt of going to university, but says that her father wouldn't allow it. so in the summer of the year 2000, she drove a black range rover to the edge of the estate and she ran away. after shamsa escaped her father's estate, she lived as a free woman for around two months. she then checked into this hotel in cambridge. suddenly, herfather�*s operatives arrived and she was captured. by sam the next morning, she was on a helicopter to northern france, where she was transferred to a private jet that took her to dubai. on her enforced return to dubai, shamsa was kept locked up for the next eight years. she was then released from confinement, but her life remained heavily controlled. we spoke to someone who had regular contact with after she was released. she was tranquilized all the time. everything she did was controlled.

there was no spark. in shamsa any more. there was no fight in her. and i understand that people can't get their head around it. _ theyjust see some rich girl. it's not like that at all. it's horrific. the uae government maintain that shamsa and latifa are cherished and adored by their family. they are yet to prove that they are still alive and well. cambridgeshire police have told the bbc that the letter will be considered in their ongoing review of the disappearance of princess shamsa. a study has found that around 1a% of england's population has evidence of antibodies against the coronavirus. more than 155,000 people were tested in the latest react survey, conducted by researchers from imperial college london. the study also found more evidence that the pfizer—biontech vaccine is producing a good antibody response. the react study also showed vaccine

confidence was strongest among white communities — 92.6 percent with the lowest in black ethnic communities, 72.5 percent. to discuss this, i'm joined by dr nighat arif — a gp distributing covid vaccines who is keen to fight vaccine myths. thank you forjoining us. this information we are getting about antibodies that people have developed, how encouraged are you? really encouraging that people are being immune against a virus, because that is the whole point. even after one dose, we know that 70, 80% immunity is built, but to get the full immunity, we need the second dose which is the roll—out thatis second dose which is the roll—out that is happening. this is a massive project of vaccinations that we are doing. i and project of vaccinations that we are doing. iand my project of vaccinations that we are doing. i and my colleagues in primary care are trying to do our best, 18 million is where we are at the minute and that will get better

and better. there is light at the end of the tunnel, this is our road map as a block down. that end of the tunnel, this is our road map as a block down.— map as a block down. that is the aood map as a block down. that is the good stuff. _ map as a block down. that is the good stuff. but _ map as a block down. that is the good stuff, but this _ map as a block down. that is the good stuff, but this vaccine - good stuff, but this vaccine confidence and the variation in the percentage rates between different parts of the population, what are your worries?— parts of the population, what are your worries? there are obviously worries amongst _ your worries? there are obviously worries amongst us. _ your worries? there are obviously worries amongst us. we - your worries? there are obviously worries amongst us. we are - your worries? there are obviously| worries amongst us. we are aware your worries? there are obviously i worries amongst us. we are aware of this, this is the first important thing, we as health care professionals know there is hesitancy of the uptake of covid—19 vaccine in ethnic minority communities and there is not being done about it. the important thing is, this is a global pandemic, the only way it works is if we all get immunity dragged on the virus and the number of contaminations, because there is less chance of people being affected on hospitalisation. —— drive down the virus. we do not want to put more pressure on health care professionals, because we are struggling and in order to keep our individual communities safe, everyone has to take it up. the reason there is hesitancy is a multi

factual, very compact was not there as historic health inequalities, issues amongst the fact that there was very little participation, only 6% in the trials as well from ethnic minorities. there is lots of miss information out there, lots of myths and a social media, because we are all plugged into social media, that is like the tide is really against us, because the amount of misinformation is regulated, anyone can say whatever they want about vaccine, and people believe it. the work that is being done abounded, there is the halo project, we are trying to contract the social backlash we are getting, because we need to make sure people are making informed decisions, because lives are at risk if someone does not take up are at risk if someone does not take up the vaccine and the variance and infection come in and then we are back to square one.— infection come in and then we are back to square one. what is the most owerful back to square one. what is the most powerful and — back to square one. what is the most powerful and effective _ back to square one. what is the most powerful and effective way _ back to square one. what is the most powerful and effective way of - powerful and effective way of educating people and making them realise that the vaccine is a good

idea? ~ , ._ , realise that the vaccine is a good idea? ~ , ., realise that the vaccine is a good idea? ~ , , .,, ., ., idea? multiple ways. people who are chamions idea? multiple ways. people who are champions within _ idea? multiple ways. people who are champions within their _ idea? multiple ways. people who are champions within their communitiesl champions within their communities and actually talking to that community in a language they can understand, information that is disseminated in a way that is appropriate to their cultural norms. i am part of a pakistani community, i am part of a pakistani community, i speak punjabi and urdu, and bilingual, i try to produce videos, particularly on tiktok fur communities, because that is where i found that younger members of the family are accessing information. but they are influencing the other members of the family and the older ones are the most vulnerable. that is one way of doing it. having people like myself on mainstream media, because if you see someone who looks like you and speaks like you, you take the information seriously and that is something that is powerful. having a community leaders for not having vaccination programmes that are run out of mosques, synagogues, temples, places of safety that people recognise,

somewhere you would go to for comfort and so it knowing that vaccination programmes are run by that and that your community leaders are part of it is important and that will be important as we going to ramadan which are starting soon. we need to make sure people take up the second lot of the vaccine and the first lot, so there are conversations about having vaccination programmes are done in mosques, ramping that up, but also looking at whether we can vaccinate between sunrise and sunset to accommodate new communities, because thatis accommodate new communities, because that is what they want, they want to know they are heard, listened, and their concerns are addressed. you have made _ their concerns are addressed. you have made your — their concerns are addressed. you have made your point very eloquently again, thank you very much for joining us. some breaking news regarding test and trace figures. these are the latest weekly figures for a total of 8a,310 people tested positive for covid—19, that is in england. at least once in the last week. but

this is down 21% on the previous week and encouragingly it is the lowest number since the week to september the 30th, so figures heading in the right direction, because we all know, not to be complacent yet. vaccines are still being rolled out and lockdown restrictions to be lifted slowly. 0ver several weeks. you are watching bbc news. the headlines on bbc news: teachers in england will decide their students' gcse and a level grades this summer after the outcry over last yea r�*s results. princess latifa, the captive daughter of dubai's ruler, asks british police to re—investigate the disappearance of her sister 20 years ago. asda warns 3000 jobs could be at risk as part of a major re—organisation of the business. if you've bought a new mobile phone in the last five years, you could be in line for some cash back.

the consumer group which is seeking over £a80 million in damages from us tech giant qualcomm. it believes qualcomm broke uk competition law, resulting in them charging manufacturers inflated fees for technology licenses, which were then passed down to us in the form of higher smartphone prices. qualcomm has yet to respond. about 29 million people in the uk may be entitled to compensation of up to £30 each. i'm joined by our business correspondent, victoria fritz. they are not cheap, either, are they? smartphones. ida. they are not cheap, either, are they? smartphones. no, certainly not. you would _ they? smartphones. no, certainly not. you would be _ they? smartphones. no, certainly not. you would be hard _ they? smartphones. no, certainly not. you would be hard pressed . they? smartphones. no, certainly. not. you would be hard pressed not to find a qualcomm chip in at some way in your home, whether a smartphone, samsung, apple, what does as well. but also things like smart cars for example, wearable technology, audio, the headphones i'm using right now, these chips are absolutely everywhere and it is this dominance that they have any market

that has been worrying regulators right across the world. they make 23 and a half billion dollars last year in revenues, most of those revenues for chip—making, but much of the profit comes from this very lucrative but controversial business which is licensing of patents. and it comes to smartphones, samsung and apple have to pay special licences to qualcomm for the pleasure and privilege of having those chips inside those phones. they power our lives and we use them as the remote control is for our entire lives and which is saying those inflated costs the manufactures are passed on to consumers, so they have lodged this collective action. it is not going to the competition appeal tribunal and if it is successful, it may go for the. and if it is successful, it may go forthe. —— it is and if it is successful, it may go for the. —— it is now going to the competition appeal tribunal. qualcomm may settle early, and this is where which are getting this figure of £30 per customer for

phones which were bought by 2015. may be enough to buy your first round in the pub, but not want to spend just yet. round in the pub, but not want to spend just yet-— round in the pub, but not want to send 'ust et. ., , .,, ~ ., spend 'ust yet. how will people know if spend just yet. how will people know if the are spend just yet. how will people know if they are entitled _ spend just yet. how will people know if they are entitled to _ spend just yet. how will people know if they are entitled to it? _ spend just yet. how will people know if they are entitled to it? the - spend just yet. how will people know if they are entitled to it? the best i if they are entitled to it? the best thin to if they are entitled to it? the best thing to do _ if they are entitled to it? the best thing to do in _ if they are entitled to it? the best thing to do in that _ if they are entitled to it? the best thing to do in that instance - if they are entitled to it? the best thing to do in that instance is - if they are entitled to it? the best thing to do in that instance is to i thing to do in that instance is to go on to the website, the which website, and it will show you whether or not you are able to join this action and whether or not you will be eligible for it. all the details are there. you will be able to find out more information there. the average payout is something like £17. there are lots of ifs and buts as to whether this will happen and qualcomm have said there is no legal basis for this lawsuit and they have actually pointed people towards a judgment that was made in the united states in 2017 where very similar charges were brought against the company and they were dismissed by a panel of ninejudges company and they were dismissed by a panel of nine judges unanimously. company and they were dismissed by a panel of ninejudges unanimously. so it has failed before, but saying that, qualcomm has been in hot water with the european commission for

example, had to pay out £858 million in fines because of deals with apple and a similar situation, 2a2 million fine over eight from aggregate investigation to 3g, so certainly no stranger to losses, but maybe just the cost of doing business. if i stranger to losses, but maybe 'ust the cost of doing businessi the cost of doing business. if i get an hinu the cost of doing business. if i get anything back _ the cost of doing business. if i get anything back i — the cost of doing business. if i get anything back i will— the cost of doing business. if i get anything back i will put _ the cost of doing business. if i get anything back i will put it - the cost of doing business. if i get anything back i will put it to - the cost of doing business. if i get anything back i will put it to a - anything back i will put it to a haircut, so desperately needed. no, yours looks great! thank you very much. the conservative former chancellor, philip hammond, has told bbc news that borisjohnson must tell "the british people some home truths" about the state of the economy. the covid crisis has seen public spending and borrowing rise steeply. speaking in the run—up to the budget next wednesday, lord hammond told our political editor luara kuenssberg said he was concerned the government would put popularity first. i am very confident that the chancellor's instincts are the right ones, but he is part of a government, and that government has made very extravagant commitments to the british electorate, in good faith, before

the coronavirus crisis. not all of those commitments can now sensibly be delivered on and that is going to be a big challenge for a government that regards its short—term popularity as very, very important. after 2010, we always knew that we were going to go through a period of intense unpopularity as we implemented the measures that needed to be taken. i am not sure that the top leadership of the current government really has that appetite for being unpopular in order to do the right thing. and to do the right thing for the economy, the prime minister needs to be willing to be unpopular, you're saying? i think he's going to have to tell the british people some difficult home truths. we have done, over the last year, the fiscal equivalent of fighting a war. and as we know, people who lived through the 1950s know, that the legacy effects of fighting that war will be with us

for a very long time. the government says a.7 million workers across the uk were furloughed by the end of january. figures show the cost of the programme since the start of the pandemic is £53.8 billion. separately, the office for national statistics says business have furloughed 20% of their staff as of early this month. the supermarket chain asda says it has begun consulting with workers over a major restructuring of the business which could put about 5,000 jobs at risk, including 3,000 support jobs. the company says the restructuring has been driven by the "structural shift" in shopping habits during the pandemic. proposed cuts would include in areas such as cash management, where there is less work as more people shop online. the company says it plans to create a,500 jobs as it expands its online offering. talks to try to secure the future

of the vauxhall car plant in ellesmere port will continue today. discussions between government officials and company management have been taking place and an announcement is expected within a8 hours. nearly 1000 people work at the factory in cheshire and many more are involved in the supply chain. elephants in a uk zoo could be helping to save their relatives in the wild, as part of a new conservation project. the herd at whipsnade zoo, in bedfordshire, have been posing for thousands of thermal images, which will be used to help track and monitor elephant populations around the world. 0ur science correspondent, helen briggs reports. elephants posing for photos at whipsnade zoo. but they look very different through a thermal camera. 30,000 selfies that are notjust incredible to look at, but a vital conservation tool. it is truly an elephantcam. it's made by elephants themselves. they've taken the photo with us, and it now works. it detects elephants confidently

at a certain distance. and we want to get this into the field now, and actually put it in the wild, helping wild elephants and communities live side by side. the images are being used to train a camera to recognise the shape of an elephant from its body heat. it'll be able to identify when an elephant�*s close by, even in the dark, and send an alert. humans and elephants are being forced into ever closer contact, as the human population grows and wild habitat disappears. this can end in trashed crops, damaged property and the loss of lives. it's hoped the new technology will be an affordable solution to helping wildlife and humans live in harmony, and help protect endangered species. helen briggs, bbc news. and they are very photogenic. the manchester united striker marcus rashford has picked up another honour to hang

alongside his fa cup winner's medal and his mbe — a gold blue peter badge. the manchester united striker picked up the award for his campaigning on behalf of children from low—income families. the environmental activist greta thunberg also got one. they're only given to a small number of people each year in exceptional circumstances. thank you very, very much. you are up alongside the queen, david beckham — that is the level that we're putting you at. no, i appreciate it greatly. i'm happy that i was able to, you know, spread positive messages, and ijust want to give people the best chance at being the best that they can be. marcus rashford with his latest prized possession. as we mentioned earlier, the education secretary, gavin williamson, is about to give more details to mps about this summer's school exams in england. we will be back there in a moment to hear what he has to say.

now it's time for a look at the weather with carol kirkwood. hello again. temperatures are going to remain mild for late february for the next few days. what we have today is a lot of dry weather, a fair bit of sunshine, a weak weather front in the south—east producing thick cloud and some light rain and drizzle and some showers coming in on a brisk wind across northern and western scotland. we are going to see some showers, well scattered, though, across northern ireland and west wales and north—west england with a temperature range of eight to about 13—1a. tonight under clear skies, the temperatures fall away. some showers around but thicker cloud will move in across parts of scotland and north—western parts of northern ireland. for you, the temperature will hold up. this means tomorrow, some of us will be starting with some frost and patchy mist and fog which will lift and then there will be a lot of dry weather, although at times, a bit more cloud in western scotland and also western parts of northern ireland. but some of that should break and you should see some sunshine as well. temperatures 8—12 degrees.

hello, this is bbc news. teachers in england will decide their students' gcse and a level grades this summer after the outcry over last yea r�*s results. the government insists the results will be fair. there will be very detailed guidance provided to teachers by the exam boards and training about how to submit those grades, how to form thatjudgment based on the evidence that they've got before them. princess latifa, the captive daughter of dubai's ruler, asks british police to re—investigate the disappearance of her sister 20 years ago. asda warns 3000 jobs could be at risk as part of a major re—organisation of the business. the company behind the computer chips which are in many of our smartphones is accused of overcharging — 29 million people in the uk could be due compensation.

and the elephant "selfies" which are being used to help protect endangered species in the wild. let's cross to the house of commons, where the education secretary, gavin williamson, is giving more details about this summer's school exams in england. the prime minister announced on monday a cautious road map for the gradual relaxation of our current social restrictions. it isn't quite the end, but the end is very clearly in sight. as the house is by no aware, the rates of covid infection have come down enough for us to let children go back to school from monday the 8th of march. secondary and college students will be back from that date, after being offered an on—site covid test. university

students on practical courses who need to access specialist facilities can also return to campus from the 8th of march, and will be —— we will be reviewing the time of return for remaining students during the easter holidays. the prime minister spoke of a one—way road to freedom. for this reason, we have issued detailed guidance about what we expect all schools and colleges do to welcome children and students back. there will be a robust testing regime in place, it will be critical in breaking the chains of covid infection. more than a million tests have already been completed across primary, secondary schools, colleges and universities. i know that staff have worked very hard to set up testing sites in schools and have had time to get used to the supervising, the testing that goes on. i know that the whole house will

join me in thanking everyone of them for the incredible efforts they continue to make to keep young people safe and learning. primary school staff will continue to receive two home tests a week, and this will be extended to private early years providers, secondary schools and college students will be offered three tests in school and couege offered three tests in school and college when they return over the first two weeks, to be undertaken 3-5 first two weeks, to be undertaken 3—5 days apart. students will then be offered to home tests per week, so they can test themselves regularly. schools will be able to retain small on—site testing facilities for those who cannot and have not been able to test at home. students and staff at independent learning providers and aren't oh community learning providers will also be able to test at home ——

aduu also be able to test at home —— adult community learning providers. 0n—site testing facilities are already set up and universities, and stab and students there can take to test a week. —— staff and students. we are following public health guidance and advising in circumstances where social distancing cannot be maintained, face coverings should be worn in secondary school classrooms as well as in further and higher education settings. this is a temporary measure to ensure the safe return of schools and will be in place until easter. all the other safety measures that are already in place continue to be robust, including bubble groups, staggered start and finish times, increasing ventilation and strict hygiene measures. mr speaker, this has been a hugely challenging time for teachers, staff and parents. the house will be well aware of the incredible work that has already gone into minimising the

effects of this pandemic. i know from the research that we have been conducting that it won't be enough. many children are going to need longer term support to make up for lost learning. we want families to know that there will be support for schools and for our children. sir kevin collins, our education recovery commissioner, will be working with parents, teachers and schools on a long—term plan to make sure peoples have the chance to make up sure peoples have the chance to make up their learning over the course of their education. as immediate support, we are putting in place a range of immediate measures to help children and young people across england to help them catch up. we are introducing a new one up £302 million recovery premium for state primary and secondary schools, building on the pupil premium, to further support pupils who need it most. we are expanding our

successful tutoring programmes, £200 million will be available to fund an extended national tutoring programme for primary and secondary schools, and tutoring and language support in colleges and early years settings. £200 million will be available for secondary schools to deliver a face—to—face summer schools, schools will be able to target individual people's needs. the package will build on the £1 billion catch—up package we announced a few months ago, and forms part of a wide response to help pupils make up on the lost learning that they have suffered. mr speaker, iwould the lost learning that they have suffered. mr speaker, i would like to update the house on the next steps after we decided that gcses, a.s. and a—level exams are many vocational and technical qualifications could not go ahead as planned this summer. injanuary we launched a joint consultation with

0fcom on the best way to do this, and the results for 2021, so they would be as robust as possible. i'm glad to say we got more than 100,000 responses from students, parents, school leaders and other stakeholders, as part of that consultation. we have considered all of them very carefully. i would like to assure honourable and right honourable colleagues that there was widespread support for the approach that we are taking. 0ur priority areas and has always been to make sure that every student has the best possible chance to share what they know and can do, enabling them to progress to the next stage of their education, training or employment. most important, the most important thing we can do is to make sure that the system is fair. that it is fair

to every student. it is vital that they have confidence that they will get the grade that is a true unjust reflection of their work. mr speaker, this year's students will receive grace determined by their with assessments covering what they were taught and not what they have missed. teachers have a good understanding of their students' performance, and how they compare to other students this year and those from previous years. teachers can choose a range of evidence to underpin their assessments, including coursework, in—class tests set by the school, and the of optional questions provided by exam boards and mock exams, and we will, of course, give guidance on how best to do this fairly, and also consistently. exam boards will be issuing great descriptions to help teachers make sure their assessments

are fair. these will be broadly pegged to performance standards from previous years, so teachers and students are clear what is expected at each grade. by doing this, combined with rigorous quality assurance processes, are two of the ways this system will be fair and consistent. quality assurance by the example will provide a meaningful checkin example will provide a meaningful check in the system, and make sure we can root out malpractice. we will also set out a full and fair appeals system. it will provide a process to enable students to appeal their grades, should they believe their grades, should they believe their grade is wrong. mr speaker, i can confirm that no algorithm will be used for this process, greys will be awarded on the basis of teacher's judgment —— grades, and will only

ever be changed by human intervention. there must, of course, be as much fairness and rigour applied to technical qualifications as there is too general qualifications as well, and those most similar to gcses, a.s. and a levels, which allow people to progress and higher education, external exams will not go ahead, and results will be awarded to similar as set out for gcses and a—levels. are taking vt cues to go straight into a job, exams and assessments should be a mine with public health measures, so that students can demonstrate the occupational or professional standards they need to enter the workplace safely. mr speaker, all our children and young people have paid a considerable price for the disruption of the past year. it is not their learning, it is put —— not

their learning of track, put their friendships to one side and put the wonder of growing up on hold. in short, it has caused enormous damage to what should have been a carefree part of growing up. i am absolutely committed that we of this programme, we catch up measures and extra points for tutoring, we can start to put this right. together with the measures we have set out, for a fair and robust allocation of grades, young people will be able to look forward to the next stage of their lives with confidence. 0ur forward to the next stage of their lives with confidence. our approach in the face of the worst disruption to education since the second world war has been to protect the progress of pupils and students. ultimately, this summer's assessments will ensure fair routes to the next stages of education or the start of their career. that is our overall aim. mr speaker, in summing up, iam sure you would agree with my assessment, this is a nation we have

perhaps never valued education as much as we do today, and i commend this statement to the house. i noun this statement to the house. i now call shadow _ this statement to the house. i now call shadow secretary _ this statement to the house. i now call shadow secretary of _ this statement to the house. i now call shadow secretary of state. - this statement to the house. i now call shadow secretary of state. i i call shadow secretary of state. thank the call shadow secretary of state. i thank the secretary of state for a sight of his statement and join him in paying tribute to all staff in our education system. on these benches we want to see every pupil safely back in class really can be with their friends, their teachers, and get the structure and stability they need. it is not enough to simply say schools will reopen, there must be a credible plan that will not only enable schools to open fully in march, but will keep them open. the secretary of state has failed to use the period when most pupils were not in school to put the necessary measures in place. in january he said he wanted school staff to be in the next wave of vaccinations, so why has there still been no commitment from the government to prioritise school

stuff? does he no longer believe they should be a priority? many schools have lost income or face higher costs because of the pandemic. why has he failed to review the funding? 0ne pandemic. why has he failed to review the funding? one way to reduce transmission of coronavirus is to allow schools to teach on a rota basis. labour school leaders and teachers have all asked him to consider this, and teachers have all asked him to considerthis, he and teachers have all asked him to consider this, he has refused. while? ventilation is an important role to play in reducing transmission indoors, will he update his department was not guidance to make sure it is clear, robust and specific enough for all schools to implement it effectively? can he tell me why months after labour has called for it, he has not made any progress in providing nightingale classrooms, so more people can study in smaller groups? it is welcome that he has finally caught up in labour�*s call to expand the wearing of masks in school, but why is this measure only temporary? i am worried that in taking one small step in the

right direction while leaving a great many other issues on address, he is failing to do all that can be done to keep schools open and failing to work with, not against, school staff and their unions. this year's exams were cancelled 53 days ago. forseven year's exams were cancelled 53 days ago. for seven weeks, year's exams were cancelled 53 days ago. forseven weeks, pupils year's exams were cancelled 53 days ago. for seven weeks, pupils parents and staff are face damaging and utterly unnecessary uncertainty. the secretary of state could have invited the by listening to labour are putting a plan in place —— could have avoided that. now he claims to have avoided that. now he claims to have solved the problem. guidance from exam boards won't be available until the end of the spring term, meaning more weeks of anxiety for young people and their teachers. he blamed a rogue algorithm for last year's fiasco, but the real cause of the chaos was not an algorithm, it was his incompetence. so now for the first time he says he trusts teachers. i can't help wondering why he only trusts teachers when there is a chance to make them responsible

for what happens with exams, rather than his department. i am glad a wide range of evidence will be used, assessment materials will be available for schools, the rugby guidance for exam boards and how to word grades, and individual schools won't be responsible, but as a confident greys will be fair and consistent across schools? and why has he not used the last seven weeks to provide appropriate training to teachers? isn't he concerned the lack of common evidence of a link to an existing grade distribution both puts pressure on schools and colleges and creates huge challenges in ensuring fairness? and on assessments, can you update the house on functional skills and end of point assessments? mr speaker, it was nearly six months ago that labour first called for a national strategy to help children catch up and to close the attainment gap, and i welcome the appointment of mr

collins, and i hope this means the secretary of state is breaking from the great conservative tradition of only finding work for friends and donors, but can confirm that yesterday was my announcement amounts to just a3p per pupil per day over the next school year, and just 500,000 school pupils, will benefit from summer schemes. ? can benefit from summerschemes. ? can you benefit from summer schemes. ? can you tell me why there is no mention of the hard—working staff who will deliberately support? and why there is no specific support for children's health and well—being? and why there is only limited support for college students? mr speaker, this has been a very challenging yearfor speaker, this has been a very challenging year for children, patents, for education staff, made more challenging by the government's incompetence. with skill set to open their doors to more pupils in a matter of weeks, there is a final chance to put things right —— with schools are set to open their doors. the secretary of state must do so. i

thank the audibly deeper questions. she raises the question of vaccinations, which was seen in the road map that the prime minister launched on monday, about setting out the commission for the jc vi to out the commission for thejc vi to look at the two out the commission for the jc vi to look at the two strands, firstly those people who are most vulnerable from sadly being either hospitalised or sadly passing away as a result of catching covid, making sure that is one of the strands as to who needs to be vaccinated out of those groups, but also out of those jobs and professions, notjust teachers, but also transport workers, supermarkets top and so many others who do an amazing job in public facing roles. and the needs of those workforces as well. i don't want to be in a position where i try and pre—empt the independent work ofjc

vi but obviously we look forward to seeing what that says. in terms of the honourable lady's suggestion of moving to roath is, it is not a route we want to go down moving to row thousands, we want to have on the side of the house all children back into full—time education —— rota. we think that is the best place for children to be, in school having a full—time education in the classroom, and that is why when we had, any situation where we were able to welcome more children back, we felt it was better to be able to welcome all children back into the classroom every day of every week. as the honourable lady briefly touched on, is testing. testing is going to be very part of keeping classrooms covid free. the roll—out of testing that has already been

happening over the last seven weeks has been incredibly successful. we have had some of the highest rates of uptake in terms of testing, mr speaker, of any workforce area and in any sort of individual setting, because actually, probably not unsurprisingly, schools have readily adapted to this testing regime. so far, out of all the asymptomatic testing stations that we are hoping to get set up across schools and colleges in special schools, 97% of those settings have sipped —— asymptomatic testing centres, we are targeting resources to make sure they are ready to do testing for welcoming children back on the eighth. but testing is important for keeping covid out of the classroom. in terms of exams, i note your

comments, we are working with the examples to do everything we can do to ensure there is the absolute maximum amount of guidance, training and support all teachers, in terms of giving the greys out and making the assessment for what is the correct grade. we have been working closely with the exam boards to ensure this is done swiftly, to support teachers, and i know they will be offering a broad range of support to all teachers and schools in terms of making sure that teacher assessed grades are done fairly, right across the system. the honourable lady makes an important point about as much consistency as possible, in terms of awarding of grades, and this is why we have been doing work with exam boards to ensure that there is random sampling across schools and colleges, across the country, both state schools and

private schools, as well as making sure there is systems in place where there are clear anomalies and uncertainty about it, that there are proper checks in place to make sure there is no malpractice within the system. we there is no malpractice within the s stem. ~ ., ., . ., ., system. we go to the chair of the select committee. _ system. we go to the chair of the select committee. thank - system. we go to the chair of the select committee. thank you, - system. we go to the chair of the select committee. thank you, mrj select committee. thank you, mr seaker. select committee. thank you, mr speaker- i _ select committee. thank you, mr speaker. i think _ select committee. thank you, mr speaker. i think my _ select committee. thank you, mr speaker. i think my right - select committee. thank you, mr i speaker. i think my right honourable friend for the 1.7 billion per catch up. a remarkable achievement and i hope it will make a difference to our children. 0n exams, the decision to a job centre assess grades for the second year in a row does highlight the severity school closures have done. whilst i accept it is the least worst option the government has come up with, my concern is not so much about having one because my cake and eating it, but making a cake of grade inflation. into the system. what is the government's plan to make sure we will not have a wild west of grading? that these greys will be

meaningful to employers so not to damage children's life chances? and when and how will we reverse the great inflation? what is the rationale for not tethering this year's raised to last year or somewhere between 2019—20 and why not embed quality assurance more broadly rather than rely on random sampling or spot and checks? i thank m rirht sampling or spot and checks? i thank my right honourable _ sampling or spot and checks? i thank my right honourable friend - sampling or spot and checks? i thank my right honourable friend for - sampling or spot and checks? i thank my right honourable friend for his i my right honourable friend for his comments in relation to how we deliver, in terms of catch up, and i also appreciate some of his thinking and ideas, which as you can see a scot embedded into some of the policy work we have been doing in terms of the catch up work. he raises an important issue about great inflation, and this is why we have been doing so much work with the exam board, to ensure there is proper internal checks as well as the proper external checks, and we didn't feel as if it would be possible to peg to a surge because

sadly as a result of doing that, it would probably entail the use of some sort of algorithm to best people to deliver that —— pegged to a certain year. this is why we have put much more onus on quality assurance checks. we will be working with the exam board and skills to make sure there is consistency. in the future, the best form of assessment, as i know my honourable friend also believes, is examination. and we do want to be moving back into a position to bring exams back, as this is ultimately defeatist and most equal way of doing assessment of all young people. the education secretary gavin williamson speaking there, speaking in the house of commons, confirming the arrangements for how a—levels

and gcses and written vocational exams will be graded in england this summer. also setting out that pupils in schools and colleges will be giving —— given test for it covid when the return and also have lateral flow tester ticket home a couple a week. the shadow secretary for education questioning the safety measures that are going to be in place for schools, and whether the amount being spent on attainment catch is really sufficient. european leaders are meeting today to work out how to speed up the roll—out of vaccines across the continent. the eu's vaccination rate is lagging significantly behind that of the uk and us. the united kingdom is ahead of european countries by a large margin, since the 8th of december when vaccinations began in the country. more than 27 people in every 100 have received the jab in the uk. in spain, a little over 6.7 in a 100 have been vaccinated. in germany the figures is 6.a. italy is not far behind with just over 6 per 100 people. and france has

only vaccinated a mere 5.6 people per 100 in the population. a few countries are now reporting that some are reluctant to take the british astrazeneca vaccine, after states including france and germany made the decision not to use it on older patients. here's our europe correspondentjean mackenzie. none of the queues they had planned for. inside, chairs sit empty. belgium's largest vaccination centre finally opened last week. but there's barely a person in sight. they have the capacity to vaccinate 5,000 people a day but today, they said they've only done 200 and in the hour that we've been here we've seen just one person arrive for their vaccination. no, it's a pity there are not many people. this afternoon it is very quiet. because there are not enough

vaccines at this moment in time. it is quite shocking to arrive and see such a huge vaccination centre, and to see it totally empty. is that not disappointing for you? yes, of course it is but what do you want me to say? of course it's disappointing but i cannot do anything about it. countries are struggling with a shortage of vaccines. companies failed to deliver as many doses as expected. after a very public falling out between the eu and astrazeneca, the british manufacturer says it should be able to provide 180 million doses from april. but in countries across europe, some people have started to refuse the astrazeneca shot. i get maybe four, five, six e—mails every day of nurses, even medical doctors, saying they don't want the astrazeneca vaccine, they refuse and they want to wait for a better vaccine which is a bit strange because that's not really based on solid evidence or science. it's really based on perception and rumours.

mixed messages by governments are partly to blame with several countries including france and germany, deciding not to use the vaccine on older people yet. here is france's health minister getting his astrazeneca vaccine live on television in an attempt to drum up support. while in germany, hundreds of thousands of vials are sitting unused. we have more astrazeneca now than appointments. are people not turning up for their appointments then? it happens, yes. when we have 1,000 appointments that maybe 50 people say we don't want to have the vaccination, we don't want to have astrazeneca. data from scotland this week shows the astrazeneca jab is helping to prevent nearly all hospitalisations. what we want the vaccine to do is keep people out of the hospital

keep them out of intensive care, keep them from dying. and as far as i have seen, all vaccines that are on the market for the moment can do that. but if vaccines are to find their way into enough arms, countries must now ramp up their production. these palm trees may offer a taste of the summer to come but at current rates, perhaps not. jean mackenzie, bbc news. now it's time for a look at the weather with carol kirkwood. hello again. yesterday, we saw the warmest day of the year so far, with temperatures just over 18 degrees in parts of eastern england. today, it will be mild, but not that mild, and we will see sunny spells but remaining damp in the south—east and this is where we've got the remnants of yesterday's weather front, still producing some cloud and light rain or indeed some drizzle. moving away from there, there's a lot of dry weather. a fair bit of sunshine today. some showers being blown in on a brisk westerly wind across northern and western scotland. we could see some scattered showers in northern ireland, north—west wales and north—west england. temperature range, 8—1a degrees.

this evening, we say goodbye to that weather front and overnight, a lot of clear skies with just one or two showers but more cloud coming in across the north—west of northern ireland and scotland with some patchy rain. as a result, temperatures will not fall away as much as they are going to elsewhere. once again, there will be pockets of mist and fog and also pockets of frost. they will lift readily tomorrow, leaving us with another dry day and although there will be areas of cloud coming in across western scotland and north—west england, what you will find is it should still break up in parts so we should still see some sunshine. the wind will also fall lighter. temperatures, 8—12 degrees, so still mild for this time in late february. as we go into the weekend, high pressure remains firmly in charge of the weather. any weather fronts really tend to be toppling around it and what they are going to do isjust bring in a bit more cloud, especially to northern and western areas. on saturday, we start off on a nippy note,

with pockets of frost and still some mist and fog patches. they will lift and then a lot of dry weather and a fair bit of sunshine. you can see where the weather fronts are trying to get in, introducing the cloud and the odd spot of rain. temperatures still 9—13 degrees. a similar start to the day on sunday in that it will be chilly in places and we will see some frost and patchy mist and fog which will lift. then a lot of dry weather once again. still some more cloud at times out towards the west, turning the sunshine hazy, and temperatures eight to about 12 degrees. in summary, if you have got plans for this weekend, worth knowing it is going to be drier, certainly than at the start of the week. we have got lighter winds, chilly nights with some frost for some and patchy mist and fog.

this is bbc news. the headlines: teachers in england will decide their students' gcse and a—level grades this summer after the outcry over last yea r�*s results. the government insists the results will be fair. exa m exam boards will be issuing great descriptions to help teachers make sure their assessments are a fair and consistent. princess latifa, the captive daughter of dubai's ruler, asks british police to re—investigate the disappearance of her sister 20 years ago. asda warns 3000 jobs could be at risk as part of a major re—organisation of the business. the company behind the computer chips which are in many of our smartphones is accused of overcharging — 29 million people in the uk could be due compensation. the elephant "selfies" which are being used to help protect

endangered species in the wild. and england captainjoe root takes five wickets in the third test against india — but the home side is still on top. good afternoon, welcome to bbc news. the government has unveiled how pupils in england will receive their exam grades after this summer's gcses, a—levels and written vocational exams were cancelled. the new arrangements will be set out in detail by the education secretary, gavin williamson, in the house of commons. teachers will assess their pupils' work and award grades. they'll be able to draw on a range of evidence, including mock exams, coursework, and essays or in—class tests.

unlike last year, no algorithms will be used to calculate grades. instead, exam boards will check random samples. students will then receive their results earlier than normal. a—level results will be released on august the 10th. and gcse pupils will receive their results two days later. it's hoped that bringing forward the dates will ensure that students have enough time to log any appeals. here's our education correspondent, dan johnson. last year's calculated grades left some students in limbo, unsure about university places, and unhappy with results officials admitted were unfair. the algorithm used to standardize those grades is no more. england's education secretary said he wanted those who know pupils best to work out the result they deserve. we're putting our trust in teachers. that's where the trust is going. there's going to be no algorithms whatsoever, but there will be a very clear and robust appeals mechanism. instead, teachers will have the option of using questions from exam boards, alongside mock

results and coursework, as well as essays and class tests. grades will be checked with other teachers and by exam boards, before being awarded earlier than usual, all in the same week of august 9th. that will leave more time for appeals. there's certainly more detail which needs to come out. in particular from the examination boards we'll be expecting some guidance for teachers on how they arrive at particular grades, how they differentiate between one grade and another grade. that's all part of the training materials. but all of that can follow. i think for us to now know the direction of travel will be reassuring, not just for teachers, but in particular for those students who are worried that they would be caught up in the kind of results fiasco of last year. most vocational and technical qualifications will be worked out in the same way. but some students will have to sit exams if they need to show they've reached a professional standard in certain occupations. the end of the algorithm could mean grade inflation — that's results rising

unrealistically year by year. the department for education says these teacher—assessed grades won't be used in school league tables. the hope is they will fairly reflect what children have achieved. dan johnson, bbc news. we had a little while ago from the education secretary, gavin williamson, who was making those details are known in the house of commons. he talked about how checks and balances would be in place to ensure the grades awarded this year to pupils in england by their teachers would be fair, with exam boards making random checks. let's get more on this and speak to 0fqual�*s interim chief regulator, simon lebus. thank you so much forjoining us. why not stick with what the government worked out with exam boards last year? last government worked out with exam boards last year?— boards last year? last year there was uuite boards last year? last year there was quite a _ boards last year? last year there was quite a lot _ boards last year? last year there was quite a lot of— boards last year? last year there was quite a lot of reaction - boards last year? last year there was quite a lot of reaction for- boards last year? last year there was quite a lot of reaction for a i was quite a lot of reaction for a number of different reasons. i think

there was a sense that students did not really have agency, it was felt it was done to them rather than something they had the power to control and had an active involvement in. there was a sense of unfairness which raised as a consequence and the dreaded algorithm that people were very unhappy with. so this is an attempt to learn lessons from what happened last year and come up with a slightly better set of arrangements that people are likely to think of as a fairer. i think the other big difference with last year is that there is much more time to prepare. last year, the lockdown took place on march the 20th, by which time most had finished learning at work preparing for exams. this year, we are starting much earlier. isn’t preparing for exams. this year, we are starting much earlier.— are starting much earlier. isn't it an abdication — are starting much earlier. isn't it an abdication of— are starting much earlier. isn't it an abdication of responsibility i are starting much earlier. isn't itj an abdication of responsibility by the government, examples and your organisation that it is all that being left to teachers? the examples will rovide being left to teachers? the examples will provide a — being left to teachers? the examples will provide a lot _ being left to teachers? the examples will provide a lot of _ being left to teachers? the examples will provide a lot of guidance - being left to teachers? the examples will provide a lot of guidance and - will provide a lot of guidance and information and support for teachers. they will be doing training, providing subject by subject guidance and one of the benefits of having much more time to prepare is there will be a much more

supportive framework available for teachers, but at the end of the day, one has to recognise that teachers are in much the best position to judge what their pupils have and have not learned this year. given the level of disruption. also, i think we need to respected teachers' professionaljudgment, they have a lot of experience of evaluating students' performance, they collect data throughout so are in a good position to understand precisely what their students want micro level of attainment is andy benefit is there will be multiple data points they can apply to arrive at judgments of coursework, in class assignment and someone. so i think we will result in results that are much more valid this year. there was uuite a lot much more valid this year. there was quite a lot of— much more valid this year. there was quite a lot of criticism _ much more valid this year. there was quite a lot of criticism of _ much more valid this year. there was quite a lot of criticism of your - quite a lot of criticism of your organisation last year, the fact that decisions were made very late, there was no real clarity, the fact that the algorithm, as you mentioned, caused more problems than it resolved. this mentioned, caused more problems than it resolved. , , ., mentioned, caused more problems than it resolved. , , . ., it resolved. this year we had the time and opportunity _

it resolved. this year we had the time and opportunity to - it resolved. this year we had the time and opportunity to conduct| it resolved. this year we had the i time and opportunity to conduct the fairly extensive consultation, a record number of responses, over 100,000, to the consultation. money from students and parents and teachers. a good opportunity can consult throughout the community. —— many from students. it is arrangements that many recognise does the jobs they need to do. it is complicated, there are about 6 million students involved, over 10,000 different qualifications. it is a very complex logistical exercise, ensuring there is comparability between qualifications, ensuring arrangements are robust for all sorts of different subjects and 0fqual�*s roll is partly to coordinate that, work with examples to make sure we have good support arrangements in place and also work with government to make sure that policy is directed sensibly at producing a good set of arrangements for this year's exams.— for this year's exams. thank you very much _ for this year's exams. thank you very much for— for this year's exams. thank you very much for your _ for this year's exams. thank you very much for your time - for this year's exams. thank you very much for your time today. i for this year's exams. thank you - very much for your time today. thank ou. a study has found that around 1a % of england's population has

evidence of antibodies against the coronavirus. more than 155,000 people were tested in the latest react survey, conducted by researchers from imperial college london. the study also found more evidence that the pfizer—biontech vaccine is producing a good antibody response. dr nighat arif, a gp distributing covid vaccines, is keen to fight vaccine myths. i spoke to her earlier. we as health care professionals know there is hesitancy of the uptake of covid—19 vaccine in ethnic minority communities and there is lots being done about it. the important thing is, this is a global pandemic, the only way it works is if we all get immunity from it, we drive down the virus, drive down the number of contaminations, because then there is less chance of people being affected and hospitalisation. the whole point of lockdown as we have had lockdown number three now is that we do not want to put more pressure on health care professionals, because we are struggling, we are slammed, and in order to keep our individual communities safe, everyone has to take it up.

the reason there is hesitancy is multifactual, very complex. there are historic health inequalities, issues amongst the fact that there was very little participation of black, asian and ethnic minority communities, only 6%, in the trials as well. something that is new and unfamiliar is obviously going to make you really hesitant and nervous and that is across all the board as well. there is lots of misinformation out there, lots of myths as well and social media, because we are all plugged into social media, that is where the tide is really against us, because the amount of misinformation is unregulated, anyone can say whatever they want about that vaccine, and people believe it. the work that is being done around it, there is the halo project, we are trying to counteract some of the social backlash we are getting, because we need to make sure people are making informed decisions, because lives are at risk if someone does not take up the vaccine and the variants or infection come in and then we are back to square one. what is the most powerful and effective way of educating people and making them realise

that the vaccine is a good idea? multiple ways. people who are champions within their communities and actually talking to their community in a language they can understand, in information that is disseminated in a way that is appropriate to their cultural norms. if you've bought a new mobile phone in the last five years, you could be in line for some cash back. the consumer group which is seeking over £a80 million in damages from us tech giant qualcomm. it believes qualcomm broke uk competition law, resulting in them charging manufacturers inflated fees for technology licenses, which were then passed down to us in the form of higher smartphone prices. about 29 million people in the uk may be entitled to compensation of up to £30 each. qualcomm says there's no basis to the lawsuit. our business correspondent victoria fritz told me more.

you would be hard pressed not to find a qualcomm chip in some way in your home, whether a smartphone, samsung, apple,or others as well. but also things like smart cars for example, wearable technology, audio, the headphones i'm using right now, these chips are absolutely everywhere and it is this dominance that they have in the market that has been worrying regulators right across the world. they make 23 and a half billion dollars last year in revenues, most of those revenues from chip—making, but much of the profit comes from this very lucrative but controversial element of business which is licensing of patents. when it comes to smartphones, samsung and apple have to pay special licences to qualcomm for the pleasure and privilege of having those chips inside those phones. they power our lives and we use them as the remote controls for our entire lives and which is saying those inflated costs

for manufactures are passed on to consumers, so they have launched this collective action. it is now going to the competition appeal tribunal and if it is successful, it may go further. qualcomm may settle early, and this is where which are getting this figure of £30 per customer for phones which were bought by 2015. may be enough to buy your first round in the pub, but not one to spend just yet. how will people know if they are entitled to it? the best thing to do in that instance is to go on to the website, the which website, and it will show you whether or not you are able to join this action and whether or not you will be eligible for it. all the details are there. you will be able to find out more information there. the average payout is something like £17. there are lots of ifs and buts as to whether this will happen and

qualcomm have said there is no legal basis for this lawsuit and they have actually pointed people towards a judgment that was made in the united states in 2017 where very similar charges were brought against the company and they were dismissed by a panel of nine judges unanimously. so it has failed before, but saying that, qualcomm has been in hot water with the european commission for example, had to pay out £858 million in fines because of deals with apple and a similar situation, 2a2 million fine over a four—year investigation to 3g, so certainly no stranger to law suits, but maybe just the cost of doing business. the supermarket chain asda says it has begun consulting with workers over a major restructuring of the business which could put about 5,000 jobs at risk, including 3,000 supportjobs. the company says the restructuring has been driven by the "structural shift" in shopping habits during the pandemic. proposed cuts would include in areas such as cash management, where there is less work as more

people shop online. the company says it plans to create a,500 jobs as it expands its online offering. you're watching bbc news. talks to try to secure the future of the vauxhall car plant in ellesmere port will continue today. discussions between government officials and company management have been taking place and an announcement is expected within a8 hours. nearly 1000 people work at the factory in cheshire, and many more are involved in the supply chain. the government says a.7 million workers across the uk were furloughed by the end of january. figures show the cost of the programme since the start of the pandemic is £53.8 billion. separately, the office for national statistics says business have furloughed 20% of their staff as of early this month. the headlines on bbc news:

teachers in england will decide their students' gcse and a level grades this summer after the outcry over last yea r�*s results. princess latifa, the captive daughter of dubai's ruler, asks british police to re—investigate the disappearance of her sister 20 years ago. asda warns 3000 jobs could be at risk as part of a major re—organisation of the business. good afternoon. news first on a remarkable second day in the third test, with england up against india. so often the man to produce the runs, captainjoe root came up with the wickets, five of them forjust eight runs as india were all out for 1a5. but he's back at the crease as england look to survive a real wobble in reply,

with india three down from day one, jack leach took two wickets before joe root ripped through india's lower order taking five wickets for just eight runs. india all out for 1a5 — a lead ofjust 33 runs. looking good for england at that point. but in reply zak crawley went with the first ball, jonny bairstow the third and england were in real trouble at nought for two. dom sibley went for seven, and ben stokes who'd threatened to build a partnership withjoe root hasjust gone for 17. england in reply now 50— four. what a day it has been there so far. george north will win his 100th wales cap, when they play england in cardiff in the six nationls on saturday. he's been recalled to the starting line—up, after missing the win over scotland with a foot injury. north will play at centre alongsidejonathan davies, also back from injury. wales have a 100% record so far.

there's a blow for england — lock courtney lawes is out, after he suffered a chest injury in training yesterday, mark wilson comes in. hooker jamie george returns to the starting line—up — he was among a long list of players dropped after the defeat to scotland in their opening match. he replaces luke cowan—dickie, one of only two changes from the side that beat italy. leicester teenager george martin is set to make his debut off the bench. ireland skipperjohnny sexton returns for their match against italy in rome, along with vice—captainjames ryan — they've both recovered from head injuries. there are seven changes in all to the ireland side, with a revamped front row — they've made their worst start to a six nations campaign, with defeats to wales and france. france have suspended training after another positive covid—19 result in the squad — the entire group is in isolation. they're due to play scotland on sunday, but that's been thrown into doubt again. it was decided yesterday

that the game could go ahead, despite 10 positive tests, but this latest result means the six nations committee will look at the options again today. a decision to be made after another positive test in the camp. 0n the cricket, england now 56—5, a big wicket for captainjoe root, so wicket for captain joe root, so england really up wicket for captainjoe root, so england really up against it wicket for captain joe root, so england really up against it now wicket for captainjoe root, so england really up against it now on day two. that's all the sport for now. i'll have more for you in the next hour. thank you very much. a bit of breaking news from the house of lords. lord fowler has announced he will step down earlier is expected as a speaker, he wants to focus on campaigning on hiv aids and other issues. his parliamentary career spanned more than half a century, he is now 83. he said he has taken the decision to end his five year tenure in april, a few months earlier than

planned, to return to the back benches to sit as an independent pr, when he served in successive conservative governments in a range of different roles. he has been the scene to transform the house of lords in some respects by allowing more backbenchers to raise issues on the floor. he says his main reason for stepping down now is that he wants to campaign on a range of international issues, particularly regarding public health. last week, bbc news reported on the plight of princess latifa, who claimed she was being held captive by her father, the ruler of dubai, sheik mohammed rashid al maktoum. now, the bbc can reveal another development in the case, this time raising questions for britain. it centres around allegations that latifa's sister, shamsa, was also abducted by their father while she was living in the uk, and an investigation by cambridgeshire police which was closed due to insufficient evidence. special correspondent

nawal al—maghafi reports. sheikh mohammed rashid al maktoum. the billionaire ruler of dubai, and one of the most powerful men in the middle east. last week, the bbc released secret recordings of his daughter, princess latifa. in them, she claims he is responsible for her abduction and imprisonment. the messages sparked international concerns. but latifa is not the only daughter of to try to escape. 20 years ago, her sister shamsa ran away from the family estate in surrey. in 2000, my sister shamsa, while she was on holiday in england, she was 18 years old, going on 19. she ran away. so, yeah, after two months, they found her. the police launched an investigation, but it hit a dead end. now the bbc has obtained exclusive letter written by princess latifa from her captivity. in it, a plea to reopen

her sister's case. the letter, delivered by her friends yesterday to cambridgeshire police, says... we have pieced together shamsa's extraordinary story. she was a passionate horse rider and loved spending summers at her father's estate in the surrey countryside. shamsa was cheeky, liked to push all the boundaries and she wasn't what you would call a princess. you know? she was full of life and adventure. she dreamt of going to university, but says that her father wouldn't allow it. so in the summer of the year 2000, she drove a black range rover to the edge of the estate and she ran away. after shamsa escaped her father's

estate, she lived as a free woman for around two months. she then checked into this hotel in cambridge. suddenly, herfather�*s operatives arrived and she was captured. by sam the next morning, she was on a helicopter to northern france, where she was transferred to a private jet that took her to dubai. on her enforced return to dubai, shamsa was kept locked up for the next eight years. she was then released from confinement, but her life remained heavily controlled. we spoke to someone who had regular contact with after she was released. she was tranquilized all the time. everything she did was controlled. there was no sparki in shamsa any more. there was no fight in her. and i understand that people can't get their head around it. _ theyjust see some rich girl. it's not like that at all. it's horrific. the uae government maintain that shamsa and latifa are cherished and adored by their family.

they are yet to prove that they are still alive and well. nawal al—maghafi, bbc news. cambridgeshire police have told the bbc that the letter will be considered in their ongoing review of the disappearance of princess shamsa. a quick bit of breaking news regarding the six nations game between france and scotland due to take place in paris this sunday, we are hearing now that the game is to be postponed because of an outbreak of covid—19 within the french team. it was only yesterday it was confirmed the match would go ahead, but it has now been postponed. the outbreak has seen ten french players contract coronavirus and they are now all in isolation. so the match between france and scotland in the six nations this sunday has been postponed.

the prime minister has been visiting a school in lancashire this morning — let's hear what he had to say to reporters about the plans for exams in england and firstly, pupils returing to classrooms next month. what we are doing is the right thing, to get all our students, pupils, back on march the 8th. i think that is what parents, teachers, and overwhelmingly what pupils want to do. i have just been talking to some of them here at accrington academy and they are really looking forward to it. they have done very well learning remotely, they have stuck with it, it has been productive and got better, i think, it has been productive and got better, ithink, overthe it has been productive and got better, i think, over the course of the lockdowns, but the best place for kids is in school and they have absolutely no doubt about it, the pupils themselves. fin absolutely no doubt about it, the

pupils themselves. on assessments, ou caved pupils themselves. on assessments, you caved in — pupils themselves. on assessments, you caved in teachers' _ pupils themselves. on assessments, you caved in teachers' demands - pupils themselves. on assessments, you caved in teachers' demands and | you caved in teachers' demands and in doing so have you not created a nightmarish appeals process? in an ideal world he _ nightmarish appeals process? in an ideal world he would _ nightmarish appeals process? in an ideal world he would not _ nightmarish appeals process? i�*i an ideal world he would not have taken the kids out of school because of a pandemic, we would not have been forced to do this and in an ideal world we would be continuing with exams as you normally have them and the best place for kids is in the classroom, the best way to check on kids' process is with normal exams, but i think this is as good a compromise as we can come to, i think it will be fair, durable and it is the right way forward. the conservative former chancellor, philip hammond, has told bbc news that boris johnson must tell "the british people some home truths" about the state of the economy. the covid crisis has seen public spending and borrowing rise steeply. speaking in the run up to the budget next wednesday, lord hammond told our political editor laura kuenssberg said he was concerned the government

would put popularity first. i am very confident that the chancellor's instincts are the right ones, but he is part of a government, and that government has made very extravagant commitments to the british electorate, in good faith, before the coronavirus crisis. not all of those commitments can now sensibly be delivered on and that is going to be a big challenge for a government that regards its short—term popularity as very, very important. after 2010, we always knew that we were going to go through a period of intense unpopularity as we implemented the measures that needed to be taken. i am not sure that the top leadership of the current government really has that appetite for being unpopular in order to do the right thing. and to do the right thing for the economy, the prime minister needs to be willing to be unpopular, you're saying? i think he's going to have to tell the british people some difficult home truths.

we have done, over the last year, the fiscal equivalent of fighting a war. and as we know, people who lived through the 1950s know, that the legacy effects of fighting that war will be with us for a very long time. the social media network facebook has blocked the myanmar military from using its platform, following the coup in early february and the protests which followed. facebook is used by half of the population in myanmar, so the move takes away a crucial means for the junta to communicate with people. in a statement, facebook said the risks of allowing the myanmar army on its platforms "are too great". the social media giant has faced criticisms in the past over the use of the site to incite hatred against rohingya muslims. a little earlier i spoke to mike isaac, technology reporter for the new york times in san francisco, and he told me

more about the impact of this move. depending on who you ask, it is either right about time or facebook is long overdue, considering the fact that the platform has been used by the military in myanmar to do this sort of stuff for a very long time, especially acting out and inciting mass murder and rape against the rohingya muslims. so i think the thinking is thankfully they did it, from a number of human rights activists and it will be much more difficult for the military to sort of spread messages that are probably false to the rest of the population to facebook, especially because, for people in myanmar, often facebook is the internet rather than another different channel. so i do think it will be effective. it is more did they do it soon enough or should they have done this two or three years ago? now it's time for a look

at the weather with carol kirkwood. hello again. temperatures are going to remain mild for late february for the next few days. what we have today is a lot of dry weather, a fair bit of sunshine, a weak weather front in the south—east producing thick cloud and some light rain and drizzle and some showers coming in on a brisk wind across northern and western scotland. we are going to see some showers, well scattered, though, across northern ireland and west wales and north—west england with a temperature range of eight to about 13—1a. tonight under clear skies, the temperatures fall away. some showers around but thicker cloud will move in across parts of scotland and north—western parts of northern ireland. for you, the temperature will hold up. this means tomorrow, some of us will be starting with some frost and patchy mist and fog which will lift and then there will be a lot of dry weather, although at times, a bit more cloud in western scotland and also western parts of northern ireland. but some of that should break and you should see some sunshine as well. temperatures 8—12 degrees.

hello, this is bbc news. let's cross live to holyrood where nicola sturgeon is taking first minister's questions. good afternoon we will begin with first minister's questions, but first_ first minister's questions, but first we — first minister's questions, but first we invite the first minister to speak— first we invite the first minister to speak on the covid pandemic. over 600 cases were _ to speak on the covid pandemic. or 600 cases were reported yesterday, and the total number of cases now stands at 200,a06, and there are currently 967 people in hospital, 51 fewer than yesterday, and 89 people in intensive care, forfewer than

yesterday. i also regret to report that in the past 2a hours, a further 31 deaths were registered and that means the total number of people have died under that daily measurement from covid is now 708a and i want to send my condolences to everyone that has lost a loved one. turning to vaccination, 1 million, 500,000 have now received the first dose, that is an increase of 27,903 since yesterday. the fact that more than 1.5 million have now received the first dose of vaccination is a milestone. we have given a first dose to one third of the adult population, and virtually everyone in the top four clinical priority groups. 85% of 65—69 —year—olds have now had a first dose, so we continue to be on course to complete that group by early march, and subject to

supply, we expect to be able to offer first doses to all over 50 euros and to all adults with an underlying health condition by the 15th of april. i can also confirm that 56,000 people have received a second dose, an increase of 65a0 from yesterday, and significantly, around a third of residents in older people's care homes have already received a second dose, and from monday next week will start to publish that figure on a daily basis. 0nce publish that figure on a daily basis. once again, i want to take the opportunity to record my thanks to everyone involved in administering the vaccines and everyone who is coming forward to receive them. finally, the latest estimate of the r number will be published shortly, we expected to remain below one, but not perhaps very far below. that underlines the fact that although everything is currently heading in a positive direction, there are still limited

scope and why we continue to take a careful step—by—step approach. indicative dates police instructions are given for the next six weeks, the timeframe we can be most confident about. that approach allows to monitor the impact of initial changes and also means we can accelerate the easing, should the data support that. we will set out more information as we are able to over the next few weeks. before now, as vaccines do their work, it is vital we proceed with caution. i would ask people for now to stick with the sage advice, it is very difficult but also working. it is allowing the vaccination programme time to do isjob allowing the vaccination programme time to do is job and suppress the virus. i would ask people to continue staying at home and thank them for doing so.— them for doing so. which to press minister's questions, _ them for doing so. which to press minister's questions, i _ them for doing so. which to press minister's questions, i call - them for doing so. which to press minister's questions, i call ruth i minister's questions, i call ruth davidson — minister's questions, i call ruth davidson. | minister's questions, i call ruth davidson. ., ., ., .,

davidson. i have nothing to hide on this, nothing _ davidson. i have nothing to hide on this, nothing whatsoever, - davidson. i have nothing to hide on this, nothing whatsoever, that - davidson. i have nothing to hide on this, nothing whatsoever, that is i this, nothing whatsoever, that is what nicola sturgeon said about the alex salmond crisis engulfing her government in this parliament. if she has nothing to hide, can at the press minister if she will publish her evidence to james hamilton qc over multiple ministerial court breaches? —— first minister. i over multiple ministerial court breaches? -- first minister. i have no objections. _ breaches? -- first minister. i have no objections, he _ breaches? -- first minister. i have no objections, he is _ breaches? -- first minister. i have no objections, he is currently - no objections, he is currently considering that an out of courtesy to james hamilton it is a matterfor him as and when he wants to publish that. i think him as and when he wants to publish that. ithink ifi him as and when he wants to publish that. i think if i was to try to do anything that interrupted the proper investigation and process of that, i would understandably perhaps face criticism. so i have absolutely no difficulty with that been published, if james difficulty with that been published, ifjames hamilton doesn't publish it himself — when he issues that report, that things go is a matter for him, then i would be more than happy to consider publishing it afterwards, but what i will not do is seek to interrupt or interfere with the process he is currently engaged in. fin

with the process he is currently engaged in-_ with the process he is currently enaed in. , engaged in. on monday the first minister summoned _ engaged in. on monday the first minister summoned journalists l engaged in. on monday the first| minister summoned journalists to engaged in. on monday the first - minister summoned journalists to her office and challenged alex salmond is produce his evidence. 0nly office and challenged alex salmond is produce his evidence. only for the crown to then demand that sections be censored. alex salmond's evidence takes this, the first minister told parliament she first learned of the complaints against me when i visited her home in the 2nd of april 2018, that is untrue and dizzy breach of ministerial code. first minister, that is one of the section is can't intervene with parliament to remove, despite the fact it has been widely published elsewhere. it doesn't risk identifying complainers, which we all agree is an important safeguard for women, who have already been grossly let down by her government, what is it about those two sentences of evidence that is so damaging that they should be censored? 0r of evidence that is so damaging that they should be censored? or is it just that they are damaging to the first minister?— first minister? first of all, the fact that ruth _ first minister? first of all, the fact that ruth davidson - first minister? first of all, the fact that ruth davidson has i first minister? first of all, the i fact that ruth davidson has stood up and perfectly legitimately recounted that version of events, which of course i will give my own account

when i appear before the committee next week, it demonstrates that all of mr salmon cosmic allegations and claims about me are in the public domain, they have been widely reported and i would fully expect, have always fully expected to be fully and in detail questioned about it when i appear before the committee next week. there is nothing in terms of publication or non—publication of evidence that has allowed me to expect anything else. i absolutely expect to be published on all and every aspect of this, and i will answer those questions fully and to the best of my ability, people canjudge and to the best of my ability, people can judge those answers as they see fit. what i will say is this, scrutiny of me and the scottish government, because the scottish government, because the scottish government, because the scottish government has made a mistake in this process, is notjust legitimate, it is absolutely necessary. i don't shy away from that, i have waited a long time now to appear before the committee, and i am glad that i will finally have

that opportunity next week, but anyone who is suggesting that the prosecution decisions are decisions that the crown 0ffice takes in terms of upholding court orders is in anyway politically influenced or politically driven is notjust wrong and notjust completely lacking any single shred of evidence to back that claim up, i would also suggest they are signing up to a dangerous and quite deluded conspiracy theory. that risks undermining the integrity and the well—deserved reputation of scotland's independentjustice system. and political debate is right and proper, politics is not, should not be for the faint—hearted, but i think all of us actually have a duty to conduct those debates any way that doesn't unfairly trashed the reputation of people who are doing theirjobs, chewing them independently of government.

applause providing officer, here's why all the reduction part of alex salmond's evidence are important, because they are exactly the part that expose refreshments. 0n the bbc twice she claimed not to know anything of sexual misconduct claims before april, and three september she told parliament she found out from salmond himself that month —— three separate times. she has been desperate to shut down everything from the secret meeting the month before because it wrecks her whole argument and confirmed she misled parliament. the truth is, she knew about those allegations before april 2018, and worse, we know now, she discussed sexual harassment complaints against alex salmond with a chief executive, chief civil servant and chief of staff in november at four months earlier. does the first minister understand why to the public this looks like a cover—up when the exact evidence

thatis cover—up when the exact evidence that is being redacted is the most damaging to her personally? you see, the problem — damaging to her personally? you see, the problem with _ damaging to her personally? you see, the problem with ruth _ damaging to her personally? you see, the problem with ruth davidson i the problem with ruth davidson standing appear and recounting all of this and suggesting that it is some kind of cover—up is this, every single allegation and claim and assertion that she has just made their was included in the written evidence that i submitted to the committee and that has since been published. i submitted that, if memory serves me correctly, back in august last year. i have been waiting since then to appear before the committee, so all of that, the meeting on the 2nd of april, the meeting on the 2nd of april, the meeting three days earlier on the 29th of march, 2018, the fact that a completely separate matter, a media query came to the snp in november 2017, that is not a cover—up. i put that in my written evidence and submitted it to the committee months ago. people can go on to the scottish parliament website right now if they want and look at that. it is not a cover—up, i expect to be

fully questioned on all of these matters when i said before that committee, at long last, on wednesday of next week. wednesday, i think by my count, is the sixth date i have had in my diary to appear before this committee, they have all been postponed up until now by the committee, for reasons i understand, but i want to sit in front of that committee and i want to address all of these questions. scrutiny of me, as i said earlier, it is important, necessary, entirely legitimate. what is not legitimate is to pursue a conspiracy theory, a scorched earth policy that threatens the reputation and integrity of scotland's independentjustice institutions, just because you happen to dislike this government and to sacrifice all of that, if i may say so, presiding officer, on the altar of the ego of one man. applause people can see your reflection for

what it is, first minister. just answer the questions. this sorry affair isn'tjust tarnishing the first minister's reputation, it is damaging the institutions that it is her responsibility to uphold. majority votes by this chamber to produce legal advice, ignored, crucial evidence freely available elsewhere censored. promises of openness and transparency broken. the chief executive of scotland's ruling party caught calling for the police to be pressured, the reputation of the scottish government tainted, the standing of this parliament diminished, a culture of secrets and cover—up that is only growing, and it is all taking place on nicola sturgeon's watch. there is one further question i want to ask, first minister, is saving your own skin with all the damage you are doing? the most

im ortant damage you are doing? the most important thing — damage you are doing? the most important thing to _ damage you are doing? the most important thing to me _ damage you are doing? the most important thing to me is - damage you are doing? the most important thing to me is the i important thing to me is the reputation of our country, the integrity of our institutions, and i will always act in a way that protects exactly that. you know, there is a reputation here that is perhaps disintegrating before our eyes and it is not mine, may i say, but ruth davidson has just gone through there a litany of nonsense. she accuses me of the flexion, what deflection? she asked me in a previous question about meetings on the 2nd of april and the 29th of march 2018, kiss may be cover—up, simplicity and said it is a strange cover—up —— accused me of a cover—up. —— i simply stood there and set it is for a cover—up when i have published the evidence, i have been waiting for five months to beef peer before a committee, and i am simply making the point that it used to be possible and as possible in this country to have rigorous, robust debate without a scorched earth policy of conspiracy theory

and damaging the integrity of the institutions in the country. it is not me doing that, it is me seeking to stand up to them. can i say this, presiding officer, finally, ruth davidson once to lecture the rest of us about democratic integrity, but thatis us about democratic integrity, but that is the same ruth davidson who is about to depart the selected institution, dodge an election, take a seat in the unelected house of lords, where she will pursue a political career at the taxpayers' expense, but never have to ask voters for their permission ever again. i don't think ruth davidson is in the position to lecture anyone about democracy. applause thank you, presiding officer. applause before i even start. the heart of the committee, set up to

consider the scottish cup in's handling of harassment complaints are two women who have been failed by the government. the committee's role is not to investigate the complaints, but to understand what went wrong, why the women were failed, so that women can never be let down like this again. i welcome the first minister coming to the committee next week, but it is legitimate to explore some of the issues in the context of the ministerial code investigation led by james ministerial code investigation led byjames hamilton qc. 0ne ministerial code investigation led byjames hamilton qc. one such issue concerns meetings held with alex salmond's former chief of staff. those meetings where the precursor to the discussion between alex salmond and the first minister herself. astonishingly, i understand that the identity of one of the original civil service complaints was revealed to the former chief of staff and then conveyed to mr salmond. this is an extraordinary breach of confidentiality, on whose

authority was his contact initiated with mr salmon's —— mr salmon's former chief of staff? that action was certainly not about protecting the interest of the women involved. the first minister authorise the contact? and if not, who did? i will! contact? and if not, who did? i will answer all— contact? and if not, who did? i will answer all these _ contact? and if not, who did? i will answer all these questions when i appear before the committee in detail, but it seems that jackie baillie is standing here before i have had the opportunity to stand before the committee and accepting at face value alex salmond's account of all of this. i do not accept alex and's account of much of this, which is why when i said before the committee, i will go through in detail what actually happened and what did not happen, and i think thatis what did not happen, and i think that is the rate we are proceeding. when i do agree with jackie is that there are women at the heart of this. i have been accused behind, when in actualfact

this. i have been accused behind, when in actual fact i this. i have been accused behind, when in actualfact i am this. i have been accused behind, when in actual fact i am seeking to stand up for them, because their voices and there might have been sidelined, motives malign, accused of being conspirators in this whole process. that is normally deeply unfair to the women concerned, that is deeply unfair to the efforts, i think most of his appeal, to create a culture in scotland where women feel they can come forward with complaints. i want the women to be at the heart of all of these discussions, but can i say to jackie baillie, excepting at face value the conspiracy theories and the account of the man that the woman accused of harassing them, seems to me to be quite a strange way of supporting and standing up for those women. applause. it is appropriate for the first minister to come before this chamber and answer questions, because this, at the quarterback, is about her judgment and leadership, and absolutely this is about the woman.

the women who were failed by the government was now botched handling of their complaints, standing up for a woman takes more than warm words, but a complainant was named. that is not the conspiracy theory, a complainant was named. that is a fundamental breakdown in trust. it is beyond belief that anyone would tell the name of the complainant to the former chief of staff for alex salmond, which was then passed on to mr salmond. how unhappy is not about protecting women? because it is encroached them at gross breach of confidentiality. given her comments yesterday, why on earth that she repeatedly agreed to meetings with him even after she knew about the serious allegations against him? how is that helping the women who had complained?— complained? firstly, alex salmond claims that the _ complained? firstly, alex salmond claims that the name _ complained? firstly, alex salmond claims that the name of _ complained? firstly, alex salmond claims that the name of a - claims that the name of a complainant was kevin. that is not

the same thing as saying or accepting that that is the case. —— claims that the name of the complaining was gavin. i plan to speak claims that a name was given. —— claims that a name was given. i heard that when my written evidence was published, i set out that one of the things alex salmond asked me to do was to intervene to bring about a process of mediation, i declined because i did not think it was appropriate. i heard jackie do an interview seeming to suggest i should have done that, should have intervene to bring about the process of mediation. along the way here i have faced accusations of collusion with alex salmond, accusations of

conspiracy against him, hopefully by the time i get to the committee they will have made up their mind which one it is they are seeking to accuse me of. the fact of the matter is, neither of these things are true. when i became aware of the complaints, i declined to intervene because i thought it was important a process happened. for somebody in my position, somebody hearing what my predecessor, close colleague, friend of 30 years was accused of, the easier thing to do perhaps, and perhaps eating in days gone by that would have been done was to sweep these complaints under the carpet and not to allow them to be properly investigated. i opted not to do that, and whatever difficulties have happened since then, whatever pain it has been caused to lots of people in this process, i don't regret not sweeping the complaints under the carpet, because that was the right thing to do. applause.

there is an inconvenient fact you for the first minister, and it is no alex salmond claims, it is not about conspiracy, it is the fact that the former chief of staff to alex salmond said that in one of these meetings the name of one of the civil service complainant was given to him. �* it civil service complainant was given to him-- it is _ civil service complainant was given to him.- it is interesting, l to him. alleged! it is interesting, -residina to him. alleged! it is interesting, presiding officer, _ to him. alleged! it is interesting, presiding officer, the _ to him. alleged! it is interesting, presiding officer, the more - to him. alleged! it is interesting, presiding officer, the more noise| to him. alleged! it is interesting, i presiding officer, the more noise is from snp bench is the more i appreciate the difficulty they are in. there we go, it is starting again. can i say, this is an inconvenient facts, and it is extraordinary that this was revealed. presiding officer, this week's column because my democratic institutions have been exposed in their inability to hold the government to account. the crown 0ffice intervene with the parliament, resulting in evidence being removed. evidence that anyone of us can currently access on reputable news websites. we have a

government that is refusing to co—operate, denying the committee access to the legal advice they obtain for the judicial review that cost the taxpayer £600,000. and they rushed through harassment policy lies on the shelf gathering dust. it is not being used in the last three years, at a time when there are more complaints against nicola sturgeon's ministers than there were under her predecessor. we have seen this week that there is something rotten at the core of the snp, and it is poisoning our democratic institutions. this isn'tjust about alex salmond, this isn't even just about the internal problems in the snp, this is about the treatment of women in the future. what is the first minister going to do to make that right? first minister going to do to make that riuht? ~ ., , first minister going to do to make that riaht? ., , first minister going to do to make that riuht? . ., , ., that right? what is poisoning our democratic _ that right? what is poisoning our democratic institutions, - that right? what is poisoning our democratic institutions, in - that right? what is poisoning our democratic institutions, in my i that right? what is poisoning our. democratic institutions, in my view, our politicians standing up and

hurling assertions and accusations without a shred of evidence. applause i think that is something all of us need to seriously reflect on. it is interesting that jackie baillie stands up here and takes as gospel, i'm not sure when she became chief spokesperson for alex salmond, but she stands up in this chamber and takes his gospel. every claim that alex salmon makes. when alex salmond was standing here she didn't believe a single word he said. why don't we allow all of these claims, alex salmond's tomorrow, may next week to be properly scrutinised by the committee, and then people can make up committee, and then people can make up their own minds. at the heart of this are women, women who came forward with complaints, first of the scottish government, literature the scottish government, literature the police and the police independently investigated all of the. it was right that the scottish government put in place a process to allow complaints to be investigated, it was right there when they came to

light, before i knew about them, that the government didn't sweep them under the carpet, albeit the government made a mistake, and when i became aware it was right, in my view, that i did not collude with alex salmond to make them go away or sweep them under the carpet. that may have led to difficulties, it is certainly made alex salmond very angry with me. i think that is self evident. but that was the great thing to do, because if we are to be a country where women can come forward, then all the buzz, yes, we need to have a rigorous political debate, but we all need to respect the independent institutions, the justice system, highly respected, and all of this institution so that scotland is a place with a coach assessed women, if you have been harassed, no matter how powerful the person who had you may be, you can come forward and your claims will be treated seriously. applause. jackie baillie has made a very serious point about the handling of a name of a complainer over to alex salmond's chief comments are to be clear, is the first minister saying

categorically categorically that that did not happen? that the name of a complainer was not passed on to the former chief of staff of alex salmond before the meeting on the 2nd of april? t0 salmond before the meeting on the 2nd of april?— salmond before the meeting on the 2nd of april? to the very best of my knowledge. — 2nd of april? to the very best of my knowledge. i _ 2nd of april? to the very best of my knowledge. i do _ 2nd of april? to the very best of my knowledge, i do not— 2nd of april? to the very best of my knowledge, i do not think _ 2nd of april? to the very best of my knowledge, i do not think that i knowledge, i do not think that happened. knowledge, i do not think that happened-— knowledge, i do not think that ha -ened. . . ., ., , ., happened. what i want to understand as, happened. what i want to understand as. following — happened. what i want to understand as, following the _ happened. what i want to understand as, following the revelation _ happened. what i want to understand as, following the revelation that i as, following the revelation that this was an allegation, that the first minister herself investigate this matter to find out the truth as to whether this information was passed on? because an absence of actions on this from the first minister would be negligent in that respect, because there is corroborating evidence that this did happen, so is the first minister saying that they are lying? it is not my belief _ saying that they are lying? it is not my belief that _ saying that they are lying? it is not my belief that that happened, but there is a committee process under way right now. there is also process separate to the committee with the independent adviser on the ministerial code is looking at all of these matters, and what i am doing is allowing these processes to take their course. i think that is

the right and proper way for me to proceed. the right and proper way for me to roceed. , ~ ., ., ., _, , proceed. this week national records of scotland revealed _ proceed. this week national records of scotland revealed that _ proceed. this week national records of scotland revealed that before i proceed. this week national records of scotland revealed that before the pandemic stroke, scotland had the highest death rate amongst homeless people in the uk. as we recoverfrom the pandemic, we mustn't contemplate going back to the way things were, to a broken economy that allows too many to fall through the cracks. we have seen unparalleled efforts to tackle rough sleeping through this crisis... , ~ , ., , tackle rough sleeping through this crisis... , ~ , , crisis... first minister was my question _ crisis... first minister was my question is — crisis... first minister was my question is there _ crisis... first minister was my question is there with - crisis... first minister was my question is there with nicola l question is there with nicola sturgeon, answering some rather robust questions from members of the scottish parliament. nicola sturgeon due to give evidence next week, into an enquiry on alex salmond, former snp leader, accused the snp party and scottish government officials of and scottish government officials of a campaign to have him removed from public life. you will remember mr

salmond was cleared of 13 charges of sexual assault at the trial in march 2020. if you would like to see more of that discussion, you can watch it on the scottish parliament website. and also on our website, the bbc website, underthe and also on our website, the bbc website, under the scotland tab. now it's time for a look at the weather with chris fawkes. hello again. yesterday, we saw the warmest day of the year so far, with temperatures just over 18 degrees in parts of eastern england. those kinds of temperatures really high for february. about 10 celsius above average. more likely temperatures we will see in late may orjune. something of a change today, we have this area of cloud and rain. a weatherfront, a cold front, bringing some slightly less toasty air and across the uk. the highest temperatures will actually be pushed further eastwards, with southerly winds bringing heat�*s to parts of northern europe, and the one coming in of the atlantic, it

will to be mild but not as toasty as it was yesterday. let's take a look at those all—important temperatures. this afternoon, i think most of us getting to around 10—12 c, probably some twelves in the greater london area. looking at the weather picture overnight on it, an area of high pressure is going to start to building across the uk. the wenvoe folate everywhere, and for the majority of us, we will have clear skies. it will be quite a chilly night, temperatures getting low enough for some pockets of roast, particularly in the countryside. for some it will be hla started the day on friday. maybe a little bit of rain from this weather system to start the day in shetland, but moving away and quite cloudy across the far north—west of scotland. some bright and sunny spells. for most of the uk, a fine day, lengthy spells of sunshine around and temperatures, still above average, 10—12. the

average in london is about nine this time of year, but it is 12. both saturday and sunday continue to see the area of high pressure dominic, however we will see this weather front approach and this could thicken up enough to bring the odd patch to northern scotland. for most of us it will stay dry before the of sunshine coming and going. temperatures, mailed again, 10—1a c. sunday, more of the same. most of next week is looking fine, dry and mild. that is your weather.

teachers will decide gcse and a—level grades in england this summer, to avoid a repeat of last yea r�*s exams chaos. the education secretary gavin williamson said no algorithms will be used, and students will be sent their results earlier than usual. exam boards will be issuing grade descriptions to help teachers make sure their assessments are fair and consistent. i think most education professionals will accept that this is the best way forward, under very difficult circumstances. we'll be getting reaction from pupils and teachers. also in the programme: "a dangerous and quite deluded conspiracy theory" — nicola sturgeon dismisses allegations that she's breached the ministerial code in a case against her predecessor, predecessor, alex salmond.