president biden has held his first telephone conversation with king salman of saudi arabia, ahead of the us releasing an intelligence report about the murder of saudi journalistjamal khashoggi. mr biden says he wants to recalibrate relations between the two countries, with more emphasis on human rights. the president has also held a ceremony to mark the vaccination of 50 million americans against the coronavirus. mr biden said the us was weeks ahead of schedule on the path to immunising 100 million people, which was a key election promise before his first 100 days in office. the queen has made her most forthright comments on the coronavirus vaccine programme. she said her covid—19 vaccination "didn't hurt at all" and urged those hesitant about getting a jab to be selfless and think of other people. the queen was speaking on a video call to health leaders. now on bbc news,

the week in parliament. hello and welcome to the week in parliament as borisjohnson sets out his plan to reopen england, slowly easing lockdown between now and the end ofjune. a wretched year will give way to a spring and a summer that will be very different and incomparably better than the picture we see around us today. labour says this has to be the last shutdown and welcomes the data—driven approach. i'm glad the prime minister spoke today of caution, of this being irreversible, of assessing the data and following the evidence. those are the right guiding principles. the education secretary announces that teachers will grade exams in england this summer. young people will be ablel

to look forward to the next stage of their lives with confidence. . but labour thinks he could have acted sooner. i can't help wondering why he only trusts teachers when there's a chance to make them responsible for what happens with exams, rather than his department. and the lords speaker announces he's to step down early to campaign on hiv and equality. i'm only 83, and unless i'm careful i will not have time to start my next career. but first: the prime minister has set out the steps to lifting england's coronavirus lockdown. in a commons statement he gave the earliest dates on which restrictions would be eased. the first change will see children return to class on march the 8th. shops, hairdressers, gyms and outdoor hospitality, including beer gardens are set to reopen on april the 12th if strict conditions are met, and indoor hopsitality such as cinemas, hotels, indoor pubs and restaurants from the 17th of may. with the final restrictions going by the end ofjune.

borisjohnson said he knew many people would think it "arrogant" to impose a plan on a virus. whilst others thought the succesful vaccination programme meant he should move faster. and i understand their feelings, and i sympathise very much with the exhaustion and the stress that people are experiencing and the businesses are experiencing after so long in lockdown. but to them, and to them all i say, that today the end really is in sight, mr speaker. and a wretched year will give way to a spring and a summer that will be very different, and incomparably better than the picture we see around us today. the labour leader welcomed the prime minister's cautious approach. but i know the prime minister will come under pressure from those on his own benches to go faster, and to throw caution to the wind. last week it was reported that

around 60 of his own members of parliament called for the end of all restrictions by the end of april. i'm sure there's going to be similar calls this afternoon. i hope the prime minister takes the opportunity to face this down, because if this road map is to work he needs to listen to the chief scientific officer, and the chief medical officer. not the honourable members for wickham or the forest of dean. a reference there to lockdown sceptic conservatives steve baker and mark harper. the labour leader urged the prime minister to stick to his careful approach. if the prime minister does, he will have our support and will secure a majority in the house. if he does not, we will waste all the sacrifices of the last 12 months. prime minister, your plan to end lockdown will be worthless if your insufficient quarantine measures allow a new variant in through the back door. people right across the united kingdom have continued to make huge sacrifices, children are not

yet physically at school, families are isolated, there's a loneliness epidemic. people are really struggling, and this can't be all for nothing. do not leave the back door open, do not risk all the hard work, all the sacrifices that have been made. workers across the uk - still face a hopeless choice. self isolating and suffering loss of earnings, or goingl to work with a risk i spreading the virus. ahead of the budget, _ will the prime minister commits to raising and expanding statutory sick pay once i and for all as a key long—term lesson to be learned - from this pandemic? we have increased benefits with the payment of £500, mr speaker, and other payments that we will make available, and our undertaking is to make sure that we are protecting people whether they are self—isolating or whether they are forced not to be able to work throughout the duration of the pandemic, which you will be hearing more about that from the chancellor on march the 3rd. but some conservatives wondered why restrictions couldn't be

lifted once everyone over 50 and all vulnerable people had been inoculated. those groups account for 99% of deaths, and around 80% of hospitalisations. so, for what reason once they have been vaccinated and protected from covid by the end of april at the latest, are, is there any need for restrictions to continue? the risk is, if you let the brakes off, madame deputy speaker, that the disease could surge up in such a way as again to rip through a large number of... rip through those groups that come in a way, alas i don't think anybody in this country would want to see. borisjohnson. the first minister of scotland announced her plan for reopening scotland's economy. shops, bars, restaurants, gyms and hairdressers are expected to re start in the last week of april. nicola sturgeon said there would be a "progressive easing" of restrictions before

then, with four people from two households allowed to meet outdoors from march 15th. the youngest pupils have already returned to classrooms with more going back in a phased return over the next few weeks. i know that people across the country are anxious for as much clarity as possible, i want to give as much as possible today while avoiding giving false assurance or picking arbitrary dates that have no grounding in this stage in any objective assessment. i am as confident as i can be that the staged timetable that i have set out today, from now until late april when the economy will start to substantially reopen is a reasonable one, and in mid—march when we have made further progress on vaccines and have greater understanding of the impact of the initial phase of school return, we can set out then more detail on the for the reopening that will take place over april and may, and into the summer

when we hope, really hope, to be living with much greater freedoms than we are today. there is nothing about what happens after the 26th of april. this is not a route map out of covid, it is a holding document for the next eight weeks. and everyone understands that we might not be able to give people absolute certainty, but they were expecting the first minister to give them some kind of hope. many will have tuned in today precisely because they were expecting to receive that. they did not tuned in today expecting to be told to tune in again in three weeks' time, and they have a right to be disappointed. i want to be optimistic, l and i am equally patient, but can i ask the first - minister what the ultimate goal is? because i think it's important that people understand - what lies ahead. is it suppression of the virus using testing, tracing - and vaccination but accepting there is some risk as we do. with flu each year? or is it elimination with zero covid and the prospect - of continuing restrictions over a longer period including - for the lockdown.

——further the lockdown. you've got to try for as close to elimination as possible in order to keep the virus as low as possible, so even if you don't achieve absolutely no covid, the very act of trying keep the at levels that are safer for us than to open up. nicola sturgeon. meanwhile, wales's first minister, mark drakeford, said it wouldn't be safe for all children to return to school at the same time. three to seven year olds have gone back to classrooms but some older pupils may not return until after the easter holidays. with all english schools going back in two weeks, the welsh tory leader said the delay in wales was "regrettable". how can you allow if there'sl any headroom for the month of march for school children i to remain out of school and be opening up other parts . of the economy by lifting restrictions. if it is still your number one priority will you make sure i that any headroom that develops through the end of march sees . schoolchildren return in wales?

returning children and young people to face—to—face learning is the top priority of this government, and we will do so in a way that is consistent with the science and the advice that we have. the advice we have is that it would not be safe to do what he is suggesting, it is the policy of the conservative party to return children to conditions that are not safe for them orfor their staff then let him say so. mark drakeford. labour's called on the government not to push up taxes in wednesday's budget. in his announcment on easing england's lockdown, boris johnson didn't make any specific financial pledges beyond a promise to continue to support workers and families. can the prime minister at least agree with me today that now is not the time for tax raises for families or for businesses. it's preposterous for him, mr speaker, to talk about tax rises when he had a manifesto only a year ago, only over a year ago to put up taxes

by the biggest amount in the history of this country! the truth is this, the government spent a decade weakening the foundations of our economy and our country, as a result, we have the highest death toll we have the worst recession of any major economy, families are facing council tax rises and millions can't afford to self—isolate. and all the prime ministers offers is a return to business as usual. he vacillates, mr speaker, we vaccinate! and we are going to get on with our agenda, cautious but irreversibly taking this country forward on a one—way road to freedom, and i very much hope that his support which has been so evanescent in the past will genuinely prove irreversible this time, mr speaker. the united kingdom has suffered the worst slump of any major - economy and 120,000 people have lost their lives. - that's under your guidance, prime minister. _ after a decade of tory cuts,

millions of families - in poverty, and uk unemployment soaring, will your government - follow the example of the us and boost the economy- like biden or is the tory plan to return and impose yet - another decade . of tory austerity? this government is investing £640 billion alone throughout the uk. massive programme to get our country rebuilds and restarted again. and i think that's what people would like to focus on, rather than his agenda to talk about our broken politics from our broken country. all they want to do is break up bridge and with another referendum and i think that is the last thing this country needs at the moment. ——britain. the education secretary has confirmed that teachers in england will give this year's gcse and a level grades. in a commons statement, gavin williamson told mps

results could be determined using a range of marks from mock exams, coursework and essays. the grades will be published earlier than usual to allow more time for the appeals process. all of our children and young people have paid a considerable price for the disruption of the last year. it's not their learning off track, it's put their friendships to one side and put some of the wonder of growing up on hold. in short, mr speaker, it has caused enormous damage to what should've been a carefree and exciting part of growing up. i'm absolutely committed that we in this programme and extra funds, we can start to put this right. together with the measures we 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. he blamed the rogue algorithm for last year's fiasco,

but the real cause was not an algorithm. it was his incompetence. so now for the first time he has said he trusts teachers, i can't help wondering why he only trusts teachers when there's a chance to make them responsible for what happens with exams rather than his department. i'm glad a wide range of evidence will be used, assessment materials will be available for schools, there will be guidance from exam boards on how to award grades and individual schools will not be responsible for schools but is he confident grades will be fair and consistent? and those concerns about fairness and grade inflation were taken up by the chair of the education committee. whilst i accept it is. the least worst option that the government has come up iwith, my concern is not so muchl about having one's cake - and eating it but taking a lot of cake of grade inflation into the system. - will my right honourable friend confirm what is the governmentj plan to ensure we will not i have a wild west of grading, that these grades will be - meaningful to employers so not to damage children's life i

chances and where and how will be reversed - the grade inflation? he raises an important issue about grade inflation and this is why we have been doing so much work with the exam boards in terms of ensuring the proper internal checks as well as proper external checks. we do not feel as if would be possible to peg to a certain year, because sadly as a result of doing that it would probably entail the use of some form of algorithm in order to be best be able to deliver that. the row between nicola sturgeon and former snp leader, alex salmond, took another twist ahead of both of them appearing in front of an investigating committee. the disagreement began when allegations of sexual harassment which he strongly denied were made against mr salmond by two women. he claims ms sturgeon misled parliament over the government inquiry into the allegations something she denies. the scottish government

eventually admitted it had of more than £500,000. the conservatives pounced on the divisions. growing, and it's all taking place on nicola sturgeon's watch. and there'sjust one further question i want to ask for my first minister, is saving your own skin with all the damage that you are doing? it's a strange cover—up and offer the information in published written evidence to the committee, it's hardly a cover—up when i've been waiting for months with five previously postponed dates to appear before a committee. and she said she'd answered all the questions to the best of her ability when she appeared and people could judge her answers then. now let's take a look at some other news in brief. more than 30 conservative mps have urged the government to go further to protect leaseholders living in flats from "financial ruin". campaigners say the fire safety bill introduced in the wake of the grenfell tower disaster

means flat owners in lower rise buildings will have to pay to make their homes safe. a conservative led moves to change the bill to prevent leaseholders from having to pay remediation costs. we just want the taxpayer to provide a safety net for the leaseholders to ensure the fire safety works are actually undertaken. it's been nearly four years. we want to be in a position that when the government provides the cash flow of front and of the government can then levy those who have been responsible within the industry over the next ten years to recoup those funds. i struggle to understand genuinely why the government has not grasped the scale of this crisis and the quantity of people who cannot sell their flats, who cannot afford the costs that they are currently looking at, who cannot change jobs, who cannot get married, who cannot have children because their lives on hold to. who cannot have children

because their lives are on hold. it's unacceptable for leaseholders to have to worry about the costs of fixing historic safety defects in their buildings. i do ask the honourable members recognise that when it's based on good intentions is not the appropriate ways to solve these complex problems. a health minister has admitted there were shortages of ppe during the coronavirus pandemic. responding to an urgent question in the commons, edward argar acknowledged there had been "local shortages and challenges in individual trusts". asking an urgent question relating to the awarding of covid—19 contracts during the pandemic, labour accused ministers of thinking they are "above the law". a stain has emerged with this government response to the crisis. as an unedifying gold rush of chums, and of chancellors. ——— chances. £2 billion for the contracts handed to those with close links to the conservative priority. she alleges inappropriate behaviour, the report was clear that there is no evidence of inappropriate behaviour and indeed no court

has found this. will he apologised numerous nhs and care staff _ with the deeply upset _ by comments made by the health secretary yesterday, _ echoed in fact by himself today and just a shortage of ppe, does he understand why. that is so insulting _ to the doctors who were forced to wear beanbags in the absence of gowns and the nurses wearing goggles from screw facts. it did not run out nationally but that's not as i've clarified to say that there were not local shortages and challenges in individual trusts as i have acknowledged. spotify has rejected claims that it exploits and underpays musicians. a senior executive from the company told mps on the culture committee that music streaming has helped artists find new audiences. but he faced criticism over the way spotify shares revenue with musicians and songwriters. musicians on the whole, the ones that we have heard from and we've heard from a lot of people, they hate the model,

this bona fide model they hate the model, —— the spotify model and we feel totally ripped off by it. if you look at artists in general, in 2015 only 16,000 artists made up 90% of all streams, a relatively small group of people. now in 2020, 57000 artists made up 90% of the streams, so that's four times the number of artists at the top because of streaming. the lord speaker, lord fowler, has announced he will be stepping down early from his role to focus on campaigning on hiv/aids and inequality. the 83—year—old former health secretary will end his term in april a few months earlier than planned, and sit as an independent crossbench peer. there are examples beyond count of the persecution of lgbt people worldwide, even now in 2021 there are some 70 nations where homosexuality is illegal, and where there were obvious barriers

against people coming forward for treatment. i want to spend the next years campaigning against these modern evils. the government has been heavily defeated in the lords in the latest stage of the long running dispute over preventing the uk striking trade deals with states which have carried out genocide. much of the concern centres on abuses by china. ministers have resisted the idea of giving the high court a say on whether a future trade partner has committed genocide. so peers pressed for a compromise which would allow a committee of retired judges in parliament to make that assessment. this is the genuine, reasonable decent compromise that meets the government desire to avoid the courts while allowing for serious interrogation of the facts. we failed to protect genocide, we failed to prevent genocide, we failed to protect victims of genocide, and we failed to prosecute perpetrators of genocide. the genocide amendment

is a modest attempts to begin to address some of those failings. the western world has to get off its knees and start to stand up to china before it is too late. the genocide of the uighur muslims of which there is not —— now overwhelming evidence is a sample of how the chinese communist regime will treat every race and people it subjugates. so in this bill we can make a small start by tackling the issue of trading the country which commits genocide. peers argued that china blocked any possibility of prosecution in an international court. it turns us all into _ bystanders, that's the problem. and when asked to declare - a genocide our government says it's not a matter for parliament. i we can have debates about it- and committees, but that matter is for a competent court. and of course what that means is that we don't act at all. -

0ne voice was raised in support of the minister: i would warn people to be reminded that if they think that bypassing this kind of amendment we are going to be free to stop the world unilaterally, taking on powers in china, and we need to think of again. taking on powers in china, then we need to think of again. wherever parliament itself has identified credible reports of this most heinous crime of all, genocide. so it is not the substance that we are disagreeing with today, it's the means by which there should be done. but the minister's arguments did not win the day. content, 367, not content 214. so motion b1 is agreed. ministers may try to overturn that heavy defeat when the trade bill returns to the house of commons.

finally there's been a call for yvonne fletcher to be honoured with the george medal. wpc fletcher died from her wounds in 1984, when someone inside the ghadaffi regime's embassy in london, the libyan people's bureau, opened fire on demonstrators. in the commons a conservative described what happened that day quoting another officer who had been helping police the demonstration who accompanied her to hospital. she was shot from the bureau and fell to the ground. i went over to her. i was only feet from her and cradled her head. the square quickly emptied leaving three of us with yvonne. we carried her into a nearby street and i went with her in an ambulance to hospital. in the ambulance, there were other students who were bleeding from their wounds. but she seemed more concerned about them.

"keep safe, be calm" she said. what incredible courage and incredible conduct for a young woman of 24. 24 or 25. what an example to the metropolitan police themselves, but to everyone of us. he said her conduct deserved a medal. may i suggested a posthumous award of the george medal could be considered. despite the past two years, and mostly because of her calm, wounded and dying. responding for the government was the home office minister kit malthouse, who invited him to gather the evidence needed for a postumous award of the george medal.

i know that this will become with particular weight given| the standing the right- honourable gentlemen has over this house, but also - in the service that he has in his own career. i expect that i accept the commission from the minister. i consider it to be a great honour and accept it wholeheartedly. bob stewart. and that brings us to the end of another week in parliament, but dojoin me again on bbc parliament on monday night at 11 for all the news from westminster and beyond. but for now, from me, alicia mccarthy, goodbye. hello there. there always seems to be something to talk about with the weather across the uk.

we started the week with heavy rain, particularly in the far north and west. then wednesday brought the warmest day of the year so far with temperatures peaking at 18 celsius. a little bit fresher for thursday, yes, but still highs of 12 or 13 degrees — that's above average for late february. all the warmth, however, has moved its way over to the near continent and a change of wind direction — a fresher westerly — meant that fresher feel to thursday's weather but again, those temperatures are still pretty good for late february. it does, however, mean that clear skies by day will lead to clear skies through the night, so we are going to see quite a chilly start to our friday morning. at dawn, those temperatures will be hovering around orjust below freezing in a few places. the only exception, the far north and west. a weak weather front toppling across high pressure will introduce a little more in the way of cloud, but it's all going to be about this high over the next few days, keeping the story relatively quiet. so yes, we will pretty much have some sunshine from dawn to dusk across the country, with the exception of north—west, the great glen. here, a little bit more of a breeze and maybe a little more in the way of cloud.

but in terms of the feel of things, pretty decent temperatures once again — 10—12 celsius the high. now, as we move out of friday into the start of the weekend, the high pressure is going to firmly establish itself across the country. we'll have a weak weather front toppling across that high again in the far north—west. it will introduce more in the way of cloud and some light, patchy rain across central and southern scotland first thing in the morning, but a very weak affair, and either side of that frontal system to north—west scotland and central and southern england, there'll be decent slices of sunshine to be found and temperatures, well, 10—12 degrees in the north, 14 in the south—east. maybe just that little bit cooler and disappointing where the cloud will linger. but the high stays with us for the second half of the weekend and so, again, that means a relatively dry, settled story, but plenty of sunshine by day is going to lead to some clear nights and if you're a gardener or grower, it's worth bearing in mind that we could see a return to some frost and some fog,

which may well be slow to lift away. but there will be some dry, sunny weather in the forecast — not only for the weekend but, as you can see, for much of next week as well. take care.

welcome to bbc news. i'm james reynolds. our top stories: president biden holds his first telephone conversation with king salman of saudi arabia, ahead of the us releasing an intelligence report about the murder of saudi journalistjamal khashoggi. the president also marks america's 50 millionth coronavirus vaccine shot. some communities remain reluctant to take the jab. in a video call to health leaders, the queen urges people to be selfless and have the jab. it is obviously difficult for people if they have never had a vaccine, but they ought to think about other people rather than themselves. one of the world's biggest bands, k—pop�*s black pink, urge their fans to take action on climate change after being inspired by a david attenborough documentary. and, the pop superstar lady gaga

offers a $500,000 reward to get her two french bulldogs back