tonight at 10 — scotland's formerfirst minster alex salmond launches a blistering attack on nicole sturgeon — accusing her of breaking ministerial rules. giving evidence at a scottish parliamentary inquiry he accused those at the top of the snp as well as the civil service and courts of conspiring against him. scotland hasn't failed, its leadership has failed. so the importance of this inquiry is for each and every one of us to help put this right. alex salmond and nicola sturgeon were close political allies for decades — but the two are now embroiled in a bitter war of words. we'll asking how much damage this row is doing to scotland's leadership. also tonight...

moving through the age groups — the over 40s will be next for the jab as government advisers implore the public to keep sticking to the rules. do not wreck this now. it is too early to relax. just continue to maintain discipline and hang on just a few more months. a us intelligence report concludes that the murder ofjournalist jamal khashoggi was personally approved by saudi crown prince mohammed bin salman. the supreme court rules that woman — who left london as a teenager to join the islamic state group — can't return to the uk to challenge its decision to remove her british citizenship. is the first time i have been on an open topped bus. i'm not usually allowed to. a new american life but still one of service — prince harry explains why he felt compelled to move across the atlantic. and coming—up in sport, on bbc news... manchester united draw ac milan

in the last 16 of the europa league, setting up a reunion with zlatan ibrahimovic. good evening. the former first minister of scotland, alex salmond, has said there is no doubt that his successor nicola sturgeon broke the rules governing the behaviour of ministers. he made the claim during his long—awaited appearance at an inquiry into the scottish government's mishandling of sexual harassment claims against him. but mr salmond said it wasn't for him to say what the consequences for nicola sturgeon should be. he has previously accused people close to her of plotting against him. nicola sturgeon has denied his claims. our scotland editor sarah smith has the story. alex salmond arriving at the very

parliament he once dominated as the most powerful man in scotland. he was armed today with allegations nicola sturgeon is lying about he is the victim of a conspiracy. i swear by almighty god that i will tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. he says scotland's institutions are not failing. he blames people like nicola sturgeon at the top. scotland has not failed. _ nicola sturgeon at the top. scotland has not failed. its _ nicola sturgeon at the top. scotland has not failed. its leadership - nicola sturgeon at the top. scotland has not failed. its leadership has - has not failed. its leadership has failed. the crown office has not failed, its leadership has failed. he says nicola sturgeon misled parliament over when she first heard that complaints of sexual harassment had been made against him. if that complaints of sexual harassment had been made against him. ii the had been made against him. if the first minister _ had been made against him. if the first minister has _ had been made against him. if the first minister has broken - had been made against him. if the first minister has broken the - first minister has broken the ministerial code, should she resign? i have _ ministerial code, should she resign? i have no_ ministerial code, should she resign? i have no doubt that she has, but it is not for me to say what the consequences should be, that is for the peoplejudging consequences should be, that is for the people judging that, consequences should be, that is for the peoplejudging that, including this committee.—

the peoplejudging that, including this committee. ., ,, ., this committee. nicola sturgeon said that the first — this committee. nicola sturgeon said that the first she _ this committee. nicola sturgeon said that the first she knew _ this committee. nicola sturgeon said that the first she knew about - that the first she knew about allegations against alex salmond was on the 1st of april when he told her about allegations in her home. she later said she had forgotten about a meeting with his chief of staff. alex salmond says he is lying, and he knows why. alex salmond says he is lying, and he knows why-— he knows why. people say, what difference _ he knows why. people say, what difference does _ he knows why. people say, what difference does four _ he knows why. people say, what difference does four days - he knows why. people say, whati difference does four days make? he knows why. people say, what - difference does four days make? the difference does four days make? the difference is if the meeting of the 29th of march is admitted, the subject matter is admitted, it makes it very difficult to argue that the meeting of the 2nd of april was on party business, as opposed to government business. if it party business, as opposed to government business. if it was a government _ government business. if it was a government meeting, _ government business. if it was a government meeting, it - government business. if it was a government meeting, it should l government business. if it was a - government meeting, it should have been officially recorded. not doing so could be a breach of the ministerial code. two years ago, alex salmond won a legal battle with a scottish government, who had badly mishandled the way it investigated complaints about his behaviour. he believes as the government was facing defeat in court, a plot was hatched to have him arrested for sexual assault before the government had to admit that they had acted

unlawfully. in had to admit that they had acted unlawfull . , ., , ., ., , unlawfully. in my opinion, there has been behaviour— unlawfully. in my opinion, there has been behaviour which _ unlawfully. in my opinion, there has been behaviour which is _ unlawfully. in my opinion, there has been behaviour which is about - unlawfully. in my opinion, there has been behaviour which is about not i been behaviour which is about not just pressurising the police, like the one you have read out, but pressurising witnesses, collusion with witnesses, we are talking about the construction of evidence, because the police somehow are felt to be inadequate.— to be inadequate. during a criminal trial in which _ to be inadequate. during a criminal trial in which alex _ to be inadequate. during a criminal trial in which alex salmond - to be inadequate. during a criminal trial in which alex salmond was - trial in which alex salmond was acquitted of all sexual assault charges, he did admit to inappropriate behaviour towards women he worked with. {lit inappropriate behaviour towards women he worked with.- women he worked with. of the behaviours _ women he worked with. of the behaviours you _ women he worked with. of the behaviours you have _ women he worked with. of the behaviours you have admitted | women he worked with. of the i behaviours you have admitted to, some _ behaviours you have admitted to, some of— behaviours you have admitted to, some of which are appalling, are you sorry? _ some of which are appalling, are you sor ? ., , some of which are appalling, are you sor ? . , , ., , sorry? over the last three years, there have _ sorry? over the last three years, there have been _ sorry? over the last three years, there have been two _ sorry? over the last three years, there have been two court - sorry? over the last three years, | there have been two court cases, sorry? over the last three years, - there have been two court cases, two judges and a jury, and i am resting on the proceedings of these cases. alex salmond's evidence does raise significant questions for nicola sturgeon to answer. tonight, her spokesperson said that he had failed to provide proof of the alleged

conspiracy, and said the first minister is looking forward to addressing all of the issues raised when she gives evidence next week. so, alex salmond and nicola sturgeon each accuse the other of lying, and it will be for this hollywood inquiry to try to establish what happened. if it is found that nicola sturgeon misled parliament, she would be expected to resign. but alex salmond stop short of calling for her resignation. there is one other piece to this puzzle. alex salmond says there is evidence that would prove his claims of a conspiracy, but it is being withheld from the committee for legal reasons. he has copies of this information but has been told he could be prosecuted if he hands it over. so, msps are trying to use their parliamentary powers to have this information released to them. and mr salmond said to him this afternoon that if that fails, why don't they use those powers to compel his solicitors to hand over the evidence? and if they did so, he

said they would get full cooperation. that could be one more twist in this complicated saga. people in their 40's will be the next in line for covid vaccinations after the committee advising the government rejected the idea of giving priority to certain occupations — such as teachers — saying the current programme remains the fastest way of reducing deaths. the number of new infections and deaths continues to fall across the uk — but tonight the government warned people to carry on sticking to lockdown rules rather than wreck the progress that's been made. our health editor hugh pym rpeorts. moving through the population and priority groups. but where next for the vaccination programme once these are complete? there have been calls for key workers, including teachers and police officers, to be top of a new list forjabs. but the expert committee, thejcvi, says agent underlying health conditions are the biggest risk factors, so the next phase should move through younger groups, not occupations.

we know the age—based programme is simple and works very well, and therefore it seems sensible to continue with that, keeping an eye on speed. couldn't you do both, with age and also some key worker groups? actually, subdividing priorities within any age band may only gain one week. we would want a 50 or 40—year—old policeman to come forward before a 20—year—old policeman. so, in a way, doing it this way makes that prioritisation much simpler, as well. but police and some other key worker representatives are not happy. they argue their members are vulnerable and deserve to be next in line for the jabs. we have to be in people's faces at times, we have to roll around with people at times, and my colleagues are genuinely scared not getting the vaccination. thejcvi say age is the biggest risk factor, not occupation, what's your response to that? yes, we totally understand what the jcvi are saying. but they're treating teaching as any occupation and,

of course, distinctively, what happens with teachers is they're working with large groups of young people. if a teacher therefore is ill, a large group of young people has to have a stand—in teacher, the quality of education declines. the first vaccination priority groups were headed by older care home residents and staff, then down through age bands to take in all those aged 70 and older, the clinically extremely vulnerable and health and care staff. the focus now is on those aged 50 and over and younger people with underlying conditions. the aim is to get through them by the middle of april. the next step will be first doses for younger adults, finishing by latejuly, with the expert committee saying the risk of severe illness and death clearly increases with age. at the downing street briefing, it was noted that in one in five local council areas, cases were rising and there was a warning to the public. it's a bit like being 3—0 up in a game and thinking, well, we can't possibly lose this now.

but how many times have you seen the other side take it 4—3? do not wreck this now. it is too early to relax. and with some enjoying fine weather today, health officials urged people out this weekend, including those who've had the vaccine, to stick to the rules. hugh pym, bbc news. so let's have a look at the latest official figures which show further falls. there were 8,523 new infections recorded in the latest 24—hour period. it means an average of 9,688 new cases were recorded per day in the last week — the first time the weekly average has fallen below 10,000 since the 1st of october. 15,485 people were in hospital with coronavirus across the uk — again, those numbers haven't been that low since the start of november. four deaths in the last 2a hours, 316 deaths have been recorded, that's people who died within 28 days of a positive covid test.

on average, 357 deaths were announced every day in the past week. the total number of people who've died is 122,415. the latest vaccination figures show almost 486,000 people had their first dose of a vaccine in the latest 2a hour period. almost 19.2 million people have now had theirfirstjab. there's further evidence that covid vaccines may help prevent the spread of coronavirus as well as protect against getting ill. a study of healthcare workers in cambridge found that a single dose of the pfizer biontech vaccine dramatically cuts the risk of getting the virus without symptoms. our medical editor fergus walsh reports. like thousands of health care workers in cambridge, daniella does a weekly swab test for coronavirus before she goes to work at addenbrooke's hospital. it will show whether she could be carrying the virus without displaying symptoms.

that swab is analysed at these university labs, where they compared the results from staff like daniella who'd received the pfizer vaccine with those yet to be immunised. in early data, they found that two weeks after the first dose, the risk of asymptomatic infection — carrying the virus without knowing it — was reduced by 75%. an england—wide study of health workers found a similar protective effect. this is a genuine good news story. people should be really pleased that the vaccine will protect them and they should have the vaccine in order to prevent themselves and others from getting infected. i think it will help us get out of lockdown, help other countries get out of lockdown and it will allow us to get back to normal. hi, laura. can i check your blood pressure? daniella is a nursing apprentice at addenbrooke's. nearly nine in ten staff here have

had their first dose of vaccine — important, as it reduces their chance of getting infected and may protect patients. it makes me feel very happy knowing that i will not pass the virus to anyone around me. it's very reassuring. very reassuring. it was one of the big unknowns — can vaccines help slow transmission of coronavirus? the study here adds to growing evidence that they do. that has huge implications. it suggests vaccination benefits notjust the individual but the wider community. it's vital people have both doses of vaccine. but while highly effective, they don't offer 100% protection from catching coronavirus or passing it on. so while infection rates remain high, social distancing will continue to be important. fergus walsh, bbc news. a us intelligence report has

concluded that saudi crown prince mohammed bin salman personally approved the murder of the exiled journalistjamal khashoggi in 2018. he was killed while visiting the saudi consulate in the turkish city of istanbul. the declassified report says the prince approved a plan to either capture or kill khashoggi, who had criticised the saudi regime. this is the first time america has publicly named the crown prince, who denies ordering the murder. our north america corrrespondent nick bryant reports. it was at the saudi consulate in istanbul thatjamal khashoggi met his brutal end. he had been lured there to discuss paperwork for his upcoming wedding, but he was strangled as soon as he entered the building by a team of saudi assassins who then dismembered his body. a saudi dissident, who wrote a column for the washington post, often criticising his country's authoritarian leadership. the motive was to silence him.

the damning conclusion of the declassified intelligence report is that saudi arabia's crown prince mohammed bin salman, the country's de facto leader, approved an operation in istanbul to capture or kill the saudi journalist. the assessment was based on the crown prince's control of decision—making in the kingdom, the direct involvement of a key adviser and members of his protective detail in the operation. these aren't new findings. the trump administration had suppressed this report. ahead of its release, presidentjoe biden spoke by phone to king salman of saudi arabia, the crown prince's father, all part of a deliberate move by the new administration to alter the relationship with the saudis, to be tougher on this oil—rich kingdom. our administration is focused on recalibrating the relationship as we have talked about previously and certainly there are areas where we will express concerns and leave open the option of accountability and there are also areas where we will continue

to work with saudi arabia, given the threats they face in the region. already mr biden has ordered an end to arms sales, and other us support to the saudis in their war in yemen. as a candidate he referred to saudi arabia as a pariah state but he's stopped short of imposing sanctions on mohammed bin salman, the future king, who is known as mbs. this new, tougher approach has drawn support from both democrats and leading republicans. look, this is a journalist working on american soil, working for an american publication, and he was murdered and dismembered. this is something we can't look beyond. there has to be a consequence of that. donald trump was very much in step with the saudis. significantly, it was the first foreign country he visited as president. as well as turning a blind eye to the country's human rights record, he had a warm relationship with mohammed bin salman. when they met at a g20 summit injapan he was asked

about the murder of the saudi journalist but clearly did not want it to sour their personal rapport. mr president, have you addressed . the murder ofjamal khashoggi, sir? er... thank you very much, i appreciate it. under donald trump, the saudis almost had a blank cheque. those days are over. nick, how much will this affect both us and international relations with saudi arabia? this is a reset in relations between washington and riyadh but the biden administration has tried to limit the diplomatic fallout from the release of this report. we haven't seen administration officials rushing to the cameras to condemn saudi arabia and while they have announced a khashoggi ban targeting foreign nationals who they say have intimidated or harassed or assaulted dissidents and journalists, they have not imposed sanctions on mohammed bin salman, the crown prince will go unpunished. the saudis i should say have rejected

this report, and the biden administration does not want to sever ties with saudi arabia. it is an important counterweight against iran but it does want its allies including britain to recalibrate their relations.— including britain to recalibrate their relations. thanks for “oining us. the supreme court has ruled that shamima begum — the woman who left britain as a teenager tojoin the islamic state group in syria — should not be allowed to return here to challenge the removal of her british citizenship. the court ruled unanimously that her rights were not breached when she was refused permission to return. the 21—year—old is currently in a camp in northern syria. our home affairs correspondent daniel sandford reports. shamima! injeans and a sun hat, shamima begum, last summer in the al—roj camp in northern syria, where she remains to this day. the home secretary has stripped her of her british citizenship for running away to become an islamic state fighter�*s bride aged just 15.

at the supreme court, her lawyers had argued that she must be allowed to come back to the uk to fight that decision in a fair court hearing. but today, the court unanimously ruled against her, saying her case should simply be postponed — national security comes first. the right to a fair hearing does not trump all other considerations, such as the safety of the public. the supreme courtjustices said parliament had given the home secretary the difficult task of making decisions around national security in cases like this. overturning the court of appeal, they said that that court had not given the home secretary's assessment the respect it deserved. shamima begum and two school friends, both now believed to be dead, left london aged just 15 to join the islamic state group in syria. there, she married a foreign fighter and had three children, all of whom have now died.

when is' rule collapsed two years ago, she reappeared, asking to be allowed home to britain. i just want forgiveness, really, from the uk. like, everything i've been through, i didn't expect that i would go through that. richard walton, who was head of scotland yard's counter terrorism command, had tried to stop shamima begum and herfriends getting to syria, told me this afternoon the court had made the right decision. if she'd been allowed to return to the uk by the supreme court, she would probably have been arrested by the counter terrorism command and probably charged with terrorist offences. but the evidence against her would likely have been weak owing to the difficulties of securing evidence in war zones. and when released, she would have presented an ongoing threat and would have needed to be subject to the most rigorous monitoring whilst in the country, hundreds of thousands of pounds over months and years. but civil liberties group says the decision hollows out a cornerstone of british justice and means we may never hearfrom shamima begum her explanation of what happened. why was a 15—year—old girl able

to go and travel to syria? was she trafficked? was she groomed? those are questions that we still don't have answers to and we can't have answers to unless she can participate properly in her appeal and give her side of the story. there seems no prospect of that for now and shamima begum will remain in al—roj camp in legal limbo. a un special rapporteur has said that britain was on the list of shame of countries who strip people of their citizenship. daniel sandford, bbc news. a coroner in manchester has found that a man who was held down by public transport workers after an altercation close to a train station in the city was unlawfully killed. jack barnes, died in hospital in december 2016 several weeks after the incident at manchester's victoria station. today, the coroner released footage showing the 29—year—old on the ground repeatedly shouting, "i can't breathe". our social affairs correspondent michael buchanan reports. help me, please!

i can't breathe. excuse me, ring the police. i can't breathe! jack barnes pleads for help, repeatedly. he's assaulted a member of staff. just help me breathe! please, just help me breathe real quick. no! he's been chased a kilometre after a minor incident at manchester's victoria station. the four men restraining him work for the metro. if you keep resisting... i'm not resisting, but ijust can't breathe. in just 90 seconds, he says he's struggling to breathe on eight separate occasions. i tell you what, i'll just put him out. i'm going to put you out now, pal, all right? this body—cam footage records one man telling jack, "we're going to put you out now, pal." "it won't kill you, but you will go to sleep for a while." it won't kill you, but you'll go to sleep for a while. the whole incident here lasted about ten minutes. jack barnes had a cardiac arrest and fell into a coma from which he never recovered. forjack�*s family, it beggars belief that a minor argument could have cost the 29—year—old his life.

how can they not be charged? it's just... jack died and nobody�*s been held accountable for it. what would you say has been the impact of jack's death on you? on me? even if i get my wish and they do get prosecuted, jack's still not here. thouthack had taken the drug spice on the night, the inquest concluded his death amounted to unlawful killing. coroner nigel meadows said, "the use of force was unnecessarily prolonged, grossly excessive and unreasonable. these acts were unlawful and amounted to an assault." there was also criticism of stephen rowlands, the man who told jack he'd "put him out". the coroner said the former police officer intended to cause jack to lose consciousness. officer intended to cause jack craig nevitt was restrained

by the men alongsidejack barnes. i couldn't move at all, as well. i was saying to them, i couldn't move and they were saying, . "shut up, i don't. care, i don't care." when you saw the conditionjack was in, you immediately shouted, "you've killed him" didn't you? mm—hm. yeah, obviously the way he was, it looked real bad. jack barnes�* family hope today's conclusion will lead to the men being prosecuted. grab him, grab him! that's it! it's over. jack barnes should not have been chased and restrained in this way. just help me breathe! please, just help me breathe! no! jack barnes should not have died. michael buchanan, bbc news, manchester. gunmen in nigeria have kidnapped hundreds of girls from a boarding school in the north—western state of za mfara. police say more than 300 girls were taken from their dormitories in the early hours of the morning. it's not yet clear who carried out the raid. our correspondent mayenijones is in the nigerian capital lagos for us. mayeni, this is another terrible mass kidnapping.

yes, of course. many will remember the 2014 kidnapping of the 274 girls, they were taken from their dormitory in north—eastern nigeria, and since then they have been a number of abductions of this type come in 2018100 girls were taken by armed gunmen in the middle of the night. just three months ago, 300 boys were abducted from their school in northern nigeria and evenjust last week 42 people were taken from a school in the central state of niger and this enforces how uncertain the country is at the moment, security forces are stretched, they are dealing with boko haram insurgency in the north—east. the authorities do not seem to have a strategy to stop these things from happening again. many northern leaders have suggested may be an amnesty deal might be the way forward but the nigerian

government is adamant it will not be negotiating with criminals.— negotiating with criminals. thanks for “oininu negotiating with criminals. thanks forjoining us- _ colonel gadaffi ruled the north african country of libya for more than 40 years. now a decade after his removal and death — libya remains in chaos. there's fighting between rival militias — and two separate administrations each vying for power. the internationally recognised one is based in tripoli and backed by turkey. the other is based in benghazi, and supported by russia, egypt and the united arab emirates. now the un is attempting to reunite the country with a transitional government and elections later this year. our middle east editor jeremy bowen reports. this is sirte, the place where colonel muammar gaddafi was born and where he was killed savagely, during the battle for the town after his regime collapsed.

the uprisings against him spread fast, inspired by revolution in tunisia and egypt. one personjust said to me, "this is a revolution of honour, "it's a revolution of sanity." in his last major interview, gaddafi showed no sign he sensed disaster ahead. no demonstration at all in the streets. gaddafi's translator: did you see demonstrations? yes, i have, yes. where? i saw some today, in zawilah. are they supporting us? no, they're not supporting you. they're not against us. some were against you and some were for you. no, no one is against us. against me for what? they love me, all my people with me, they love me, all. nato air strikes against the regime gave rebels the edge. they need to stop this madness, jeremy, and you need to convey this truth. the world needs to test us, test our promises, when we say we want peace.

that was moussa ibrahim, gaddafi's spokesman, ten years ago, after civilians were killed in a nato air strike in tripoli. now in europe, he insists libya is the victim of a western conspiracy. if you come to a society, bombard it with rockets, bombs, kill many, many children, many civilians, support al-qaeda and isis and give money and weapons to violent individuals, and support them politically on the international arena and give them the loudest voices on the international media... sorry to interrupt, but they would deny all of that. they would say that is a daft conspiracy theory. we were right in describing what was happening in libya and, jeremy, you were there. everything i said to you will happen in libya has indeed happened in the last ten years.

for a while there was hope. cheering crowds in benghazi greeted david cameron and president nicolas sarkozy of france who had led nato's response. it's great to be here in free benghazi and in free libya. loud explosions. but libyans are not free. corrupt, lawless militias, and for the last six years two rival governments have fought to fill the vacuum gaddafi left when he crushed any political activity that didn't pay him homage. a lot of people said afterwards, "well, hang on, "we should have done more," whatever that means. cameron and sarkozy went to benghazi, they declared victory and went home. yeah, they did, they did. i mean, i think cameron wanted to do more. we didn't have the capacity to do it. would it have made any difference? unless you have people

on the ground, and the qataris did, the emeratis did, the turks did. we didn't. and in any case, we didn't know the terrain properly, but others did, and exploited it. in any case, we didn't know enough about libya. any more than we knew enough about iraq when we went in in 2003. thousands have been killed in libya since 2011. no one knows for certain how many. in tarhuna, they're exhuming, identifying and re—burying people murdered by a notorious militia led by five brothers. some of the dead were brought to tripoli 60 kilometres away for a mass funeral. perhaps un diplomacy can reunite the country or perhaps libya can't yet escape the power of the gun and the legacy of a dictator. jeremy bowen, bbc news. prince harry says he had to step back from royal duties because his mental health

was being destroyed by the british press.