this is bbc news the headlines at 6pm... tributes are paid to captain sir tom moore at his funeral — family members say his spirit will live on. the chancellor plans new measures to help people buy their own homes as he prepares his budget for next week. anas sarwar has been announced as the new scottish labour leader. he takes charge of the party ahead of the scottish parliament election on the 6th of may. ministers in england launch a campaign to reassure parents it's safe for children to return to the classroom. festival organisers call on the government for more support

to ensure events can take place this summer. good afternoon. the funeral of the record—breaking charity fundraiser, captain sir tom moore, has been held in bedford. the 100—year—old came to prominence after raising almost 33 million pounds for nhs charities by walking laps of his garden during the first lockdown. he died earlier this month, days after testing positive for coronavirus. our correspondentjohn maguire has the story. they were there by his side when he made his most famous journey, and today they were with him once more

as he made his finaljourney. soldiers from the yorkshire regiment, the modern equivalent of captain sir tom moore's wartime unit, paid tribute with full military honours. on the coffin, his medals, including his knighthood, and a specially commissioned officer's sword. on one side, the regimental motto, "fortune favours the brave", and the other, his motto, "tomorrow will be a good day". and in clear blue skies above bedford cemetery, the silence was broken by a fly—past from a wartime dakota. to us, he was a veteran and a record—breaking fundraiser who walked 100 laps of his back garden to mark his 100th birthday, raising almost £40 million for nhs charities in the process. but for his daughters, lucy and hannah, he was first and foremost a father.

daddy, you would always tell us, "best foot forward." and, true to your word, that's just what you did last year — raising a fortune for the nhs and walking your way into the nation's hearts. in the last days and hours we had together, you talked with pride . about the lasting legacy of hope |you had created, brought to lifei with a foundation in your name. you declared to me and the nursing | staff that you had more fundraising| in you and would be back as soon as you felt better. _ we are all so proud of everything you have achieved, and promisel to keep your legacy alive. thank you for all the special times we've shared. - 0ur relationship cannot be broken by death. i you will be with me always. and for his grandchildren, benji and georgia, who have grown up living with their grandad, it was a time to remember cherished moments. if there is a lesson i've learned from living with you these past 13 years,

it's the power of positivity and kindness. i truly do not believe i'd be the person i am today without your sound guidance. and he became a favourite for millions of people around the world who were inspired by his words and deeds to walk, to be kind and to support good causes. # walk on through the wind... reassuring us that we would never walk alone. john mcguire there on captain sir tom moore. after he recorded that package, i spoke to him about how captain tom's family wanted today to be a celebration of his life, rather than a sombre occasion. that was definitely the tone that captain sir tom had wanted himself. obviously, the one that his daughters, lucy and hannah, had put into practice,

very much putting his wishes into practice. also what the celebrant who ran the service wanted to achieve, that balance, that balance between reflection but also celebration. of course there's grief, but there's a lot of happiness. and what we heard, i think, during the funeral, perhaps that many people had heard before, actually, was very much about the man, if you like, his first 99 years before captain tom became the legend that we are all so familiar with around the world. the small stories about his cheekyness, about his humanity, his kindness, his humility, how he always looked out for the children, how he would repair their toys when they were broken or talk to them about their day at school or their sports matches. and also how he had always been a great guiding light for his two adult daughters throughout their life. a real grounded traditional yorkshire men, and very proud of his yorkshire roots. i think that really shone through today. it's made me think about why

captain sir tom's story has been so huge, why it's travelled right around the world, why he gave interviews to something like 120—130 different countries. perhaps it's because of that — people could identify in him that humility, that humour, and that humanity, and that really shone through everything that he achieved in the last ten months of his life. john, have the family given any indication of what they hope will be his legacy? well, the foundation has been set up in his name, the captain tom foundation. quite early on, actually, when the fundraising went from that initial target ofjust £100, for him to walk a lap of his garden, a pound for every lap, a joke, really, from his son—in—law to keep him busy, to keep him active during lockdown. 0nce those figures started to really, really gather pace with the money raised for nhs charities, once it started to get into the millions,

than the tens of millions, they realised that they had a unique opportunity to speak, as i say, to the world with all of those interviews that he was doing. so they sat down and thought and spoke to captain tom about the things that were important to him. some of the factors in his life, some of the — not regrets — but some of the things that he realised that a lot more effort needs to be put into to try to rectify, to try to make peoples lives better, and that will be the captain tom foundation, looking at things like dementia, loneliness, helping education. it's work will continue and could continue for generations to come. you think of some of the large charities we know the names of, bernardos, joseph rowntree, perhaps people don't understand who those people were initially, but they know their names now because they are helping so many people every day. the government has released its latest figures for coronavirus in the uk, which show there has been a steady fall in the seven day

average for daily deaths — to 334. the seven day average for daily deaths has also fallen to 9,263. and the number of coronavirus patients being treated in hospital is also falling — standing at 14,808 at the moment. it's budget day on wednesday. the chancellor, rishi sunak, has warned that the uk has been left "exposed" to increases in the cost of borrowing as a result of the coronavirus pandemic — and says he must level with people about the enormous strain on public finances when he announces his second budget this week. 0ur political correspondent, jonathan blake, gave me more details on what to expect on wednesday. some actual words in black—and—white from the chancellor this morning, which is rare in a run up to a budget, but it comes is trying to deliver

with a pretty heavy hint, i think, that rishi sunak is trying to deliver in his interview with the financial times that he will use the budget on wednesday to at least start to prepare people for how he plans to redress the balance in the public finances. and possibly take steps towards doing that. of course, the context here is he as borrowed billions upon billions during the pandemic to fund the support scheme, and he's been able to do that relatively cheaply because interest rates are so low. but when he talks about the economy being exposed, what he means is if interest rates were to go up in the near or medium—term future, then suddenly, that debt would become far more expensive and potentially unsustainable for the government to maintain. so he wants to find ways of bringing the burden of debt down and how does he do that? well, there is pressure from all sides in his own party, never mind anywhere else. you have conservative backbenchers lining up to say, "now is not "the time to raise taxes, the economy is still fragile. "we need to keep on investing." and then you have kenneth clark,

the former conservative chancellor, on the radio this morning saying that he needs to look at income tax, vat, national insurance. now, those are things which the tories said in their manifesto they wouldn't touch. so i don't expect him to go there, necessarily. more likely, perhaps, and it's all speculation at this stage, things like corporation tax and taxes which would perhaps affect businesses a little bit, and what you might call tinkering around the edges rather than big tax bombshells. but a warning nevertheless from rishi sunak. i suppose the dilemma is compounded, notwithstanding, covid has changed everything, so we made promises that no one can expect us to keep in the current circumstances, but even if he doesn't do that, the prime minister has had no return to austerity, if that means ruling out the big spending cuts, then tax rises are really all of the few options you've got left, really. once you have borrowed, it has got to be taxation at some point and in some way. yes, it does have to be. as you say, there are only a couple of ways in which the chancellor can raise money, he can borrow it or put

up taxes, as you pointed out. he's borrowed so much, and he is clearly uncomfortable with that level of debt on the books that he will have to look at raising taxes at some point. he might not do it all in this budget, almost certainly wants, ——he might not do it all in this budget, almost certainly won't, but the longer he leaves it, of course, the closer we get to the next election in the calendar for 2024, and which conservative mp would want to answer on the doorstep for big tax rises in the run—up to that? so it's a very tricky balancing act that he's got to do. but i think what's coming through clearly is that there is an uncomfortable feeling in government about the level of debt that has been built up during the pandemic, and sooner or later, all of that spending to keep the economy afloat is going to have to come a price. that was jonathan blake there talking to me a little bit earlier. coverage of that budget on bbc news in our budget specials. nine new cases of covid—19 have been detected in the isle of man — four weeks after the government

there lifted all social distancing restrictions. the public are now being advised to take precautions including avoiding household mixing, staying home where possible, and not to visit a health and care setting unless absolutely necessary. those who tested positive are self—isolating. anas sarwar has been announced as the new scottish labour leader. glasgow msp mr sarwar defeated monica lennon, the only other candidate in the race. mr sarwar takes charge of the party ahead of the scottish parliament election, which is scheduled to be held on the 6th of may. he is the first minority ethnic leader of a major politcal party in the uk. he says his party have a lot to do to rebuild trust with scottish people. i've said today, directly to the people of scotland, that i know we have a lot of work to do to rebuild your trust in us as a political party. i recognise that over recent times, you haven't had the scottish labour party you deserve, and i'm going to work day and night to give

the scottish labour party, i believe it needs and deserves, so we can rebuild our country. you have mentioned the election not faraway, and i think going into that election, the focus for us is got to be and what unites us as a country rather than what divides us. and that is what my politics are all about. i want to bring our diverse communities together so we can rebuild the country we love. i think if we focus on what unites us rather than what divides us, we can build a better scotland. it's a very concrete example, bringing committees together, of how long—established and how well integrated the first second, now third—generation of immigrants into scotland has been. obviously not immigrants from other parts of the uk but from right around the world, like previous generations from your father's generation and so on. what message, though, do you think you can deliver to those many scots who seemed to have been won over by the argument for independence,

at least if the broad opinion polls are to be believed. certainly the numbers have grown. there appears to be something of a trend there, not just isolated polls, how do you address that? well, firstly, i would say on your first point, someone that looks like me, sounds like me, from my background, my heritage being elected as a leader of a political party in the uk, it doesn't actually say something about me, it says something great about scotland and the scottish people. i want work with all of them to build a fair country. 0n the point you make around the independence question, to be honest, i think true leadership right now, it would seek to unite our country and to heal the wounds in our country and i don't think nicola sturgeon herself would be advocating a referendum right now if she didn't have to worry about the wounds in her own political party rather than healing the wounds of our country post up a people are really worried about now is keeping safe number when they are going to get the vaccine, their child education and their mental health. that cancelled operation or cancer diagnosis or cancer screening

they are waiting for, the planet they are going to leave their children or the grandchildren due to climate change, whether they have a job to go back to after we come through covid, these are all the things that i think people are worried about right now. i want our politicians to work together to address those problems with the people, and advocates a covid recovery over the next five years. the new leader of the scottish labour party talking to me a little earlier this afternoon. the headlines on bbc news... tributes are paid to captain sir tom moore at his funeral — family members say his spirit will live on. the chancellor plans new measures to help people buy their own homes as he prepares his budget for next week. anas sarwar has been announced as the new scottish labour leader. he takes charge of the party ahead of the scottish parliament election on the 6th of may.

your headlines there at a quarter past six. once again in nigeria, police are carrying out search and rescue operations to find children kidnapped from their school. schools in the north have become targets for mass kidnappings for ransom by armed groups, many of whom carry guns and ride motorcycles. in the latest development, 42 people kidnapped from a boarding school last week in the kagara district of niger state have been released. butjust yesterday, a separate raid by gunmen on a school in zamfara state saw 317 girls seized and taken away. bbc africa's reporter chris ewokor has more on the two incidents. these children, 27 of them, including staff members and members of their family were abducted a week ago and taken to another destination by armed gunmen. basically, the government had

security agents who had been on the manhunt trying to search and rescue them, and today, the news came that they have been released, they have their freedom and they are currently with the governor of north central niger state. at the moment, it's still a sad story of abduction that appears to keep on occurring in nigeria, especially objections from schools. to keep on occurring in nigeria, especially abductions from schools. 317 schoolgirls were objected on friday, yesterday, and taken to an unknown destination by armed gunmen. at the moment, it is not clear. no one has claimed responsibility for the abduction, but the nigerian government, especially the president has condemned the abduction. he said that his government would not be intimidated by criminal elements

known as kidnappers. and he is also not willing that his government negotiate with kidnappers if it comes to that, before they are released. the security agencies, the police cord needing with the army have launched a manhunt, rescue operations to try to locate and rescue the girls, but at the moment, nothing much has been heard aside from the fact that schools in that area have been closed down. talking to us from nigeria about those school kidnappings. let me bring you some breaking news we have just had from our colleague at the site of the unexploded bomb in exeter, where time bomb that's led to big evacuations in the devon city. thousands of people had to keep away from their homes for most of today. he says the has now detonated number that's taken place. we have no more details at the moment. we hope to be able to bring

you some pictures from john and the team from bbc spotlight in plymouth in the next few minutes. we will get them to you soon as we can. no reports of any damage or problems. the unexploded bomb has been detonated, army bomb disposal hopefully complete their task there and presumably all has gone well. it should be an opportunity in the not—too—distant future should be an opportunity in the not—too—dista nt future for should be an opportunity in the not—too—distant future for people to return home. security forces have pushed back against protestors across myanmar today after a fourth successive weekend of demonstrations. thousands took to the streets in protests against the military coup. in the main city, yangon, police used rubber bullets and tear gas to try to break up the crowds. the military government has now annulled the results of last november's general election, which saw a landslide victory for the party of aung san suu kyi. the bbc�*s nick marsh is in singapore and told me there are reports that another woman has been shot in myanmar. local media outlets are actually reporting that she died. now, if that's true,

that will make her the fourth person to die in coup related violence since the military takeover happened about a month ago. we don't know that for sure yet. we are not confirming that. we know that she was shot, she was rushed to hospital and taken to the intensive care unit. my colleagues at the bbc burmese service say that once a person is taken to hospital, once they are in the custody of authorities, effectively, it's very hard to get details, to get any confirmation of exactly what's happening. we are keeping across that, of course, and as soon as we know anything with any certainty, we will bring you up—to—date. in terms of what's happening across the country more broadly, we have seen more widespread protests. we've seen people coming out into the streets. today is a saturday, it's not a working day, and we saw thousands, there was some tear gas, there was some live ammunition fired, warning shots into the air, but people keep coming out, and we are going to have to keep an eye now on how

the security forces respond. just to bring you some news that has been coming out during the course of this afternoon, me and my estate television says the country's ambassador to the united nations has been fired perley because he made an address at the un on friday. —— myanmar. in which he urged the international community to challenge the military coup, and he has made statements that he is speaking on behalf of the democratically elected government of me and mark —— myanmar. 0f government of me and mark —— myanmar. of course the results of the election has been annulled by the election has been annulled by the military and he has now been sacked. the widow of belfast lawyer pat finucane has lodged fresh high court proceedings against the secretary of state for northern ireland. mr finucane was shot dead by loyalist paramilitaries in 1989. last november, the government said there would not be an inquiry into whether the state was involved in his death and two years ago, the supreme court refused to hold a public inquiry into his murder. ministers in england have launched

a campaign to reassure parents it's safe for children to return to the classroom. the back—to—school adverts will highlight extra measures, such as coronavirus testing and masks, being introduced ahead of schools reopening fully on march the 8th in england. 0ur correspondent, jon donnison, has the details. these are some of the reasons the government in england think it's important to get young people back to school. teachers unions, though, are urging caution. our view is that it is the right time to go back into school. we would have had a phased return because that is what we see in wales, in northern ireland and in scotland. we haven't really seen the evidence for why it is so different in england. 0n the other hand, this is all about managing risks. and the risks of children not being in school are very significant as well. so, yes, it is the right time. but let's be realistic and recognise that it must be done with a real sense of honesty and of caution. and the unions are unhappy that the government has rejected

the idea of prioritising teachers for vaccinations. instead, age will continue to be the main factor driving the vaccination timetable. the government has pledged to offer the vaccine to everyone over 50, as well as those in specific at risk groups, by mid april. it will then work down through the age groups, starting with those aged 40—49, then 30—39, and finally 18—29 — aiming that all adults should have been offered at least a firstjab by the end ofjuly. but despite the rapid progress on jabs, at the latest downing street briefing — a warning not to become complacent. 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 as we head towards spring, although cases are continuing

to fall on a national level, in one in five local council areas infections have actually started to slightly rise again. jon donnison, bbc news. the us house of representatives has voted to pass president biden's point $1.9 trillion coronavirus aid bill. the republicans — who say it's too expensive — had fought to get it defeated before it reached the house floor. the american rescue plan would pay for vaccines and medical supplies and send a new round of emergency financial aid to households, small businesses and state and local governments. president biden said the bill meant the united states was one step closer to recovering from the pandemic. for a few weeks now, an overwhelming percentage of the american public has made it clear that they support my american rescue plan. the house of representatives took the first steps toward making a reality. i want to thank nancy pelosi, whom i called a few minutes ago,

for her extraordinary leadership and all those who supported our plan. with their vote, we are one step closer to vaccinating the nation, we are one step closer to putting $1,400 in the pockets of americans. we are one step closer to extending unemployment benefits for millions of americans who are shortly going to lose them. we are one step closer to helping millions of americans feed their families and keep a roof over their head. we are one step closer to getting our kids safely back in school. state and local governments the money they need to prevent massive lay—offs for essential workers. now, now the bill moves to the united states senate, where i hope it will receive quick action. i have...we have no time to waste. if we act now decisively, quickly and boldly, we can finally get ahead of this virus. we can finally get our economy moving again. the people of this country have suffered far too much for too long.

we need to relieve that suffering. the american rescue plan does just that — it relieves the suffering. and it's time to act. i thank you all for being here. appreciate it. the festival industry has been hit hard by the pandemic with revenues dropping by 90%. the government's furlough scheme and other financial support has helped many businesses survive, but event organisers will be watching wednesday's budget to see whether that continues beyond next month. this report from katie prescott contains flashing images from the start. dance music. dancing together — a distant memory. the echoes of crowds like these not heard for over a year. but there are hopes that parks like this one might soon welcome them again. this festival organiser is planning

an event here in september — but he's taking a big risk. with every single month that goes by from now until september, we are investing heavily in this show. we currently have no insurance in place to ensure that we're going to get that money back. every single month that goes by, thousands of pounds are being spent on suppliers. we had to delay as many payments as is humanly possible. performers can't be sure if the event will go ahead. completely helpless. but then, also, what can you do? i'm someone that definitely works in the moment, and when everything and all the tools possible have been taken away and downed, it makes it extremely hard. come on, now, tell me, - tell me what you want to do. come on! the festival industry will be hoping the chancellor shows them some love in his budget on wednesday — a year on since the pandemic started, it will lay bare just how much it's cost to keep businesses going through covid.

but the events industry is hoping the government doesn't pull the plug on spending just yet — at least until audiences are able to return to venues like these. we need an extension of furlough. the business rates relief was really important. the 5% vat was interesting, but we've not been able to trade so we've not been able to benefit from that. when tickets are available, it seems people do want to buy them. we are, if anything, worried about the capacity that we'e going to have for the explosion of domestic tourism we're expecting to see in the uk this summer. internationaltourism, obviously, completely different story. after a year of silence, this summer could mark the start of a new dawn for festivals — even in a socially distanced world. katie prescott, bbc news. from a collapse in revenue, to staff withoutjobs — grappling to protect and maintain the uk's heritage sites during the pandemic, continues. after a long but successful community campaign

for its restoration, a castle hidden in london woodland its committee efforts ultimately that will decide whether or not it survives, take one example, a castle hidden in london woodland, reopened to the public in 2014 after a local campaign. but, nearly a year of lockdowns means the monument is at real risk of falling into disrepair for a second time. nickjohnson reports looming above the tree tops of 0xleas woods in south—east london, this gothic monument emerges as a striking scene to the unsuspecting woodland walker. there are 86 steps all the way to the top. severndroog castle was built in the 1780s — a local woman's memorial to her late husband, sirwilliamjames, and named after one of the battles he fought off the coast of india, the history of which many visitors are entirely unaware.

people either know about or they stumble upon us, they will walk through the woods and then through the trees, they see this weird, quirky, romantic building, and they wonder what it is. they are interested, they want to have a look around. but the castle's past hasn't been quite so idyllic. in the late �*80s, greenwich council could no longer afford the upkeep of the monument. it was boarded up and fell into disrepair, where it stayed for more than two decades. curious building. it was in a terrible state when we first came. the windows were blocked up with steel. the outside of the building was covered in graffiti. but in 2013, after a hard—fought campaign by a group of locals, severndroog castle received a grant from the heritage lottery fund, allowing it to reopen to the public a year later. i remember the day that i got the letter, that was a real punching the air moment, you know? we'd got the main grant, which was about 800,000 at the time. so, all in all, we've raised about £1 million to restore the building. and one of the castle's main attractions — the stunning views, once you have climbed all the way to the top of the 86 steps.