tonight at ten — a row erupts as the government suggests a1% pay rise for most nhs workers in england. health workers call it an insult and pitiful, after a year on the front—line of the pandemic. we want a fair wage and i don't think the government understands at all what the nursing workforce does. the government says most other public sector workers are facing a pay freeze because of the challenging economic environment. also tonight... the war of words intensifies — the duchess of sussex accuses the royal family of spreading falsehoods about her and prince harry. i don't know how they could expect that after all of this time, we would stilljust be silent, if there is an active role that the firm is playing

in perpetuating falsehoods about us. for the first time in almost a year residents in care homes in england will be allowed to have face—to—face visits from next week. the funeral of a teenager shot dead during protests in myanmar — as the un is urged to come up with a strong international response in the wake of the military coup. no queues, no tills. just walk in and walk out. this is amazon's first contactless store in the uk. and coming up in sport, on bbc news... the champions liverpool take on chelsea at anfield as both sides look to climb into the premier league's top four. good evening. a row is erupting after the government suggested a 1% pay rise for most nhs workers in england.

the proposal was submitted to the pay review body for the health service. unions have warned ministers that they face a backlash if they go ahead with the idea — with one saying it's the worst kind of insult the government could give health workers after the past year fighting the pandemic. a 1% pay rise would be below the rate of inflation forecast in the budget for next year. our deputy political editor vicki young reports. staff in the nhs are used to pressure, but for the last year, they've been working flat out under the toughest of circumstances — nurses, porters, paramedics, just some of those on the front line of a global pandemic. their current pay deal is coming to an end, and today, the government recommended a 1% pay rise. there's been a furious reaction. i'm just disgusted. nobody wants something extra in their pay packet for covid, nobody wants that. we just want something that reflects the work that we do. we want a fair wage,

and i don't think the government understand at all what the nursing workforce does. when the government says, "look, the economy has taken a massive hit, and basically, there isn't any money." what do you say to that? i understand it's a very difficult year for the whole world, absolutely, i agree with that, but i think this is a political decision. health department officials say the covid pandemic has placed a huge strain on nhs finances, and tonight, the business secretary highlighted the difficulties facing all parts of the economy. no one is doubting that the nhs has been absolutely first—class in this whole pandemic, what i am suggesting is that the whole economy has been under huge pressure. when i look at people in the hospitality sector, in aviation, in retail, many of them are very, very worried that they won't even have a job in two or three months. tonight in a statement, government said...

officials also say that over a million nhs staff continue to benefit from multiyear deals agreed with the unions. it's meant rises of more than 12% for newly qualified nurses, but labour say that's no consolation. it's an absolute kick in the teeth for our nhs staff. they've been working so hard in this crisis, putting their lives on the line, many of them have died. and for rishi sunak to offer them what could turn out to be a pay cut is an absolute disgrace. applause unions have contrasted the chancellor's response with scotland and wales, where health and social care workers received bonuses last year. they say clapping for the nhs isn't enough. the government really couldn't be worse after the year that nhs

workers have had, many of them had all their leave cancelled, morale pretty low. it's no wonder the unions have reacted as they have. tonight, some of them are calling it an absolute insult. the government is talking about having to have fair and affordable pay rises. they say the economy has taken a hit, many other public sector workers are having no pay rise at all. this isn't a recommendation, it goes to independent pay review body, they will report in may and ministers will report in may and ministers will make a final decision, but it's a real sign of the competing pressures the chancellor has to deal with, with everyone having a claim and wanting pay going their way. vicki, thank you. so, just 2a hours after the budget, pressure is already mounting on the government to spend more — and pay more — in certain parts of the public sector. labour is accusing the chancellor of hiding a funding cut for nhs running costs, like wages and medicines. one independent expert has warned that more needs to be done to address the huge pressure on public services once

the pandemic is over. our economics editor faisal islam has been picking through the small print. for months, the chancellor has been happy to sign off billions in rescue funds, autographing his spending plans on social media videos. you guys give me the opportunity to do it. but real public sector pay freezes and bumper tax rises are far more difficult to sell. on the latter, at least, he says he's willing to assume the personal responsibility. i want to be upfront with people about the challenges. the shock that coronavirus has done to our economy has been significant and as i said yesterday, this won't be fixed overnight. it will be the work of many years, decades and governments to fully pay all that money back. but yesterday's was the biggest tax—raising budget in over a quarter of a century, eclipsing george osborne's austerity vat rise and the two highest gordon brown tax raises, including a hefty national insurance hike, just a little smaller though than norman lamont�*s crisis budget of 1993.

so, big tax rises and possibly more to come, and even then lots of gaps, if he really is to slash borrowing. he may well have to increase taxes further because the spending cuts that he's pencilled in really don't look terribly plausible. he wants to spend less going forward than he was planning pre—pandemic. one important example may come more quickly, even after the extension of a £20 increase in weekly universal credit until october. recipients such as esther say that it will have to be extended again. it's been mentally very draining and there have definitely been times where i have gone through quite severe burnoutjust trying to deal with it all. and the opposition honed in on £30 billion lower overall health spending implied in the budget from next year, the result of less one—off pandemic funding. i think a lot of people will be pretty astonished to know that the day—to—day funding

for the nhs has been cut in yesterday's budget. hidden in that budget was that cut. i'm here at the royal derby hospital, they're still struggling with covid cases, we're not through the pandemic yet. and of course, what's coming next is the backlog of cases, 4.5 million people on waiting lists. while core nhs spending is up and there is a further year of significant but lower pandemic health spending, other experts did point to nothing in the budget to deal with ongoing post—pandemic pressures, for example massive nhs waiting lists from next year. much of that will be dealt with in the autumn spending review. the big picture, though, is that the chancellor did not tie his hands over the nation's debts. if push comes to shove, borrowing could still take the strain in the future. visiting the tees with the pm, both downing street residents stressing the recovery reaches across the nation, including this newly designated freeport.

the arguments over tax, spend and borrowing, farfrom over. faisal islam, bbc news. the duke of edinburgh is recovering in hospital after a procedure for a pre—existing heart condition. prince philip had the operation yesterday at st bartholomew's hospital in london. the update on his health was announced hours after a clip was released from oprah winfrey's interview with the duke and duchess of sussex. in it, meghan accused buckingham palace of "perpetuating falsehoods" about her and prince harry. our royal correspondent nicholas witchell reports. it was on monday that the duke was transferred from the king edward vii hospital, where he'd spent 13 nights, to st bartholomew's hospital, one of britain's premier centres for cardiac care. he'll have been assessed on tuesday. surgery took place yesterday. according to buckingham palace, the duke of edinburgh yesterday underwent a successful procedure for a pre—existing heart condition at st bartholomew's hospital.

his royal highness will remain in hospital for treatment, rest and recuperation for a number of days. the only known heart problem the duke has had was ten years ago. doctors found he had a blocked coronary artery. this is a representation of the normal medical response. a stent, or sleeve, is inserted into the artery. it opens it up and permits a normal blood flow to resume. if this procedure has been repeated, surgeons say it's relatively straightforward. this is actually a minimally invasive procedure, done under local anaesthetic — the patient is awake. we often go either to get access to the heart through the wrist, through the radial artery, or through the groin, the femoral artery. i think in prince philip's case, certainly with older patients, we prefer to try and go through the wrist, because this reduces the risk of complications such as significant bruising or haematomas developing. the queen has remained at windsor. she'll be being kept closely in touch with the duke's condition. at the same time, she'll be pondering the latest twists

and turns in the sussex saga. last night, the us broadcaster cbs issued another clip from the duchess of sussex�*s upcoming interview with oprah winfrey. it's not comfortable viewing for the palace. how do you feel about the palace hearing you speak your truth today? i don't know how they could expect that after all of this time we would stilljust be silent if there is an active role that the firm is playing in perpetuating falsehoods about us. and if that comes with risk of losing things, i mean, there's a lot that's been lost already. so, a royal duchess says the palace spread lies about her. former members of the royal household claim she was a bully, which she denies. little wonder the palace is bemused, but constitutional experts say the british monarchy will ride this out. this is the royal family as soap opera. it's not going to damage

the monarchy as an institution. the queen is hugely respected and the monarchy as an institution in britain still commands very wide popular support. i don't expect that to be dented one iota by this current kerfuffle. normally, of course, the queen would have had her husband at her side to support her at moments such as this, but notjust now. but from the palace today, on social media, on this, world book day, a photograph of the queen and the duke together at balmoral in 1976 — a reminder of less turbulent times. nicholas witchell, bbc news. scotland's first minister nicola sturgeon has come under more pressure today, as ruth davidson, the conservative leader in the scottish parliament, again called for her to resign. she accused ms sturgeon of ignoring legal advice concerning the inquiry into alex salmond. but nicola sturgeon hit back, accusing ruth davidson of pre—judging an investigation

into whether she had broken the ministerial code. here's our scotland editor, sarah smith. this saga could decide the future of scotland, notjust the fate of nicola sturgeon or the snp. there are scottish elections in just two months. the outcome of those could determine if there's to be another independence referendum. this really matters. nicola sturgeon says at that election, the people can decide whether she's done anything wrong, or breached the code that governs ministers�* behaviour. there's no argument if nicola sturgeon broke the ministerial code. the argument is only about how badly she broke it. we believe that the sanction is to go. why doesn't she? ruth davidson hasjust shown her true colours, and the conservatives' true colours, all over again. she stands up here and says scrutiny and democracy and due process is really important, but just as on tuesday night, the conservatives prejudged my evidence to the parliamentary inquiry, she'sjust prejudged the outcome of the independent

inquiry into the ministerial code. after a marathon eight—hour session in front of the salmond inquiry yesterday... i will tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. ..the opposition say there are still unanswered questions for nicola sturgeon. did she mislead parliament when she said the first she knew of a sexual harassment investigation into alex salmond was in april 2018? why were meetings between nicola sturgeon and alex salmond not recorded as they should have been if they were about government business? did a senior government official pass on the name of a woman who had made a complaint against alex salmond to a member of his team? and when fighting a court battle with mr salmond, did the government pursue a case after being warned by external lawyers they could lose. tonight, he's making new accusations that the government wasted public money in this case.

does the first minister agree, l removing party and personality, that a minister, any minister, who is found in breach of- the ministerial code, should resign? let's wait and see what the outcome of the inquiries are. they will be published and then we can debate in this chamber the outcome of that. i sat before that committee, i answered every question, and i will give the committee and the inquiry the opportunity now to do their work. nicola sturgeon today promised to publish the results from an inquiry that's looking into whether she broke the ministerial code, and we are also waiting for the conclusions of the holyrood committee. both are due before the end of the month, and could decide the first minister's fate. sarah smith, bbc news, edinburgh. a former top senior civil servant at the home office, who resigned after accusing priti patel of mounting a "vicious briefing campaign" against him, has settled his claim for constructive dismissal. sir philip rutnam said the campaign started after he'd tried to get the home secretary

to change her behaviour. she'd been accused of bullying, a claim she denies. it's understood sir philip has received a substantial settlement. the latest government figures show there were 6,573 new coronavirus infections recorded in the latest 24—hour period, which means that on average the number of new cases reported per day in the last week is 6,685 — the lowest average since the end of september. across the uk, latest data shows the number of patients in hospital with coronavirus is 12,136. 2112 deaths have been recorded in the last 2a hours — that's people who died within 28 days of a positive covid test. on average in the past week, 255 deaths were announced every day. the total number of deaths so far across the uk is 124,025. almost 279,000 people had their first dose of a vaccine in the latest 24—hour period. it means just under 21 million

people have now had their firstjab. care home residents in england will be allowed to have face—to—face visits from next week — with one regular visitor for the first time in nearly a year. the government has this afternoon published details of how the visits will work. they can take place indoors, and visitors will need to be tested but not necessarily vaccinated. our social affairs correspondent alison holt reports. this has been the ritual for gillian and jacqueline for months now. masks on, they make their way to visit their father michael in his barnsley care home. he has dementia. hello. hiya. on monday, rather than behind a screen, just one of them will be able to sit with him, hold his hand, but not hug. we can come in next week, dad. don't bang on the door, dad. no, dad, don't. it may be a step forward... have you had your dinner?

..but he's been making his frustration at not being able to see all his family clearfor a long time. this was a visit a few weeks ago. the only touch possible, through thick rubber gloves. he gets really frustrated, and he's, like, walking about, shouting, angry, swearing at us, calling us idiots for not coming in. it is torture, it's purgatory. hello, dad. 0h, is it dawn? it is! at this care home in norfolk, they've been recognising families as essential carers since last october. as part of a pilot scheme, they've had the same ppe and testing as staff. are you 0k? it means basil norman gets to see both his daughters. we've seen our residents�*

wellbeing go from very, very low to very, very high. those that had lost weight have now gained that weight. i can say that iceni house at one point was a really stressful, unhappy place to work, and now it's full of life again. there are a few care homes which have already started allowing close family visits, but the majority are waiting until monday to cautiously reopen. and many remain extremely concerned about the threat of covid coming in. back in barnsley, at michael's care home, they are nervous but ready for visitors. if we stick to the guidelines and do everything we can, we will be as safe as we can be, but there will always be a concern. and wider families will want monday to be the first step towards being properly reunited. alison holt, bbc news, barnsley. around 200,000 women could be

in line for payouts worth thousands of pounds to top—up the underpayment of their state pension for up to two decades. the errors focus on automatic cash increases for certain married women, widows and over—80s dating back to 1992 with "enhanced" pensions. officials estimate the total bill could be almost £3 billion. as part of the brexit deal, goods being shipped over the irish sea from great britain were supposed to have been subject to new checks and paperwork from the 1st of april. but the uk has unilaterally pushed that back. the eu says it will be a breach of international law. the irish foreign minister has warned that the eu is likely to see the uk as a negotiating partner it simply can't trust. from belfast here's our ireland correspondent emma vardy. crossing the irish sea from britain these days means crossing a new frontier into the eu. when goods arrive in

northern ireland they require new paperwork and checks, and at the end of this month the red tape was set to increase. the government had been asking the eu for more time for companies to adjust but then granted an extension all by itself. sadly, the eu have not been able to move in a timeframe that works for the supply lines, for example, for supermarkets, so we came to that point that we'd outlined previously, that we had to make a decision that we could see a continued flow of products in the supermarket supply lines, for example, could continue to flow, as we move forward, otherwise if we left it any longer we had a risk to businesses and livelihoods for people in just a few weeks�* time. the eu views this as a potential breach of international law. an extension had already been under discussion with brussels and dublin, who now feel the uk jumped the gun. this sends a message to brussels and to the european union that they don't have a trusted partner in the context

of implementing a complex agreement in a way that everybody can live with, that's a problem now. the new trade border in the irish sea had already led to temporary shortages of some products on northern ireland�*s shelves injanuary but the big supermarkets were warning that in april more disruption to food supplies would follow. the government has tried to play down its latest move, saying it is still carrying out the northern ireland part of the brexit deal in good faith, and that it had to push back the date for the new procedures to come into force here for the sake of british business, but there are already signs of repercussions from the eu. europe�*s plans to rubber—stamp the brexit deal have been postponed. if you want to strike an agreement with anyone, notjust the european union, but any partner, well, it�*s important that your word is honoured. if your word cannot be trusted, why would anyone, not just the european union, strike any deal with this british government? the new brexit arrangements continue

to be deeply unpopular for many unionists in northern ireland. today, a group that includes representatives of loyalist paramilitaries wrote to borisjohnson saying they were withdrawing support for the good friday agreement — the peace deal which marked the end of the conflict here. the negotiations over the irish sea border will press on but tonight relationships feel strained on both sides of the water. emma vardy, bbc news, belfast. there�*s growing pressure on the united nations to provide a strong international response to the violence sweeping myanmar in the wake of the military coup. the un security council will meet tomorrow, amid warnings that the stakes could not be higher. funerals have taken place today for some of the dozens of protestors shot dead yesterday, including a 19—year—old. thousands lined the streets of her home city for her funeral, as our south east asia correspondent jonathan head reports. every revolution has its martyrs,

and 19—year—old kyel sin has been made a symbol of this unequal struggle against a powerful and merciless military. she was given a hero�*s sendoff in her home city of mandalay. one of 38 people, shot dead in a day of violence, when the security forces opened fire on demonstrators here and in other cities. at least eight died here in the yangon suburb. makeshift shrines dotting the road where they fell in a hail of gunfire. but if the intent was to terrorise people off the streets, it failed. people were out again in large numbers today, defending the barricades they have built, to keep the military out, to show that their rule is not accepted. and in what we can only

guess is a de—escalation, the police chased protesters today using paintball guns rather than the assault rifles they have used before to such devastating effect. this is a battle for control of myanmar�*s cities which the military with all its weapons has not yet won, more than a month after its coup. there�*s been plenty of international outrage, not much action. the people of myanmar are on their own. fighting an army which rarely counts the human cost of its heavy—handed repression. jonathan head, bbc news. the north west of england had the highest coronavirus death rate in england last year — that�*s according to research by the university of manchester. millions of people in the region lived under some of the toughest restrictions for the longest period of time.

in the latest "our lives" report, victoria gill has been speaking to people in her home town in the north—west, about the toll the pandemic, and the lockdown, has taken. trying to manage a business, manage a home, three children, school age, it was just floods of tears. helen�*s is a very familiar pandemic story. it�*s hard to stay positive. it�*s the disney smile, isn�*t it? she�*s a family friend. i�*d just put down the phone to you and then your mum had rang. i even called upon her expertise on my wedding day. but over this past year i�*ve seen her optimism just worn away. the reason her business of 2a years still has its premises here in leyland in lancashire is thanks to the generosity of the landlord. we probably wouldn�*t be here if i�*d had to pay that rent. can you project at all what it would have been like if you had had to close? no. not at all. i couldn�*t. it can�*t, and for that reason it won�*t, because too many people depend on you,

and like you say, i don�*t know what i�*d do without it, so... in a region that has had one of the longest periods with the toughest restrictions, every closed sign is a livelihood on indefinite pause. i grew up in the north—west and one of the reasons i love it and that i moved back here is this landscape. it�*s been beyond important to me to get out in this over the past year, but the other reason this is a great place to live is the people and the communities. i just worry that those communities are going to have been damaged beyond repair. hello? people kept talking about going into the third lockdown but we were like, we haven't come out of the second lockdown yet, we've not actually reopened. nowwhere feels emptier right now than what was once a thriving community pub. hello, how is it going? this is where my family has had many sunday lunches together. and it�*s somewhere the community depends on. this isn't my pub. this is their pub.

they've drunk in it for 50 years, some of them, 60 years. the real social need is for people who come in on their own. they might not see anyone else. i'm worried where they're at. what they're doing. the north—west has had the highest covid death rate in england. but amid all the sorrow and the restrictions, there�*s a sense of anticipation here about simply getting back to work. in manchester, with at least 10% ofjobs being in hospitality, people have invented whole new enterprises to keep afloat. arguably manchester�*s most celebrated chef right now is making takeaway burgers. i would implore anybody who is struggling right now, to adapt. we never saw ourselves cooking burgers for a takeout but out of necessity we had to do something and it�*s turned out to be one of the most rewarding things we�*ve ever done. what�*s it going to be like for you and the team to open doors again? i�*ve had a lot of people asking me

if we�*re going to have a rendition of a burger on the menu when we�*re reopening. absolutely not! laughter. the longest lockdowns will have the most enduring impacts and it�*s only when these doors open again that we will see the extent of the damage. seeing those mainly miserable old men, walk through the doors, get them a pint. to know they're looked after really, i think. but through the struggle there�*s hope... i will get through it and it will be a lot brighter. and again we�*ll pick ourselves up and we�*ll be there ready to look after everybody. victoria gill, bbc news, lancashire. it�*s been another disappointing day for england�*s cricketers in india, as the final test began in ahmedabad. england, needing victory in this match to square the series, won the toss but could only score 205. ben stokes scored a half—century but fell for 55. india were 24—1 at the close.

no tills, no queues. walk in, pick up what you want and walk out. that�*s how you shop in amazon�*s new contactless food store that�*s just opened in the uk. is this the future of shopping? emma simpson reports. as big names retreat from the high street, here�*s one that�*s moving in — amazon�*s first physical store outside the us. all you need is one of these and the amazon app. so, how does it work? well, here�*s the technology. cameras everywhere on the roofs and lots of sensors, tracking everything that we take off the shelves. have one of these... there are lots of amazon own—branded products. a counter to collect amazon orders and return them, too. and here�*s the thing — there aren�*t any checkouts. you just walk straight out. here�*s the bill.

it goes straight to your account.