this is bbc news. the headlines at four: pressure grows on the government over its pay offer to health service staff in england — more unions have of extremism and violence during the first ever papal visit to iraq. concerns over unnecessary self—isolation for school children in england because of inaccurate coronavirus test results. police say they're increasingly concerned about the disappearance of a woman in south london on wednesday night. they're usually a sign that spring has sprung, but why is this host of golden daffodils being left unpicked? in cricket, india thrash england by an innings and 25 runs in the fourth test to secure the series 3—1. you can tell it is spring, i am

sneezing. and is the uk media obsessed with westminster? we'll be finding out in half an hour in the media show. good afternoon. the group representing health service trusts, nhs providers, hasjoined unions in saying the government's proposed 1% pay rise for health service staff in england is not enough. ministers have defended the rise, saying the pandemic had placed unprecedented strain on public finances. here's our political correspondent, jessica parker. pulling up, a very public row about this week's i% pay offer, with claims an increase of 2.1% had been baked—in as part of a longer—term settlement. which is actually enshrined in an act of parliament, so we've got a really strong legal basis here to say that

that the pay rise was there. obviously, that was all set out pre—pandemic, but actually the pandemic really only enhances the case for a pay rise for nhs staff. an nhs funding boost was enshrined in law, say the government, but not figures on pay. its proposal will now be looked at by an independent pay review body. last night, again, the message — the pandemic has changed things. the challenge is that nation's finances are tight and whilst everybody else in the public sector is going to have a pay freeze, we are able to give a... ..to propose a pay rise for nurses. they also say over a million nhs staff are benefiting from existing deals, but is this new offer counter—productive? a former conservative health minister says yes. you begin to erode morale and you push people to work as agency staff, and that ends up costing the nhs much more

than actually employing permanent staff and giving them a slightly better annual wage settlement. out on the water earlier this week, the prime minister, post—budget, with a chancellor who talked about fixing the public finances, but with the threat of strike action, already the ride is getting bumpy. jessica parker, bbc news. pope francis has met the spiritual leader of iraq's shia muslims, in the city of najaf on the second day of his trip to the country. he's the first pope to hold talks with grand ayatollah ali al—sistani, a highly influential figure in the middle east. pope francis has now arrived in the ancient city of ur where the prophet abraham — central to islam, christianity and judaism — is believed to have been born. from ur, he has now moved to baghdad where he is currently giving mass, as we can see here at the chaldean

cathedral of saintjoseph in baghdad. this is part of the eastern tradition in christianity, but it is recognised by the church in rome. the relatively small number of christians now left in the city have obviously appeared across the country in their droves to watch the pope's visit in the country. this is the second day of a four visit, it is longer than most political figures go for. we will listen in to mass. they sing.

mass continues this afternoon, perhaps the biggest mass will take place tomorrow, which is the one where he is in the north of the country once again and obviously some date being the most important day of the week for christians. mass thatis day of the week for christians. mass that is expected to be attended by thousands of people, which has raised concerns about it being a super spreader event, with there having been a serious illness amongst people in the country because of coronavirus. the interesting thing about the visit is the politics of all this, the pope is a great promoter of interfaith dialogue. he is also importantly promote of taking the church back to its roots and some of the communities who have not really felt that they are consciously, that there is a conscious awareness of

them in the vatican. this is one of them in the vatican. this is one of the oldest christian communities in the oldest christian communities in the middle east and it is one of the smallest, 100,000 adherents left. it has never had a visit before from a pope, iraq, so it is significant. in terms of relationships with the muslim world, there was that meeting this morning with the most important cleric amongst shia muslims, and that was of historic significance. there will be many muslim adherents who will be offended by it because some of those who are more on the fringes of the faith do not believe in this and believe it is a conflict between world religions, just as there are some in the christian world who think the same, it is about your religion on top of the others and ignoring the fact that many of these faiths, christian, judaic and muslim faith have common

roots, both in the middle east and in terms of being monotheistic, that they only believe in one god. so there is a lot in common and this is a reminder of how much is in common. 0ur rome correspondent mark lowen is travelling with the pope. he travelled with him on the aircraft known as shepherd one and was there at the greeting at the airport and is travelling throughout the four days with the pope's journey. let's hear what he had to say. if the first day of pope francis�* visit to iraq was about the politics and about meeting the country's

dwindling christian community, today was about the outreach towards other faiths, most notably a meeting this morning with the country's top shia cleric, grand ayatollah ali al—sistani, bringing together the leader of the world's catholics with perhaps the most powerful and influential figure in shia islam. it's thought that they discussed interfaith dialogue and the violence that iraqi christians have long suffered. then the pope came on here to ur, the ancient birthplace of the prophet abraham, in which he met again with members of other religions... ..and he spoke of how hostility and extremism and violence were, in his words, "the betrayal of religion". he spoke in favour of peace, unity and against hatred. so the meeting this morning, perhaps the most symbolic moment of this trip, and then the dialogue here in ur, as well, very much at the cornerstone of pope francis�* attempts to reach out to other religions and using a figure of abraham, revered by christians, muslims and jews, to try to spur reconciliation today.

a 50—year—old man has been arrested in dundee in connection with the disappearance of a woman and two children. 0fficers entered a property in troon avenue in the city yesterday afternoon as part of an enquiry into a missing 25—year—old woman, bennylyn burke, and two children from south gloucestershire. the woman's next of kin has been informed and are being supported by colleagues in avon and somerset. there are fears that thousands of school children in england — and theirfamilies — could be forced to self—isolate as a result of so—called "false positives" when mass coronavirus testing begins next week. every secondary school pupil will be offered three rapid—result tests over the next fortnight as part of government plans to bring children back into the classroom. 0ur health correspondent nick triggle has more. the tests that will be used in schools in england are designed to give quick, on the spot results. but it's thought that for every 1,000 carried out, between one and three will result in an incorrect positive result, a so—called "false positive." when these tests are carried out at home, users are entitled

to a standard covid test that's processed in a lab to check the result is right. but this will not be happening with the tests in schools. instead, it will be assumed the rapid test is correct. the royal statistical society and testing experts are worried low infection rates could cause a higher proportion of positive cases to be false, meaning thousands of pupils and families could be forced to isolate for no reason. the main concerns are that actually, tests are not going to be finding very many cases at all. the data from the last week of testing from the government, from 300,000 children and staff being tested, they were finding one positive for every 1,500 people being tested. and that means the tests are both missing cases, and it's a large amount of effort and work being done, being put into this, to find very, very little. but government insists the testing regime will have a positive impact

by identifying asymptomatic cases that would otherwise be missed. it says around one in three people who have coronavirus have no symptoms. nick triggle, bbc news. just trying to update the figures that we are receiving from the government of the latest coronavirus figures. they have just come government of the latest coronavirus figures. they havejust come in in this second. they are reporting that 158 people's death was reported in the 24 158 people's death was reported in the 2a hours to saturday, this is people who have died within 28 days of testing positive for coronavirus. they are in all 6040 coronavirus infections reported in the 24 hours to saturday. that is the number of cases, which we should just be getting up on screen for you shortly. i will wait until we have seen those before we move on to the

number of infections. that is the number of infections. that is the number of infections. that is the number of cases, 6040. the number of people vaccinated, that has reached 21,000,796 278, so it is another million or so since last weekend, so the pace is being maintained. —— 21,000,700 people have started to receive second jobs and puts the country, so the momentum is there. that microsecond jabs. the 21 million figure is up about 400,000 from friday to saturday of additional people who have received their first additional people who have received theirfirstjab additional people who have received their firstjab of one of the approved coronavirus vaccines. let's

return to the subject of the nhs pay row. the government have said they think nurses should receive a 1% pay increase. the garment had factored increase. the garment had factored in 2.1% before the pandemic, but the government says circumstances have changed. an independent pay review will make a recommendation and the cabinet will decide whether or not to back it. welljoining me now is dr tom dolphin, a council member at the british medical association, which is a trade union for doctors and medical professionals. thank you very much for being with us on bbc news that our. what it about the pay proposal from the government that particularly upsets you? government that particularly upsets ou? ., , government that particularly upsets ou? .,, .,, , government that particularly upsets ou? you? doctors in hospitals up and down the country _

you? doctors in hospitals up and down the country and _ you? doctors in hospitals up and down the country and nurses - you? doctors in hospitals up and| down the country and nurses and porters, everyone who works in the nhs, have been working so hard this last year. we have been putting our lives literally on the line at work in these extra hours, often unpaid, trying to keep the nhs together, and this 1% suggestion from the government is frankly an insult and to doctors and everybody else in the nhs are really angry about it, as you say, feel like it is a slap in the face when we have been trying so hard to keep it going. i the face when we have been trying so hard to keep it going.— hard to keep it going. i don't think an one hard to keep it going. i don't think anyone would _ hard to keep it going. i don't think anyone would want _ hard to keep it going. i don't think anyone would want to _ hard to keep it going. i don't think anyone would want to take - hard to keep it going. i don't think anyone would want to take away i hard to keep it going. i don't think i anyone would want to take away from the extraordinary sacrifice, in some cases sacrifice of life, that has been made by medical professionals. there are other parts of the public sector that have taken risks and sacrifices, police officers and so on, and there is a certain amount of money and the government decides how to allocate it, there is an argument for saying that they have made some choices based on a shrinking of the economy, less tax revenue, demands for public spending, and part of the price is that perhaps less than they would have otherwise hoped to offer

care workers who are still getting a real terms rise, when others are having a pay freeze? it real terms rise, when others are having a pay freeze?— real terms rise, when others are having a pay freeze? it will not be a real terms _ having a pay freeze? it will not be a real terms rise. _ having a pay freeze? it will not be a real terms rise. they _ having a pay freeze? it will not be a real terms rise. they think- having a pay freeze? it will not be a real terms rise. they think fish | a real terms rise. they think fish will be 1.5, so it will be less than inflation. —— inflation will be 1.5. it could be a real term cuts, but it is not the frieze others are facing, is not the frieze others are facing, is it? ., ., , ., _ is it? there are two things to say, the first is — is it? there are two things to say, the first is the — is it? there are two things to say, the first is the government - is it? there are two things to say, the first is the government is - the first is the government is achieving where it puts its money and they have said that in their pay review submissions they have talked about if we wanted to give more to the nhs workers we would have to re—prioritise. that implies there is money there, it is just how they choose to spend it. the second thing is we know that the public, of course everyone has had a tough time and people have lost a lot of income orjobs entirely because of the pandemic, but we know the public supports more in the way of pay and reward if nhs workers in recognition of what they have been doing in the last year, so the government is out of step with the country. mas

last year, so the government is out of step with the country. was about, the oritinal of step with the country. was about, the original 2.1% _ of step with the country. was about, the original 2.1% made _ of step with the country. was about, the original 2.1% made certain - the original 2.1% made certain assumptions about inflation being higher, so i wonder if there really is such a gap between the 2.1% as the government predicted and the 1% that they are actually offering? because it sounds big, but do you accept that in the end it might actually be quite narrow? you have to ut it actually be quite narrow? you have to put it in — actually be quite narrow? you have to put it in the _ actually be quite narrow? you have to put it in the context _ actually be quite narrow? you have to put it in the context of— actually be quite narrow? you have to put it in the context of where - actually be quite narrow? you have to put it in the context of where we work prior to the pandemic. in the ten years leading up to the pandemic, doctors' pay dropped by something like a third in real terms because of these repeated low inflation pay awards or zero pay awards over the years, so a third of our income has gone over that time and we had a situation at the start of the pandemic where we were something like 100,000 posts empty in the nhs, notjust doctors, but nurses, physios, all posts across the nhs, so it was incredibly thinly stretched and then we had this dreadful year where everyone has worked so very hard trying to get the nhs to keep going so it is there for people, and we know in that

context doctors and nurses, everyone is exhausted and demoralised and quite a lot of people are saying they will have to reconsider whether they will have to reconsider whether they can keep doing this are not. the government keep talking about wanting to retain and recruit staff for the nhs and has a new campaign to recruit staff, but this will not set it up for the recovery we need for the nhs. this will set us up... they add...

that is to be expected, but what about the argument that in the context of the overall pay settlement over a number of years, the pay has grown a lot from where it was maybe ten years ago across the board, this increase at this time is not very much, as you said it may even be a real terms cut, but in that context they are not as hard done by as perhaps some of the unions might be suggesting? we know that the nhs is— unions might be suggesting? we know that the nhs is really _ unions might be suggesting? we know that the nhs is really struggling - unions might be suggesting? we know that the nhs is really struggling to - that the nhs is really struggling to recruit staff and they have talked about these multi—year pay deals, but you cannot have growth rates as a bee context has changed and we cannot afford that, we need to prioritise, but have these multi—year pay deals which were set up, you cannot point to those and say they make up for it, because it does not give recognition that the public think doctors, nurses and everyone in the nhs deserve. imilli

everyone in the nhs deserve. will ut a everyone in the nhs deserve. will put a dilemma to you, if i may. the government may turn around and say yes, you are right, the public think this, we will accept the pay recommendation, but that will have to come at a price to other parts of the health service, whether it is that social care, pay levels are pretty low anyway there, whether it is in equipment, facilities, refurbishment, replenishment of training, is that a price worth paying? if training, is that a price worth -a in: ? ., ., , ., paying? if the government wants to t that paying? if the government wants to try that kind — paying? if the government wants to try that kind of— paying? if the government wants to try that kind of moral _ paying? if the government wants to try that kind of moral background, l try that kind of moral background, they are welcome to try it, but the majority of the cost of the nhs is at staff, that is the biggest single cost for anyone. the nhs is its staff, you have to value them if you want to keep them. staff are exhausted, demoralised and now insulted as well and we need to make sure that they are going to stick around, because we have so much work ahead of us to recover, catch up on the backlog and continue with the nhs as we need it the years to come and that will not be achieved by offering an insulting 1%.-

and that will not be achieved by offering an insulting 1%. thank you very much- — the department of health is expanding its workplace testing programme in england. until now, only businesses with 50 or more employees have been able to get free lateral flow tests. now companies of all sizes are eligible. the tests will be free until the 30th ofjune and businesses have until the end of this month to register. good afternoon. it really has been a test series to forget for england's cricketers in india. they lost by an innings and 25 runs today — bowled out for just 135 in their second innings. india didn't even have to bat again to seal a 3—1 series victory. joe wilson reports. 0ne consolation for england. it is finally all over. no more must they endure the embarrassment of batting in india. zak crawley began the final collapse. jonny bairstow soon followed, another nought for him. ben stokes had only just finished bowling. he was batting briefly. two runs from him,

too much asked of him. and what of the burden onjoe root? the one batsmen who put win into england's winter made 30. a familiar—looking lbw left england 65—6. when dom bess lunged hopefully and edged faintly, axar patel had his fifth wicket. whether the ball is red or pink, it turns to gold in his hand. england in theory needed 190 just to make india bat again. more relevant, they needed some pride. dan lawrence took his opportunity, made 50, at least it was something to get dressed up for. that was a surprise. this wasn't. five wickets for ravichandran ashwin. england all out to spin. this test lost like the previous two and the series which began with two nations competing ended with one utterly dominating. joe wilson, bbc news. at least the fancy dress was on

point. so a thumping win for india then, and questions for england captain joe root. they took the lead in the series — but he says they failed to make the most of their opportunities. there have been times where we had a chance to wrestle the game in ourfavour, to get on top and we just did not manage to do it. i think india played those important key those important key moments better than us in these last three games and they deserve the credit for being able to do that better than we could. i know that there was a huge amount of effort, and i know what has gone into it from our crew, the results have certainly not been from lack of effort. 0r character. i think we stood up very well in that respect, but unfortunately we were outskilled by some very talented players in these conditions. the scottish government say they are extremely disappointed a number of rangers supporters have gathered at ibrox today. fans have been outside the ground despite covid lockdown rules ahead

of the game against st mirren. rangers will win the scottish premiership this weekend if they beat st mirren and celtic lose to dundee united tomorrow. images showed flares being set off and fans singing, despite current guidance saying public gatherings are banned and a maximum of two people from two households are allowed to meet outdoors. so rangers involved in one of five in the scottish premiership today. currently 3—0 up against st mirren. looking very good for the victory there. into the second half there. aberdeen in 4th home to hamilton. still goalless there. and third placed hibs in 3rd are 1—0 down at stjohnstone. granit xhaka had a day to forget, as arsenal threw away a 1—0 lead, to draw with burnley in the premier league's early kick off. the gunners led early on with captain pierre emerick aubamayang scoring inside the opening six minutes. but mikel arteta's side gifted burnley a route back into the game. some good pressuring from the hosts forcing xhaka to give chris wood the chance to level, not that he knew much about it. arsenal could have snatched it at the end —

dani ceballos hit the post. the point leaves the gunners in 10th while burnley stay 15th. bottom of the table sheffield united are looking to make it two wins from two. currently 2—0 down against southampton. james ward—prowse scored first, che adams with the second. later on, aston villa are home to wolves — with brighton home to third placed leicester in the evening kick off. edinburgh's pr014 match against benetton tomorrow has been postponed after a positive covid—19 test in the benetton camp. the pr014 say concern around close contacts within the italian club's squad led to the postponement. the match is likely to be rescheduled in april. glasgow warriors beat zebre, earlier this afternoon — 31—20. the scottish side ran in four tries in parma with nick grigg scoring the final one inside the last ten minutes to put the match beyond the italians. britain's andrew pozzi sailed through to the final of the 60—metres hurdles at the european indoor athletics

championships in poland. he's won gold in this event twice before and he looked really that's all the sport for now. a reminder that you can catch the athletics evening session, beginning over on bbc two, from 5.15pm. more on that and the rest of the sport over on the bbc sport website. police say they're increasingly concerned about the disappearance of a woman in south london. sarah everard, who is 33, spoke to her partner on the phone while walking from clapham junction to brixton on wednesday night, which was the last time anyone heard from her. a friend said it was extremely uncharacteristic for her to go missing. well detective chief inspector ian kenward is from the metropolitan police. he gave this statement to reporters on clapham common, one of the areas being searched, this afternoon. i'm here today to appeal for information for the whereabouts of sarah everard.

she was last seen on wednesday the 3rd of march. she had been to a friend's house in leathwaite road. we believe she left about nine o'clock and was heading home towards brixton. we are not clear on which exact route she took. the a2 a five would be a sensible route to take but we are not sure and we have not had any contact from sarah. ., ., ., , . ., , ., sarah. you have had such teams in a claham sarah. you have had such teams in a clapham common — sarah. you have had such teams in a clapham common where _ sarah. you have had such teams in a clapham common where we - sarah. you have had such teams in a clapham common where we are - sarah. you have had such teams in a| clapham common where we are now, sarah. you have had such teams in a - clapham common where we are now, why have you got search teams, to expect she may have gone through the common? , , . she may have gone through the common?— she may have gone through the common? , , . , ., common? yes, we expect she may have one common? yes, we expect she may have gone through — common? yes, we expect she may have gone through the _ common? yes, we expect she may have gone through the common. _ common? yes, we expect she may have gone through the common. the - common? yes, we expect she may have gone through the common. the south . gone through the common. the south circular is one of the most natural roots you would take to get back to brixton through the common. the reason we have a search teams, we have a number of enquiries, so we are looking for potential evidence and it is one of many, many inquiries under way at the moment.

the duke of edinburgh has spent his first night back at the private king edward vii's hospitalfollowing his heart surgery at st bartholomew's on wednesday. he has spent 18 nights in hospital, his longest ever stay. buckingham palace says he will remain in hospital for a number of days. spring is on the way here in the uk and that means it's daffodil season. although it has been unseasonably cold today here in london. britain produces 90% of the world's crop, but this year, millions of the flowers will rot in the field because of a shortage of seasonal workers to pick them. growers are blaming it on the government's post—brexit visa scheme. john kay reports. it is a beautiful springtime sight, but not for daffodil farmerjames walkers. it is heartbreaking, it is heartbreaking. it's just saddening to see flowers going to waste. when they're yellow, it is too late to pick them,

so 50 million daffodils are being left here to rot. everybody loves to see it, it looks really, really nice as you drive round the county, but to a grower it's a crop loss. like other farmers, james has come to rely on seasonal workers from europe, but this spring he only has half the number he needs. aurimas has officially settled in the uk, but his lithuanian friends have stayed away. there are some that don't want to come any more because of the brexit, especially this year. there are not many people in the field, as you can see. farmers hoped they may be able to turn back the clock and attract more local workers like they did in the past. how many british workers have you got here now? none. no british workers at all. we had five young lads who came to work for us and then it got wet and it was windy and their backs ached — theyjust said

they couldn't hack it any more. the government has given 30,000 visas this year to foreign fruit and vegetable pickers, but farmers say the scheme also needs to include flowers. ministers have promised they will make sure that all sectors have the labour they need in future. if you're wondering why the farmers don'tjust use machinery to pick the daffodils instead, well, they say it's not really practical because there are so many different varieties of flower, all growing at different heights and blooming at different times. they say without changes, their industry could also wither and die. jon kay, bbc news, cornwall. where else next but to see if we are going to get any more of those sunny shots? now it's time for a look at the weather with tomasz shafernaker. well, it is fairly quiet

on the weather front out there at the moment. it is a little on the nippy side and it has been like it for the last few days. that will not change in the short term and a frost on the way tonight. these are the temperatures late afternoon into early evening. five, six celsius and a fair amount of cloud across the uk. just a bit of rain there in the north—west of scotland. through tonight, we have light winds and clearing skies, temperatures will dip below freezing, certainly outside of city centres and even in some of the towns on the south coast it could be below freezing as well. but not in western scotland where there is an atlantic breeze here which is blowing in more cloud, bits and pieces of rain for places like the hebrides, so i think wet here into tomorrow. you can see the outbreaks of rain, but the vast majority of the country should have another dry day and remaining quite cloudy and also a little on the nippy side. big changes on the way next week.

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