this is bbc news with the latest headlines. the british—iranian woman, nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe, imprisoned in iran, has had her ankle tag removed after her sentence came to an end. however, a new court case against her has been scheduled for next week. it is totally and utterly inhumane because at the centre of this is an innocent woman, her husband and her daughter, and they are just forgetting that, in all these grand power games, there are ordinary people who are paying a most terrible price. the prime minister has defended the government's1% payrise for the nhs during a visit to a vaccine centre in north london. don't forget that there has been public sector pay freeze. we're in pretty tough times. we've tried to give the nhs

as much as we possibly can. schools in england are reopening to all pupils tomorrow. borisjohnson describes it as the first step in moving closer to normality. on the third day of his historic trip to iraq, pope francis visits a church in the northern town of qaraqosh, which was devastated by islamic state militants. the royal family marks commonwealth dayjust hours before the duke and duchess of sussex's interview with oprah winfrey. rangers win theirfirst scottish premier league title in a decade after celtic fail to beat dundee united. and coming up, we'll have all the latest from the week in parliament. that's in half an hour's time here on bbc news.

nazanin—zaghari ratcliffe, the british—iranian woman detained in iran for five years, is out of house arrest. but a new date has been set for her to appear in court regarding a separate case. she was arrested in 2016 after being accused of spying, which she has always denied. a rare glimpse of the only way this family has been able we've be able en counting down to this day for a very long time.

back when she was in solitary, the conversation i was having with her in present month after month, even when she's come out, it's worst case scenario which would be are becoming home on march the 7th? lovely when it's over? today the ankle touches had to wear since she was released from jail a year ago has been taken off but another court case against her is scheduled for next sunday. she felt quite overjoyed and then the second minute she had a call saying she's got to go back to court and obviously she is very, very nervous about that. doesn't know what to expect. it might be a formality, maybe she will go to court, she will be let off and that's the end of it. but we just don't know at this point. richard says the family are still trying to assess the latest developments and find out what they mean for when they can all be reunited. the former foreign secretary, jeremy hunt, said today's decision was a step in the right direction. he called on the government to help get nazanin home as soon as possible. i had ihada i had a whatsapp exchange with nazanin yesterday to say, stay strong, and she confirmed to me that the last couple of weeks have been

the last couple of weeks have been the toughest of her entire time, not knowing what was going to happen, but she wasn't actually expecting anything to happen this morning and then richard told me this morning that she unexpectedly got a call from the tagging office to go into the tag she then had to pay the rent on her ankle tag, unbelievably, and thenit on her ankle tag, unbelievably, and then it was taken off, so just for then it was taken off, so just for the next week, she is a free woman in iran, she can't leave iran, but she can put the book shop, visit her grandmother, so i think she is feeling very cheerfulfor grandmother, so i think she is feeling very cheerful for today at least. you have to be particularly cruel and hard—hearted if as a government you continue to deliberately authorise the breaking up deliberately authorise the breaking up of a family, even after she has completed a jail sentence, and that is why i think it's particularly repugnant that she is not able to get on a plane and come home today, it's what the whole world wants, and

why, oh why, can't the hardliners in the iranian regime who also have families and children just understand that this is one of those moments that calls for a bit of humanity? with me is rana rahimpour from bbc persian. it's a mixed picture in terms of pattern in�*s case. can you clarify for us what has happened? pattern in's case. can you clarify for us what has happened? you're absolutely right. _ for us what has happened? you're absolutely right. today _ for us what has happened? you're absolutely right. today is - for us what has happened? you're absolutely right. today is five - absolutely right. today is five years since the beginning of nazanin�*s sentence, so the sentence is officially over, as you heard in caroline's package, the ankle tag has been removed, but it doesn't mean anything, doesn't mean that the iranian authorities are showing leniency. the fact that the ankle tag has been removed today was the only thing... they had to do it, legally they could not keep it on any longer, but now they have another case that she has to hear

next sunday, and it's very likely that it will complicate the case even further. i have spoken to people about the ankle tag being removed. it's important to remember that her relatives in iran are the reason why she went back, five years ago, and she thought she would be able to go out of the house because she has been under house arrest for the last year, we also know that over the last year she has been struggling with her mental health because of the covid pandemic, nobody could visit her elderly parents so nobody could visit her, and she would only need about 300 from her house, so hopefully this amount of freedom will help her a lot, but until she is reunited with her daughter and husband who she has been away from the five years it's not over. ., .,

not over. the former foreign secretary _ not over. the former foreign secretary jeremy _ not over. the former foreign secretary jeremy hunt - not over. the former foreign secretary jeremy hunt was . not over. the former foreign - secretary jeremy hunt was telling us secretaryjeremy hunt was telling us earlier that the complications are in his view the foreign ministry accepts she did not commit any spine, but it's become a political issue, there is a lack of trust that goes back to the overthrow in the 50s, that sense you cannot trust the british is deep in some parts of the institutions in iran. how can this be overcome in the courts are almost a separate organisation in themselves because of the islamic nature of the state, you have parallel power basis? it is the government's _ parallel power basis? it is the government's decision - parallel power basis? it is the government's decision to - parallel power basis? it is the i government's decision to arrest nazanin and i agree withjeremy hunt, it seems to be political, and herfamily have said hunt, it seems to be political, and her family have said over the years, they believe it has been a hostagetaking situation, and it's notjust hostagetaking situation, and it's not just about britain, hostagetaking situation, and it's notjust about britain, we have a

dozen dual nationals in iran in prisons right now, we have a rainy and germans, iranians and americans, we have an iranian austrian, so it seems that the iranian authorities are using some of these dual nationals as bargaining chips and as we have seen, the americans have been more successful in negotiating the release of some of their nationals under the presidency of barack 0bama, we saw that they managed that, and even donald trump managed that, and even donald trump managed to negotiate the release of some nationals, but the uk has failed to do that and maybe they need to have a look at their strategy and technique and see what the americans have done and why they have been more successful than the british. , ., , british. one brief last point, ifi ma , british. one brief last point, ifi may. jeremy — british. one brief last point, ifi may. jeremy hunt _ british. one brief last point, ifi may, jeremy hunt mentioned i british. one brief last point, if i | may, jeremy hunt mentioned in may, jeremy hunt mentioned in passing the effect of some of the

actions of the british government has taken because it is concerned about her case. 0ther has taken because it is concerned about her case. other families has taken because it is concerned about her case. 0therfamilies have been indirectly affected by this in terms of the ability of dual national iranians to travel backwards and forwards from britain to iran. they are not in any trouble with the state, just normal routine visits that used to happen. because ofthe visits that used to happen. because of the behaviour _ visits that used to happen. because of the behaviour of _ visits that used to happen. because of the behaviour of the _ visits that used to happen. because of the behaviour of the iranian - of the behaviour of the iranian authorities, many iranians dual nationals are concerned about going back because these are people who have ordinaryjobs and depend on the dual policies and iran's conflicts with other countries can be at risk, and that has definitely made life very difficult for several iranians with dual nationalities.- very difficult for several iranians with dual nationalities. thank you as ever forgiving _ with dual nationalities. thank you as ever forgiving us _ with dual nationalities. thank you as ever forgiving us that - with dual nationalities. thank you as ever forgiving us that update, | as ever forgiving us that update, most appreciate your knowledge and expertise on this case and on iran.

let me bring you a copy we have here coming from the press association. her husband richard ratcliffe, he talks to us on a regular basis and we hope we can talk to him again soon about this case, he has told the press association that nazanin is genuinely happy about having the ankle tag removed and is partly what we were hearing about her excitement about being able to walk around and visit some sites in tehran and be close... but he said, we very clearly remain in the middle of the government game of chess, so the implication of that is they don't expect a resolution of this case very quickly. let me bring you a statement as well from a campaign group that has been involved in nazanin�*s case, and they wanted to highlight the second charge that she protect —— potentially faces, these are separate charges which could be

used to block a return, the campaign group says that there is no evidence at all in this case which may partly explain why it has been frozen for the last four years but are worried that this second court appearance which has been scheduled for next sunday could mean that the authorities are trying to reopen this. it says here this could present —— prevent her returning to the uk, there is no indication of when or how it will be resolved, so that's information from the campaign group supporting nazanin. the foreign secretary has tweeted this hour, he said he welcomed the removal of her ankle tag but her continued treatment by iran is intolerable and she must be allowed to return to the uk as soon as possible to be reunited with her family, the words of dominic rob, we heard from jeremy hunt on this case. let's speak now to the labour mp and shadow foreign secretary, lisa nandy.

your reaction to the news. it is rounds your reaction to the news. it is grounds for — your reaction to the news. it is grounds for cautious _ your reaction to the news. it 3 grounds for cautious optimism, but we have been here before. 0ver grounds for cautious optimism, but we have been here before. over the last five years nazanin and her family have been through living hell, one step forward, two steps back, so many missteps on the road, as you just heard from jeremy hunt there, there is a real sense from there, there is a real sense from the family that nazanin is really struggling to take any more of this, so what we need to see now, now that there is very welcome progress has been made with the ankle tag being removed, is a personal intervention of the foreign secretary to make sure that these charges are not introduced on sunday, that we don't see another blockage on the road in what richard ratcliffe has understandably described as a game of chess and that this is now the end of this family's ordeal and that nazanin has brought him to be reunited with her daughter. i was talkin: to reunited with her daughter. i was

talking to tulip _ reunited with her daughter. i was talking to tulip about _ reunited with her daughter. i was talking to tulip about this - reunited with her daughter. i was talking to tulip about this case, the local mp and has been campaigning on the family's case, and she said one of the most distressing aspects of this is the difficulty for the mother maintaining a relationship with her daughter, the daughter obviously doesn't understand why her mum can't be with her and inevitably some of that hostility is put back on her mother. 0n that hostility is put back on her mother. on a human level, you are a young mum and you have children, it's an awful case, and itjust seems to be one that feels increasingly difficult to unpick. tulip, the local mp, has been tirelessly campaigning on this issue and it was here that first introduced me to nazanin�*s family when i was appointed shadow foreign secretary, it was during the pandemic, we had a meeting over zoom, but her beautiful daughter was there, and every family in this country, their heart goes out to this brave family who have had such

a gruelling ordeal and have had to see this played out in the public eye, a six—year—old girl who has barely spent any time with her mum since she was a baby, and it's one of the reasons why i think we have managed to make progress in this case, because the family have been so tireless in keeping it in the public eye. the problem —— back to the problem of course is as well as a nazanin still being there and being involved in this political game, there are other british iranian dual national still being held, one of them, theirfamily iranian dual national still being held, one of them, their family have been campaigning publicly and with increasing concern about him being held in tehran, he is in his 60s, they are extremely worried about the impact of covid on his health and whether he is actually safe in the surroundings he is currently in. as one of your commentator said, we have seen an increasing use of this

totally unacceptable hostage diplomacy from iran. 0ur totally unacceptable hostage diplomacy from iran. our country could learn countries from australia and the us and germany and others who have been more successful in getting their dual nationals home, the international community will have two come together to say this repeated use of hostage diplomacy is unacceptable. bath repeated use of hostage diplomacy is unacceptable-— unacceptable. both governments insist they cannot _ unacceptable. both governments insist they cannot be _ unacceptable. both governments insist they cannot be a _ unacceptable. both governments insist they cannot be a linkage i insist they cannot be a linkage between the money britain owes, contracts that were not completed but were paid for by the shah in 79, the money has been sitting in a bank account or trust for 19 years now, waiting to be got to tehran. do you get any sense that there might be movement on this? some people thought that once the biden regime took office in the united states, some of the sanctions might be eased, partly eu sanctions, but now us sanctions as well, you cannot

transfer any money which gets sanctioned itself, there might be a way round this?— sanctioned itself, there might be a way round this? there were hopes we could resolve — way round this? there were hopes we could resolve the _ way round this? there were hopes we could resolve the outstanding - way round this? there were hopes we could resolve the outstanding issue i could resolve the outstanding issue around the debt with the incoming biden administration. we are likely to see some kind of movement on that as part of the wider discussions around iran and the nuclear deal that the biden administration is taking a keen interest in, we have also seen movement on the part of the british government in relation to that date, the debt is owed and the defence secretary recently acknowledged that publicly and officially for the first time, which is welcome, but i think the government is right to say actually it's not acceptable for individuals like nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe to be used as a bargaining chip in this wider political game, hostage taking is completely and utterly unacceptable. the government has been clear about that and they

should continue to be clear about that, the question resolving the issue to try and restore the nuclear deal and work with our allies on the relation would help to have a less antagonistic relationship with iran, but i don't think we should in any sense accept the idea that hostage diplomacy is acceptable, you don't negotiate with those who take hostages, and we should be very clear with iran, you read out a tweet from dominic rob just now, is completely and utterly unacceptable, nazanin must be released and allowed to come home. —— dominic rob. rangers have won their first scottish premier league title in a decade after celtic failed to beat dundee united. rangers fans flouted coronavirus lockdown restrictions by gathering outside hours before

the club's 3—0 win over st mirren at ibrox yesterday. it's the club 55th league title and their first since they were expelled from the top flight nine years ago. we can speak to our scotland sports news correspondent, chris mclaughlin. it's a great day for ibrox fans but obviously it comes with quite a lot of worry about how they might choose... of worry about how they might choose- - -_ choose... it's a huge day for rangers _ choose... it's a huge day for rangers football _ choose... it's a huge day for rangers football club - choose... it's a huge day for rangers football club and i choose... it's a huge day for l rangers football club and fans choose... it's a huge day for - rangers football club and fans of rangers football club and fans of rangers football club and fans of rangers football club, it has been a ten year long wait, a really difficult ten years for those fans who are well used to success, and you're absolutely correct to say there are concerns over fans gathering yesterday ahead of the club's game against saint mirren, thousands of rangers fans gathered outside ibrox to welcome the players inside and celebrate after that game as well. we have maybe three or four

hours until the sun goes down here in glasgow, and i can tell you, already we are hearing fireworks all across the city, obviously police are now concerned about how fans will choose to celebrate, they have absolutely been clear for over a week now in their message to fans not to gather for obvious reasons, the justice minister yesterday saying that as far as he is concerned there is an obvious public health risk attached to fans gathering but of course as you can imagine police are out in full sun across the city in anticipation of fans ignoring those warnings and gathering to celebrate.— fans ignoring those warnings and gathering to celebrate. thanks very much. schools are preparing to reopen tomorrow — the first step in the government's road map for lifting the coronavirus lockdown. the education secretary has said longer days and shorter holidays are among the measures the government is considering to

help pupils in england catch up on lost learning. here's our education correspondent, sean dilley. for many parents, relief as schools in england prepare to welcome all pupils back to the classroom after nearly two months of home learning. it marks an important first step in lifting the country's lockdown restrictions but the government says safety will be its top priority, with english secondary school students asked to wear face masks throughout the day. what we are asking them to do is about notjust keeping them safe but also their friends and teachers safe and the whole school community safe but also their families and the broader community as well. we recognise we are asking people to go a little bit above and beyond, but it is just one of the many measures that we have put in place to reduce infection, reduce transmission, reduce the chances of people getting covid. students in england will also be tested for the virus three times in the first two weeks and offered twice—weekly lateral flow tests after that. parents, carers and school staff will also be offered twice—weekly tests, but all testing

is voluntary and school leaders have warned that getting consent to test pupils has been difficult. the head teachers�* union, the afcl, says some parents may be nervous about misinformation but public health england says that testing is safe and vital to reducing transmission. the risk of false positives is extremely low, less than one in a thousand, and we would expect that that would be the same risk with pcr tests. no test is perfect and a test that reveals less than one in a thousand false positives is a very good test. younger primary pupils in northern ireland are also returning tomorrow and in scotland and wales younger primary school pupils returned last month with phased returns for more pupils from the 15th of march. for schoolchildren in england, the government says it is exploring all options to make up for lost learning including longer school days and shorter holidays, but for now they say they simply want to prioritise getting them back into school. people aged 56—59 in england are now being invited to book their coronavirus vaccination.

letters sent to hundreds of thousands of people in their late 50s began arriving this weekend, with more expected to be delivered tomorrow. the move comes as susan hopkins, who is in charge of public health england's covid strategy, warns we need to prepare for a hard winter. 0ur health reporter, jim reed, has the details, and a warning, there are flashing images at the start of his report. at 56 years old, the prime minister himself will be part of the next stage of the vaccine roll—out. i'm going to get mine in a couple of weeks. from this week, all those in england in their late 50s will be able to book an appointment for theirfirstjab. i'm focusing on rolling out the vaccine, making sure that we get it into as many arms as possible and using that extraordinary vaccine roll—out programme to deliver a cautious but we hope irreversible road map to freedom. that's what i'm focusing on.

there are 1.7 million people in the latest vaccine group in england. in total, 21.8 million people across the uk have now been given theirfirst dose. that's two fifths of all adults. we would remind everybody, it's an evergreen offer, so, if you haven't said yes the first time, you've still got an opportunity to get your vaccine and get yourself protected. public health officials say the vaccine roll—out should help protect the most vulnerable, allowing us to live with the virus and slowly reopen society. but speaking this morning, one senior government adviser warned we need to plan now to prevent any problems later in the year. i think we have to prepare for a hard winter, not - only with coronavirus, but we've had a year. of almost no respiratory i viruses of any other type, and that means potentially the population immunity. to that is less, and so we could see surges in flu, we could see surgesl in other respiratory viruses -

and other respiratory pathogens. 0verall, scientists and politicians are optimistic the vaccine roll—out is now starting to show real results. the message, though, is still to stick to the rules until more of the population can be better protected from this virus. jim reed, bbc news. labour has accused the chancellor of sneaking out an announcement on nhs pay a day after the budget because he was too cowardly to announce it on the day. the government have proposed a 1% pay increase for nhs workers in england next year. speaking this morning while visiting a vaccine centre in north london, the prime minister has defended the government's1% payrise for the nhs. he said ministers had tried to give them as much as they could and other public sector workers were having their pay frozen. i'm massively grateful to all nhs staff and social care workers, who have been heroic throughout the pandemic. what we have done is try to give them as much as we can at the present time.

the independent pay review body will obviously look at what we have proposed and come back. don't forget that there has been a public sector pay freeze, we're in pretty tough times. we have tried to give the nhs as much as we possibly can, and that means, in addition to the £140 billion annual money, we have another £62 billion we've found to help support the nhs throughout the crisis. but my gratitude is overwhelming. and i'm so grateful, particularly to the nurses, and thankfully we are seeing more nurses now in ouramazing nhs. there are 10,000 more nurses this year than there were last year. in spite of all the difficulties, we are seeing a big increase in recruitment as well — 34% more applications.

pope francis is in northern iraq today — he's been visiting parts of the country once held by islamic state militants. it's the third day of his trip to the country — the first ever papal visit to iraq. let's take you live to erbil, where the pontiff is holding a holy mass in front of many thousands of people gathered at the franso hariri stadium. singing. concern in a rock that this could be a supersprint event because they have had such a terrible number of cases of covid but hard to keep people away. political leaders, prime ministers and presidents, rarely if ever stay a night in

ironic, fly in the morning and out by the same night, so for the pope to stay here for three nights raises all sorts of security concerns, it has been a security headache for the authorities, but visit the vatican thought was important for what was one of the oldest christian communities in the middle east. —— super spreader event. we will have more than that visit during the course of the afternoon. 0prah winfrey's controversial interview with the duke and duchess of sussex airs in the us later tonight. just hours before the interview, the queen will address a uk television audience to share her annual commonwealth day message. 0ur royal correspondent, nicholas witchell, has more. it is a sharp divergence within the royalfamily, and, over the next 2a hours, it will be sharply demonstrated by two very different broadcasts. in the early hours of tomorrow, uk time, the duke and duchess of sussex will unburden themselves

on us television. it will be a broadcast, when, as the preview clips have shown, meghan will explain why she needed to escape from life within the royal establishment. as an adult who lived a really independent life, to then go into this construct that is, um... ..different than i think what people imagine it to be, it's really liberating. hours before the sussex broadcast, from westminster abbey in london, the queen and other principal members of the royal family will focus on the covid pandemic. in pre—recorded messages to mark commonwealth day, they'll reflect on the pandemic�*s impact around the world. amidst such heartbreaking suffering, however, the extraordinary determination, courage and creativity with which people have responded has been an inspiration to us all. the duke and duchess of cambridge will pay tribute

to health care workers. catherine and i have spoken to a lot of health care workers in the uk, i and around the world, _ over the last year, and we hear your worries and your concerns and thank you for your time chatting _ to us about it. thank you, you know, for sharing for us and asking for help for us. so, thank you very much. there will also be a pre—recorded message to the commonwealth from the queen. her theme — the importance of working together. nicholas witchell, bbc news. and that commonwealth day special is at 5pm. now it's time for a look at the weather with tomasz. in the short—term the weather will be relatively quiet. some breaks in the cloud this afternoon in parts of the cloud this afternoon in parts of the country with sunshine in the midlands and south of the uk, but it is turning in the north—west of the uk with weather fronts pushing

cloud, outbreaks of rain, overcast with occasional rain overnight in scotland and northern ireland. probably some of that rain reaching the lake district and northern england by the early hours. a touch of frost bursting on monday, wales, south of the uk and this is where the best of the weather will be on monday. sunshine from mid wales southwards. but broadly speaking, across the northern two thirds, cloudy at times and there will be rain. temperatures will recover up to ten. unsettled midweek. hello, this is bbc news. the headlines. the british—iranian woman nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe, imprisoned in iran, has had her ankle tag removed after her sentence came to an end. however, a new court case against her has been scheduled for next week. the prime minister has

defended the government's1% pay rise for the nhs during a visit to a vaccine